TRUTHEAR - TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO:RED

i'm a poor guy from a poor country that cant afford custom molded ears, so I will recommend two kinda cheap ones that I love: [KZ AS 16](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005962508871.html) (it's a really good and reliable one with a great price point, but has a boost on hi-mids that i personally don't like (this boost is really great for singers tho) [Truthear ZERO:RED](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005589274277.html) (this is my go to, pretty plain and clear sound. kinda of a hi-fi and higher end feel)

I bought some zero reds and the buds weren't in the box. Like... cardboard hadn't been bent where the buds would sit, so doubt it was stolen and returned. Looks like they were never put in from factory. A photo and an explanation to Amazon and they sent a return label and then replaced no questions asked. Amazon has been good for me for iem, no further issues at all. Depends on your country and your Amazon history, but I would say it is quicker and safer than other places. Having said all that, depending on the store, aliexpress has been brilliant too, just a lot slower for postage

I've been using the RED for mixing and stuff (its just a hobby I'm not making anything commercial) and they have been serviceable (mixes always sounded pitchy in high ends when listening on different devices to me tho) but the cable that it came with is busted and dead. I've tried contacting Truthear but their email support is not answering and checked places to get different replacement cables but all of them ship for crazy amount of cash. Finally found a shop online that sends at normal shipping prices IEMs and i've seen and read online that Salnotes Zero are good and i guess enough for what what i'd use them? I liked the sound of the REDs which are considered neutral (?) but before that i've been using the AKG K240 headphones and got "better" mixes out of them, but for medical reasons i can't use them anymore. Now my question is, are the Salnotes good/would it be good for my needs but also should i spend more on something better (I really dont want to spend more than 100 bucks with shipping) ? Should i get the REDs again? EDIT: Also another thing to note, the RED that i have have their shell broken but they are working, i'd just need to get new cable for them but im not sure how to get a 3rd party replacement for them. Any help would be appreciated. The site where i'm thinking to buy from has limited cables. Tripowin Zombur seems the only one that are worth looking at since the other cables are just the amount of the Salnotes or more expensive than them.

Yeah i found Tripowin Zombur which i can get and it seems they are fine for the RED (?) Also are the Zero 2 any different? Seems like they are kinda similar to the RED one's but have the low end boosted? I'm not sure for how long the RED's are gonna work since the shell itself is beat up and broken but functionally they are totally fine, its just the cable that's dead. Also [hangout.audio](http://hangout.audio) is the place where i was thinking to buy which i guess its fine since its Crinacles site?

Gotcha, i guess i should go with Hexa over RED again if my REDs die?

you can usually get decent 10$\~ cables from amazon or aliexpress. just look for 0.78mm 2-pin cables. tripowin, xinhs, nicehck, kbear are good brands zero's are abit brighter in the treble versus the reds which might exacerbate the pitchy highs issues you're hearing rn. reds are also generally just a step up from the cheapie 20$ sets like zero i'd opt for the cable

much more boosted low end then reds get the cable from wherever is convenient with good shipping + prices + selection, most usually getting from alieexpress, linsoul, amazon. if hangout works for you then get from hangout

ye tuning mismatch between the iem and your preferences. was it the original zero blue or the zero reds. zero are also known for their pretty bad fit for a good amount of people with really chunky nozzles. if the blues weren't bassy enough for you you're probably a basshead and would enjoy something like 7hz legato

Is this crinicle? I have the reds and I absolutely love them. They sound way better than my HyperX Cloud Alpha S for half the price

If you can push your budget just a bit more, I highly suggest getting the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Red. I have been using them for almost a year na and they are wayyy better than my HyperX Alpha S

Same here lol I started off with the 7hz ZERO 2 last January then months later made the jump and ordered the Truthear Zero RED and a week later ordered the Truthear Hexa which ended up arriving before the REDs 😂

I'd say the difference between the Truthear Zero RED (55usd) and the 7hz ZERO 2 (25usd), my first IEM, is very noticeable.

Actually the Hexa are noticeably cleaner and has better instrument separation than the REDs, it even feels strange at first being able to hear everything in the tracks, so I'd say they are the "true audiophile experience" and the REDs are more fun sound in comparison. The Moondrop Aria 2 seems like a nice choice as well. I haven't tried them but I have a good impression of its specific Dynamic Driver it uses. The same DD is used on the Moondrop MOCA which I own and it certainly delivers good performance despite Bluetooth limitations, so a wired pair would definitely sound great. Last week my Moondrop ROBIN (same Dynamic Driver as the Aria 2) arrived and I'm kinda confused about the fact it outperforms the Truthear Zero REDs in technicalities.

It's nice to hear your impression of them, given you have experience with other sets. I have been using them since Jan 4, swapping between the ZERO:2, Truthear Gate, Zero RED and Hexa and the Moondrop MOCA. At first I was reluctant about placing them above the Zero RED, and got blasted in the comments for saying they sound better than budget wired IEMs. But honestly yes I agree with you. The ROBIN have excellent sound presentation.

i was about to say THIS. Amazing very close to flat headphones, i am so happy with them. Also you can hear the low end properly unlike famous overhead headphones that people use.

I have Crinacle Zero Reds which I got for like 50-60 bucks like 7 months ago. It's an IEM. It's the best one so far for it's price range. There are better ones for sure but since it was my first IEM, I needed to know what I was getting into and wasn't willing to splurge more for one. You can check r/iems for better ones with your budget. I used to go for headsets but I found IEMs a bit better now. I always had problems with the ear muffs of headsets irritating my ears, and IEMs solved that for me. EQ softwares is a must as well. Better to test it with a buddy for tweaking it. I use Sonar now, but I used to use Fxsound for R6 until I switched to Sonar. It's simpler and has more options for you to tweak and its just simply better overall.

Truthear zero all the way bro. Absolute value for money, only costs $47 from amazon. It has good positional audio for gaming and really crisp. FWIW, my mate and I recently did an analysis on Reddit data for IEMs. Basically ranked them by aggregated sentiment. Maybe you'll find it helpful (google RedditRecs) You can filter by use cases, price ranges, and get a breakdown of what ppl have said about the most often recommended ones (disclaimer some links are affiliate they help fund the analyses)

I stopped reading at "Truthear Zero Red", that trash usually goes for $55-65 and "Bass-forward"? did you ever listen that thing? All HBB collabs are known for their bass but the zero red?. It's $60 for an iem with a cheap cable and cheap eartips, with a gigantic nozzle, how do you tip roll with that nozzle?. It's just one of the worst iems for a beginner and totally overpriced, you can get a better cable and eartips with the Tangzu wan'er at 1/3 of the price. It's 2025 with so many options, at this point it's just a meme of this subr recommending that thing

I have the red too, and i hate it, i just find it unbearably boring. The KZ d-fi has almost the same tuning and is 10x more fun at 1/4 of the price. About the pure, according to the comments i read, it's not an upgrade, it's just different, the people who liked the hexa just found the pure as "muddy"; but at least for me, i won't buy a truthear ever again, it's just the same recipe as ever, cheap cable, cheap eartips, a waifu in the box and the price $60+.