Fanmusic TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero:RED Dual Dynamic Drivers in Ear Headphone with 0.78 2Pin Cable

I’ll admit, I was skeptical. A collab IEM under $60 claiming “audiophile tuning”? But the Truthear x Crinacle Zero: Reds absolutely blew me away. These things punch way above their weight class.The bass is the first thing that hits you—tight, textured, and present without being overwhelming. It’s not that bloated, boomy mess you get with some budget sets. Mids are clear and detailed, with vocals coming through naturally, and the highs have just enough sparkle without ever getting sibilant or fatiguing. Crinacle wasn’t kidding when he said these were tuned with intention—they sound like a love letter to balance and clarity.Soundstage and imaging are also surprisingly good for IEMs in this range. I can easily pick out individual instruments in live recordings, and they hold up great for everything from metal to acoustic to lo-fi beats. They're also comfortable enough for long sessions—I’ve worn them for 2+ hours straight with no hot spots or ear fatigue.You’re getting a sound signature that competes with IEMs twice or even three times the cost.Whether you’re a budget audiophile, a casual listener looking to upgrade, or just want a set of IEMs that actually sound good out of the box, the Zero: Red is a no-brainer. This is how budget gear should be done.

- TL;DR -The Truthear x Crinacle Zero (and Zero:RED) in-ear monitors deliver a very impressive combination of comfort, sound quality, and are a contender for the best value of anything in its price range (>$100). With their balanced tuning and gorgeous design, they are an excellent choice for casual listeners looking to dip their toes into high fidelity audio. Audiophiles looking for a reliable and budget-friendly option will also likely find this enjoyable as the technical performance punches above what the price would suggest. If you're in the market for a new pair of IEMs, the Zero:RED is absolutely worth considering.- Testing Equipment -All of my testing and listening has been from an Android phone with a budget USB-C DAC or from a modern Dell laptop motherboard’s onboard audio. Being an entry-level IEM, I wanted to test this from equipment that is more representative of what other users in a budget-friendly space may be using. An amp is not necessary to drive these, but you will see some benefit from the use of higher-quality DACs and amps.- Design and Comfort -The Zeroes like many IEMs features a sleek, ergonomic design that ensures a comfortable fit for extended listening sessions. Please note that the nozzle is on the larger side (about 6mm) and those with narrower or smaller ears may find these uncomfortable. I personally have large ears and ear canals and found them quite comfortable for up to a few hours at a time with stock tips. They are very lightweight coming in at just a few grams, and are made mostly with a plastic material but still manage to retain a look and feeling of sophistication. The REDs in particular really pop when the light hits them just right.- Sound Quality -One of the standout aspects of the Zero:RED is its well-balanced sound profile. The bass response is punchy yet tightly controlled, offering a satisfying depth without overwhelming mids and highs. This is managed by one of the two dynamic drivers inside each housing being dedicated as a subwoofer with a cross-over circuit! Simply unreal at this price! There is also a lot of clarity in the midrange, making vocals and instruments sound both natural and detailed. The treble is crisp and sparkly, adding a touch of brightness to tracks without crossing into harshness. I am particularly prone to sibilance (the sharp “sss” sound) and thankfully these are not bright enough to be fatiguing.The soundstage, while certainly not expansive compared to higher-end models, provides solid enough separation to hear individual instruments or pieces of music. I would describe them as a very intimate-sounding but well-separated IEM. Overall, the tuning leans slightly towards a warmer signature but still less warm than the original blues. If you are a true bass-head, there is also an included 10 ohm resistor that will give you a mild bass bump of a couple dB. In my A/B testing, I prefer them without the resistor.- Value for Money -At their price point, the Zeroes offer exceptional value. I have been out of the IEM market for a while, so it is hard for me to say just how well they perform when compared to other, more premium models, but they do certainly punch above their class. Included in the box you will get:• The IEMs• A .78mm 2-pin cable terminated in 3.5mm (the cable is of passing quality but not premium)• 10-ohm Bass+ resistor also terminated in 3.5mm• 7x pairs of ear tips:o 1x set (S,M,L) narrow-bore siliconeo 1x set (S,M,L) wide-bore siliconeo 1x pair (M) memory foam• A leatherette, foldable carrying case• 4x replacement nozzle filtersI had the best sound isolation with the memory foam tips, but unfortunately my included pair did rip while swapping them out so please exercise caution and care when rolling tips. I am currently using a pair of Spinfit W1 but am going to be receiving Divinus Velvets soon which will hopefully seal a little better for me than the W1 (not a fault of the product, I just have weirdly shaped ears).

Honestly, I can't believe that these are the prices they are! They have amazing sound! They even come with an extra dongle to increase the bass. I also really liked the amount of options for earpieces! I 100% would suggest these to anyone joining the IEM world!

I will preface this by saying that I am still new to the world of IEMs. The others in my collection are all sub-$25 pairs (CHU, CHU II, Tanchjim Zeros, 7hz Zeros). I have been using both pairs for a little over two weeks. I have been told multiple times by doctors that my ear canals are really narrow. I also believe my ears are waxier than average.For this review, I will primarily be comparing the 7hz Salnotes Zeros to the Truthear Zero Reds. They both appear to be optically around the same size and the nozzles are the same width.THE FIT:Note that everyone's ears are different. This is just my experience. Your experience will vary.It saddens me to say these don't want to stay in my ears if I am moving about. With the smallest included tips, they are still too large to fit in my ears. The 7hz Salnotes Zeros in contrast are a perfect fit despite having a nozzle with the same diameter and being roughly the same size. I think the difference has to do with the angle of the neck and the length of the nozzle. The REDs have a steeper angle which allows for a much longer neck while maintaining a similar footprint to the 7hz Salnote Zeros. This longer neck means that these have to be pushed deeper into the ear canal for a solid fit. Since the nozzle is so wide that just isn't possible in my case. It may not look like it's too much of a difference in photos, but the Salnote's sit flush with my ears while the Thuthears feel like they stick out about a fingertip's width.As a result of this poor fit I can only use these when sitting down. If I move I feel like I constantly have to fix my left IEM. The only fix is to use foam tips (I used small moondrop Mistips) but it's still so tight that it would cause my ears to feel like they were burning upon removal.The ear hook also float above my ears and doesn't really provide any support unless the cable is pulled.The one positive about the tips is that they do have a decent length to them, unlike Moondrop Spring Tips that come with the CHUs. I don't find them as comfortable as the Spring tips, but the extra length does help protect the filter from ear wax. Using spring tips on both my CHUs and CHU IIs degraded the sound quality within 2 weeks thanks to my waxy ears. The tips included with the Zero REDs are comfortable enough and haven't led to the degradation of the filters and sound quality over time.THE SOUND:These are easily my favorite-sounding IEMs. The rest of my IEMs are all 40-60% of the cost of these so it's natural the REDs sound noticeably better. It sounds like they are more spacious and have more separation between various instruments and vocals. They also have a noticeably higher resolution even when listening to MP3 files. The tuning is wonderful. The slight bass boost has some impact to it without overbearing and stealing any spotlight from the mids and highs.I did not like the 10 Ohm adpter on the REDs as it felt like the bass was just encroaching too much on the mids. It lost pretty much all the separation between the mids and lows and didn't provide enough of a boost to justify that loss of separation. Though I did like the adapter for certain songs on some of my cheaper IEMs, but it was a case-by-case basis.I tested these with a ton of different genres and these sounded great in all of them. EDM, Lo-fi, Modern Alternative Rock, Classical, Otacore, Pop, Country, ect...AUDIO SOURCES USED:I did most of my testing through an Apple dongle DAC on a 12 mini, though I did also briefly test it on an affordable Fiio AMP/DAC on my PC and with the 7hz Zero USB-C cable on my iPad. I didn't personally notice much of a difference in swapping between them. As far as music is concerned, I listened to about a 60/40 mix of MP3s on Spotify and FLACs on PlexAMP. Both apps were set up to stream or download in the highest quality.TLDR:The REDs sound fantastic. They sound spacious and have a noticeable improvement in resolution compared to sub-$25 IEMs. They sound great for all genres of music. The wide and long nozzle makes it unsuitable for small ear canals unless you plan on only using them while sitting. The 10 Ohm adapter doesn't sound great with this pair of IEMs, but sounded good in certain song on other cheaper pair.

This is the first time having IEMs that are not just Apple ones and I can confidently say these are amazing. They are on the pricey side but if you are serious about audio is worth the investment.