Update 3/30/22
There has been much drama as of late concerning the Crinacle CRN and a few other KZ IEMs. I purposefully delayed this update to let things calm down a bit and see where it all has landed. Now seems as good of a time as any to talk about it.
A few people online have taken apart several KZ IEMs and found that the extra drivers in the IEMs are either doing absolutely nothing or producing so little sound that it does not matter. Unfortunately, the CRN was one of these IEMs. If you want to read more into it, just look online – it’s everywhere in the IEM world.
I’ll be the first to defend people like Crinacle, HBB, and any others who have helped tune any KZ IEMs. Their job is to tune – not take apart, test each driver and crossover, and measure each working part. Those are the engineers’ and manufacturers’ jobs at KZ.
Does this change my review at all? Well, not really. It still sounds the exact same, even if it’s just one dynamic driver doing 99% of the work. However, I cannot recommend the KZ CRN (ZEX Pro) anymore.
Let me specify why through an analogy.
Let’s pretend that you are buying an expensive, fancy car with a V12 engine (to keep in line with a tribrid IEM analogy). The car manufacturer advertises and makes a big todo about the 12-cylinder engine and let’s say, 600 horsepower. If you have the cash to buy this beast of a car, you have to take the manufacturer’s word that this is indeed a 12-cylinder engine and the power figures are also correct. They’re not going to give you a car or engine to independently test their claims. If a manufacturer does not allow you to test drive it, you are at their mercy and have to take their claims as fact.
So you buy the car, drive it off the lot, and realize it feels more like 100 horsepower. You have the engine tested at an independent shop and discover only 4 of the 12 cylinders are doing anything – the other 8 are for display only. Obviously this would be ripe for a nice fatty-lawsuit based on false advertising. (end dream/nightmare sequence)
This is where I have an issue with KZ. No matter how you look at it, it’s false advertising. Without those extra two drivers (that are doing virtually nothing), this could have been a $15 IEM that sounds exactly the same. I did not necessarily buy the CRN for the drivers themselves, but for the packaged whole. But when ⅔ of the package is marketing lies, a line has been crossed and trust has been broken. I do not want to support or have anyone else support a company that clearly is lying to its customers.
Intro
The brand KZ has been around for quite a while now. They’re known for producing a prolific amount of budget IEMs models. In the audiophile world, they are associated with a very strong V-shaped sound: lots of big bloated bass, scooped out mids, and over-emphasized treble.
“Thanks for the run-down on KZ, but who is Crinacle?” I hear you asking.
Crinacle is a renowned headphone and IEM reviewer who has been in the game for a long time. He has reviewed, rated, and measured, as near as makes no difference, 1,000 headphones and IEMs. This is the world’s largest collection of this kind of information. Crinacle obviously knows what he is doing when it comes to the world of headphones. To say that the man knows what he’s doing would be a massive understatement.
Crinacle worked with KZ to “re-tune” the original ZEX model. They added a balanced armature to the already impressive hybrid setup of magnetostatic and dynamic drivers, making the CRN a “tribrid” (three different types of drivers, in a hybrid setup).
In terms of re-tuning, the CRN is completely different from KZ’s usual style of tuning. In fact, the tuning is so divergent that the frequency response graph looks dangerously close to the Moondrop Kato (a very well tuned IEM) – as seen in this screenshot from Crinacle’s frequency response graph tool. All credit goes to Crin here.
Even just a few short years ago, a tribrid setup like this would have only been available in very expensive IEMs – think $1000 and up. With the CRN, it is now $39. Just thirty-nine dollars!
Is the KZ CRN a poor-man’s Kato? Absolutely not! The price difference between the two is huge. However, if you set your expectations in the $39 realm, the KZ CRN really is impressive for what it is.
Tech Specs
Driver Configuration: Dynamic / Magnetostatic / Balanced Armature
Sensitivity: 104dB
Impedance: 25 ohm
Frequency Response: 20Hz- 40KHz
Plug: 3.5mm stereo single-ended plug
Connector: 2 pin 0.75mm
What’s in the Box?
In typical KZ fashion, the unboxing is sparse and minimal. The CRN comes with eartips (S, M, L) and a removable cable.
KZ eartips do not fit my ears at all, with the smalls being too small and the mediums being too large. I would be a great candidate for a “smedium” size if they ever made such a thing. This review was done with spinfit eartips that actually fit my ears.
The .75mm 2 pin cable looks really nice at first glance, but the cheap plastic texture makes it feel super inexpensive. That being said, I’m happy to even have a removable cable in an IEM in this price range. So, you can’t really fault the cable for being cheapish.
That’s it, that’s all you get. It’s nothing special, but it is on-par for the price.
Fit, Comfort, & Isolation
In my ears, the CRN ear insertion depth is shallow-to-medium, which is quite comfortable. The ergonomics of the earbuds themselves are quite top notch and very easy to wear for long periods of time. They are highly shaped and hide their size quite well. Each bud weighs only 6.9 grams, despite having three drivers in them, which adds to the comfort.
If inserted deeper in your ears, I could see them being not very comfortable for long listening sessions, as the top has a little wing that would become painful on the outer ear.
As with any IEM, they isolate quite well and don’t let in a noticeable amount of background noise.
Sound
Overall
For the most part, the sound signature of the CRN is very similar to the Kato. It has a mostly neutral, semi-U-shaped sound. The sub bass is elevated, with neutral mids, and elevated mid treble. I have never heard an IEM anywhere near this price-point that is this well tuned. Could this be the beginning of the end for the budget, harsh v-shaped sound? I would hope so! The tuning is incredible for the price and is super fun and easy to listen to.
Bass
As with the Kato, the bass is quite smooth and is even more elevated in the sub bass region. The speed is average and decently textured. The sub bass rumbles and is quite addicting. The mid bass smooths out quickly and doesn’t bleed into the mids. This does result in a lack of punch or “slam” to the bass, but I’ll gladly take that in comparison to bleeding into the mids – almost always a problem for budget IEMs. Because of this, the mid bass does seem a little on the light or thin side.
Mids
The mid range is very neutral with a hint of texture to it. The tonality here is very good for $39, but compared to more expensive IEMs, it can sound a bit up-front and dry. It is very balanced and precise, but somehow can be a bit boring with certain recordings. Detail retrieval is good for the price but the CRN isn’t going to win any micro-detail awards here either.
Treble
The treble follows a balanced sound signature with the exception of a 5db (or so) spike in the 8kHz range. This adds some detail to the mix, however it also messes with the timbre. Female vocals and cymbals can sound a little grainy, sibilant, and thin. The upper treble drops right off and loses any sense of airiness – which is pretty normal for most IEMs in this price range.
Soundstage & Imaging
Honestly, this is where the CRN sounds very budget, especially when compared to more expensive IEMs like the Moondrop Kato (which I know isn’t fair comparing $190 to $39 – but their overall tuning is so similar!). Details are presented but not in the micro-detail sense.
The sound is wider than tall or deep. Again, it’s pretty average overall and nothing sounds outside of the head. The overall soundstage is also middle-of-the-road and instrument separation is pretty ordinary. On some very busy mixes, the CRN loses separation and instruments can sound like they’re smashed together, with all of the sound coming from one strange franken-instrument. This is pretty rare, but when it does happen, it sounds weird.
But as I’ve said in just about every section in this review, it’s really not bad for the price.
Conclusion
Should you buy the CRN and is it a “giant killer”?
Before answering, I’d like to remind you that this is a $39, budget friendly IEM. To compare it to something that costs five times more is just silly and is like comparing a Honda to a Ferrari. Sure they both have four wheels, but in reality they’re worlds apart. That being said, if you set your expectations and realize that this isn’t for super-critical listening, the CRN is one heck of an IEM for the price. In this price range, the market is flooded with earphones that are tuned nowhere near the quality of the CRN. In that sense, it stands alone.
If you have never heard a balanced IEM before, you absolutely should buy it. It is worth experiencing just to see if this is a sound signature you might like. For the price and tuning, it is worth it. However, it certainly is not perfect with it’s 8kHz spike, strange timbre at times, and average technicalities. As long as you know what you’re getting into, it’s easy to recommend for the price.