Intro
If you haven’t been following the IEM world, “Project Red” from Crinacle has been teased out for a very, very long time. Crinacle worked on tuning it for the better part of a year. Rumors swirled around and very little info was leaked, other than a select few saying the pre-release was something special.
Fast forward to a couple of months ago, and it was revealed that the Project Red was actually Truthear Zero:Red and it was available for only $55.
With all of the long-standing hype leading up to this release, the Red had big shoes to fill as it had led itself into a hype-frenzy. While the Red is spectacularly tuned to almost absolute perfection, it seemed that many forgot the price range this IEM was released in. When the Red finally dropped, it received criticism for not being as good as IEM’s 4x-10x the price.
This begs the question, is immaculate tuning the be-all end-all or is there more to it than that?
Tech Specs
Driver Configuration: 10mm + 7.8mm Dynamic Driver
Diaphragm Material: PU + LCP Composite
Sensitivity: 117.5db/v@1kHz
Impedance: 17.5Ω±15% @1KHz
Frequency Response: 20 – 40,500 Hz
Connector: 0.78mm 2 Pin
Price: $55
What’s in the Box?
Since this is a Truthears release, all the info is the exact same as the Zero and the Hexa – I don’t feel the need to include it here since it’s already been covered.
The IEMs are virtually the exact same shape and build as the previous blue version of the Zero, with the caveat that the faceplate is a red and feathered design. Honestly, I think the original blue Zero’s are better looking, but the Reds aren’t far behind. They’re very smooth and very well built, even for the price.
Fit, Comfort, & Isolation
Just as I previously wrote about the original Truthear Zeros, the nozzle is massively wide. It’s like trying to push a garden hose into your ears. So keep that in mind if you have smaller ear canals. Get your widest bore eartips out and pray to the gods that they’ll fit and be comfortable. I found a good balance of comfort and sound quality with the small version of the Softears Ultra Clear (UC) eartips. Crisis now averted, I can now listen to them and report back.
Sound
Overall
The question is, what does a year of masterful tuning sound like?
It’s neutral with a sub bass boost – I know, I know, I say this alot. However, this one is special as it has a hint of warmth in it, which is much more than what the frequency response graph would indicate. There is sophistication in the tuning – nothing stands out and everything is so darned smooth. I have yet to find a genre or style of music that the Red doesn’t sound great with.
To circle back to the intro of this review, I think people lost their grounding that this set was $55. I understand as we all want that next big thing that will destroy others at 5–10 times the price, but this isn’t it, nor did it claim to be.
I say this because the Red isn’t a giant killer and I think others have lost their way with their expectations. As you’ll see later, the technical performance, while good, isn’t amazing or even outside of the $50-$100 price range. This combined with the silky-smooth tuning can make the Zero:Red sound…well…a little boring – especially if you’re looking for amazing technicalities or an adventurous tuning profile. While I do not fall into the camp that the Red sounds boring, I’m leaning into the expertly done tuning, which brings tonal balance and lets the music itself shine.
Bass
While the bass has a modest boost in the sub bass region, it’s nothing crazy and yet it isn’t lean either. There’s plenty of impact and rumble, just nothing like a bass-cannon IEM would produce.
I think the best way to help describe the bass is to compare it to the original blue Zero. Overall, the bass is bigger and more impactful with the blue Zero and the Red has a less “subwoofer feeling” sound. However, since the bass does have its own driver on the Red (just like the Blue), it is still separated from the rest of the frequencies like a subwoofer, just not as much as the blue.
Pretty much exactly like the Blue, it’s quick for a dynamic driver, although it can’t compete with anything that’s much more expensive or a planar driver. The sub bass goes all the way down to the lowest of lows and the mid bass is slightly warmer than the Blue, which is a welcome addition.
The included 10Ω adapter increases the bass by 3-5db. It’s nothing major but it is nice to have a little flexibility with the tuning.
Mids
The mids are very focused and may be the best part of the Zero:Red. Again, being extremely clean and smooth is the name of the game here. The pinna gain is nice and well ordered, being relaxed but without any parts standing out in a negative way. The upper mid range trails off into the treble gracefully, without being peaky or having any extra energy – as is the style with a lot of IEMs lately. This helps make vocals silky and poised without making them stand out too much in the mix. Also because of the relaxed upper mids, timbre and tonality is superb – everything sounds incredibly natural – there’s not even a hint of strange timbre anywhere. The mids on the Zero:Red are delicious.
Treble
Treble is well controlled, and just like the mids, it’s smooth and laid back. The Red has a very safe and inoffensive treble, almost to the point of not having enough – it’s pushed right to the edge there, but still sounds natural. Really the only thing I would like to have seen done better in the Zero:Red is the upper treble. There’s very little to no sparkle or air. While it lends itself to great tonality, it reduces imaging overall. Just a few more decibels from 9kHz and up would have done wonders.
Technicalities
Just like its older brother Blue, the Zero:Red benefits massively from having a little bit of power behind it – not volume, just power. This really helps wake up the technical abilities of the Red. Resolution is about the same as the Blue. Staging and imaging are slightly less than the Blue but are still very good for the price. This is because the Blue has extra upper mids and treble in comparison to the Red. Separation is very good for the price and the combination of dual drivers and some clean power only help that. Soundstage can be fairly wide and outside of your head in terms of width, but like most IEMs height and depth are a little lacking and close.
Conclusion
Once expectations are set back on planet earth, the Truthear Zero:Red is absolutely fantastic for the price. While it won’t topple anything over $150-$200, it still provides excellent value and performance. The exquisite tuning and uncommon dual dynamic driver setup really is special and something to be heard. If you can cram these humongous nozzles in your ears, you’ll be rewarded with a tuning that most high-end manufacturers can only dream of.
Damn Truthear, you’re three for three in my book (haven’t heard the Hola yet). Well done to you and Crinacle – you make an excellent collaborative pair.