You are my favorite reviewer of earphones on youtube, I love watching your reviews. Your presentation is very systematic and clean. Thanks a lot for your hard work, really appreciate it. 😊
Thank you. People used to ask why I still use paper but I need some boundaries to avoid heading into 30 unfocused minutes. But yes, paper, timecodes, hands, systematic enough but still try to treat each set as a unique entity. Thank you again, made my night.
You're a smart guy. Many seem to miss this fact that when you lower both sides/hills of the V shape, lows & the highs, the mid range indeed gets louder. I realised this as well, and you're the only one that mentiones this. Thank you. I ordered these IEMs right the way because I love vocals, for this reason. Too many don't seem to realise the "whole picture". These IEMs also have one of the lowest measured (AudioScienceReviews forum measured) distortion.
I think Crinacle mentioned it in his video, maybe not directly, but if you dissect when he said, its all there. And yes, some people heard its Zero with lower bass and lower upper mids, its ok, move on to the next set. Or try to hype something they didn't understand. Folks who are into tuning and mids will get it.
Trying. I have to admit, most of the initial impressions on RED weren't overly detailed. It took him a year and there is a lot to unpack on how it works. Thank you
The type of amp can make a big difference too imo . I was ready to return the Zero RED after trying it in my Schitt Vali 3 with a couple different tubes . When I plugged the RED's into my transistor Schitt Heretic proper balance was restored and they sounded quite good ( with the 10 ohm adapter ) . I had the same experience with my Sennheiser headphones - the HD 560 S was pretty decent on the Heretic , but much better on the Vali 3 ( a made for each other combo imo ) . And I was going to return my HD 600's ( sounded decent on the Vali 3 but not 300 dollars decent lol ) until I tried them in the Heretic .
hello paul i have the trn conch do you think the zero red is an upgrade?both in tuning and tech? i'll sell the conch for 20 dollars and can get the red for 23 so is only 3 dollars difference.
I may be an outsider on this, but yes, I would take Red. You probably read the impressions on Red, its more "boring" but Crinacle is also more into mids and TRN is more generally appealing. If you really like Conch, don't chase Red looking for something radically better. Second, that wide nozzle on Red can be a problem on comfort. Red out of the box has less bass, but the impedance adapter gets you close. As I said, not sure many people would agree, but Red is a solid set, just doesn't have a big V shaped energy, more conservative.
Crinacle should retune the Legato and make it better! Would like to see a review on the Kiwi Ears Quartet and Dunu kima Classic! Thanks for another great review. You cover all the bases and for me your opinion really helps.
Quartet is a maybe and I say that as a cautionary maybe. I don't have it, but they seemed to have put that one on limited marketing mode. Legato has a lot of moving parts, but I'd say its in the same ballpark as RED as far as could someone take an existing driver configuration and tune it closer to a new target, probably.
Legato is tricky. The complicated part is I think 7Hz delivered what they wanted to deliver, but public has some feedback that needs to get back to them. I don't know if they would consider revisiting it in the future but a store like Angeldac or Hifigo might.
Indeed, there is never a need to rush into a set when there are 3 more waiting to be listed. The unique ones like a 2DD or collab get lots of immediate interest.
Depends on what are your priorities. You will notice a few people mention the resolution on RED. If that is a high priority, then maybe it does. Other people will always take DD timbre over BA as that is their priority. I never heard Hexa but I'd bet it does a couple things better and RED does a couple things better. Which are important to you is the key.
Man Im thinking of getting these even tho I just ordered two different sets. The only thing stopping me is the concern over the wide nozzle I been hearing about that makes them uncomfortable for some folks. Hola nozzle is 6.4mm and the Reds are 6.8mm. This doesnt seem like a difference at all since the Hola with L silicone tips are comfortable for me (Waner is 6mm and doesnt seem like its any different from the Hola). Whats your experience like (Red vs Hola fit wise with L tips)?
Yeah, don't convince yourself that the nozzle width will be ok. Most people who raise the question or have experienced it, are better off passing on it.
@@PaulWasabii True I asked a couple of other reviewers the same question and they said pretty much the same thing, so I went with the 7hz Sonus instead. One reviewer said since I have the Rhapsody I wouldnt gain much from the Red, maybe just an uncomfortable fit. I was able to pick up the Sonus and Tanchjim One for the price of one Red 💲💲💲💲🆓
nice discussion of the relationship between midbass and pinna gain. In my view the AFUL p5 missed that memo... the P5 midbass is too much for the P5 relaxed pinna gain.... which of course muddies the lower registers of male vocals.
People always talk about the OG like it's a bass monster. I don't find mine to be that at all, so I wonder if it's a case of unit variance, or if I'm just not getting a proper fit. 🤷♂
In the same way that the RED includes an impedance adapter, the same worked on the OG and QKZ Khan. Some people were listening on source devices with higher impedance without realizing what was happening. And then there are shades of bass preferences, neutral, anything about neutral is boosted. Bass monster probably doesn't start until you are hitting 10db which I don't think the OG did. Still had a nice mid bass bump and Khan was a bit more.
I felt the same way about the Blues until I swapped from small tips to mediums and then I realised it's "almost" a bass head IEM because finally I was getting the seal that was desperately needed.
can u recommend any nice IEM that performance is nice at low volume under 50$ , I prefer little bass (not a bass head) . What about old ZERO(blue) or hbb Khan ?
Yep, if you watch Crinacle's video on Red and he talked about that shoutiness that he addressed with Red, that is closer to what you are looking for. Shouty at higher volume can work at lower volume. All the midbass of Zero blue is reduced at lower volume but still going to be a lot for people who prefer little bass. Have you looked at those lean gang sets I talked about with CCA Duo, Dunu Titan S, Aria Snow Edition, Moondrop Lan. Those are all leaner in bass, brighter to work well at lower volume.
I was thinking of getting these but looking at the graph it seems to have quite a similar bass to the salnotes zero. I remember alot of people saying that the salnotes zero having boring bass, i sort of agree with this as I eq the bass for it by a couple db more. Could the same be said for the bass on the project red without the impedance adapter, or does the dual driver setup change how the bass is perceived. Thanks I think you have the best and most in depth iem reviews.
I would say the bass is similar, but the 7hz Zero is brighter and your perception of the amount of bass or being boring is the result. You will effectively hear more with Zero:Red until you hit a brighter track and might be in the same place. In that case, the included impedance adapter will help. What I said about 7hz zero at the time is similar to what Crinacle did on Red, if you cut the brightness by just a tiny bit, it sounds more balanced. But will you end up wanting more bass, probably and I am not sure you are getting much more of anything by investing in Zero:RED if you have 7hz Zero. 7hz Zero is still a beast of a set for the price and the Zero:RED tuning is closer than the OG Zero so you are paying quite a bit for something similar.
HBB isn't a fan of fatigue so I think most of the $30-40usd sets from late last year had more treble. Cadenza is just a bit more and Tin C2 was quite a bit more. Z300 is a relaxed version of sets like those.
Hey Paul, wanted to get input. In what areas does this improve upon the 7hz Zero? Tuning should be quite similar, right? With Crin doing both these sets. I rotate around the 7hz Zero, Wan'er, Sonus, and Z300 - and I like the mix of tunings I have as they all have their pros. My sensible self tells me that the Zero Red, while certainly will be better than the 7hz Zero, will be too close to make it worth the purchase ($60 for the Zero Red) versus ponying up for an S12/S12 Pro (to *finally* experience planar in IEMs as well as the more V-shaped, fun, mid-bass tuning) - both are around just slightly above $100 where I live. Only thing is that I have days where I really want the Zero Red to try out a 2DD hybrid and also coz it is very much used as a reference set by listeners and reviewers, so I keep justifying the purchase for these purposes 😂 So yeah, basically asking if I can get away with just the 7hz Zero as sort of that reference for me? Thanks as always! Just got in to your Facebook group as well, so thanks for that, too!
My thought and I said this on KZ Castor (look into the standard version which I don't have) is the 2DD hybrid is a interesting thing, but no one has found the perfect recipe. Red is Crinacle's take on it, KZ did Castor, so 2 flavors of 2DD. Crinacle also has another set coming out so not sure I would invest in anything right now. We are just getting into a heavy release cycle through the end of the year, going up until the start of Chinese New Year. I mention Castor as it is a low investment, but I'd sit back and wait through the holidays.
@@PaulWasabii Thanks for the update, Paul! I will force myself to wait out the rest of the year. All these brands are announcing something new every day seems like 😂
This sounds like HD600? I love HD600 when listening to vocal. Nothing beats it. I hope they can upgrade the driver to one that has higher resolution, increase the price just a little bit more and it will be perfect. 😊
Yes, I awkwardly touched on this point. He kept the same drivers, because they work well together, but when you clean out the mids, you are exposing the limits of what these drivers can do. I can't knock delivering a very optimized tuning, but yes, higher res would take more research, more time, and more money/
There are lots of sets with the same graph, none of them take on Variations on treble quality. I also haven't tried most of them so that is meaningless, but no one is ditching their Variations for anything so far. But that midbass tuck is still hard to deal with and I liked Variations but more so on the upper range. RED is a crazy popular set though, maybe best example of that style at the price. I see more owners on Reddit more than other places.
hi Im planning to buy RED , I listen to songs at very low volume(I use DAC ) . so, does that mean I will lose details and stage and audio will become very thin at low vol ? or is it worth buying even if you listen at low volumes ?
I think its tough at low volume. I think people have one of two thoughts, where's the treble or it sounds not as engaging. I think there was an expectation that it would have a brilliant if not bright treble and it comes across as quite neutral. Certainly passable at lower, but I just think slightly brighter sets work much better in that case. I can see it in the varied reviews, the experience ranged wider than I expected and I'd say volume has a big part of that.
@paulwasabii can u recommend any nice IEM that performance is nice at low volume under 50$ , I prefer little bass (not a bass head) . What about old ZERO(blue) or hbb Khan ?
the og bass shelf and tuning in general was not for me, I dont know who would like that thin note weight and shout. To have to rise the volume of the red version to sound good? Not a good thing again 🤷♂
Some sets are better at it than others and there are Harman sets without the should but still sound good at lower volume. When you get into relaxed levels, they sound ok at lower volume but better if you wake them up. In other reviews, they mentioned the soundstage not being big, that is exactly what it sounds like until you turn it up a little. You need to hit a certain level and the treble pops in place.
I might be in the minority but for me the OG Zeros suck even with my BTR7 and these are even more neutral !!! Im glad i spent little more on my kiwi quartet
Ultimately that is the problem with a set like this where you get a lot of people saying how amazing it is. It is amazing, but the signature does not work for everyone. Luckily you can understand your own preferences and wait for the next one or quartet. Not everyone can do that and they just hear the amazing part.
You are my favorite reviewer of earphones on youtube, I love watching your reviews. Your presentation is very systematic and clean. Thanks a lot for your hard work, really appreciate it. 😊
Thank you. People used to ask why I still use paper but I need some boundaries to avoid heading into 30 unfocused minutes. But yes, paper, timecodes, hands, systematic enough but still try to treat each set as a unique entity. Thank you again, made my night.
You're a smart guy. Many seem to miss this fact that when you lower both sides/hills of the V shape, lows & the highs, the mid range indeed gets louder. I realised this as well, and you're the only one that mentiones this. Thank you.
I ordered these IEMs right the way because I love vocals, for this reason. Too many don't seem to realise the "whole picture".
These IEMs also have one of the lowest measured (AudioScienceReviews forum measured) distortion.
I think Crinacle mentioned it in his video, maybe not directly, but if you dissect when he said, its all there. And yes, some people heard its Zero with lower bass and lower upper mids, its ok, move on to the next set. Or try to hype something they didn't understand. Folks who are into tuning and mids will get it.
The amount of details that you convey is amazing. Great review ❤
Trying. I have to admit, most of the initial impressions on RED weren't overly detailed. It took him a year and there is a lot to unpack on how it works. Thank you
Great Video Paul! MOAR MIDS!😊
Thank you
The type of amp can make a big difference too imo . I was ready to return the Zero RED after trying it in my Schitt Vali 3 with a couple different tubes . When I plugged the RED's into my transistor Schitt Heretic proper balance was restored and they sounded quite good ( with the 10 ohm adapter ) . I had the same experience with my Sennheiser headphones - the HD 560 S was pretty decent on the Heretic , but much better on the Vali 3 ( a made for each other combo imo ) . And I was going to return my HD 600's ( sounded decent on the Vali 3 but not 300 dollars decent lol ) until I tried them in the Heretic .
Yes, that is common. I have a few different options, some pair better than others usually. Not everyone has that luxury, but if you do, enjoy it.
Great review as always!👏👏👏
Thank you
hello paul
i have the trn conch do you think the zero red is an upgrade?both in tuning and tech? i'll sell the conch for 20 dollars and can get the red for 23 so is only 3 dollars difference.
I may be an outsider on this, but yes, I would take Red. You probably read the impressions on Red, its more "boring" but Crinacle is also more into mids and TRN is more generally appealing. If you really like Conch, don't chase Red looking for something radically better. Second, that wide nozzle on Red can be a problem on comfort. Red out of the box has less bass, but the impedance adapter gets you close. As I said, not sure many people would agree, but Red is a solid set, just doesn't have a big V shaped energy, more conservative.
@@PaulWasabii yeah there is a general opinion about the red that is "boring" "dont buy red is soo boring buy something more exciting".
Crinacle should retune the Legato and make it better! Would like to see a review on the Kiwi Ears Quartet and Dunu kima Classic! Thanks for another great review. You cover all the bases and for me your opinion really helps.
Yea more bass and resolution ❤😂
Quartet is a maybe and I say that as a cautionary maybe. I don't have it, but they seemed to have put that one on limited marketing mode. Legato has a lot of moving parts, but I'd say its in the same ballpark as RED as far as could someone take an existing driver configuration and tune it closer to a new target, probably.
Legato is tricky. The complicated part is I think 7Hz delivered what they wanted to deliver, but public has some feedback that needs to get back to them. I don't know if they would consider revisiting it in the future but a store like Angeldac or Hifigo might.
The legato had one and only purpose and goal. By retuning it it would lose its meaning.
Great review as usual. So many "New" products coming out.
Indeed, there is never a need to rush into a set when there are 3 more waiting to be listed. The unique ones like a 2DD or collab get lots of immediate interest.
Another reviewer said the truthear hexa would eat this for breakfast What do you think about that? Is the hexa that much better in you opinion?
Depends on what are your priorities. You will notice a few people mention the resolution on RED. If that is a high priority, then maybe it does. Other people will always take DD timbre over BA as that is their priority. I never heard Hexa but I'd bet it does a couple things better and RED does a couple things better. Which are important to you is the key.
It just can’t compare to 4 drivers with all the staging and separation.
Another great review. Any chance of Mangrid Top review or kiwi ears quartert?
I think everyone asked for Quartet and not many were sent out. Tone Deaf Monk's review is a good start but there aren't many out there right now.
Man Im thinking of getting these even tho I just ordered two different sets. The only thing stopping me is the concern over the wide nozzle I been hearing about that makes them uncomfortable for some folks. Hola nozzle is 6.4mm and the Reds are 6.8mm. This doesnt seem like a difference at all since the Hola with L silicone tips are comfortable for me (Waner is 6mm and doesnt seem like its any different from the Hola). Whats your experience like (Red vs Hola fit wise with L tips)?
Yeah, don't convince yourself that the nozzle width will be ok. Most people who raise the question or have experienced it, are better off passing on it.
@@PaulWasabii True I asked a couple of other reviewers the same question and they said pretty much the same thing, so I went with the 7hz Sonus instead. One reviewer said since I have the Rhapsody I wouldnt gain much from the Red, maybe just an uncomfortable fit. I was able to pick up the Sonus and Tanchjim One for the price of one Red 💲💲💲💲🆓
nice discussion of the relationship between midbass and pinna gain. In my view the AFUL p5 missed that memo... the P5 midbass is too much for the P5 relaxed pinna gain.... which of course muddies the lower registers of male vocals.
The point of relaxed pinna is you can drop midbass to the point it does not overstep. Do many brands get that? Not really. Easier to raise both.
People always talk about the OG like it's a bass monster. I don't find mine to be that at all, so I wonder if it's a case of unit variance, or if I'm just not getting a proper fit. 🤷♂
In the same way that the RED includes an impedance adapter, the same worked on the OG and QKZ Khan. Some people were listening on source devices with higher impedance without realizing what was happening. And then there are shades of bass preferences, neutral, anything about neutral is boosted. Bass monster probably doesn't start until you are hitting 10db which I don't think the OG did. Still had a nice mid bass bump and Khan was a bit more.
I felt the same way about the Blues until I swapped from small tips to mediums and then I realised it's "almost" a bass head IEM because finally I was getting the seal that was desperately needed.
can u recommend any nice IEM that performance is nice at low volume under 50$ , I prefer little bass (not a bass head) . What about old ZERO(blue) or hbb Khan ?
Yep, if you watch Crinacle's video on Red and he talked about that shoutiness that he addressed with Red, that is closer to what you are looking for. Shouty at higher volume can work at lower volume. All the midbass of Zero blue is reduced at lower volume but still going to be a lot for people who prefer little bass. Have you looked at those lean gang sets I talked about with CCA Duo, Dunu Titan S, Aria Snow Edition, Moondrop Lan. Those are all leaner in bass, brighter to work well at lower volume.
@@PaulWasabii thank you so much ... Any thoughts on qkz X hbb khan ?
I was thinking of getting these but looking at the graph it seems to have quite a similar bass to the salnotes zero. I remember alot of people saying that the salnotes zero having boring bass, i sort of agree with this as I eq the bass for it by a couple db more. Could the same be said for the bass on the project red without the impedance adapter, or does the dual driver setup change how the bass is perceived. Thanks I think you have the best and most in depth iem reviews.
I would say the bass is similar, but the 7hz Zero is brighter and your perception of the amount of bass or being boring is the result. You will effectively hear more with Zero:Red until you hit a brighter track and might be in the same place. In that case, the included impedance adapter will help. What I said about 7hz zero at the time is similar to what Crinacle did on Red, if you cut the brightness by just a tiny bit, it sounds more balanced. But will you end up wanting more bass, probably and I am not sure you are getting much more of anything by investing in Zero:RED if you have 7hz Zero. 7hz Zero is still a beast of a set for the price and the Zero:RED tuning is closer than the OG Zero so you are paying quite a bit for something similar.
Is the CX31993 a good dac for it?
That is a typical starting dac for a lot of people. You need to start somewhere
Hi Paul. Great video as always. May I ask, what IEM
HBB isn't a fan of fatigue so I think most of the $30-40usd sets from late last year had more treble. Cadenza is just a bit more and Tin C2 was quite a bit more. Z300 is a relaxed version of sets like those.
@@PaulWasabii Thanks for the recommendations. Really appreciate your to reply to me.
Excellent review - thank you !
Thank you
Hey Paul, wanted to get input. In what areas does this improve upon the 7hz Zero? Tuning should be quite similar, right? With Crin doing both these sets. I rotate around the 7hz Zero, Wan'er, Sonus, and Z300 - and I like the mix of tunings I have as they all have their pros. My sensible self tells me that the Zero Red, while certainly will be better than the 7hz Zero, will be too close to make it worth the purchase ($60 for the Zero Red) versus ponying up for an S12/S12 Pro (to *finally* experience planar in IEMs as well as the more V-shaped, fun, mid-bass tuning) - both are around just slightly above $100 where I live. Only thing is that I have days where I really want the Zero Red to try out a 2DD hybrid and also coz it is very much used as a reference set by listeners and reviewers, so I keep justifying the purchase for these purposes 😂 So yeah, basically asking if I can get away with just the 7hz Zero as sort of that reference for me? Thanks as always! Just got in to your Facebook group as well, so thanks for that, too!
My thought and I said this on KZ Castor (look into the standard version which I don't have) is the 2DD hybrid is a interesting thing, but no one has found the perfect recipe. Red is Crinacle's take on it, KZ did Castor, so 2 flavors of 2DD. Crinacle also has another set coming out so not sure I would invest in anything right now. We are just getting into a heavy release cycle through the end of the year, going up until the start of Chinese New Year. I mention Castor as it is a low investment, but I'd sit back and wait through the holidays.
@@PaulWasabii Thanks for the update, Paul! I will force myself to wait out the rest of the year. All these brands are announcing something new every day seems like 😂
This sounds like HD600? I love HD600 when listening to vocal. Nothing beats it. I hope they can upgrade the driver to one that has higher resolution, increase the price just a little bit more and it will be perfect. 😊
Yes, I awkwardly touched on this point. He kept the same drivers, because they work well together, but when you clean out the mids, you are exposing the limits of what these drivers can do. I can't knock delivering a very optimized tuning, but yes, higher res would take more research, more time, and more money/
graph looks like variations, i guess it does not sound the same due to technicalities differences ?
There are lots of sets with the same graph, none of them take on Variations on treble quality. I also haven't tried most of them so that is meaningless, but no one is ditching their Variations for anything so far. But that midbass tuck is still hard to deal with and I liked Variations but more so on the upper range. RED is a crazy popular set though, maybe best example of that style at the price. I see more owners on Reddit more than other places.
hi Im planning to buy RED , I listen to songs at very low volume(I use DAC ) . so, does that mean I will lose details and stage and audio will become very thin at low vol ? or is it worth buying even if you listen at low volumes ?
I think its tough at low volume. I think people have one of two thoughts, where's the treble or it sounds not as engaging. I think there was an expectation that it would have a brilliant if not bright treble and it comes across as quite neutral. Certainly passable at lower, but I just think slightly brighter sets work much better in that case. I can see it in the varied reviews, the experience ranged wider than I expected and I'd say volume has a big part of that.
@paulwasabii can u recommend any nice IEM that performance is nice at low volume under 50$ , I prefer little bass (not a bass head) . What about old ZERO(blue) or hbb Khan ?
@@niko69692 yeah teh Zero BLues should be good for you. Or the 7hz Sonus.
someone should take a simgot ea 500 and put a subwoofer in that thing. If I was a tuner, that would've been my dream project
True. You can obstruct the front vent for some more boom, but that is not the same as tuning that driver for more bass which it can obviously do.
Is it worthy to upgrade from tin t3 + to zero red? I own a kz zs10 pro as well
Not unless you want to lose a lot of midbass. T3+ is right in that good amount of midbass Harman signature.
the og bass shelf and tuning in general was not for me, I dont know who would like that thin note weight and shout. To have to rise the volume of the red version to sound good? Not a good thing again 🤷♂
Some sets are better at it than others and there are Harman sets without the should but still sound good at lower volume. When you get into relaxed levels, they sound ok at lower volume but better if you wake them up. In other reviews, they mentioned the soundstage not being big, that is exactly what it sounds like until you turn it up a little. You need to hit a certain level and the treble pops in place.
@@PaulWasabii I also found (only from the demo) the separation is not very good, is this also because of the low volume?
I might be in the minority but for me the OG Zeros suck even with my BTR7 and these are even more neutral !!! Im glad i spent little more on my kiwi quartet
Ultimately that is the problem with a set like this where you get a lot of people saying how amazing it is. It is amazing, but the signature does not work for everyone. Luckily you can understand your own preferences and wait for the next one or quartet. Not everyone can do that and they just hear the amazing part.
y people hate nickelback
Not sure, that wasn't a knock on Nickelback. I spent more time than I will admit listening to Nickelback on RED.
Chode nozzle 😅 haha
Yes, if you peel off the mesh, easy to see why they needed a couple millimeters but doesn't help when you are trying to stretch a tip over it.