KZ CRN and Salnotes Zero

Submitted by Gafi30 t3_z3fb7s in headphones

Hi everyone!

I've bought the KZ CRN and the 7hz Salnotes Zero a couple of weeks ago and since then I've been using both intermittently.

I'm by no means an audiophile (until like a month ago I had no idea about the entire bass/mids/treble, response graphs, EQ and so on) so I can't properly review them but I'll try to leave some of my impressions here.

As a background I've been using IEMs for quite a long while, but low quality ones ( my daily drivers were one of the JBL Tune 110, Skullcandy Jib and Sony MDR-XB50AP + a pair of Nillkin Go TW004 as TWS buds). The JBLs and Jibs are tiny so great for sleeping with them.

Both the Zeros and CRNs blew my mind when trying them - they sound so much better than the Jibs for example, the Jibs and JBLs sound muddy now that I think about it.

I use Spotify Premium for my music and I've been driving the IEMs using a Redmi Note 8 Pro and an assortment of Lenovo ThinkPads. The Salnotes seem to be a bit harder to drive - I listen to the CRNs at 2-3 volume levels on the phone and to the Salnotes at 3-4 volume levels to hear them as loud, so one level increase. The same for the laptop, 2-4 for the CRNs vs 4-6 for the Salnotes.

I mainly listen to Kpop/K-hip-hop/ K-indie(both more energetic songs and ballads, my favourite artists would be Epik High, IU, Jaurim, Dreamcatcher and Loona)

For the physical part, I like the cable of the Salnotes more, but everything else feels better about the CRNs: the weight, the fit (Salnotes have a shallower fit in the ear I'd say, I like the deeper one on the CRNs) and the seal achieved with their tips.

For sound I'm really torn and here it shows that I have no idea what I'm talking about. I've tried comparing them with many songs and sometimes I can feel the difference, sometimes I can barely distinguish it. Anyways, for me it's not a huge difference between them, more of a flavour difference than a quality one let's say.

The bass on CRNs seems to be more present and makes songs by Epik High like Excuses or Kill This Love more fun, I also feel like they provide a more "rounded" and "full" sound, like the voices fit in more with the instruments. The bass on Salnotes has good quality in my opinion but is not as loud as the one on the CRN.

The Salnotes provide even more clarity on the vocals (for slow songs like IU's Next Stop and Autumn Morning they are amazing - you can feel her voice incredibly well) but at the same time they feel more airy and somehow more distanced from the instruments on busier songs, the sound feels emptier somehow to me. Also on some ballads the vocals can get a bit shouty for me compared to the ones on the CRN. It's a bit more fatiguing for me to listen to the Salnotes compared to CRNs I think.

I read a lot that the CRNs have a harsh 8khz peak and 'weird' treble but I can't really say I noticed anything like that, I don't even know what to look for really. I also have no idea in what frequency range the vocals qualify and what are the instruments that would constitute the treble.

The Salnotes are also great for meetings or watching series/anime, the voices are really clear, but the CRNs are not far behind on this.

For the details, I think they are very very similar but I can hear a bit more separation in instruments on the CRN on a song like Jaurim - Itzy.

I like them both and feel they both have their own advantages.

If anyone else has both of these I'm waiting for your opinions in the comments.

Also, based on the info I provided, what other IEMs do you think I would enjoy?

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Comments

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CDanny99 t1_ixlrqlr wrote

Coincidentally or not, both sets were tuned by Crinacle. So you may explore other stuff tuned by him if you liked what he has done, or try out some sets that are bassier or more neutral for something different.

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Gueblos t1_ixpnbjm wrote

Huh is the Salnotes Zero tuned by Crin? Aren't you thinking about the Truthear Zero

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CDanny99 t1_ixpph6l wrote

He mentions in the description of this video that he was consulted on with monetary compensation for the Salnotes Zero.

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Gueblos t1_ixpt10y wrote

Interesting, never heard anyone mention that before

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Gafi30 OP t1_ixmvgn9 wrote

I'm tempted by the Truthear x Crinacle Zero actually, what do you think about them?

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Giggleplex t1_ixnzocl wrote

I think the Truthear Hexa would be a better investment. Similar sound to the CRN but should be more refined.

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RammityRam t1_ixocm4m wrote

Harman, and harman is bad imo, thin af

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blorg t1_ixpmznc wrote

The Truthear Zero is not overly thin sounding, IMO, the subwoofery bass gives it substantial body. It's probably less thin sounding than either of the CRN or Truthear Zero. The bass on it comes across as more than in the graph. I never EQ an IEM to Harman, I do find that too thin, but this one actually isn't. It's very well tuned.

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nahmanidk t1_ixoeerj wrote

Once you get that, you’ll have spent $100 on 3 different pairs that are not drastically different from each other in performance but tuned slightly differently. You may be better off saving for something higher end once you’ve spent some time with the CRN and Salnotes Zero to learn what you like.

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Rengoku_demon_slayer t1_ixlxyx0 wrote

I'll buy Zero next week, considering i'm with KZ EDX now i think it will be a good upgrade.

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bubblejohns t1_ixmq9td wrote

You’ll lose the bass. But really gain a much nicer midrange and bright treble. Consider buying aftermarket tips the originals can have a weird fit Or just use some KZ tips

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Rengoku_demon_slayer t1_ixqauok wrote

Yeah i'm already aware of that after seeing some reviews, and i'm totally fine with it, i much prefer more detailed mids and treble.

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Giggleplex t1_ixo05bp wrote

Have you considered the Kiwi Ears Cadenza? I think that would be a proper upgrade in both sound and build quality.

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bubblejohns t1_ixmqm69 wrote

Try and upgrade to the kiwi ears orchestra. It’s 35 bucks.

Probably a safer recco to find you a tuning you love And live with that Ava when it breaks one day then we make it buy a 500 dollar version kek

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Gafi30 OP t1_ixmvdin wrote

Do you mean Kiwi Ears Cadenza?

Orchestra is like 400$

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drbobb t1_ixmtcyd wrote

With the zeroes, how do you figure out which wire is the left channel and which is the right?

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Gafi30 OP t1_ixmwdyv wrote

When assembling them?

Both the wire and the IEM have "L" and "R" markings.

The marking on the wire is not very visible but if you look for it you can find it.

https://imgur.com/a/FaW6Xsv here are some pictures I took of the Zeroes where you can see the "R" mark on the wire and IEM

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drbobb t1_ixmylux wrote

The cable I got with mine has no markings. I got a variant called "Mecha edition" for some reason, so maybe that's why.

The shells do have markings, but it's not hard to tell left from right by the shape anyway.

I used a song where I knew which side the bass was coming from as a reference to figure it out.

Btw I ordered an extra cable with a mike together with the IEMs, and it doesn't have any L/R marks either. Bought from the Linsoul website.

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Sir_Grumples t1_ixogd1j wrote

The Salnotes Zero taught me I need something between bass-canons and nothing. Still a good deal for $20

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