KZ ZEX Pro aka Crinacle CRN - Better then the ZEX? BUT Um..Ruh Roh! Honest Audiophile Impressions

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Check out these other IEM reviews mentioned in the video. KZ ZEX Pro:kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5XSg4SXacine9U Tin Hifi T2:kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIukZaCrrctnr68 Blon BL03:kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHTIg39tr92faZY Tripowin x HBB Mele:kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4aXhJynftqmi68

[@JC_88_88]

do you think if kz can tone down that 8k peak, this could be the best iem under $50?

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

@@JC_88_88 No! The driver quality is poor.

[@JC_88_88]

@@TheHonestAudiophile oh i see. looks like cca cra could be a better iem from your point of view. looking forward for your cca cra review! thanks for your reply

[@liuzh1han]

I think you just like bass lol

[@SB-ht6kf]

Thanks for the honest review and love the channel! Glad you are back with new reviews. The recent Crinacle cash grab releases, that frankly aren't very good, whilst also going on a brand/product trashing rampage on his channel has been really disappointing. Glad to see trustable sources continue to produce accurate content.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Glad you enjoy the channel! Thank you for the kind words, greatly appreciated.

[@beanos2287]

dude, your experience, especially with the light and recessed mids, was my exact impressions. Everyone is talking about how great these IEMs are, but IMO the original Zex's are quite noticeably better.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Awesomeness. Thank you for the impressions.

[@beanos2287]

@@TheHonestAudiophile thanks for the great video : )

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

My pleasure, you're welcome ❤️

[@chungang7037]

What goes around comes around. Good review!

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Thanks

[@ericfernando4296]

The Honest Audiophile proving his name is not just for show with honest reviews unlike many salesman reviewers This CRN review aged very well even after the KZ scandal

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Thanks for the kindness, greatly appreciate ❤️

[@ericfernando4296]

@@TheHonestAudiophile you're also one of the few people that described etymotic faithfully, that's surprisingly rare in the current generation of reviewers

[@herseyberry4655]

Good time to step up in headphones and earphones. Money saved. Good CALL UMP !

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Fair and Honest is the only way to call it! Thank you for the kind words ❤

[@rafdes]

Mine just came in and I think these are just ok. I'll probably give these away to someone who isn't as discerning as we are, and for their first IEMs.

[@manimaranm1220]

Thank you sir From India-Tamilnadu

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

My pleasure, you're welcome.

[@radualexe2862]

I placed the order before watching your video, I got them now and I have to say I'm impressed, they are sibilant while having very poorly represented highs, also in cheap iems you'd expect the bass to miss behave but it's the mids that do somehow, placing is so all over the place and they don't like being eq-ed

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Thanks for your impressions.

[@kimhweechua5195]

Dave. Agree with most of what u said. Dun understand the most other 'praise' from other reviews. Strange thing is that the majority seems to hold back because of crinacle and only drop hints of weakness. Everyone will have preference but most reviews are way off in my opinion .. I returned mine after one day. Good honest review. 👍

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Thank you for the kind words. Honesty is the Best Policy!

[@wemustgo]

I think that this review is way off too ;)

[@taidee]

Thank you Dave for this review, I was tempted to give these a try. But I'm very sensitive to sibilance.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

I'd shy away if your sensitive to sibilance. If you dare risk a listen, I'm curious of your impressions.

[@kyousakee]

Thanks a lot for confirming my concerns with the sibilance. I got mine the other day and was surprised at how harsh the T's and S's. Just me but I prefer my old ED16'S better.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

My pleasure, you're welcome ❤️

[@Empty12345]

Have you tried KZ ZS10 PRO's? Would love to hear your opinion on them, cheers!

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Sorry haven't heard the ZS10 Pro

[@teighan7829]

+1 for the Mele (Pleasing Warm Vocals, especially Male and lower female voices, great Sub-Bass and pretty good stage), and would like to throw in Bie Pro (overall pretty good tuning and a bass monster, insane bass) and Quarks (better tunung than I expected for price, Moondrop so I expected it). All very comfy and sound good (especially Mele and Bie Pro), Mele and Bie Pro have great cables and Build (Bie Pro cable is insane, like wow a lot of thought went into designing that, and I'm talking about the cheap one).

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Awesomeness. Thanks for the impressions.

[@CJDilag]

Mele is 👌

[@MannyScoot]

I love the Mele so much that I bought a pair of every color made......So now I have (2) black, One blue and One yellow......People have no idea how good they get after 100 hours of burn in .......They get better daily ! and they are so comfortable .....

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Awesomeness ❤️ The Mele is a great value for sonics.

[@reekeen8257]

Yeah, the Mele aren't for me. I listen to a lot of electronic (mostly j-core) so the raised midbass ruins the presentation for me. The Mele also seriously lacks air. The Thieaudio L2 also had this problem, and this resulted in me giving them away to friend that liked them.

[@amanieux]

do you have your iem recommendations at different price point somewhere ? thanks

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Here is a link to my tier list that you can sort by price. docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nRHnsP_4vLg9DlD9kwJ6gQuEQFqhTR0lnrkxXo3AMG8/edit?usp=drivesdk Here is a video that has some recommendations, not exactly what your seeking but maybe. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXy3ioqHbsmkl9E

[@notcoined]

Agree with the treble and the metallic timbre. After EQing the treble, it sounds fuller and less peaky. The treble resolves quite well and it complements the slight bass boost. With EQ it really is quite enjoyable to listen to.

[@tedthomas9809]

Mele is well worth the cost for the musicality it presents. The go to for price to performance iem.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

💯👍

[@TonkyTronicus]

I have the same issues with comfort. I've found the more that I rotate them backwards in my ears the better they feel however.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Glad you can fit them properly. I can't rotate them as they fit snug as a bug and that wing hits in the wrong spot.

[@larrydunn4626]

Man, you were early on this one.

[@ANOLE_VX]

I've compared my ibasso AM05's frequency response to CRN, am05 is a neutral bright set, doesn't sound harsh at all,well at least for me, doesn't sound harsh or fatiguing, unless you crank the volume up, I've noticed that both am05 and crn has the same 8k peak ? But I'm curious why I don't find my ibasso am05's 8k peak doesn't bother me at all, it still sounds smooth to me (I'm sensitive to 3k peak though, so I'm aware of how fatiguing some iems are)

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Driver quality, dampening, shell design, better tuning, all sorts of factors. I haven't heard the iBasso AM05. Thanks for the impressions.

[@paulosilva8200]

Total agree. At 50% volume ok. Loud they tpo Bright

[@MannyScoot]

I have yet to have a KZ that last more than (4) months of daily use......If you use them daily one side will stop working or get weaker with time. I have a set the cable broke after a week and one came cracked on the housing. They are not quality made.

[@McanoLasala]

I'll skip these. Thanks for your honesty, always.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

My pleasure, you're welcome ❤️

[@hanquah]

Same here the fit in ear alone is big pass for. Nah not build for me as I have problem with those fin/wings type iem. T3+ is promising from what I see

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

T3 Plus is a gem of a value, highly recommended.

[@wemustgo]

It is weird. I dont find KZ ZEX Pro sound harsh. It sounds rather balanced. And moreover, it is not V-shaped IEM

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

I'm glad you enjoy the ZEX Pro. Thanks for your impressions.

[@Rorensuwl8]

He is bias

[@linolingelbach2214]

How do they compare to the OG VK4's? Cuz they graph similarly (aside from the bass)

[@theblackhole1]

What Do u recommend..of Lots of iem in comparison to kz ZEX which is better

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

7hz Salnotes Zero

[@theblackhole1]

@@TheHonestAudiophile so i should buy 7hz zero thn zex? Thanks tho...and which is more comfortable for reading...i mostly buy for audiobooks thanks again for ur reply i ll wait for ur next reply

[@theblackhole1]

Vocals and crispy clear sounds if possible where can we find it more

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

7hz Salnotes Zero I do not recommend any KZ or CCA products.

[@gourabasis]

💯% resonate with you about zex pro. I gave in to the hype just because they are priced as such. What would be your rec for someone looking for an upgrade to the etymotics er2se/xr? They are really good as such. No issues with fit as well. I guess its just fomo 🌝

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Sorted by price and with a little description of usage: Kotori Dauntless - monitoring (review coming) Akoustyx R110 - monitoring (review on thehonestaudiophile.com) Moondrop Kato - all arounder SeeAudio Yume - tone and timbre specialist 7hz Timeless - all arounder Moondrop Blessing 2 - all arounder/monitoring ADV-Sound M5-1D - all arounder Fearless Audio Roland - monitoring (review coming) ADV-M5-12D - monitoring CTM Da Vinci X - monitoring (review coming)

[@gourabasis]

@@TheHonestAudiophile Was looking at Kato and Yume. Leaning towards Yume. Cause I think Kato may be shouty. I feel seperate drivers do add to better instrument separation. And thanks for doing what you are doing. Need more reviewers like you who are straight to the point no sugar coating.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Both Kato and Yume are excellent choices. Thanks for the kind words, greatly appreciate.

[@Yusufisk44]

Hello, I couldn't understand because my English is poor. What are the good and bad sides? Which one should I buy for this price? If you write it as a comment, I will have information by translating it. thanks

[@rafdes]

He recommends the Tripowin x HBB Mele, the TinHiFi T2, or the BLON-BL03 over these.

[@BojanBojovic]

It is better, finally some headphones with somewhat nice tune but they are still strong at around 5.5 khz, at least 3 to 4 decibels with the silicon tips. It does not get that much better with the foam, but it is a shame they left again this famous KZ bump. Easy to solve with any EQ, but still why would we use it at all.

[@justanotherpxrson]

Based on this, it seems there has been a lot of dishonesty surrounding these. Thanks for this.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

My pleasure, you're welcome ❤️ Honesty is the Best Policy!

[@hartyewh1]

They're great besides the timbre and dryness. Some spike in the highs that's just volume, no other issue. If it didn't have those issues, common with KZ I'm told, I'd recommend them to anyone looking at this price range. I noticed very little sibilance in my test, but some still.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Thanks for your impressions.

[@linolingelbach2214]

EQ is must for this IEM. I just got them and when I first listen to them, I immediately EQ them with Crinacle's PEQ setting. It goes from unlistenable to a much more polite sounding sound. Now my Blon bl03 will have a real competitor.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

I'm glad you enjoy them. Thanks for the impressions.

[@linolingelbach2214]

@@TheHonestAudiophile Keep up the good reviews 👍

[@linolingelbach2214]

Actually it sounds unreal for the price after EQ, amazing how a simple tweak in treble changes the sound from thin dry as a desert to full body, lush sound

[@therajnishkr]

@@linolingelbach2214 can you please share the adjustment that you made. Pls.

[@linolingelbach2214]

@@therajnishkr Do you Equalizer APO?

[@wanaboed]

Would you review Whizzer HE01B? It also has bassy signature and smooth treble. Kind of Harman-ish tuned if only looked at the FR graph

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Sorry, haven't heard the Whizzer HE01B. But wouldn't mind reviewing them if they are available. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@coaldust01]

I think the tin T2 is safe on his sub £/$50 throne for a while.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

T2 is a great value and an amazing IEM. Highly recommend the T2.

[@Boemtie]

I gave in to the hype, was looking for my next iem after buying the Tin T2. So i got the zex pro yesterday and man it sounds so Harsh i just couldnt listen to it. Then i switched the tips to the blue foam ones from my T2 and that helped alot. still very dissapointed i watched so much reviews and none of them mentioned this what so ever..

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

One of the harshest IEM that I have heard, a big disappointment indeed. Thank you for the impressions.

[@TommyLimKW]

I bought the CCA CRA but not this IEM. Not a fans of it. Thanks for the review anyway.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

CCA CRA review coming in a bit

[@TommyLimKW]

@@TheHonestAudiophile can't wait to watch it. Anyway, it is a really budget set.

[@SHINCHAN-hn4cw]

@@TommyLimKW cca cra and kz zex not zex pro ... i have zsn pro x i am confuse between zex and cca cra which one has good vocals mids and good highs annd clearity like whoch one is good.

[@lawlietl9760]

Is zex pro better than air pods

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Sorry, haven't heard the Air Pods.

[@operationsauce]

I have bought these, and after just over a month they have failed twice, first the right earphone died now the left one.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Bummer, sorry to hear that.

[@operationsauce]

@@TheHonestAudiophile customer service was fantastic with them though, so atleast theres that :P

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

That's good to know.

[@guybuddy1]

God damn it, I tried to tell myself I was being too critical of a 40dollar IEM but you're right, there's too much going on above 4k~8k area and is extremely shouty... I wanted these to be good so bad :-( oh well, I still have my Finals and Sennheisers so I guess that's that...

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Awesomeness. Thanks for your impressions. I am glad you other options to use.

[@guybuddy1]

@@TheHonestAudiophile Hey you know what, messing around with the CRNs for a couple of days, I've found that these IEMs take EQing really well, and I managed to make it sound pretty much the way I want it to, but is still too shouty to use without EQing. The EQing I did was basically taming the 2k~6k area(3~4dbs) while boosting the 60Hz area(3db) a tad.

[@ncf1]

thats why i stopped with KZ, harsh treble. Fatiguing as hell. Maybe ok for a first iem, but even then, not for extended listens.

[@thepixelwizard01]

I let my friend buy my pair off me. The CRA does almost everything for me (depth in soundstage and imaging is average I guess)

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Interesting. CCA CRA review coming in a bit.

[@matsigh]

Well I've got a pair of these waiting for me when I get back to my apartment. Maybe I'll get lucky and they're stolen. Or maybe I just won't mind them, I didn't get them for everyday use anyways. Hoping for one or the other.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Look forward to hearing your impressions.

[@matsigh]

@@TheHonestAudiophile Some good, mostly bad. For me the fit is incredible, these are probably my most comfortable pair of IEMs. I didn't really mind the treble peak, but unfortunately that's because I was distracted by the bad sound in general. I'm not good describing sound but everything sound really veiled and a bit thin. Good thing they're cheap so it's not the end of the world and I can have them as a backup. I don't have any other IEMs anywhere near this price point so I can't personally speak to how bad these are vs competitors but I trust you that there's better stuff.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Thanks for the impressions. Yeah being used as a backup is not a bad idea.

[@edwinbeta2806]

Looking at that frequency graph, I'm not surprised by that treble peak being harsh. I was surprised to see other reviews just leave out that spike almost all together, such a prominent lone spike has to be obvious. Pretty sure Crin posted an EQ profile for this one, and he pulled down spike by maybe 8 decibels or something? I don't remember the other edits but, yeah. Seems like it needs it.

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Interesting. Yeah those peaks are too much. Thanks for the thoughts

[@ThinkingBetter]

@@TheHonestAudiophile I once got some FIIO F9 that were horrible too with a nasty 8kHz spike in the frequency response and I found nobody complaining about it in the reviews at that time. I usually check the frequency response with the sine wave tone generator of AudioTools by Studio 6 Digital allowing good manual panning through the frequencies for easy detection of even tiny level issues (my ears are fairly flat to 13.5kHz). EQ can help, but I prefer using EQ only for a few dB in sub bass under 60Hz and upper treble above 12kHz (rejuvenation EQ).

[@linolingelbach2214]

8Khz -5db, 12Khz +10db

[@edwinbeta2806]

@@linolingelbach2214 This profile does wonders for the IEM. Bordering on necessary

[@NewDarkKnight]

CCA CRA review plz

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

It's on the schedule, will be a little bit. Sorry for the delay

[@pisderata]

funny how ssr were shouty (not to me) to him but then make this one himself xd

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

That's a very good point.

[@MrKarthik7790]

I bought and used these for 5 days they are not that great and they do not fit my ears well and caused pain so I returned this product and I'm back to my KZ ZS 10 PRO IEM

[@liuzh1han]

crin posted the eq fixes for the zex pro on his discord server

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

He should've tuned it that way to start with and maybe they'd be listenable.

[@liuzh1han]

@@TheHonestAudiophile well you cant really do much with kz's as the original product can you

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

KZ DQ6s

[@liuzh1han]

@@TheHonestAudiophile oh are those the new collab? Do you know any good reviews on them? Would love to see what people think of them

[@Rorensuwl8]

@@TheHonestAudiophile someone hates Crin here :3

[@sorcerermax5111]

All these drivers like Magneto, Burrito, Mosquito etc by KZ are of no use if the tuning is bad

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Absolutely agree. There have some very solid single DD IEM that have been amazing lately. Have one in house currently for review, Kotori Dauntless, that absolutely blows the doors off a lot of hybrids/tribrid. More doesn't always mean better.

[@eduardojean1993]

than*

[@BVDsGoneFishing]

I picked mine up for $22.66, hard to dog them too hard.

[@vinigt]

yeah i agree, didnt liked, T2 is best for me

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

T2💖

[@maxl4099]

Why u shiting on a 30 iem?

[@oddballgamerpro3923]

Because they deserve it! These suck! One of the worst sounding IEM I have ever purchased. @thehonestaudiophile Excellent review, agree 100%!

[@chungang7037]

Because Crinacle had something to do with them, and such things need to be called out in order to fight the hype; there is enough of that bs already in the hobby

[@fiasse-est]

this iem just an absolute mess, especially in instrumental-crowded songs

[@linolingelbach2214]

Use EQ.

[@fiasse-est]

do you think EQ can solve any problems?

[@linolingelbach2214]

@@fiasse-est Yep, personally I reduce 7khz by 5db and boost 12k by 10db

[@HeliBenj]

T2 over this? Man, we must have different ears… I guess you had fit issues, as I couldn’t disagree more on this particular one

[@TheHonestAudiophile]

Everybody hears different.

[@HeliBenj]

@@TheHonestAudiophile to some extent yes. That’s why any reviewer should preface their opinions this way and don’t make general recommendations as “this is better than that”. Still great videos, just trying to be constructive here and no offense meant at all