So I can not fault you for not knowing anything about Truthear, which is a brand that only just came into the public eye a week or two ago. Truthear has incorporated a New Generation DLP 3D printing technology and medical-grade resin shells in their line-up of in-ear monitors.

In the meantime, let's just say that Project Red was finalized and is officially titled Truthear x Crinacle ZERO:RED. Tracks with a lot of sub bass jarred my eardrums and overshadowed the mix's clarity, though not by much because if it had been more dominant, the response might have gone awry. All products sold on Headphone Zone carry a GST compliant invoice and all products sold include an 18% GST. Sounds congested, especially for busier tracks, sound just gets blended together, and not in a good way. I run those two with Comply tips as I prefer the foam (I found the Chus too sharp without them), and also used the foam tips for the Zeros.The bass sounded more thick and slamming, which felt influential throughout the area, while the treble and mid range became more energetic. Upper mids are elevated, female vocals are really forward and energetic, to the point of slightly shouty to me. While the mid bass has enough presence to add slams and thumps to the mix, the sub bass region is where the emphasis is most prominent. With the ZERO, Truthear and Crinacle have hit the target, providing you with the best-in-class tuning.

Tracks like: "Hotel California (Live on MTV 1994) – Eagles" and "Fluid - Yosi Horikawa" feel quite immersive and you can enjoy all the details of the drums and the slam.

Not that it sounds like one, but rather that the RED is accurate and timbrally correct in a way that is hard to argue against. Initially, I was skeptical because the Moondrop Blessing 3 were also very measurement based designed to match Crinacle’s tonal target, and in my opinion, tonality was their main weakness. But in music with a deliberate focus on bassy notes such as synths or the kick drum and floor tom, the RED’s low end comes to life. The bass is absolutely the stand-out performer on the Zero, thanks to the dual dynamic driver setup, with one serving for sub-bass frequencies only.

My Chus are connector modded so that I can use them with my AZ09s when I'm out of at work, so I wasn't super happy to have to trim away at the protective bits of them to mount the Zeros. Most are me-too products in the race to the bottom with the usual trade-offs in tuning against its peers.Overall, though, the notes are affected in a way that sounds natural thanks to the stage, separation, and imaging. A month had just passed since the launch of the ZERO and Crinacle had a teaser up on twitter about something he seemed really proud of.

My only complaint was that the tips held into the top holder rather tightly and flush at the bottom, so I had trouble getting the foam tips off without digging into them. The world of personal audio—especially as it comes out of Asia these days—is so rapidly evolving that one can hardly keep up with new product releases and even brand names. I thought the sound was more engaging and captivating and less detailed, so I would say the pairing was acceptable and likeable. Though it’s a great listen and there’s little to find fault in its sound, the RED doesn’t enamour me the way Crinacle’s previous collabs like the Moondrop Blessing 2: Dusk and Fearless Dawn did. Their bass presence also wasn't overwhelming, but I loved that I could hear the rumble in bassier songs without needing to crank up the volume.

Vocals feel a bit grating, and overall are not pleasant to listen to, there is no reserved feeling, only aggression.