7Hz Salnotes Zero IEM Review

[t1m9k86]

I’ll add that I do like the idea of not having to EQ; I’m not sure if that’s misguided or not. I just tend to think the less processing the better.

 

[t1m9k86]

I guess what I'm getting at is can the OG Zero's be considered a reference model without any EQ? I know this is kind of getting into the debate of fidelity vs. listenability...

 

[USER]

I guess what I'm getting at is can the OG Zero's be considered a reference model without any EQ? I know this is kind of getting into the debate of fidelity vs. listenability...

Edited so it doesn't read as grouchy.

At this point you've seen the measurements. It's up to you to decide if they are close enough to a reference curve that you want to try out. (Also, "reference" for what? Are you doing professional work or are you in a roundabout way trying to ask what is the "best?") No IEM or headphone will be perfect and you have to decide whether the measurements show differences you can live with. Part of this is also due to the fact that the respective measurement equipment is not up to the level of that used for speakers so things are always a little hazy. The physical body itself is the biggest problem. IEMs and headphones are very person-specific because of your unique ear/canal shape so please don't expect universal results or ask anyone if something will be perfect for you. You simply have to do your research and try out what you think is best for the money you want to spend after it is said and done. If there is a good return policy, all the better.

That said, the two 7Hz Salnotes Zeros belie their price and seem to get you quite close to two of the most popular targets, what I'd call Harman 2019 and something closer to Harman 2016, the latter of which has been extremely popular lately. Some people think that the Salnotes work better for smaller ears, with the more expensive Truthear Zeros being better for bigger ears. (I have smaller ears and the Truthears are not an option for me.) But again, you've seen the graphs. Only you can decide if that is reference. Personally, I miss that super low end and have to adjust the Zeroes. In the end, the simplest way to think about this is that there are no IEMs that exist that are "reference" without EQ. Some, however, can be good enough. And, most importantly, as a whole IEMs are so much better than they used to be.

 

[SteveL]

I guess what I'm getting at is can the OG Zero's be considered a reference model without any EQ? I know this is kind of getting into the debate of fidelity vs. listenability...

Tastes are very personal, but I can say that after listening to my OG Zeros (with very minimal EQ that I could easily dispense with) almost every day for over a year now, I'm still astonished by how utterly neutral, natural, and realistic they sound to me. It almost seems like cheating to be able to get this stellar quality of sound by plugging a $20 IEM into my phone.

 

[migo77]

I own both OG Zero and Zero2. I have smaller ears (I'm using orange silicone tips) and I'm listening on low volume levels (for some . I prefer Zero2 for its better stage presentation, added bass in FR is not bothering at lower volume level I'm listening at. Applying Amirs EQ preset makes small change for me and is not mandatory, I'm using Zero2 without EQ most of the time.

 

[Hexspa]

Didn't even realize these were reviewed or that there was a v2 out. I used oratory filters inside of Realphones to correct these. Without that they sound too bass-light but otherwise pretty satisfying. I wouldn't say that they give me perfect translation as far as that goes but they're my primary headphone/earbud currently. The other ones I have are the Etymotic ER2SE and those are ok also. I guess I'm more of a speaker person if I had to choose. Either that or I've yet to find a headphone/IEM that rocks my world.

 

[Matias]

Didn't even realize these were reviewed or that there was a v2 out. I used oratory filters inside of Realphones to correct these. Without that they sound too bass-light but otherwise pretty satisfying. I wouldn't say that they give me perfect translation as far as that goes but they're my primary headphone/earbud currently. The other ones I have are the Etymotic ER2SE and those are ok also. I guess I'm more of a speaker person if I had to choose. Either that or I've yet to find a headphone/IEM that rocks my world.

Try the Zero 2 and you should like it a lot. 25 USD, not much, worth a shot.

 

[fountain]

I just received and tried this IEM wich only cost me 13 EUR!

Man, what I have to say...

They sound better than any IEM I had... Better than Moondrop Starfield wich was 130EUR, Final Audio A4000 wich was also at that price, better than Sennheiser IE100 Pro, better than KZ ZS10, better than Tanchjim One and Zero wich are incredible in quality price performance, better than Fiio Jade JD3, better than Sennheiser CX (cheap versions) wich I loved a lot when I wasn't in to this of headphones and the sound I remember from them was perfect, and also better than Senn CX 300 (wich for the price I remember I didn't like them). Incredible IEM for real the sound is awesome I highly recommend it to anyone... I think better performance than Salnotes Zero could be3 things or 1- really really hard to find, 2- you can get 3% to 5% better or some nearly indistinguishable better performance or 3- not possible to get better than this even if you buy flagships.

This one was really a discovery for real... For example the IE100PRO wich was my favorite IEM I had wich I sold because of the to much mid bass they had really surprised me in comparasion of all the IEM I had and thought it was really hard to find some IEM wich had that good sound but when I tried this I experienced what good really is and without that rare low mid bass eq the IE100 PRO.

Thank you amirm again for your greatly informative reviews and recommendations.

 

[markanini]

I just received and tried this IEM wich only cost me 13 EUR!

Man, what I have to say...

They sound better than any IEM I had... Better than Moondrop Starfield wich was 130EUR, Final Audio A4000 wich was also at that price, better than Sennheiser IE100 Pro, better than KZ ZS10, better than Tanchjim One and Zero wich are incredible in quality price performance, better than Fiio Jade JD3, better than Sennheiser CX (cheap versions) wich I loved a lot when I wasn't in to this of headphones and the sound I remember from them was perfect, and also better than Senn CX 300 (wich for the price I remember I didn't like them). Incredible IEM for real the sound is awesome I highly recommend it to anyone... I think better performance than Salnotes Zero could be3 things or 1- really really hard to find, 2- you can get 3% to 5% better or some nearly indistinguishable better performance or 3- not possible to get better than this even if you buy flagships.

This one was really a discovery for real... For example the IE100PRO wich was my favorite IEM I had wich I sold because of the to much mid bass they had really surprised me in comparasion of all the IEM I had and thought it was really hard to find some IEM wich had that good sound but when I tried this I experienced what good really is and without that rare low mid bass eq the IE100 PRO.

Thank you amirm again for your greatly informative reviews and recommendations.

Well said. Since you have The Tanchjim One on hand, if you use EQ, have you tried the official EQ presets posted here? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/tanchjim-one-iem-review.50793/post-1843230

Either way the original 7Hz Zero is very good indeed.

 

[fountain]

Well said. Since you have The Tanchjim One on hand, if you use EQ, have you tried the official EQ presets posted here? https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/tanchjim-one-iem-review.50793/post-1843230

Either way the original 7Hz Zero is very good indeed.

Yesterday I downloaded Neutron Player (the trial version), when I have a little moment I'll configure the preset and give you my thoughts

One are a really good IEM unit, if you need a detechable cable in ear without a cable going behind and around your ears it's an excellent IEM, in fact they are so good I bought 2 units, one for my father and one for me. They are in my top tier IEM and yesterday I noticed they got also better after a little bit of burn in.

Do you own a unit?

 

[Basic Channel]

I just received and tried this IEM wich only cost me 13 EUR!

Man, what I have to say...

They sound better than any IEM I had... Better than Moondrop Starfield wich was 130EUR, Final Audio A4000 wich was also at that price, better than Sennheiser IE100 Pro, better than KZ ZS10, better than Tanchjim One and Zero wich are incredible in quality price performance, better than Fiio Jade JD3, better than Sennheiser CX (cheap versions) wich I loved a lot when I wasn't in to this of headphones and the sound I remember from them was perfect, and also better than Senn CX 300 (wich for the price I remember I didn't like them). Incredible IEM for real the sound is awesome I highly recommend it to anyone... I think better performance than Salnotes Zero could be3 things or 1- really really hard to find, 2- you can get 3% to 5% better or some nearly indistinguishable better performance or 3- not possible to get better than this even if you buy flagships.

This one was really a discovery for real... For example the IE100PRO wich was my favorite IEM I had wich I sold because of the to much mid bass they had really surprised me in comparasion of all the IEM I had and thought it was really hard to find some IEM wich had that good sound but when I tried this I experienced what good really is and without that rare low mid bass eq the IE100 PRO.

Thank you amirm again for your greatly informative reviews and recommendations.

Where did you get them for 13 EUR?

 

[fountain]

Where did you get them for 13 EUR?

From AliExpress, shipped to Spain.

I checked out again today and now the most cheap is 16 EUR. (16.90 for cable version) (it is the same store that sold them to me for 13EUR a week ago)

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005006357262568.html

You could also get this for 7EUR, which is crazy... But I can't seem to find them no more at that price. It was a special promotion for new users.

 

[Basic Channel]

From AliExpress, shipped to Spain.

I checked out again today and now the most cheap is 16 EUR. (16.90 for cable version) (it is the same store that sold them to me for 13EUR a week ago)

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005006357262568.html

You could also get this for 7EUR, which is crazy... But I can't seem to find them no more at that price. It was a special promotion for new users.

Thank you. I got various items for 1.86 each (shower head, pocket watch, kalimba) so nothing seems crazy anymore

 

[fountain]

T

Thank you. I got various items for 1.86 each (shower head, pocket watch, kalimba) so nothing seems crazy anymore

There's a guy in this thread (on the previous page) that bought the Salnotes Zero for 4 bucks, crazy deal, you pay 4 bucks and get an IEM that in terms of sound is better than some overpriced ones wich can cost you 300$ xd

 

[Basic Channel]

From AliExpress, shipped to Spain.

I checked out again today and now the most cheap is 16 EUR. (16.90 for cable version) (it is the same store that sold them to me for 13EUR a week ago)

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005006357262568.html

You could also get this for 7EUR, which is crazy... But I can't seem to find them no more at that price. It was a special promotion for new users.

It is now 9.73! I know what I’ll be buying today