Crinacle's Guide to Audio Products (for the clueless)
show this to the confused gift-givers in your lives
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29B Mosque Street, Level 3
Singapore 059507
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PATREON: / crinacle
TWITTER: / crinacle
DISCORD: / discord
SUBREDDIT: / inearfidelity
HOODIE: merch.crinacle.com
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00:00 Intro
01:24 The Categories
01:41 Earphones
01:51 Wireless
02:00 True Wireless Buds (TWS)
02:25 Earbud versus In-Ear
03:08 Active Noise Cancelling (ANC)
03:46 Wireless Earphones
04:10 Bone Conduction Headphones
05:39 Wired
05:52 Earbuds
06:52 In-Ear Monitors (IEMs)
08:24 Wireless vs Wired
10:32 Headphones
10:46 Wireless
11:52 Wired
12:03 Open-back
13:00 Closed-back
13:40 Gaming Headsets
14:31 Around-Ear versus On-Ear
15:06 Sources
15:50 Dongles
16:25 Portable DAC/Amps
16:34 Desktop DAC/Amps
16:53 Digital Audio Players (DAPs)
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CAM: Sony a7S III + FE 35mm f/1.8
MIC: Sony UWP-D27
Since this isn't a review video, I shall shamelessly shill my new 7Hz Zero:2 as perfect stocking stuffers: www.linsoul.com/products/7hz-x-crinacle-zero-2 Give your friends and family the gift of good audio for the price of a nice lunch #shill #sellout #youknowitsstilltruethough
zero 2 is good?(have already ordered and excited to receive it!)
Man i have zero 1 and the only thing holding it back was bass and that wire and its fixed in zero 2@@petroskoutsakis9828
i currently have the 7Hz. Love it aside from the treble. pleased to hear its tuning has more bass and less treble. Though i think ill upgrade to the 35dollar segment in a couple months.
u have the og zero or zero 2? also what 35 dollar iem u would get@@freezingicy9457
@@freezingicy9457 which you going to buy? I think I will use zero for a year then upgrade to 70dollar segment (Possibly truthear zero red version 2 if it comes out)
"Ask your audio nerd what they want" makes it sound like they're exotic pets lmao.
we are, I have very specific needs
We are
My Ocelot can't talk though...
Look man, I just specifically want ChiFi IEM thats very close to Arias in tuning. :P (Yes I have the Truthear holas.)
@@astupidlylongnamethatstoolongI doubt anyone will have a problem looking for that.
Perhaps the best audio gear is the one we made along the way
apple earpods moment
No
similar to how the best camera you have is the one you have on you :)
yes. i was like “bruh i need to buy these beast iems rn!!” and… being able to enjoy my samsung buds+ without any type of eq was a great surprise for me. we have to relearn how to enjoy simplicity.
Brb gonna be crinacle and make my own tuned iems
The irony of this video? It's still gonna be watched mostly be us audio nerds lol
James Hoffman just made a similar video about coffee and it's probably only us coffee weirdos that initially watched it lol. Maybe that will change over time. These types of videos are more helpful over time because it's not just a list of specific products that are currently popular.
Im totally new and i have like 60-80 budget and im so confused what to get, so i hope i understand something from this video.
That's rough, way too many options there. Even spending around $250 on earbuds has too many options now! Maybe that's a good thing overall but it does make it hard @@ashtro5545
@@ashtro5545 if you are totally new, as long as you take a recommendation from a reviewer that can be well trusted i doubt it would disappoint as the nuances they would cover for the cons are in a sense minor to someone who hasnt experienced much to begin with Only advice per se is no need to go too deep into the research for now
As an audio nerd, I just enjoy watching things like this
As an audio nerd, I can confirm that "f*ck off" is the proper response to someone asking for a HE1.
I need the context of this
@@ujo4evaThey can cost over $60,000.
@@ujo4evasearch HE1 and you’ll instantly know why xd
@@ujo4evaprice
@@ujo4evalook up the price of a sennheiser HE1
15:23 simply an incredible looking b-roll shot
Was curious to see what you have to say... I agree on all of these bits. Perfect video. Also the HE1 bit, 10/10 lmfao
Just a thing for those that are in the market for "gamer headphones", you can also buy seperate microphones that attach to the headphones themselves. So if you know that the person that is to receive your gift has a really good headphone that they enjoy using at home you can also look into these solutions. There are wireless options and wired options. As I'm not trying to promote any particular company I'm just going to name 2 of the most common ones; Antlion and V-Moda. But there are also others out there. Other than that, nice and easy to understand list Crin!
Or a mic like the snowball since it has a large pickup range you can put it well out of the way
Or you can use your mobile mic
My set-up is 1000xm3 with WOMic app on my phone - good audio, good voice.
Unfortunately no good wireless options for headphones, and no simultaneous Bluetooth either
@@drchtct I've been running an antlion wireless mic with very little issues. And going from what my friends told me, the mic is crystal clear.
"What u want ?" "HE1" "fuck off" yea pretty accurate
me frfr
Hahahahaha
Uncle Crin back with another audio masterclass lesson
"HE1" "Fuck off" Love ya Crin, don't ever change.
For sure! Hahha
crinacle said this at the end, but i need to say this again for people in the back: if the person is an audio nerd, just ask them what they want don't be afraid to even ask the model or the range of models to choose from if you're afraid to ruin the surprise, better gift something else the same goes for knife people (although benchmade bugout is always fine even if person already has five of them), fishing people and any hobby people overall
Unless you get them Storm
Really like how Crin is really approachable in this video and doesn't talk down to the viewer. I do like when he does talk down to me though.
Dude's really down bad
bro just scream hes a masochist
It took me like 8 years of overpaying for decent closed back headphones to realize that even low-range open backs are better. The reason for this is hilarious in hindsight: I saw that the cons for openback were sound leakage, and thought that the ‘open back’ referred to like a little slit or angle in the side of the ear pads to allow sound to escape. Like I thought that it didn’t form a complete seal around your ears, and the sound leakage was literally the same as when you don’t have earbuds in securely. I love my Sennheiser’s, and unfortunately had to return my Audeze because they were too heavy (I have arthritis in my cervical vertebrae).
I knew it all but it felt so relaxing to hear you talk about it I went through the whole video, love your style man
Crin just straight up pretending speakers dont exist damn
Good things with wired IEM's is that some brands (like KZ) provide wireless conversion kit because the cable is replaceable, you can then plug a wireless module instead of a cable... It can become a bit beefy but just having the option can justify the IEMs even more!
I was wondering what i should gift for me and my friends on christmas, and this video sparked mote ideas in my mind, and it is very helpful for a person like who have no idea what is good or bad. Thanks a ton Crinacle, for making this video!
I can give you more precise advice if you want me too.
@@rickelijah4270 uhmm thanks but i’ve already chose the gift for my friends, thank you though^^
Finally a guide for us grandmas
Crin's hand model game is on point.
I kinda love the fact that people who have never seen Crinacle before will watch this video for information and then be told to fuck off at the end. Love u Crin.
always blessing us with great information through informative and educational videos 💗
Appreciate your insight. I enjoy your presentation and your sense of humor as well. Super informative and entertaining! Thanks!
This comes in at a good time for those new to the hobby. Happy Holidays everyone!
Just Perfect, really nice. Thanks Crinacle
The HE1 drawings cracked me up, good job inserting that in the video :D
Thank you for this Master Crin!
Bone conduction headphones are great for the purpose they are built. If you are running or riding on a bicycle, there is really little reason not to get them: - You are aware of your surroundings. In some countries they are the only legal headphones you can get while riding a bicycle. You can explain to the authorities that you have "transparency mode" in your buds but they can still claim that as long as something is inside your ear, it impedes your hearing when you participate in traffic. - They don't fall off as they go all the way behind your head and they hang over your ears to provide secure fit. - It's easy to take them down for a moment without the need to put them inside the case or keep them in your sweaty/dirty hands. - A lot of them are sweat and rain resistant so you don't have to be nervous when you get caught in a rain during a jog. - It's easy to wipe/wash them from your sweat after a training. You might argue that you can get some combination of the features above in some buds from the top of the range but it's difficult to get all of them in a one product/package. Is the audio quality as good as in the case of using good headphones? No but they are great for situational use and newer generation of bone conduction drivers do a really great job at playing music that is good enough that you can appreciate it without it getting in the way of your activity. It might be also a very niche situation but if you wear ear protection plugs, you can still put bone conduction headphones next to the plugged ears and the audio quality is ever better than in a normal situation. Their biggest issues are that they don't fit under winter hats because the band behind the head is too long, and if there is too much traffic you are better off if using normal buds with ANC but this is a different, non-ideal use case for bone conduction headphones so you are opening your situation to a greater number of alternatives discussed in the video. I've been running this ear and I feel that I cover all the bases with either Shokz OpenRun Mini and if these are not good I fall back to SoundCore Sport X10 buds for their earhooks. In the end, you do you! The fun part is that there are so many audio products that you can always choose something and in most cases it will be good enough for your use case.
I use Shokz for cycling, they are disappointing for other uses, but PERFECT for cycling. Bone conducting isn't an audio nerd for audio nerding kind of product, for active listening they are indeed terrible. For passive listening while being surrounded by multi ton metal boxes piloted by random people of random levels of competency, hearing the sound of tires rolling on pavement is more important than hearing fine details in the music.
Yeah I just use them for podcasts. Don't need to care about audio quality, so their ease of use is all that matters. One thing you didn't mention is that I can wear them for hours at work every single day and I never get any kind of irritation or soreness because there's nothing physically in my ear. No IEM I've tried even comes close in that regard.
This. I AM an audio nerd but I still swear by my Shokz for going out on a run. The quality is good enough for their purpose, but they are comfortable AF. Much more comfortable than ANYTHING that sits inside my sweaty ears without the annoying thudding when you step on the ground.
I would actually recommend Shokz as a gift for Audio nerd as a gift. Specifically for use on the situations where the audiophile headphones aren't an option or needed.
I also enjoy using them, they are very comfortable and super comvenient but they do sound like dogshit, even the best ones by Shokz still sound like garbage. 😆
5:55 Absolutely love the nails, Crin!
This would make a great teaching material in school music lessons. Nice Job Unc
I actually got two IEMs. The Salnotes Zero and Truthear Hola. I only bought the second one after losing one of my salnotes earpiece and seeing your review. I quite enjoy it. I'm a bit of noob so I don't tinker with the audio settings. I'd love to know more though. One thing I should point out is that you don't need to necessarily lose out on bluetooth if you buy these IEMs. There are accessories available that can add a bluetooth/microphone adapter to them. You can treat them like true wireless earbuds without ANC. The benefits to this approach is that you can have wireless audio, if the battery degrades, you can just buy a new adapter and still reuse the IEM. The drawback is current lack of ANC support as well as bit rate that you mentioned. I don't know about ANC support but we might get better lossless audio with bluetooth 6 around the corner. Upgrading the bluetooth adapter is possible. These bluetooth adapter go for around $25 USD so when adding to the total cost of IEMs, it is still a bargain when compared to brand name true wireless earbuds from Sony, Samsung etc.
Hey what a great vid; I learnt a lot from it. Thanks mate
Three hours ago I was watching reviews on the senny true wireless earbuds (don’t get them- my OCD wanted them cuz I already have the momentum 4 wireless headphones and they rock- don’t get the buds)… mother algorithm brought me our guy crinacle… this video was perfect and actually intellectually stimulating to see SO much info presented in such a clear, no bs, funny asf typa way… he’s now my favorite KZheadr…
4:09 - bone conduction headphones are perfect for their intended use case of outdoor exercise. As a cyclist, it is the perfect balance of having a secure and comfortable way to listen to music, but also being completely open to outside noise and having that subconscious awareness of your surroundings. Also, there's nothing more satisfying than listening to Ride of the Valkyries when riding up a mountain. 😏
Very nice video, I'll definitely show this to a gift-giver friend, when I found one
I think the biggest thing that will always put me off of any wireless products is the battery life, if I'm travelling and my phone lasts 24 hours, wireless earphones are useless if they're scraping 6 hours. Wired is great, doesn't fall out of your ear and lasts as long as the battery of whatever you listen on
I mean, with earbuds their cases often hold another 8-12 hours of charge and recharge your earbuds whenever they are inside the case but it does make sense. Wired is also much higher quality
I'm definitely an audio nerd and want to say I love my bone conduction headphones. They're perfectly good for audio books and podcasts, are the most comfortable headphones I own and imo allow you to hear your surroundings better than any transparent mode I've used. That being said, I agree they're not for music, but that's what I have my ie 600 and focal clear for. For the right person I do believe them to be the best choice.
Hey, which one sounds better? The IE600 or the Clears? I know they have different sound signatures and form factors, but how would you compare and rate them overall? I've been eyeing both of them for a while now and I'm looking to pick up one of them. Thanks!
@@vijeykumar7429 I prefer the clears but a lot of that comes down to the form factor. It's hard to compare iems and open back head phones
I like all the formats. And own multiple of each type. There, I said it!
if you're a rich boy, the Audeze Maxwell are the best gaming headset money can buy, because they are not only great for comp gaming as well as single player games, but are surprisingly well for music as well. Then again if you are an audio nerd you already know the drill: just buy a good non gaming headphone and buy a mic seperatly. That combination will almost always be better than any gaming headset.
highlight of this video is ; "HE1" "F*ck off"
My galaxy buds + are over three years old and they're still chugging along great. Battery life is still pretty good and I've used these like crazy
Man, I never realized how much Crin's video had improved in quality.
As a cyclist, I can't suggest anything *but* bone conduction headphones for cycling. There's way way too much wind noise that disrupts both your ambient listening but also whatever you're listening to. It is also significantly more dangerous to have buds of any kind, ambient mode or not, while you're riding on roads shared with cars.
Always a good day when crinacle uploads, love the vids man! Keep up the good work.
Recently picked up the Salnotes Zero 2, and have been pleasently surprised by just how great they sound. They greatly remind me of my KPH30i (My favorite headphones) in an IEM form. For how cheap both of them are, the sound they produce is just crazy. Definitely my endgame.
new crin vid, insta banger (actual nice guide tho)
crinacle Thanks Much!
Easy recommendation for anyone needing a gift for audio nerd - Qudelix 5k. Even if they already have one, I bet they wouldn't mind getting a second one. It's just that useful - USB/Bluetooth(LDAC/AptX Adaptive) DAC+Amp with great parametric EQ and some other DSP features.
One thing I’d say about this is that while specific models might change, it would’ve been nice to get some good brands to look at. Obviously there are plenty of resources to look into through solo research, but as a jumping off point that would’ve been a good resource for somehow who truly had no idea what they were looking for.
Crin just brushed past the probably secondmost bought category in audio as a gift the wireless headphones
Imagine you've never seen this channel, coming here for gift ideas for your grandson and the last words you hear are "and don't die... fuck off."
You need to do more IEM reviews or your favorite IEMS for the end of 2023
Appreciate your videos.
the indenting in the timestamps glorious
A bit less of an amusingly snarky video from Uncle Crin, but actually understandable for the topic and as always, filled with pretty clear, BS and bias-free info. Happy Xmas Crin XD
14:27 On PS5 and Xbox Series, they don't support external microphones so the gaming headset market is essential for us. If they did, I would chuck my Sennheiser Game One's for a Razer Seiren and HD 800 S immediately.
Interesting. I’ve had a Trekz Titanium for a few years and I really liked the audio quality when I had ear plugs in. I’d be interested to see graphs on bone conduction’s performance
Oh my god the MMCX modded wired Earpods are hilarious and I need them
Me too! 💯
"tomorrow is your birthday, what do you want as a birthday present ?" "i want HE1".... and get slap tmrw by wife instead of getting the he1
Upvoted for nested timestamps
one thing of note is that the "usb-c" dongle is sometimes neither. not a dac and not an amp. i'm not sure how prevalent they still are, but they do exist. and they rely on your phone (or whatever you connect it to) to do the dac/amp function instead. they're a simple passthrough. they're usually very cheap though, but still i feel this should be mentioned (for the clueless), because not all devices support such dongles.
I saw you used the Fiio KA1 in the thumbnail. Would you recommend it? Bought it and can't hear the a difference in audio quality (maybe like 1%), but definitly works as an AMP.
Bone conduction headsets are amazing in situations when audio quality doesn't matter and when you're going to be wearing them for a long time. No fatigue whatsoever. I'm convinced that within a few years they will be a staple in most work from home or call center jobs.
Bro I thought you were going to do a Crinacle Guide to Christmas Presents for the Clueless...:D
Great video! Could you give one/a few of your best picks for in-ears under $50? Thanks!
You clicked on this video to learn about audio, I clicked on this video to watch crin video. We are not the same.
1st video I've seen of this guy but Jonathan Young supports him, so I'm sold.
I think you should make a video about speakers as well, they rarely get talked about for some reason
I just received theCreative Aurvana Ace with the xmemes thing ..a few days ago I can't imagine anymore new releases without that technology such is the difference.
If you are thinking of gifting an IEM, is always good to also include a replacement cable. The biggest problem with wired ones is the wire itself breaking, and most "normies" dont know that there are ones that you can replace the cables.
New video???😮 LESS GoO
Crin made a video and thought I wouldn't watch it even if it's not made for me.
Hi man, great content! I have a question, If you want to use an external DAC, how do you connect your iem with a 3.5mm jack? Considering that the DAC have 4.4mm and 6.35mm ports
Hey @crinacle ! Heard your thoughts on Sony wh 1000-xm4, was about to buy them before that 😅. Please advise a good alternative to them🙏🏽 I need great anc and decent sound. Thanks for your content🤝🏻
I'm really enjoying the Zero 2..
Open ear headphones are great if you also want to be able to hear other people or things in your house. I can hear my music/games but still listen to my partner if they speak to me
I must state 2 facts about IEMs: 1. Most IEMs don't come with a microphone. 2. Most smartphones nowadays don't come with a 3.5mm jack port for which we'd have to spend $20 or more to get something called DAC using the USB-C charging port to listen to music instead.
I knew everything in this video, and I definitely wouldn’t call myself an audiophile 😂
The video for all my friends and relatives
I'm your regular audience, always interested in learning more though
Hey bro, could I get your opinion on the Sennheiser HD 599 headphones? I've had them or a little over a year now and think they're great. Imo, a very good pair of headphones for someone just getting into higher quality audio for sure. I'd be interested to hear your opinion on these headphones. What you like/dislike about them, if you've had the chance to give them a try, etc. Cheers 😁
The openrun pro are the only, best choice if you want bone conduction headphones. If you need some. (For work...) They sound pretty ok. But only if you have the wavelet app and the auto eq on 100%. I like them a bit more V shaped so I use the bass tuner on 50hz and bosst the highs on the eq.
If they're tuned them (A Lot) better they would actually a good product
Iam an audio nerd and i enjoyed this!
Not all wired iem's last a long time. I've bought 2 moondrop aria's (crinacle recommendation) and both broke within 3 months.
i've been using my sony WH1000XM3s since 2018 now? battery still goes a solid 2 days and i haven't known it to do any different. granted my experience is probably anecdotal, i found it funny you said you can get 2-3 years out of wireless equipment and here i am doing more than fine on double that time.
I want HE1
I’d love to see reviews of the QCY HT05 and Moondrop Space Travel just to see what the lowest end of the TWS are like…
my bose QC15's are 15 years old. say what you want about bose, but back then, they had no internal battery so you used a AAA and as long as you took the AAA out when storing, you can come back to it a decade later and still get the same sound quality as if it was brand new
My old "gaming" Sennheisers also came with AAA. They are outperformed now by newer things, but they still work because the part that _would_ die is trivial to swap out.
@@Lishtenbird I can still purchase adapters that convert my QC15's to a very competent bluetooth headset for about $30-$50, with APTxLL.
Sony WH XM headphones have removable batteries too. Though not as cheap, at least you won't throw the whole thing away when the charge doesn't last as long anymore
i've had my QC35s since 2015 or 2016. i've used them extensively at work, while traveling, and while walking the dog twice daily in -20C weather. i've also left them to sit in their case for a year or more at a time. the battery hasn't degraded noticeably at all. i can still use them all day without issue. the physical switch helps. no parasitic drain from keeping the microcontroller in standby so there's only self-discharge to worry about. i'm sure i'll have to replace the battery someday, but i bet they'll be pushing 20 years old by that point.
Asking an audiophile for the specific model they want is suicide, Crin. It's not like I'm going to blurt out I want a Mysphere3 and somehow my special someone can manage to dish out that much budget just to give it to me as a present.
Then adjust for the price range
@@sweetartoffighting279 I'll could just buy one myself if I have to sit back and adjust the price range. lol
$100 being budget is gonna be a flashbang to people who are trying to buy audio nerds any iems and they're just gonna default to apple earpods (or 7hz zeroes if they actually do their research)
Finally Crin made the one video I didn’t know I needed ❤
I want to learn more about Audio industry as well as expanding my scope from commercial music.
Hahaha an editor's note made it through the final cut XD 15:24
one of the good cheap wireless earbuds is moondrop space travel. The only downside is the battery, and somewhat weak anc
M using moondrop may.. it came with a dsp cable where i can eq the output i want to recieve from my iem.. as of now m loving it.. waiting for someone to make me listen some hi end output 😅😅
Crinacle, what do you think about the beyerdynamic mmx 200? I am looking for a good neutral headphone pair with a decent mic for phone calls. The Beyerdynamics have a usb c dongle, so I think I could plug it in my iPhone 15 for calls, no?
I love my Scarlett Solo with either my Moondrop Aria or your Truthear: Red. I need to send Shure my out of warranty SE215, I heard from Louis Rossman they are very helpful.
Hi crin what's your thoughts on on-ear earphones like Oladance Studio or Shockz open fit?
Could you do separate videos for the top casual headphones such as the m5's and the boses and the others
Well i have 3 headphones from crinacle tier list at B actually well it's just perfect, i chose 3 different type of sound signature Flat hd560s plus openback, v shape shure 840 ,and harman or harmon? Idk shure 440 cheap and just done great for all people just need little upgrade in comfort for shure but it's fine and save