u/GGChrono

Hello and happy Saturday, everyone! 😊

I was suddenly dragged out to work at a Tatte, so my peaceful Overwatch afternoon plans have been canceled 🥲

But since I’m here, I figured it would be a good time to listen to and write about the IEMs I gathered for next week’s round of HiFi vs. Non-Audiophiles filming.

Among them is the focus of this post: the CrinEar Reference.

- Some disclosures before proceeding -

I've done all my listening in my 'real' contexts: I've listened through my JDS Labs Element IV amp, at times (like at the time of writing this) plugged straight into my MacBook Air M5, and from my iPhone via the USB-C to 3.5mm dongle. Also, I've personally been using SpinFit W1s in medium size for these. Thanks again to Bloom Audio for letting me borrow these!! 🤘

- Ok, let's talk CrinEar Ref. -

I’ll keep this short and sweet, since this is meant to be an impressions post rather than a full review. So, to answer the question of whether Crin’s latest IEM is overhyped or not:

NOPE ahaha these are dope 😌

Not perfect, of course, and they won’t be for everyone. But the first thing that popped into my head when I tried them was this: if Sony has basically “solved” hybrid digital cameras, then the CrinEar Reference feels like it has done something similar for IEMs.

And by “solved,” I don’t mean that there aren’t other excellent options. There are still plenty of amazing IEMs out there, with different tonalities and different kinds of performance for different preferences -- and that’s completely valid. But this feels like the rare one that manages to be the safest recommendation without sounding safe.

It’s the easiest default. The one that, to me, feels hardest to argue against. Not because it plays things conservatively, but because it manages to be natural, exciting, technically impressive, and genuinely fun all at once.

There are still other sets I love, and if price were no object, I’d probably still struggle between this and something like the Thieaudio Monarch Mk. IV. But at $349.99, the Reference changes the conversation pretty dramatically.

While I usually try to avoid reading stuff online before I try something, given the explosive popularity of anything involving Crin and IEMs, it was impossible not to at least see headlines and thumbnails about these. More specifically, I kept seeing the word “flat” attached to them, and well, they are called “Reference.”

Normally, those words might suggest an extremely neutral, lean, or “analytical” sound signature. But I don’t think those descriptors quite fit here. And that’s the genius of them.

The CrinEar Reference has a very natural sound, but it still includes enough thoughtful cuts and boosts throughout the frequency response to make it an undoubtedly musical listen.

The bass shelf has a modest level of presence, with clear and defined sub-bass. That’s followed by a distinct but controlled mid-bass bump around 130–150Hz, which adds a bit of kick and warmth without overdoing it. Fun.

The midrange is one of the most naturally voiced I’ve heard in an IEM, if not the most. It has powerful fundamentals in the lower mids, and plenty of energy in the upper mids, aside from a subtle dip around 3.5–4kHz.

The treble is similarly excellent. It sits at a very comfortable level, nicely accentuating overtones with just the right amount of bite in the 7.5–10kHz region to keep things interesting without becoming hot. There’s also some nice airiness up top.

My only personal gripe -- and I know this is a region I tend to be sensitive to -- is that there seems to be a very slight but broad elevation around 5–6kHz. For me, that introduces a little bit of haziness in the lower treble, which is made more apparent by the 4kHz dip I mentioned earlier. That said, it’s very subtle, and I’d mostly call it a nitpick.

- So, what do we have here? -

Honestly, I think this is likely going to be the easiest IEM to recommend for a while. It sounds natural, but it’s also exciting to listen to. As things stand, I’d struggle to see myself choosing anything else over it in the IEM world.

Even at $349.99, it handily outclasses all of the IEMs I’ve heard in the multi-thousand-dollar category 🔥

Hello everyone! Hope you're having a fine Thursday 😁

Just uploaded my review of the Edition XV from HiFiMAN to YouTube, so I wanted to share it here!

I've always liked HiFiMAN's headphones. I've found them to, more often than not, represent an excellent blend of value and performance... but I think the Edition XV takes it a step further, with a tonal balance that I think even more people will find enjoyable the usual HiFiMAN sound signature.

They sound very natural to me, but they're subtly warm in ways that just make for a very smooth yet detailed listening experience.

This was one of the headphones that I picked up for the HiFi vs. Non-Audiophiles video, and since I first listened to it I was genuinely impressed by the experience you could get from these at $400. So, even though I'm pretty late to checking it out, I still wanted to talk about it because, well, I think it's pretty dope!

Had I been in the blind test panel, I think I might have guessed the price wrong on these 😂

Would love to hear your thoughts if you've tried it out, too!

Hello everyone, and happy Tuesday evening! 😊

First, I just wanted to say thank you for the overwhelmingly positive response to the recent video featuring my friends trying out some headphones. It’s been really encouraging reading everyone’s comments on both YouTube and Reddit, and I’m genuinely happy to hear that so many of you enjoyed the format.

Here’s the video, in case you missed it:
https://youtu.be/WY9wofvcMAs

I’ve also been carefully reading through the feedback and criticism, and I’ll be trying to address as much of that as I can in the next video like this, which is going to be the IEM one.

Bloom Audio helped provide the IEMs for this video and we worked together to pick a wide lineup across very different price points:

• Kiwi Ears Belle: $29
• CrinEar Reference: $349
• Thieaudio Monarch MKIV: $999
• Dita Ventura: $4,799

Since IEMs can vary even more from listener to listener than over-ear headphones, I wanted to share a few details ahead of the video:

1. I’ll be using my JDS Labs Element IV + Synapse Max for power, mainly because of its clean, low-noise floor.
2. Testing will be limited to the stock silicone tips included with each IEM. I know tips can make a big difference, especially with IEMs, but full tip rolling would add too much length and complexity for this format.
3. There will be no blindfolds this time. I think the design and materials are less of a giveaway with IEMs than they are with over-ear headphones, and it should also make the IEMs easier for everyone to use.
4. The group will include a mix of people from the last video and some new listeners.
5. Tracks will be a mix of familiar songs chosen by the listeners and a few test tracks, with volume matched as closely as practical.
6. No EQ will be used.

And of course, this is not intended to be a scientific test by any stretch. Once again, it’s mostly a chance to see how people outside the hobby react to different audio products at very different price points.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback before we film next week! 🙌