Link to my review and measurement index thread where one can also find a full review overview, more information about myself as well as my general-ish audio and review manifesto: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/956208/
I only give full stars. My ranking/scoring system does not necessarily follow the norm and is about as follows:
5 stars: The product is very good and received the "highly recommended" award from me.
4 stars: The product is very good and received the "recommended" award from me.
3 stars: The product is good/very good, but not outstanding/special enough to get any of my two awards. ["Thumbs Up"]
2 stars: The product is only about average or even somewhat below that and somewhat flawed/flawed in some areas. [neither "Thumbs Up" nor "Thumbs Down"]
1 star: The product is bad/severely flawed to outright bad. ["Thumbs Down"]
Zero Audio Carbo Tenore
Source:
Personal unit.
Miscellaneous:
Very simple plastic packaging.
Three pairs of differently sized silicone tips plus branded storage pouch (a case would’ve been nicer but a pouch is still better than nothing, and still okay in this price range).
Quite small shells, almost tiny.
Nice design; I like the carbon fibre and dark grey aluminium.
Build quality seems decent.
Soft cable but doesn’t appear very durable. The strain relief could be better. Integrated chin-slider.
One dynamic driver per side.
Sound:
Largest included ear tips.
Tonality:
W-shaped tonality with nicely implemented, strong sub-bass boost.
Lows start to climb around 600 Hz and reach their climax around 40 Hz, in the real sub-bass, with an elevation of around 12 dB compared to my Etymotic ER-4S. No roll-off below that, and as a result the Carbo Tenore have got a sub-bass driven boost without too much spillage into the midrange, which is nice.
The mids are tuned quite well, with only deep and bright voices being somewhat accentuated due to the fundamental range range lift as well as another mild one between 2.4 kHz and 3 kHz that I can spot when performing sine sweeps.
Due to their slightly u-shaped character, voices appear subjectively a bit recessed/further in the background of the mix.
One can hear a lift around 6.8 kHz and 7.8 kHz that is on the stronger side and adds some brightness to the mix. Tends to be somewhat annoying at times due to its quantity as well as since it is ultimately placed not high enough.
That peak can be basically eliminated with a really deep insertion, however that doesn’t feel natural to me as the ear pieces disappear almost completely in my ears that way, with only the cable/strain relief sticking out of my ear canals (which is most definitely not good and would, on the long run, potentially cause the cable to break as I would need to pull on it in order to extract the in-ears).
Overall, I would consider the Carbo Tenore as some of the clearly better-tuned w-shaped in-ears – much better than the subpar Anew U1 anyway.
Frequency Response:
ER-4S-Compensation
ProPhile 8-Compensation
Resolution:
Decent (enough) for the price but certainly not among the best dynamic driver in-ears in this range. Below my Fostex TE-02, Havi B3 Pro I and TTPod T1 as well as the Fidue A65.
Aside from its location, the upper lift in the treble can be somewhat unpleasant (sharp) at times as the resolution is only average in this area; the Zero Audio would just have to resolve better in order to pull that elevation off more effortlessly, as the single note differentiation could be better in the highs.
About the same applies to the bass as the lower bass could use somewhat more differentiation and precision since the lows soften towards the sub-bass, nonetheless the tightness is ultimately still okay for dynamic driver in-ears although a good bit away from my single-BA Sony XBA-C10, MEElectronics A151p or dynamic driver Shure SE215m+SPE. After all, it’s still faster and audibly less mushy sounding than my SoundMAGIC E10. I’d also rate the general resolution and control a bit above my Logitech/Ultimate Ears UE200.
Soundstage:
Fairly narrow to my ears and quite comparable to that of my Logitech/Ultimate Ears UE200.
While narrow, not flat though and with a bit of spatial depth, although a good bit away from sounding large, open or even layered.
Instrument separation and imaging are okay to decent but definitely collapse somewhat with more complex tracks being played; the Fidue A65, despite having a small soundstage as well, cope audibly better with fast and complex tracks when it comes to remaining clean sounding in regards to imaging.
Conclusion:
Pleasant w-shaped tonality with a nicely implemented boost in the lows, although the higher of the two treble elevations can come across as too sharp at times.
Still decent enough technical performance but definitely not among the best dynamic driver in-ears in the budget range; nothing really stands out.
I only give full stars. My ranking/scoring system does not necessarily follow the norm and is about as follows:
5 stars: The product is very good and received the "highly recommended" award from me.
4 stars: The product is very good and received the "recommended" award from me.
3 stars: The product is good/very good, but not outstanding/special enough to get any of my two awards. ["Thumbs Up"]
2 stars: The product is only about average or even somewhat below that and somewhat flawed/flawed in some areas. [neither "Thumbs Up" nor "Thumbs Down"]
1 star: The product is bad/severely flawed to outright bad. ["Thumbs Down"]
Zero Audio Carbo Tenore
Source:
Personal unit.
Miscellaneous:
Very simple plastic packaging.
Three pairs of differently sized silicone tips plus branded storage pouch (a case would’ve been nicer but a pouch is still better than nothing, and still okay in this price range).
Quite small shells, almost tiny.
Nice design; I like the carbon fibre and dark grey aluminium.
Build quality seems decent.
Soft cable but doesn’t appear very durable. The strain relief could be better. Integrated chin-slider.
One dynamic driver per side.
Sound:
Largest included ear tips.
Tonality:
W-shaped tonality with nicely implemented, strong sub-bass boost.
Lows start to climb around 600 Hz and reach their climax around 40 Hz, in the real sub-bass, with an elevation of around 12 dB compared to my Etymotic ER-4S. No roll-off below that, and as a result the Carbo Tenore have got a sub-bass driven boost without too much spillage into the midrange, which is nice.
The mids are tuned quite well, with only deep and bright voices being somewhat accentuated due to the fundamental range range lift as well as another mild one between 2.4 kHz and 3 kHz that I can spot when performing sine sweeps.
Due to their slightly u-shaped character, voices appear subjectively a bit recessed/further in the background of the mix.
One can hear a lift around 6.8 kHz and 7.8 kHz that is on the stronger side and adds some brightness to the mix. Tends to be somewhat annoying at times due to its quantity as well as since it is ultimately placed not high enough.
That peak can be basically eliminated with a really deep insertion, however that doesn’t feel natural to me as the ear pieces disappear almost completely in my ears that way, with only the cable/strain relief sticking out of my ear canals (which is most definitely not good and would, on the long run, potentially cause the cable to break as I would need to pull on it in order to extract the in-ears).
Overall, I would consider the Carbo Tenore as some of the clearly better-tuned w-shaped in-ears – much better than the subpar Anew U1 anyway.
Frequency Response:
ER-4S-Compensation
ProPhile 8-Compensation
Resolution:
Decent (enough) for the price but certainly not among the best dynamic driver in-ears in this range. Below my Fostex TE-02, Havi B3 Pro I and TTPod T1 as well as the Fidue A65.
Aside from its location, the upper lift in the treble can be somewhat unpleasant (sharp) at times as the resolution is only average in this area; the Zero Audio would just have to resolve better in order to pull that elevation off more effortlessly, as the single note differentiation could be better in the highs.
About the same applies to the bass as the lower bass could use somewhat more differentiation and precision since the lows soften towards the sub-bass, nonetheless the tightness is ultimately still okay for dynamic driver in-ears although a good bit away from my single-BA Sony XBA-C10, MEElectronics A151p or dynamic driver Shure SE215m+SPE. After all, it’s still faster and audibly less mushy sounding than my SoundMAGIC E10. I’d also rate the general resolution and control a bit above my Logitech/Ultimate Ears UE200.
Soundstage:
Fairly narrow to my ears and quite comparable to that of my Logitech/Ultimate Ears UE200.
While narrow, not flat though and with a bit of spatial depth, although a good bit away from sounding large, open or even layered.
Instrument separation and imaging are okay to decent but definitely collapse somewhat with more complex tracks being played; the Fidue A65, despite having a small soundstage as well, cope audibly better with fast and complex tracks when it comes to remaining clean sounding in regards to imaging.
Conclusion:
Pleasant w-shaped tonality with a nicely implemented boost in the lows, although the higher of the two treble elevations can come across as too sharp at times.
Still decent enough technical performance but definitely not among the best dynamic driver in-ears in the budget range; nothing really stands out.