7hz is a company that I find sometimes I enjoy their products, and at other times I don’t. They do some great work, but I’m not always confident in everything as the Salnotes Dioko left me bored and a little sad. Surprisingly this iem doesn’t disappoint, and I’m shocked by it.
I bought this iem with my own money. My opinions are my own.
You can buy this on
Amazon or
Linsoul. These are listed here for convenience only.
Product Features
Song Choice: Tidal list
here:
I listen to a wide variety of music. I pick the songs because of various reasons. But I picture myself locked away like Andy Dufresne from Shawshank blasting music and shut off from the world. It’s a blissful image.
The Marriage of Figaro -The opera song from Shawshank Redemption, terrible recording but fun and gets me in the mood to listen to music.
O mio Babino caro -This is a modern less operatic version but a song with great female vocals.
Video Rigoletto - “La donna e mobile” Sung by one of the three Tenors, great song for high-performing male vocals. Pavarotti is the greatest classic singer maybe ever. Fight me!
Iron man - The sound at the beginning is hard to make sound great, great drums, and cymbals, and if done right it feels like an old-school band.
I Will Survive (1981 recording, I like her voice, and the old vocals, the drums, and various natural instruments really make this a favorite for me.
There is a light That never goes out - Smiths ( A classic, I just love it. It’s mellow, and I can tell a lot of the tuning if this song is done right.)
Jump (I like how the sound effects are in this!)
Star Child Someone recommended this song to me, and I like how funky it sounds and has nice vocals and a mix of music and things going on.
Dicke Titten Ramstein The beginning is amazing and the bass hits hard. Great song. I love rock and metal. The German language fascinates me
Master of Puppets: Very fast song. Helps me determine if the driver can keep up.
Shell - The shell is easy on my ears, and I fully enjoy it. No problems from me.
Case- This is one of the faults of this headphone, it doesn’t come with a case. A cheap leather pouch would have been nice, but they need to cut costs somewhere. You could use the box it came in if you really need to, but it’s not ideal.
Cable- The cable is fine, it won’t twist or come into a knot. It doesn’t need to be replaced. It feels a tiny bit cheap, and it is disappointing compared to the Hola Cable, but what isn’t?
Tip Selection - Good colorful tip selection. Typical of 7hz. I like their color choices and have no problem with them here. It adds value to the set and is fine.
Comparison: In a competitive market there are many choices. It’s very hard to say. I personally feel that the Truthear Hola is packaged bettered, but the Salnotes Zero sounds a tiny bit better. Either way they are both good values, and fantastic iems for your collection.
Quick-Fire Comparisons
In this section, I'll quickly compare Zero to other relevant IEMs in its price bracket.
Salnotes Zero VS. Truthear Hola
Overall Tuning: Salnotes Zero
Details: Tied
Salnotes Zero VS. Kiwi Ears Cadenza
Overall Tuning: Kiwi Ears Cadena
Details: Salnotes Zero
Salnotes Zero VS. Moondrop Chu
Overall Tuning: Salnotes Zero
Details: Salnotes Zero
Value: It’s a good value product, and I’d highly recommend it. Nice surprising sound, and it’s fun looking.
Graph:
Bass
The Salnotes base is strong and full sounded. Despite being a simple DD one driver. My music sounds good on it and it is reliably good across anything that I play with it. I hear a nice rumble in all the right songs, and in Dicky Titten I hear the slam at the appropriate levels. The speed in the base is great, I love it.
Midrange
The Midrange of the Zero is smooth and clear. Voices sound great on it, and it feels great. The body of my songs sound good, and hits when I need it to hit.
Treble
The treble on The Smiths There is a Light That never Goes out sounds so right. The iem is flat and perfect where I want it to me. Nothing sounds bad that I throw at this IEM. It’s shocking and pleasurable.
Gifting/who is it for: I think this iem is for anyone. It’s my defacto budget pic. I’ve gifted away two of these to friends, and everyone has enjoyed them. The colors are nice options as well. It has multiple colors to pick from, and it’s just cool. Keep it in your pocket.
Pairing: I used a Quidelix 5k and a Topping DX1 dac through a SMSL SH-8s AMP. I don’t find the pairing to matter too much, but it certainly can.
Summary-
This headphone is great. It’s not lame, and it’s fun and enjoyable. Pick up a pair if you want a cheap set that you can lose or keep at work in case of a headphone emergency! It’s a Wolverine to me, colorful, dynamic, charismatic, and takes a beating like no other. I 100% recommend this iem to anyone who is in the market for a budget iem, and is my defacto pick under 50 dollars. This iem is fire, it’s orange, it’s just a terror to compare to others as to my ears it’s just that good. Nothing is bad, the bar has been set.
Thanks for reading. Any feedback is welcome. I’ll be posting my preference list of iems, dacs, and headphones soon. It’s in process.