CrinEar Project Meta - Impressions Thread

[crinacle]

You're missing a marketing opportunity here, build a large, ill fitting ugly iem with a 10mm isobaric DD, large 14.4mm planer, 6Ba's, two EST's, a handful of microplanars and build a cable using 10AWG copper cable terminated in a mini xlr to attach to the oversized IEM shell, obviously you'll need a full size XLR plug on the other end to plug into a massive headphone amp.

Obviously it'll sound totally crap but that's what folk on here will decry as "novel, esoteric, not for everyone, unique, needs careful pairing, needs time to appreciate the nuances" etc...etc.

There you go, I expect it'll sell for $9999, I'll take 5% for giving you my idea.

We have a pentabrid experiment in the backburner that sounds terrible.

I should release it as a Project, dump all the technical specs, and never publish the measurements. Call it Project Flex or something.

 

[Or1onSLi]

We have a pentabrid experiment in the backburner that sounds terrible.

I should release it as a Project, dump all the technical specs, and never publish the measurements. Call it Project Flex or something.

I understand the irony, but there is to be said that people on the hobby have been used to be pushed from reviewers to “be sure what they buy” and to complain if “the brand of the drivers is undisclosed”…as I feared that made it quick to become a shitshow from both sides: people who eat whatever is fed to them and people dependant from the tech sheet.

I think that at this point the only mistake was saying “this could cost double the price” before release and kickstart the imagination of both sides. At the end of the day it’s a valid product and reviewers would’ve arrived to that conclusion anyway, because it is a solid IEM. The only note on my part with the release is: I would’ve liked a cleaning tool in the box and a different type of silicon tips. But you can’t always get what you want and I personally have enough tips and cleaning tools to sort that out…plus tips are a personal choice so not everyone will always be happy with whatever comes in the box. Fit is great, sound is good, cable is very nice…these debacles are just noise in the end and I think that re-educating the community to accept a different point of view is going to be a challenge, and that’s normal.

 

[NotaSF]

Really loving my Meta. Pairs so nicely with ifi Go Pods.

 

[Gothamm]

It sold out, twice.

They provided a graph to show sound and demo'd multiple versions at various shows.

It has experienced folk with years of experience on the team to know this.

Please do not manipulate the term anti-consumer, as crin is being more generous with info that matters

it sold out twice because a lot of people assumed, me included, that they were getting a $500 product, tech wise, especially when Crin said that this was the value proposition compared to industry standard.

Outside of the bubble that is this buyers thread, I am glad people are at least calling out the concealment of specs.

Bad guy good reviews (hbb)’s latest vid has a not so subtle jab at the meta and I respect the hell out of him for speaking his mind. Personally know of two reviewers who are staying silent on the matter for fear of backlash. Luckily, I don’t have that problem.

 

[freeryder05]

it sold out twice because a lot of people assumed, me included, that they were getting a $500 product, tech wise, especially when Crin said that this was the value proposition compared to industry standard.

Outside of the bubble that is this buyers thread, I am glad people are at least calling out the concealment of specs.

Bad guy good reviews (hbb)’s latest vid has a not so subtle jab at the meta and I respect the hell out of him for speaking his mind. Personally know of two reviewers who are staying silent on the matter for fear of backlash.

I'm not really sure I'm following the points of what you're saying. In a free market, the prices are decided by the producers and manufacturers. Because this market is free, we can either choose to buy it or not. The value proposition that an IEM holds is completely "eye of the beholder" For example, Trifecta is $3000 but to me it sounds like $35 chifi. How does one decide that something is worth $250, $500 or even $1000?

I worked Crin's booth during Canjam and we talked about the driver stuff and concealing it (I don't know the config so don't DM me). The point Crin wanted to make is that if it sounds good then it is good, but the driver or tech specs don't matter. You can get a 24 driver chifi for $50 or spend $1500 on a single DD.

Etiher way, Crin was transpartent through his marketing that he wasn't going to publicize the driver details and so far he hasn't. This was his choice and instead of using your wallet's power to buy something else, you're in this thread arguing? He fulfilled his side of the bargain by delivering an IEM tuned to the specifications he published, with the accesories and shell design he promised. What you're asking for is something Crinacle has never promised to tell us and we bought the Meta knowing this. There's nothing to call out.

 

[smirks_audio]

it sold out twice because a lot of people assumed, me included, that they were getting a $500 product, tech wise, especially when Crin said that this was the value proposition compared to industry standard.

Outside of the bubble that is this buyers thread, I am glad people are at least calling out the concealment of specs.

Bad guy good reviews (hbb)’s latest vid has a not so subtle jab at the meta and I respect the hell out of him for speaking his mind. Personally know of two reviewers who are staying silent on the matter for fear of backlash. Luckily, I don’t have that problem.

Personally, I know of more happy buyers than not.

There will always be people upset about driver configuration not being revealed, but maybe those upset by this aren’t the target market anyway.

I’ve always been a “final sound” kind of consumer, because that’s what I’m paying for (well, maybe that and build quality). If Storm sounded exactly the same and its driver configuration was a single BA, I’d buy that too.

As freeryder said, it’s a free market. As an aside, I’m not sure why you decided to bring your rant here. You’re certainly not changing any minds with the way you communicate.

I’m trying to understand why you’re so upset. You purchased Meta knowing the driver configuration wasn’t revealed, correct? Are you upset because it sounded bad to you or after you realized it was “only” 1DD/2BA?

If driver configuration is that important to you, I’d recommend finding that out before making a purchase to prevent the situation you’re in now, then blaming Crin for the unhappiness you caused yourself (and making us party to it).

 

[Gothamm]

I'm not really sure I'm following the points of what you're saying. In a free market, the prices are decided by the producers and manufacturers. Because this market is free, we can either choose to buy it or not. The value proposition that an IEM holds is completely "eye of the beholder" For example, Trifecta is $3000 but to me it sounds like $35 chifi. How does one decide that something is worth $250, $500 or even $1000?

I worked Crin's booth during Canjam and we talked about the driver stuff and concealing it (I don't know the config so don't DM me). The point Crin wanted to make is that if it sounds good then it is good, but the driver or tech specs don't matter. You can get a 24 driver chifi for $50 or spend $1500 on a single DD.

Etiher way, Crin was transpartent through his marketing that he wasn't going to publicize the driver details and so far he hasn't. This was his choice and instead of using your wallet's power to buy something else, you're in this thread arguing? He fulfilled his side of the bargain by delivering an IEM tuned to the specifications he published, with the accesories and shell design he promised. What you're asking for is something Crinacle has never promised to tell us and we bought the Meta knowing this. There's nothing to call out.

There is a fine line between hyping a product (completely ok, this is a for profit business after all) and misrepresenting its inherent value. Whether or not that line was crossed is up to the judgment of the consumer. Here is the claim in question in case anyone missed it:

I wouldn't say it is misrepresentation, but it's a questionable choice to claim that this product is worth $500 (and reasonable to infer that it compares favorably with IEMs in that price category), especially when you do not disclose the tech inside.

I’m trying to understand why you’re so upset. You purchased Meta knowing the driver configuration wasn’t revealed, correct? Are you upset because it sounded bad to you or after you realized it was “only” 1DD/2BA?

If driver configuration is that important to you, I’d recommend finding that out before making a purchase to prevent the situation you’re in now, then blaming Crin for the unhappiness you caused yourself (and making us party to it).

Not upset, just disappointed, partially because I thought I would be getting a product that competes in the $400-$500 price category. Never said it was a bad product. It's mid. Treble region is its strongest suit. Meta offerings like the Xenns tea pro, Hisenior Mega5s and non meta stuff like the Hype 4s are a clear step above to my ears.

Also, yeah sorry I may have come across a bit aggressive in my previous posts. But its hard to have an opposing viewpoint in a buyer's thread, wouldn't you agree?

 

[morphon]

I also am more of a "final sound" person, and have had no problems at all paying for IEMs with low driver counts (looking at you, Etymotic EVO and ER4XR, Softears Studio4, Fatfreq Deuce, 7hz Timeless at release, Kiwi Aether, etc...).

Crinears didn't reveal the driver count, asking people to buy on sound alone. I bought it. I like it (though not as much as the Tea Pro when it comes to JM1 tuning). I don't think it was overpriced, and having whatever driver config it has doesn't really matter to me.

I honestly don't see why people are getting worked up about it. I don't see any lies in here at all. I mean - Symphonium doesn't reveal their driver counts - you have to dig into a lot of stuff to find out what's in their shells (and usually when you find out it's a pretty small number of drivers). Those are WAY more expensive than the Project:Meta was, yet I don't see people saying that Symphonium Audio is consumer-hostile. I really find the outrage to be baffling.

 

[redrol]

There is a fine line between hyping a product (completely ok, this is a for profit business after all) and misrepresenting its inherent value. Whether or not that line was crossed is up to the judgment of the consumer. Here is the claim in question in case anyone missed it:




I wouldn't say it is misrepresentation, but it's a questionable choice to claim that this product is worth $500 (and reasonable to infer that it compares favorably with IEMs in that price category), especially when you do not disclose the tech inside.





Not upset, just disappointed, partially because I thought I would be getting a product that competes in the $400-$500 price category. Never said it was a bad product. It's mid. Treble region is its strongest suit. Meta offerings like the Xenns tea pro, Hisenior Mega5s and non meta stuff like the Hype 4s are a clear step above to my ears.

Also, yeah sorry I may have come across a bit aggressive in my previous posts. But its hard to have an opposing viewpoint in a buyer's thread, wouldn't you agree?

I agree. Meta is mid to me. Crin may love it and it's to his spec, and thats perfectly fine. It's also fine to not like it.

 

[DenverFi]

Bought these during the first window and looked at my collection and thought “damn I really should sell these.” My office is drowning in audio gear and guitars.

Figured I’d try to sell them and had them listed briefly on reverb and eBay (unopened). Not really asking much of a premium - close to breakeven after fees and shipping. I ended up just opening them and listening to them without any expectations.

They’re incredible.

Fit is 10/10. I have smaller ears and struggle with a lot of the ziigaat and kiwi ears stuff. Sound is amazing. I saw many comments on YouTube where people were speculating these had microplanars for the treble and I thought that also may have been the case. I’m rotating these and the new FatFreq Quantums and the speed really is incredible. Separation and imaging is quite good. Cymbals sound very natural. Some of the more aggressive metal I listen to that emphasizes harmonics above 1k can be a bit harsh on these but they work incredibly well for most genres. Mid bass hump is great for guitar fundamentals.

These easily punch above their weight and some reviewers are listening with the price tag in mind IMO.

 

[dleblanc343]

Love these META's.

Product of the year for me in portable audio

 

[apagumila]

Has anyone gotten word on when the second batch will ship and how much tariffs/taxes will be charged to ship to the US? I've been trying to get in touch with Hangout but nobody has responded regarding that.

 

[avishifi]

Has anyone gotten word on when the second batch will ship and how much tariffs/taxes will be charged to ship to the US? I've been trying to get in touch with Hangout but nobody has responded regarding that.

I am not sure if there will be tariffs? Hangout.Audio are from Singapore, not china

 

[apagumila]

I am not sure if there will be tariffs? Hangout.Audio are from Singapore, not china

Yeah but the Meta is made in China

 

[Or1onSLi]

I am not sure if there will be tariffs? Hangout.Audio are from Singapore, not china

They are shipped directly from China as well...so for Customs it is a chinese item. I wonder how Hangout will handle that...