CrinEar Project Meta

It’s been six months since I first slipped the Crin Ear Meta into my ears, and honestly, they’ve become a bit of a constant companion. They don’t scream “look at me” when they’re sitting on the desk, but every time I pick them up there’s that quiet satisfaction—you can feel the solid build, the smooth finish, the sense that these are made to last. They still look box-fresh despite daily use, which says a lot.

What’s kept me coming back isn’t just durability, though—it’s how they’ve changed the way I listen. My library is a mix of EDM and indie/Britpop, and the Meta handles both with a kind of confidence that’s hard to put down. With EDM, the sub-bass digs so deep it’s almost physical—you feel it more than you hear it. Yet it’s never boomy. Drops land with weight, kick drums punch through cleanly, and those swirling layers of synths feel alive rather than muddled.

Then there’s the Britpop side of me. Oasis, The Verve, The Stone Roses—the stuff I’ve played on repeat since my teens. The Meta has this knack of pulling out the details I’d missed after years of listening. Noel’s guitar textures in Live Forever, the lingering reverb around Ashcroft’s voice in Lucky Man—it’s like being nudged to notice the fine print in songs I thought I knew by heart. They don’t just sound good, they feel personal again.

What really makes them special is the balance. They’re technical enough to impress—imaging, staging, detail retrieval—but they never slide into being clinical. They stay musical. Sessions stretch on for hours and it never feels fatiguing, just immersive.

Six months in, there’s no sign of the honeymoon fading. If anything, I’m more attached than ever. The Crin Ear Meta isn’t just gear—it’s been a way of reconnecting with music I love, and finding new reasons to keep listening.

Me like

Delivery & Shopping Experience:
Received around mid-June (around No.950), not too out of expectation with a pre-order or group buy. Adding another update letter around late May for the few people who haven’t received the product would be appreciated. As for other aspects about shopping and delivery, absolutely no complaint.

Sound quality:
Pretty impressive, especially at the price point, although not perfect for me (probably shouldn't be in the first place). Ended up EQing out some upper treble (around 15K) because triangles sounded too forward to me in multiple tracks, similar to what I adjust with DUSK.

The mid-range is absolutely beautiful, it's competitive even compared with DUSK default DSP.

As for bass, I'd argue that Meta sounded not as dynamic as DUSK to my ear, though still well textured. Not sure if it's because of frequency response or not, either way, two flavors of good bass IMO.

Build quality:
Pretty good as well. I like the rather small earpieces. I can listen at lower volume when cycling with META compared to DUSK thanks to the less protruded shell, which creates less wind noise. Small issue with the cable tho, which the chin slider just wouldn't stay in place.

Overall great experience from CrinEar and Hangout! Looking forward to the new releases.

This being both my first IEM above $100 and CrinEar’s very first IEM, I was very curious what it would be like. Happily I was and continue to be impressed.

What strikes me is just how lifelike and tactile this set sounds to my ears – vocals and acoustic instruments sound just right on well-recorded music. No other earphone or headphone I’ve used has evoked this sensation for me. Granted, I haven’t tried that many.

The bass, while on the prominent side, can be impressively satisfying when the track calls for it. That justifies its prominence for me.

Fit and comfort are great for me, it fills the inside of my ear nicely. Likely thanks to this the noise isolation is also quite good.

The carrying case is a bit bigger than it needs to be but I like the protection that it offers.

I hope that this set will be durable as I like to use my gear for a long time – time will tell.

It was a leap of faith buying this but I’m glad it did not disappoint. If this first statement is anything to go by then we should expect CrinEar to make their mark in the audiophile space.

It has a very pleasing tuning. I don't know much about frequency response graphs, but to my ears, it has slight emphasis in both the bass and the treble. Soundstage is not as wide as the DUSK 2 but in most other technicalities, it's a better-looking DUSK 2. And to a Crinacle fan as myself, there's an additional joy of owning his first creation and that too in limited edition