Truthear Hola Review – More Bread Than Dessert

INTRO

Say hola to the Truthear Hola. The Hola is the new budget contender from the company that brought us the X Crinacle Zero and the Hexa. Interesting journey to start at the $50, then $80 down to capture the $20 crowd. I just finished reviewing another PU Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) but at the low price of $19 expectations shall be lowered. Somehow Truthear managed to include even the most basic of additional accessories. Makes you curious where the corners have been trimmed. Bass boosted in the sub-bass region sounds rather unexciting, midrange is effortless with the treble being the trouble.

Disclaimer: I would like to thank Shenzhenaudio for sending these for review, however Truthear might not be so thankful of me.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

The Truthear Hola comes equipped with a plastic-y sheathed cable of good construction, detachable 2 pin, chin slider and right angle plug that accommodates phones with cases.

On a provided holder card there are two different sets of ear tips that include three sizes typically shaped with a sharp edged medium exit opening. The second set include 4 pairs of wide U shaped tips that tend to accentuate mid-bass, but risks affecting other unwanted areas of the frequency response. To store your Truthear Hola a coin purse design leather/vinyl case keeps it compact in your pocket. This is not typical of budget models in the sub-$20 price range so it’s a nice bonus.

The design on the shell of the Truthear Hola looks out of place. It has the appearance quality of a sticker decal, but seems to be printed or etched directly onto the face-plate of the 3D printed matte black opaque shell. The printing cheapens the look of the IEM but it does hide the 3D printing marks around the edge. Another oddity for me is the hexagonal pattern leaves me wondering if this model was originally supposed to be called the Hexa and the Hexa the Hola. These are superficial observations. What is important is the size is on the smaller size, with a wide nozzle.

Tested with LG G8 and HIDIZS AP80 Pro-X.

SOUND

The tuning of the Truthear Hola is centered somewhere in the sub-bass region, but then has a quick drop before heading into lower midrange. This causes a little mushy sensation perhaps on the thinner side.

Mid-range presents itself as lightweight and effortless. Vocals tend to sit recessed in the mix at lower volumes but as volume is increased they join the rest of the mix and losing their confidence sounding a little strained. Pinna gain is where it needs to be as nothing is offensive in the upper mid region. Snares and horns lack the aggressiveness they need to wake you up. The problems come later with the treble tuning.

Treble on the Truthear Hola chops out too much in the wrong spot causing some weird timbre issues and some instruments are hard to tell what they are supposed to be. Shakers in particular end up sounding like flaws in the recording rather than an actual instrument. The life is sucked out of cymbals as they sound too damped. All cymbals sound like rubbing two coins together.

Too much is scooped out of the presence region so that the upper treble is left to fend for itself without the necessary harmonics. In an attempt to see what it would sound like if I fixed the hole with EQ, it becomes apparent they were probably trying to tune out the metallic and grating nature of the upper end. No sibilance, and I really have not had a set in along time that exhibits that tendency. Chi-fi has made strides over the years in the budget category.

There is good depth and layering, but the treble seems to float out in front of the mix sounding very wide, while vocals sound narrow. With more volume the vocals come closer to the forefront but the rest of the upper midrange mix gets lost and masked in the busyness of it all. Best to keep the Truthear Hola at low to medium volume.

COMPARISONS

The KZ ESX (~$19) is in the same price range as the Truthear Hola, and it was not something I enjoyed. The bass has more impact and definition than the Hola filling in the lower mids whereas the Hola sounds thinner in nature. The treble of the ESX has a similar energy suck-out, but it sounds cleaner and resolves the treble better than the Hola. Midrange also has more character and grunt, but I find the Truthear Hola more pleasing in this region.

I prefer the CCA Lyra over the ESX, so the Truthear Hola has some better competition. Not to forget, the Moondrop Chu is right there as well without detachable cables. I cannot also help to think the BLON BL03 is not too far away although aftermarket tips are a must to even make those usable for most people, so that brings the BLON BL-03+eartips to double the price of the Truthear Hola.

CONCLUSION

I cannot give the Truthear Hola exceptional praise, but looking at it through the lens of “budget” the glaring problems with the treble can be overstated. The Hexa was a good entree, but the Hola is like being served bread instead of dessert at the end of a meal that will leave you saying not worth the calories.

Recently having received three LCP IEM’s (TinHifi C3, Kiwiears Cadenza), the treble on the Truthear Hola is the least pleasing to listen to, although the others were not exceptional either. I have to remember these are mostly budget sets. The package is enticing with different ear tips and a carrying case, but I would prefer to get the sound right first adding in accessories as price allows. If you would like to support Truthear, save your $20 and aim for the Hexa instead, but if you only had $20 to spend on earphones there are worse ways to spend it.

SPECIFICATIONS

GRAPH

• Left vs Right (New IEC711 coupler for me)

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DISCLAIMER

Available from Shenzhenaudio who thankfully provided this to audioreviews.org free of charge.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.