Truthear Gate: Reviews and Impressions

Being a geneticist, I love the GATG.

And being near blind it is gate which makes much more sense

 

AirPods Pros Second Gen is really good for what it is IMO. It's what I use mot of the time for IEM usage if I have to be honest. Second Gen really blows the first gen out of the water.

 

Interestingly enough my 1st gen self destructed. Hadn't been used in 6 months and went to use them... wicked whistling and crackling in right channel. Tried updating firmware to no avail. I like Apple products, but I'm convinced they are designed to fail, iPhone batteries etc.

 

They had a repair extension program, that’s probably over but can’t hurt to check.

https://support.apple.com/airpods-pro-service-program-sound-issues

 

The thread title made me think there was another audio scandal

 

Had the Zero 2s for a bit before giving them to family. They definitely needed burn-in cuz they were painful to listen to out of the box, headache-inducing. It sounded a bit like the whole soundscape had a bit of that crumpled paper Instagram filter overlaid, but that did clear up with time. Doesn't feel like it ever fully went away but I'll have to borrow them to make sure.

Overall it's wtf good for the price, and I do think that the value proposition of more expensive single-DD designs from years past may be worth re-examining, though my only point of comparison right now is the ER2XR and I have to concede that that somehow still does some things better, namely in terms of having a cohesive sound, less strange timbre, and non-fatiguing voicing (with very deep insertion). The price difference and the fact that the Etymotics use a weird keyed MMCX connector are big points against them though.

From what I can tell, @shotgunshane, the consensus then appears to be "get the Zero:2 if it's in budget, but this is fine if not"?

 

I concur that the Zero 2 is a good buy. It’s my bedside IEM that I don’t mind crushing if I fall asleep. They’re also comfortable enough for falling asleep in. The only thing I can complain about are the cables, which can be a little uncomfortable if not worn just right.

I’m wondering if upgraded cables would improve the sound…I’ll see if I can find some spares. I can’t believe these cost less than third party IEM cables.


Edited: dang auto corrections

 

I own the Truthear Hola since over a year ago, and it is excellent. Smooth, no treble nastiness, bass a bit boosted but the mids not overly blurred. I use them from the 3.5mm jack of my android phone, so nothing fancy, just practical and in line with the 20 eur price of the IEM.

I was surprised at first because they were....listenable and normal sounding, which is quite a rare sight. Couldn't care less about technicalities and detail if it comes with all sorts of tonal and frequency response aberrations. For reference, I prefer my old JBL LSR305 studio monitors over most headphone setups because of the textural smoothness of the soft dome tweeter. Despite the missing plankton and detail, it just sounds much more natural and correct to me than, let's say your average planar headphone. The Hola doesn't reach that level of effortlessness and smoothness but that's impossible because of surface area alone, so can't ask it to do that.

Overall, I'm very pleased with them. They are a bargain at 20 bucks IMO.

PS: as always, terrible pictures or it didn't happen

 

Got the Gate a few days ago. Very impressed for something under $20. I've been out of the IEM game since 2006, wanted to try something in the budget range. Nice grab-and-go set I don't have to worry about.

 

If you have an iPhone IEMs really have to bring Jesus Christ back to even be considered vs the complete package of AirPods Pro 2, IMO. Noise canceling vs transparency mode, being able to take calls, no wires, no DAC nor amp needed, much improved SQ vs gen 1, not 4-figures, etc.

I don't think it's sad at all because AirPods cleared the way for me to be able to focus on 2-ch. If it enables others in similar ways (assuming they are in a living situation where it's possible to focus on a speaker rig) then I think that's a win.

 

Wireless done well is great for utility. Sound wise it is very competent and on surface tends to outperform wired as full system for the money.

STILL, I miss something even cheapo wired do.
Still have the original Sansa Clip with RE-00s.
There is some immediacy lost in wireless - hard to describe, since there is no analogy.
Somthing like going from Tidal to real music files on hdd - but this one only rears its head in hi end system.

Makes me consider the only solid phone with headphone plug for next phone.

@shotgunshane a thread for great value amp/dac dongles would be great - unless I have missed it.
What is your favorite today, say sub 200 $?

 

There is a bunch of dongles mixed in this thread.

I assume you might have seen it already, but it's worth mentioning:

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/usb-dac-amp-dongles.11001/

 

Incredible what $20 can get you.

Earlier this year I was searching for cheapo IEMs with flat frequency response. Harman target does no good to listening to rock, metal and classical music (or any other music with acoustic instruments). Andy @donglemadness has recommended Tanchjim Zero, which I've bought. Those were... okay-ish. Nothing special. Surprisingly hard to drive at 32 Ohms and not really impactful, with rather narrow soundstage clumped somewhere in the centre of the head. Often times I went with Superlux HD 381 for commuting to the workplace and back home. Eventually I lost the pouch with Tanchjim Zero in the bus and that was an end of their story.

Enter Truthear Gate. These IEMs are not "flat", i.e., not what I was searching for. V shape is obvious when you look at the frequency response chart. Thankfully, local store guy gave the opportunity to test drive the Gate.

As stated above, Harman curve is a no go for me. I don't like boosted bass that does womp-womp, bleeds into mids and muddies everything. Gate resides at the very verge of acceptable. Just give mids a little dip (-1 or -2 db) and all the life is taken away from the mix...

Many manufacturers often overdo lower frequencies. What Truthear did with these $20 IEMs is nothing short of amazing. Bass in Gate is very punchy, powerful, "elastic". It rumbles and yet tail of the note decays fast. Bass guitar and double bass sound 3-dimensional. Staccato notes remain staccato. String attack and finger articulation is audible and musical. When drummer hits the floor tom and kicks the kick drum, there's the feeling of the plastic pushing air away from the drum kit. Very impressive. You can get a visceral impact from snare drum hit as well as double kick drum drills. All of that without bleeding into mids and leaving mud traces all over the track.

Mids are scooped slightly but palatable. Guitar riffs can be easily read. Riffs are not veiled, guitar texture is "there" and does its job. Vocals are at the front row, but not in-your-face. Treble is nothing to write home about, though. If one likes to listen to ride cymbal in the jazz music, seek eslwhere. Gate's treble is inobtrusive and "polite" but lacks air and stage width up top.

All in all, Truthear sent a curveball with these dynamic IEMs with driver on the smaller size spectrum at just 10 mm. Package is pedestrian, but you get a very nice cable that does not tangle (screw you, Superlux!). There are buyers who buy Gate just for the sake of the cable alone. Whatever your use case is, the price/pefrormance ratio is stupid high here.