TRUTHEAR HOLA: Propositional Value

"Hola is one of the first greetings that you will learn if you study the Spanish language. Hola means Hello and it was followed by ¿Como Estas? (How are you?). And it looks like TRUTHEAR is sending its greetings to the audio community on their introductory product in the ultra-budget segment."

This is actually my first product review for TRUTHEAR, as we all know that TRUTHEAR was already quite popular among some audio enthusiasts with the introduction of their TRUTHEAR ZERO and TRUTHEAR HEXA with their impressive mature tuning.

Here are some information about this new audio company,  TRUTHEAR is a Shenzhen-based company which specialiases on audio solution like earphones and other mobile hi-fi devices. It seems that they are also some sort of a sister company of the popular entry-level/midrange brand, MOONDROP and the more premium brand, SOFTEARS that both brands earned some good reputation on audio enthusiasts scene.

This is TRUTHEAR's first product in the ultra-budget segment, The HOLA. HOLA is a single driver IEM, just like its contemporaries in the same price segment but it has an uncommon implementation of its transducer among its peers; it has an LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) diaphragm on its dual dynamic driver which gives a more responsive and faster transients with less distortion performance.

HOLAs were encapsulated in a matte-finished, 3-D printed black polycarbonate plastic shell chassis done by Heygears which is known for its 3D printing business either on hardware and software development and it has a simple geometric polygon design on its face plate. It has a detachable cable for ease of replacement and it uses a recessed 2-pin connector which is quite different compared to a more common "QDC-type" bi-pin connector.

The contour of HOLA's shells has a UIEM-style shape profile which gives a more snug fitting to my lug holes. It has decent passive noise isolation as it blocks some external noises from the outside. Another laudable aspect of HOLA was its stock cable, this is probably the best stock cable in under US$20 price segment. It has a rather thick insulation coating on its wirings then a twisted part on the half of the cable towards the termination plug.

As for production packaging, HOLA's  packaging box is rather small just enough to contain the inclusions, it has a cute illustration of TRUTHEAR's product mascot (her name is Shiroi) with product logo and model print at the front and a frequency graph, basic product specification and company address at the back.

Here are the inclusions you can find inside of the box:

■ TRUTHEAR Hola IEMs

■ A faux leather IEM case with magnetic snaps.

■ An eartips mount with different bores and sizes of eartips.

■ A black-coloured OFC 4-core cable in an L-shaped termination plug.

■ Warranty card

■ Instruction manual

When it comes to driveability and scalability, TRUTHEAR Hola is quite easy to be amplified by devices with decent power output. But putting them in a device like LG smartphones and DAPs with better DAC/amps will give the HOLA better dynamics and amplitude rating.

TRUTHEAR Hola's tonality takes a more mild-U shaped sound signature profile that is quite a trend nowadays. It has an elevated bass, a neutral midrange and a noticeable peak on upper-mids to presence treble.

Here are some of my observations on its overall sound characteristic.

LOWS/BASS:

Certainly that Hola has this tightness and clean bass response. It rather focuses on the sub bass quality as it has a good reverb and rumble that gives a depth on low tone bass guitars, electric drums and synthesisers on every synth-pop, some classic rock and bass boost driven old school hip-hop tracks that I'm thrown into it.

Mid bass is somehow less emphasis on this one as it has leaner texture to give a bass guitar sounds less aggressive for its mellow and a tad less weighty, a hollow and soft on bass drum kicks and a light and mellow bass-baritone vocals that gives more melodious and "lyrical" rather than a strong and authority.

MIDRANGE:

As usual for a mild-U shaped, it has a tad notch in the overall presentation. Despite its slight recession, it has ample texture to give a decent note weight and it is relatively transparent sounding. It takes on focusing on  female vocals rather than male vocals. Female vocals have this captivating, pleasantly sweet sounding while male vocals have enough depth and modulation to give at least a substantial note weight.

Regarding the instruments, strings like acoustic guitars take a more of a buttery and warm sounding while violins sound somewhat calm and austere. Woodwinds like flute have this light, mellow and soft sounding while saxophone has this rounded and warm sound that is quite less intense and reedy in my liking. Brass like trombone sounds relatively tersive and concise while horns sound quite velvety and ponderous. Percussive like tom drums sounds sonorous and yet sombre sounding, while snare drums have a penetrating and hard-hitting resound. Pianos have a sufficient glistening yet smooth sound on it which is quite impressive for a single DD set.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

HOLA's treble takes a rather safer tuning as it is well-balanced and smooth response but there are some slight finickiness about it. It will not give you the airiest brilliance treble but rather its more of an enough given its price. It has a satisfying shimmer to give a decent definition on cymbals and other percussive instruments that focuses on treble response.

Another thing that HOLA's doesn't have any signs of harshness nor hissing which make this IEM really good and highly recommended to treble sensitives out there.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Like most products in this particular price range, HOLA's technical capabilities are rather pretty average. First was its sound/speaker stage overall's dimensions are adequate enough. Just a median on wideness,  decent height and average depth from front to back perception just to give at least a standard sense of space within my head room, not narrow nor expansive one.

Second aspect is the imaging which I can safely say is average again given that I can locate the placement of each instrument and positioning of vocals but in a more basic, two-dimensional stereo panning. Separation and layering performance seems nothing to be distinguishable the fact that it a decent gap and spacing and it has some semblance of frequency and dynamic  layering part of element but don't expect an impressive performance if you play a very complex, multi-instrumental tracks to it as it sounds a bit congested and veiled.

The third facet was its coherency, it performs pretty well given that its an LCP driver that gives a better transient response, so it performs pretty well on this aspect. The last but not the least was resolution capability, it has a homogenous and cohesive macro-dynamics and decent delineation aptness into this one that it has enough sharpness for definition on nuances and details. Timbre is actually impressive on this one as it has presented a more organic presentation.

PEER COMPARISONS:

ND AUDIO NSK

■ Both IEMs are comparable in this comparison, they have both single dynamic drivers on their internals but the materials of its respective are different. NSK uses a composite one consisting of silicon and paper-like substance on its diaphragm. NSK  previously used to have the best stock cable in under $20 segment and HOLA manage to displaced it with even better stock cable.

■ As for tonality, NSK takes more of a V-shaped sound signature. It has a punchy bass, a more recessed midrange presentation and similar treble response but NSK has a bit more airy on treble extension.

■ Technicalities on both IEMs are akin to each other, similar soundstage dimension, imaging, coherency and even resolution capabilities. But the tonal colour on NSK is a bit warmer.

TANGZU WAN'ER SG

■ We have the match of the year as both devices are aiming for the same price segment. They are definitely trading blows on one another. They both have the same implementation of a transducer which is a dynamic driver but TangZu uses their own designed PET diaphragm. It also has some good included accessories too but stock cable on HOLA is way better.

■ they also take almost the same direction on sound profile, a mild U-shaped tuning but Wan'er has more warmer and noticeable textured midbass, it has a tad bright due to an emphasis on upper mids to brilliance treble, but at least it has a tad airiness on presence treble but still not my ideal treble air. At least both are leaning towards a smooth and safe treble.

■ As for technicalities, Wan'er has an above average soundstage size but imaging, coherency and separation, they are parallel to each other given on their performance. Tonal colour on Wan'er has a tad of added shimmer to make a bit brighter sound.

MOONDROP QUARKS DSP

■ Definitely it is HOLA's distant cousin. It really depends on its DSP  implementation to give its distinct tuning and a non-detachable cable which is sort of a bummer.

■ Quarks DSP has this weird tonality like uneven bass response, decently clean but recessed midrange and a very poor treble register.

■ It does have an inadequate technical performance that I will rather suggest that you should save up a little bit for HOLA. Apologies but I can't really recommend this set unless you want to do some experiment on it via EQing.

To conclude my assessment on TRUTHEAR HOLA, it seems that TRUTHEAR takes the right direction on how they will push on the Hola to the ultra-budget segment.

Given its inoffensive tuning and appealing pricing that audio enthusiast will give a worth on its undertaking value to be affordable and provides them a likeable sound quality. Remember there will always be some caveats that you consider like unexceptional, safe tuning but given that this type of tuning on which you can only find in the midrange segment some few years ago, you would rather give it a considerable try on it.

TRUTHEAR HOLA is currently available on SHENZHEN AUDIO. Try to visit HERE* if you want to purchase it.

(*Guaranteed Non-affiliate link)

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: TRUTHEAR HOLA

IMPEDANCE: 28Ω

SENSITIVITY: 120dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE:  8Hz – 46KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M

PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78MM)

PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm

DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER

PROS:

△ Well-thought 3D-moulded shell design

△ Cheap price for a starter and budget mobile Hi-Fi enthusiast.

△ Currently, the best stock cable among the IEMs in under $20 segment.

△ A pleasing and non-fatiguing sound profile.

△ A LCP driver on the ultra-budget range, unbelievable!

△ An included IEM leatherette pouch with magnetic clasp is a rarity in under $20 segment.

CONS:

▽ Too safe tuning nonetheless.

▽ Average technical performance (just my nitpicking)

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to TRUTHEAR nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to SHENZHENAUDIO and also to TRUTHEAR for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.