Reviews, Impressions, Rants, and More from darmanastartes

[John_W_Clark]

@darmanastartes

However, it doesn’t render distorted electric guitars, male vocals, or analog percussion favorably compared to other options at this price point. This may be a great option for some, but as someone who listens to a lot of heavy metal and hard rock, this IEM is not a good fit for me.

I hadn’t thought about it that way, but it makes sense. I am a classic rock and prog rock guy, and am there for the guitar work above all.

I still think in the under $100 category, there are three other better picks, at least for my music. The Artti R1, Tripowin Kailua, and Olina SE. The R1 is a slightly warm 3DD with beryllium drivers which always works for me. The Kailua is weird, it does nearly everything well, but the fit is horrible for some people. Olina SE is just good, and has been the standard in this price bracket for a while.

I have poked my head down the flathead earbud rabbit hole. I would put the $10 Faaeal Iris 2.0 ( or even the $8 Iris Ancestor ) up against all three of those.

[darmanastartes]

IO Audio Volare Review

Introduction and Disclaimer

The IO Audio Volare is an in-ear monitor that employs a combination of one dynamic driver, four balanced armatures (BAs), and four electrostatic (EST) drivers per housing. Retailing for $599, this review unit was provided to me by Shenzhen Audio. I suspect that IO Audio is an in-house brand, akin to the relationship between Thieaudio and Linsoul.

Packaging and Accessories

The Volare arrives in a large square black cardboard box, adorned with a black slipcover. The slipcover provides technical specifications in both English and Mandarin, and also displays B&K 4195-Q and GRAS 45CA-9 measurements of the Volare.

Upon lifting the flip-up box top, a rigid leather carry case embossed with the IO Audio logo is revealed. The earpieces are securely stored in a foam mounting sheet inside the case. For the case to be used, foam inserts in both the top and bottom must be removed. An elastic mesh pocket in the roof of the case provides storage for accessories.

Below the case section of the box, there are three drawers filled with more accessories.

The first drawer contains a thick braided detachable 2-pin cable with interchangeable terminations. All three common terminations (2.5mm balanced, 3.5mm single-ended, and 4.4mm balanced) are included. The terminations feature a notched index point built into the male and female 4-pin connectors and are secured by a screw-on ring cap. I had no issues with terminations coming loose. As an everyday user of a Qudelix 5K, I was pleased to see that the 2.5mm option was not omitted.

All of the cable hardware, including the 2-pin connector housings and the chin adjustment choker, are made of black polished metal or brass. The right side 2-pin connector is indicated by a red O-ring. The cable has preformed black heat-shrink ear guides and lacks strain relief. Without the use of the chin adjustment choker, the cable is quite microphonic.

The second drawer includes a staggering 15 sets of eartips in five different varieties, each available in small, medium, and large sizes. There are four different types of silicone eartips of varying height, shape, and nozzle width, plus a set of foam eartips.

The third drawer contains a user manual, a manufacturer contact card bearing the unit serial number, a warranty card, a quality control pass chit, a small microfiber cloth, and a simple 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter.

Build Quality and Design

My first, and really my only, problem with the Volare is that some of the tolerances are not quite right. The shell molding seems a tiny bit rough in places, such as the nozzles and the circular vents below the recessed 2-pin connector ports. Most annoyingly, the left side 2-pin connector comes loose very easily. It’s fair to assume these concerns could be isolated to early units (mine is one of the first 40 produced), but it’s worth noting given the price tag.

Setting the build quality concerns aside, the physical design is very attractive. The housing bodies are black with inlaid silver glitter. The faceplates are grey with black vine-like designs set behind a clear cover. Silver “I” and “O” are set into the faceplates of the left and right earpieces respectively. The top of the shell is printed with the text “Volare” in gold lettering. The nozzles have substantial lips to secure eartips. I did occasionally have eartips come loose when wearing the Volare to sleep, but not during daytime listening. Each nozzle has three separate sound tubes.

Comfort, Fit, and Isolation

The Volare is very comfortable to wear for extended periods. It has a moderate insertion depth and is low-profile enough to wear to sleep if you feel like living on the edge with a $600 set of IEMs. The security of fit is okay but not great, requiring occasional readjustment. The isolation is moderate.

Sound

IO Volare — Bedrock Reviews (squig.link)

For the most part, the IO Volare exhibits a classic Moondrop Virtual Diffuse Sound Field (VDSF) inspired tuning. It features a moderate sub-bass elevation followed by a gentle downslope through the mid-bass, bottoming out in the lower mids, and a plateau-style elevated upper midrange without an isolated ear gain peak.

The Volare boasts terrific sub-bass extension and excellent bass articulation and resolution while still having very good impact, texture, and dynamics.

The mid-range clarity is excellent, with very good male vocal intelligibility. There’s a decent amount of body to male vocals, though they lack a little in texture and grit. Female vocals are bit bright and foward but are not sibilant. The Volare differs from a lot of VDSF-style IEMs in that its presence region is more forward than most. This results in a tad too much presence for my tastes, not egregious but enough to slightly exaggerate the distortion of electric guitars. While analog percussion sounds crisp and snappy, there is a bit of BA timbre in the midrange.

The lower treble is energetic with well-defined transients. As one would expect, the Volare has much better treble extension than the budget single dynamic driver IEMs that typically opt for this type of sound. Specifically, there is no precipitous treble fall-off after 10 kHz. In fact, there is a pronounced mid treble emphasis, providing plenty of sparkle for cymbal clashes. The upper treble extension is very good, and detail retrieval is terrific. However, I would have preferred more upper treble emphasis, especially above 15 kHz, given the use of ESTs in the design. The soundstage is reasonably open, with excellent instrument separation.

Conclusion

I have nothing substantially negative to say about the sound quality of the Volare at this price point. My one reservation would be the build quality moving forward given my issues with the cable connectors, but looking at other reviews published to date, this seems to be isolated to my unit. Overall, the Volare is worth its asking price and is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a rationally-tuned IEM in the $600–900 price range.

The IO Audio Volare can be purchased at the link below:

IOAUDIO VOLARE 1DD+4BA+4EST In-Ear Headphone (shenzhenaudio.com)

[apricotblossome]

@darmanastartes

owever, I would have preferred more upper treble emphasis, especially above 15 kHz, given the use of ESTs in the design

now I’m worried whether they take enough advantage of the ESTs from this comment, then again I can’t go wrong much giving it a look since it’s quite a ways away from the Monarch’s pricing

[darmanastartes]

Simgot DEW4X Dongle DAC/AMP Review

Introduction and Disclaimer

The Simgot DEW4X is a dongle DAC/AMP equipped with both 4.4mm balanced and 3.5 mm single-ended outputs as well as dual C43198 DAC chips. The DEW4X is priced at $79.99. Simgot provided me with a review unit in exchange for my impressions.

Headphones

I tested the Simgot DEW4X using the following headphones:

• Moondrop S8
• Letshuoer Cadenza4
• Moondrop Para
• IO Audio Volare

Packaging and Accessories

The Simgot DEW4X comes in a small rectangular silver cardboard box. The device is securely nestled in a foam mounting sheet inside the box, along with an unbranded Baseus USB-A to USB-C adapter. As I have indicated before, this adapter lacks active circuitry to prevent backpower and I do not recommend using it. The package also includes a rugged USB-C to USB-C cable, a quality control pass chit, and a user manual.

Design and Controls

The Simgot DEW4X has a simple and sleek anodized black metal housing with colored accents printed on the top face of the device. Key specifications are printed in bold white text on the bottom face of the device. The DEW4X is very compact and is smaller than many competing devices. It also features physical volume controls. The DEW4X’s volume controls are independent of system volume. I prefer physical controls to not be independent of system volume, but I recognize this is the minority position. Pressing both volume controls at the same time swaps between high and low gain.

Standards Compliance

The Simgot DEW4X does not support headset controls or pause-on-headphone-disconnect functionality, nor does it relay connector status to the host device.

Power and Heat Management

I measured the DEW4X’s power consumption using an IEC-711 clone microphone and a WITRN U2 USB power meter. I played a -10 dBV 1 kHz test tone from REW through the Moondrop S8 (Impedance: 16Ω±15%@1Khz, Sensitivity: 122Db/Vrms) and increased the volume until my microphone registered an SPL of approximately 94 dB. The results are available in the table below:

Dongle Power Draw

The DEW4X has excellent heat management. I never noticed it get hot or warm to the touch under any circumstances.

Comparison with the Colorfly CDA-M2 ($159.99)

Note: I made the following observations while switching back and forth between the Simgot DEW4X and the Colorfly CDA-M2 under sighted conditions. There was a delay of several seconds when switching between devices. The two devices were volume-matched to within .1 dB. I used the Moondrop S8 as the transducer for this comparison. In most cases, any differences between competently designed sources are minor and not necessarily apparent under uncontrolled testing conditions.

In addition, I made the following observations with a system-wide -4 dB pre-amp setting as suggested here. While I recommend using this pre-amp setting to preserve fidelity, it does reduce the headroom of all connected source devices.

The Colorfly CDA-M2 is my current benchmark for evaluating dongle DAC/AMPs, with stellar resolving capability. This is not a fair comparison, because the CDA-M2 comes in at double the price of the DEW4X. Nevertheless, it gives me an idea of where more affordable DAC/AMPs may fall short.

The CDA-M2 sounds brighter than the DEW4X, with more brilliance to cymbal clashes and more air. The CDA-M2 also sounds more detailed and resolving than the DEW4X. Finally, the CDA-M2 imparts a larger, more delineated soundstage. The DEW4X is warmer, digging deeper into the bass and providing a greater sense of impact to percussion. With that said, the DEW4X performs exactly as I’d hope an $80 dongle to in terms of technical performance.

Comparison with the Moondrop Dawn Pro ($49.99)

As before, the following observations were made while switching back and forth between the Simgot DEW4X and the Moondrop under sighted conditions. There was a delay of several seconds when switching between devices. The two devices were volume-matched to within .3 dB. The Moondrop S8 was used as the transducer for this comparison.

The DEW4X sounds more neutral than the Moondrop Dawn Pro and produces a more three-dimensional soundstage. The Dawn Pro sounds more V-shaped than the DEW4X, highlighting bass extension and imparting more energy to cymbals. The Dawn Pro is less resolving and seems to have more limited soundstage depth compared to the DEW4X. However, the Dawn Pro has superior bass texture.

Conclusion

The Simgot DEW4X is a fairly priced and competitive entry into the affordable dongle space, with excellent power efficiency and thermal management. If you’re looking for a neutral-warm dongle, and want something lighter, more compact, more power efficient, and cooler-running than the Colorfly CDA-M1P, the DEW4X is worth a look.

[darmanastartes]

Hidizs S8 Pro Robin Dongle DAC/AMP Review

Introduction and Disclaimer

The Hidizs S8 Pro Robin is a dongle DAC/AMP featuring both 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single-ended outputs, along with dual CS43131 DAC chips. It is priced at $69.99. Hidizs has supplied me with a review unit for my evaluation.

Headphones

I tested the Hidizs S8 Pro Robin using the following headphones:

• Moondrop S8
• Moondrop Para
• IO Audio Volare

Packaging and Accessories

The Hidizs S8 Pro Robin is packaged in a compact square black plastic tray, covered by a black cardstock slipcover. Inside the box, the device rests securely in a foam mounting tray. The package includes a USB-C to Lightning adapter and a USB-A to USB-C adapter. However, the USB-C to USB-A adapter is not recommended for use as it lacks the necessary circuitry to prevent backpower. The package also contains a short black USB-C to USB-C cable. This cable is one of Hidizs’ unidirectional abominations. The cable has one USB-C connector with a purple interior, which must be connected to the S8 Pro Robin to enable the transport device to power and recognize it. If reversed, the cable fails to transmit power or data, defying USB-IF standards and logical expectations of USB-C functionality. Fortunately, the S8 Pro Robin is compatible with standard USB-C to USB-C cables from other brands. The box also includes a quality control pass chit, a warranty card, and two gold “Hi-Res Audio” stickers.

Design and Controls

The Hidizs S8 Pro Robin’s design closely resembles that of the Hidizs S9 Pro Plus. It features a lightweight silver casing with a batwing cross-section. Atop the device, there’s an illuminated Hidizs logo, while the bottom bears dark grey text labeling. The S8 Pro Robin also includes physical controls on its right side. I find these buttons unsatisfactory for several reasons. The central pause button’s disc shape misleadingly suggests it might rotate like a volume dial, which it does not. The volume buttons have a cheap feel and lack satisfying tactile feedback. Additionally, the rose gold color of the buttons seems at odds with the silver casing. The volume controls do not operate independently from the system volume of the connected device. However, when linked to a Windows PC, they solely adjust the S8 Pro Robin’s volume without affecting other connected devices, which seems preferable. The S8 Pro Robin is of average size for a dongle. Simultaneously pressing both volume buttons toggles between the six digital filters available, with the illuminated logo changing colors to indicate the selected filter.

Standards Compliance

The Hidizs S8 Pro Robin does not support headset controls or pause-on-headphone-disconnect functionality, nor does it relay connector status to the host device.

Power and Heat Management

I measured the Hidizs S8 Pro Robin’s power consumption using an IEC-711 clone microphone and a WITRN U2 USB power meter. A -10 dBV 1 kHz test tone from REW was played through the Moondrop S8 (Impedance: 16Ω±15%@1Khz, Sensitivity: 122Db/Vrms), and the volume was increased until the microphone indicated an SPL of roughly 94 dB. The findings are presented in the following table:

Dongle Power Draw

The S8 Pro Robin has excellent heat management. I never noticed it get hot or warm to the touch under any circumstances.

Comparison with the Colorfly CDA-M2 ($159.99)

Note: I made the following observations while switching back and forth between the Hidizs S8 Pro Robin and the Colorfly CDA-M2 under sighted conditions. There was a delay of several seconds when switching between devices. The two devices were volume-matched to within .1 dB. I used the Moondrop S8 as the transducer for this comparison. In most cases, any differences between competently designed sources are minor and not necessarily apparent under uncontrolled testing conditions. I used the low-latency and phase-compensated filter, on the Hidizs S8 Pro Robin and the fast low-latency filter on the Colorfly CDA-M2 during this test.

In addition, I made the following observations with a system-wide -4 dB pre-amp setting as suggested here. While I recommend using this pre-amp setting to preserve fidelity, it does reduce the headroom of all connected source devices.

The Colorfly CDA-M2 is my current benchmark for evaluating dongle DAC/AMPs. This is not a fair comparison, because the CDA-M2 comes in at more than double the price of the S8 Pro Robin. Nevertheless, it gives me an idea of where more affordable DAC/AMPs may fall short.

With that said, the CDA-M2 and the S8 Pro Robin sound almost identical. The CDA-M2 sounds a smidge clearer and more resolving than the S8 Pro Robin. If I had to quantify the difference in resolution, I would say that it is no more than a 5% difference. I would be hard-pressed to distinguish the two in a blind test. I suspect the negligible difference in sound reproduction is mostly down to being able to closely match the digital filters of the two devices.

Comparison with the Moondrop Dawn Pro ($49.99)

As before, the following observations were made while switching back and forth between the Hidizs S8 Pro Robin and the Moondrop Dawn Pro under sighted conditions. There was a delay of several seconds when switching between devices. The two devices were volume-matched to within .2 dB. The Moondrop S8 was used as the transducer for this comparison.

The Hidizs S8 Pro Robin seems to render bass with greater impact than the Moondrop Dawn Pro. The S8 Pro Robin also sounds a tiny bit more resolving in the treble region. Again, the difference is very slight, which makes sense given that the two devices use the same DAC chip arrangement.

Conclusion

The Hidizs S8 Pro Robin does a lot of things right. It is fairly priced and dramatically improves power efficiency compared to the Hidizs S9 Pro Plus. In fact, the S8 Pro Robin may be the most power-efficient dual-output dongle I have tested to date. The sound reproduction is also terrific, coming within striking distance of much more expensive devices. My main reservations, other than my perennial frustration with the USB-C accessories Hidizs includes with their devices, are my dislike for the device’s physical appearance and its cheap feeling in the hand. I can imagine these are not going to be dealbreakers for a lot of prospective buyers.

The Hidizs S8 Pro Robin can be purchased at the link below:

HIDIZS S8 Pro Robin HiFi Balanced Dongle DAC | Hidizs

[darmanastartes]

I had some downtime over this past weekend and filled the spreadsheet in with a lot of old review units:

Dongle Power Draw

Is there another way to represent what “SPL of 94 dB with Moondrop S8” means as a single figure? Plugging in the data for the S8 into Headphonesty’s Headphones Power Calculator gives the following:

Headphones Power Calculator

[Rikudou_Goku]

@darmanastartes

Is there another way to represent what “SPL of 94 dB with Moondrop S8” means as a single figure?

I dont know, it looks good to me.

@darmanastartes

Headphones Power Calculator - Headphonesty

Use this site instead

Headphones power calculator

That other one is sometimes bugged and not as detailed anyway.

[darmanastartes]

Simgot SuperMix 4 In-Ear Monitor Review

Introduction and Disclaimer:

The Simgot SuperMix 4 is an in-ear monitor (IEM) with a quad-brid driver configuration. The SuperMix 4 contains a dynamic driver, a balanced armature (BA), a planar magnetic driver, and a piezoelectric driver in each earpiece. The SuperMix 4 retails for $149.99. Simgot sent me a review unit in exchange for my evaluation.

As you view the pictures in this review, please note that my unit tumbled onto concrete around a week and a half into my review. My frequency response measurements were also taken post-impact.

Unboxing and Accessories

The Simgot SuperMix 4 comes in a rectangular black cardboard box with a green slipcover. The front face of the slipcover features a skeleton view of the SuperMix 4’s driver arrangement. The rear face of the slipcover showcases the SuperMix 4’s frequency response and technical specifications.

The SuperMix 4 includes only three pairs of eartips in small, medium, and large sizes. These are the same poor-quality silicone eartips Simgot has included with their IEMs since I began reviewing their products years ago. I instead used a pair of Kinera Celest 608 eartips during my evaluation. The SuperMix4 also includes a black pill-shaped zippered pleather carry pouch. Finally, the package contains a user manual and a quality control pass chit.

Design, Build, Comfort, Fit, and Isolation

The Simgot SuperMix 4’s aluminum faceplates have a teardrop-shaped cross-section. The faceplates are engraved with a copper circle. There is a tiny circular mesh-covered vent at the bottom of the circle engraving. The thick black resin housings have a pseudo-custom fit. There is a brass plug with a circular vent offset from the 2-pin connector on each housing. The 2–pin connectors are flush with the surface of the housing. The nozzles feature three separate sound bores. At the bottom of the housing, a directional indicator and the text “SuperMix 4” are printed in gold along the edge of the seam between the housing and faceplate. The nozzles do not have a lip with which to secure eartips. However, the nozzles are on the thicker side, and I did not have any issues with eartips coming off the nozzles during my evaluation. I found the SuperMix 4 isolating, comfortable, and secure.

The braided 2-pin cable is both flexible and resistant to tangling. The straight 3.5mm jack and the Y-split hardware use the same gunmetal aluminum as the earpiece faceplates. There is a chin-adjustment choker fashioned from the same material. The cable has strain relief above the 3.5mm jack and the Y-split. The cable has clear plastic preformed ear guides, and the 2-pin connector housings are marked with blue and red bands to indicate left and right. The cable is moderately microphonic even while using the chin adjustment choker.

Sound

Simgot SuperMix 4 — Bedrock Reviews (squig.link)

The Simgot SuperMix4 has a U-shaped Harman-ish tuning with a substantial sub-bass elevation below 200 Hz and the best treble extension I have heard at this price point. In fact, the SuperMix 4 has better treble extension than any IEM I have heard below around $300. While there is a hint of distinctive ceramic piezoelectric timbre in the upper treble, compared to the earliest implementations of this driver type I heard several years ago, the SuperMix 4’s piezo driver is vastly better integrated.

Sub-bass extension is excellent, with a satisfying amount of rumble, and the sub-bass to mid-bass transition is smooth. The bass is cleanly articulated, resolving, textured, and impactful. There is no mid-bass bleed into the midrange.

The SuperMix 4’s midrange balance is more skewed towards the upper midrange than I would prefer. The lower midrange is a little recessed even for my tastes, and the ear gain region (centered at about 2.8 kHz) and the presence region are a little too forward. Male vocals are moderately lacking in body and are not as detailed, textured, or intelligible as female vocals. Female vocals are vibrant but closer to sibilance than I would like. Distorted electric guitars sound a tad overdriven and take on a degree of the buzzsaw-like character I dread so much, but there is no analog percussion compression. The overall midrange timbre is natural-sounding and avoids the plasticity historically associated with BAs.

The SuperMix 4’s treble response is class-leading. The balance between the presence region, lower treble, mid-treble, and upper treble is nearly perfect. There is a bit too much upper treble relative to the mid-treble. I assume the piezo driver is covering this range because cutting several decibels at 15 kHz or so not only helps the overall treble balance but completely neutralizes the faint piezo timbre, making treble transient delivery sound more natural. Even with this small imperfection, the SuperMix 4 is laudable. Overall detail retrieval is exceptional, the soundstage is wide, and instrument separation is terrific.

Conclusion

The Simgot SuperMix 4 offers the best treble extension on the market unless you spend double or more than its asking price. If you care about detail retrieval as much as I do, the SuperMix 4’s mildly exaggerated midrange and slight piezo timbre are well worth tolerating.

[SushiiFi]

Simgot Supermix 4 - Is The Hype Real?

My video of Simgot supermix 4 is live. Please give it a watch. Consider liking and subscribing if you like the videos.

[jmwant]

Nice one! Would appreciate more if you mention the dac you used when reviewing.

[SushiiFi]

Did a short listen on a friend’s cayin n7 and xduoo xd05pro for first impressions then used moondrop dawn pro and topping nx7 for most of my listen.

[jmwant]

Thanks. Is the cayin n7 warm sounding?

[SushiiFi]

It leans on warmer side but not overly warm. Very musical and pleasant sounding.

[jmwant]

Thanks man. What type of source do you think goes well it the sm4? Warm, neutral or bright?

[SushiiFi]

Slight warmer sources will go well with the sm4 in my opinion.

[SushiiFi]

Showing some love to budget iems today. Man i have to say. “Good iems are getting cheap and cheap iems are getting good” i know i stole it from mkbhd . Today i am comparing epz q1 pro and kinera celest wyvern abyss/ wyvern black.
Excellent iems for the price. Thinking of making a short and simple video on YT as well.

[jmwant]

Don’t forget to leave a link of the video.

[SushiiFi]

Sure, i will do that

[darmanastartes]

I would appreciate not having the thread I created for my reviews hijacked by another reviewer. Please do not do so again.

[darmanastartes]

Truthear Gate In-Ear Monitor Review

Introduction and Disclaimer:

The Truthear Gate is an in-ear monitor (IEM) with a single dynamic driver in each earpiece. The Gate is currently on sale for $16.99. ShenzhenAudio sent me a review unit in exchange for my evaluation.

Unboxing and Accessories

The Truthear Gate comes in a square black cardboard box with a white slipcover. The front face of the slipcover features a samurai-inspired waifu. The rear face of the slipcover showcases the Gate’s frequency response and lists the Gate’s technical specifications.

The Gate includes six pairs of eartips in two varieties. Each variant comes in small, medium, and large sizes. One variant has a more conventional bulbous shape with a longer stem, and the other is shorter and wider, with a more open bore. In terms of feel and quality, both varieties are a step down from the white silicone used in the eartips included with earlier Truthear IEMs. I used a pair of the Celest 608 eartips included with the Kinera Celest Pandamon 2.0 I recently reviewed during my evaluation instead.

The Gate also includes a Truthear-branded square black pleather carry pouch with a magnetic closure, which works well and is appreciated at this price point.

Design, Build, Comfort, Fit, and Isolation

The earpieces have a scale-shaped cross-section with a pseudo-custom fit. The faceplates are transparent, providing a clear view of the internal wiring and the 10mm dynamic driver. The Truthear logo is printed in white on the left faceplate and “GATe” is printed in white on the right faceplate. There is a medium-sized bean-shaped vent near the edge of the inner face of each housing as well as a smaller circular vent right next to the nozzle. There is no directional labeling on the earpieces. The nozzles have a medium-sized lip to secure eartips. The earpieces are on the thicker side and are not quite as comfortable as other Truthear IEMs I have reviewed. They are low-profile enough to wear while lying on one’s side but are probably not the best choice for this use case. Isolation is poor. On the other hand, the earpieces fit securely but provide minimal isolation.

The cable is flexible but prone to tangling. There is a chin-adjustment choker, which I recommend making use of. The cable has an L-shaped 3.5mm jack with robust strain relief. There is no strain relief at the Y-split, marked with the Truthear logo in white. The cable has pre-formed ear guides, and the 2-pin connector housings have raised directional markings. The 2–pin connectors are deeply recessed. The cable is not very microphonic even without using the chin-adjustment choker.

Sound

Truthear Gate — Bedrock Reviews (squig.link)

The Truthear Gate has a U-shaped tuning with a gentle sub-bass elevation and a plateau-style ear gain region emphasis. There is also an audible peak in the upper treble that adds a bit of an unpleasant bite to treble transients.

Sub-bass extension is good, with a fair amount of rumble, and the sub-bass to mid-bass transition is smooth and gradual. While cleanly articulated, percussion is lacking a little in impact. Bass resolution is fairly average and bass texture is poor. There is no mid-bass bleed.

Compared to a similarly-priced IEM like the Moondrop Chu II, the Gate sounds flat. The Chu II sounds more three-dimensional, with greater separation between vocals and midrange instrumentation and greater contrast between the bass and treble. With that said, both male and female vocals are quite intelligible on the Gate. Male vocals have body and some texture but suffer from what I can only describe as glare along their trailing edge. This seems to be an artifact of the upper treble peak. Female vocals do not seem to be as affected by this. I love how the Gate renders female vocals, which come across as rich, vibrant, and detailed without being breathy or sibilant. The measured dip in the presence region helps to prevent distorted electric guitars from sounding too overdriven, though there is a tiny bit of analog percussion compression. Midrange timbre is just slightly on the dry side.

While one-dimensional bass, some degree of percussion compression, and dry timbre are ubiquitous with budget single dynamic driver IEMs, I find the Gate’s uneven treble harder to overlook. Ultimately, the root of my issues with the Gate is that the balance of the treble sub-regions is off. Ideally, each treble peak should be slightly less prominent than the last, even if the upper treble has good extension. The Gate has an appropriate amount of lower treble relative to the upper midrange, but there is an audible dip in the mid-treble immediately followed by a significant upper treble peak. This peak overshadows the lower treble. The result is the glare that follows male vocals as well as the biting sensation that accompanies the excess air. On the other hand, overall detail retrieval is great, as are soundstage width and instrument separation.

Conclusion

As recently as a year ago, I would have been delighted to have an IEM that sounded like the Truthear Gate to arrive on the market for such a low price. However, competition at the $20 price point is cutthroat, and while any IEM at this price point comes with compromises, the ones that the Gate makes are suboptimal for my priorities.

The Truthear Gate is available for purchase at the link below:

TRUTHEAR GATE 10mm Dynamic Driver In-Ear Headphone (shenzhenaudio.com)