Truthear GATE $17 IEM Review

[iGmole]

These arrived today, was much earlier than I expected, since I ordered from aliexpress. The cable is very nice, so is the little snap pouch for the iems. I used the 2nd largest set of tips, seems to be providing a good seal for my ears. Listened to a few songs on Tidal using my Moon Drop Pro dongle, with no eq, overall I liked what I was hearing. I'll have to do some critical listening later and try out some eq. But it is crazy how good these iems sound for so very little money.

The 20€ range is full of gems. Despite the shady practises of a certain KZ company, I do enjoy quite a few of their products. For example the ZVX Pro is (subjectively, haven't looked at any measurements) just lovely, not just for the price, but just lovely. Then, just slightly more money, there is the PRX which can easily handle even an absolutely ridiculous 20dB sub bass boost while maintaining excellent clarity. I sometimes do that, listen to trap beat hiphop and let my imagination go to gangsterland. Then there is the 7hz Salnotes Zero2 which, with minor EQ is also very very very good, and many many others.

Basically, you can just choose one from an inexpensive collection, perhaps to match your hat or earring colour, or just the general vibe of the day. And it'll be an excellent sounding accessory

 

[jools]

Got this to try out of curiosity and because I'm a fan of transparent housings.

I think it sounds a little mediocre without EQ because Harman IE is really not to my preference. Too much around 3k and not enough air.

However, it is extremely clean and really shines after addressing those issues. Might make me finally stop bringing my full size cans out of the house

View attachment 442196

Very reassuring! I got to something similar (apart from the high end as I don't hear much over 12kHz anyway)...

 

[Tracerec]

I bought these based on the favorable reviews both on ASR and elsewhere. And I'm highly disappointed. To me (!) they sound like I'm listening to AM radio. Harsh, no low end. I tried several of the included eartips. But this had little to no effect on the sound. Or at least they didn't change the sound significantly and/or improve it.

The same goes for the Salnotes 7Hz (original). Favourable reviews. But I really can't hear it.

My comparisions - as far as IEM's go - are the Truthear x Crinacle Zero Red (I like these), my 10-year old, tried and tested €30 Sennheiser CX-300 II (great, to me) and the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro (with foam tips - very good).

I must be doing something wrong, to not hear the quality of the Gate and Salnotes Zero. Or my taste in sound quality is just bad. Or my ears are weird. I don't know. But I can't really hear what's so good about these IEM's.

I'm having the same challenge; so far I haven't been successful to get a comfortable seal to get them to sound properly.

 

[gvl]

Sigh. I sorted out sealing and EQ issues, now comfort issues cropped up. Not positive the cause but I suspect it’s the around the ear loop is too rigid and pressing against the ear, or perhaps from the pressure that the tips produce inside the ear canal. Anyhow, I was in pain after wearing them for 3 hours, but likely a solvable issue. I guess I’m lucky I don’t find them bass deficient, on the contrary on some tracks the authority of the bass is jaw dropping, with a +2db shelf below 150Hz anyway.

 

[sejarzo]

Got an update this morning that mine would arrive on April 12. Opened the door to go out on my walk and they were sitting on the welcome mat.

As soon as I opened the package and saw the tips, I immediately knew none would work for me. They are all too small. Nevertheless, I attached the largest pair and yep...total failure of the rubbing fingers test, before one popped out.

I only received 4 pair of black tips in a bag inside the thin inner box. No second package with a different/larger assortment of sizes was included as was noted by another user. My guess is that many users will need to use alternate tips if what I received is the standard assortment. The complaints about inability to seal make perfect sense.

I attached the large red pair that came with the original Salnotes Zero, which gave me a proper seal.

Quick verdict with my standard pop/rock, acoustic, and classical test tracks is that these are insanely good, using my standard peak reduction of -3 dB/Q=1.3 at 3200 Hz with a high shelf of -1 dB/Q=.5 at 1300 Hz.

Very light and comfortable too.

 

[mc.god]

As stated in a previous post in the Gate box must to be included 2 plastic bags with 2 different types of tips

- 4 "donut" like wide bore
- 3 "bullet" type narrow bore

both plastic bags should be into the small carfboard box saying "eartips"

For those who received only one type of tips, was your box sealed? It seems like open box returned omitting one tips set... I got them at their launch directly from Shenzhenaudio and all was as expected.
For me larger wide bore tips are nearly ok, but got best fit and seal with Tri Clarion large (14 mm) and KBear 07 large (13.7 mm)

 

[sejarzo]

^^^^^^^ Thanks for this. My bad, the second bag with the larger tips was pushed so far down in that little black box that I couldn't even see it until I read your post and looked in it with a penlight.

I tried the largest of those and still found them to be a bit on the stiff side. The ones that came with the Salnotes are more comfortable for me and seal more easily.

 

[mc.god]

^^^^^^^ Thanks for this. My bad, the second bag with the larger tips was pushed so far down in that little black box that I couldn't even see it until I read your post and looked in it with a penlight.

That box opens on both sides

I tried the largest of those and still found them to be a bit on the stiff side. The ones that came with the Salnotes are more comfortable for me and seal more easily.

I run my 7Hz Zero with the yellow ones from start and it is the only one among my iems I never felt the need of trying other tips with

 

[sejarzo]

I run my 7Hz Zero with the yellow ones from start and it is the only one among my iems I never felt the need of trying other tips with

The yellow ones are a slightly better fit for me on the Salnotes Zero too.

 

[JimBean]

The 20€ range is full of gems. Despite the shady practises of a certain KZ company, I do enjoy quite a few of their products. For example the ZVX Pro is (subjectively, haven't looked at any measurements) just lovely, not just for the price, but just lovely. Then, just slightly more money, there is the PRX which can easily handle even an absolutely ridiculous 20dB sub bass boost while maintaining excellent clarity. I sometimes do that, listen to trap beat hiphop and let my imagination go to gangsterland. Then there is the 7hz Salnotes Zero2 which, with minor EQ is also very very very good, and many many others.

Basically, you can just choose one from an inexpensive collection, perhaps to match your hat or earring colour, or just the general vibe of the day. And it'll be an excellent sounding accessory

Yeah, I bought the Zero2 IEMs last year, and they are absolutely outstanding to my ears. Figured I might as well give the Truthear Gate a try since they were so inexpensive.

Also thanks to the people who mentioned there were two bags of tips in the box, I would not have known otherwise. Time for a tipoff to see which work best for me

 

[bismuth]

I received mine, mixed feelings so far, still rolling eartips. I find them very sensitive to tips; perhaps large nozzle diameter combined with short eartip exacerbate this ?
Narrow bore ones give lot of bass but overall balance is odd, I'm not able to describe more what is off.
None of the provided tips fit me well, I find them stiff and so far I prefer third party ones.
One thing is certain, bass is there, clean and controlled.
Low distortion measurements correlate with clarity at high volume (be careful with your ears, don't listen too loud). I should listen for longer, but I'm not impressed with the naturalness of the timbre; it sometimes sounds odd on certain instruments to me.

 

[gvl]

overall balance is odd, I'm not able to describe more what is off.

Try to EQ using settings from this post:

https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...ruthear-gate-17-iem-review.61784/post-2272945

 

[Dalprad]

This is a review, listening tests, EQ and detailed measurements of the Truthear GATE IEM. Money was kindly donated for me to purchase it from Amazon for US $17.59.
View attachment 439673
Not much to say about them other than they fit my ears very comfortably with the largest silicone tips included. Let's see how it performs.

If you are not familiar with my headphone measurements, I highly recommend to watch my tutorial on it:

[And subscribe to the channel ]

Truthear GATE IEM Measurements
As usual, we start with our IEM frequency response measurement:
View attachment 439674
I was pleasantly surprised by both the compliance to our target and how smooth the response is! Yes, there is a tiny bit of shortfall in bass and upper treble but that easily lands in the preference variability. But we will listen and quantify it later in this review.

Deviation from target is naturally very small:
View attachment 439675

The second surprised was however yet to come in the form of distortion measurements, or should I say lack thereof:
View attachment 439676
Are you seeing what I am seeing? This IEM is basically distortionless even up to 104 dBSPL! Even when pushed to 114 dBSPL, it barely winces.

View attachment 439677

Group delay tends to be clean in IEMs but not this clean:
View attachment 439678

Impedance is low as it typically is in this class:
View attachment 439679

Combine that with better than average sensitivity and you get an easy to drive IEM:

View attachment 439680

Truthear GATE IEM Listening Tests and Equalization:
First impression was jaw droopingly clean! I have a recent reference track that I have been using to test the last few headphones and IEMs this week. I had not heard it remotely this clean. The proverbial, "oh, I had not heard that note before" occurred and with ease! Still, question remained as to fine tuning per our target:
View attachment 439681

I fine tuned the treble response as with some tracks it was a bit bright. The bass shelving was desirable and brought out level of impact in low frequencies that was uncanny for an IEM. Without EQ, the tonality is still excellent, albeit, a bit less exciting than with EQ. If some of you dislike the hyper realism our target brings, then you can be fine without EQ.

I have to tell you, I did not want to stop and take out the IEMs to take the review picture. The GATE is that good! I mean even spatial effects were created that I don't usually associate with IEMs. Maybe I have forgotten how good some of our other reference IEMs sound. But I can assure you that what the GATE delivers as far as fidelity in at the top of the class.

Conclusions
Do I need to tell you? We have certifiable reference quality IEM here when it comes both to tonality and distortion. It is also comfortable. The kicker is that it costs next to nothing at $17. This is the definition of audio perfection if there ever was one.

It is my absolute pleasure to recommend the Truthear Gate. For once, the name of the company matches what it delivers!

------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

I could not get a good fit with any of the included tips. Still good for the price, but no sense of bass unless I actively pressed them into my ears. Wish they included the tips that fit more like ear plugs that expand and stay in place. Maybe my ears are weird.

 

[Cadillacofminds]

I could not get a good fit with any of the included tips. Still good for the price, but no sense of bass unless I actively pressed them into my ears. Wish they included the tips that fit more like ear plugs that expand and stay in place. Maybe my ears are weird.

Horrible to hear. ...You have tried placing them within your ear lightly, without much pushing, I would assume? Two people above were saying that the tips that come with this cheap Salnote IEM are softer, are more conforming. For people considering these, the part of my left ear where most IEMs sit seems to have some complexity to the shape, getting a good seal is always difficult or impossible, but I'm having an easier time of it with these than a lot of others.

 

[thulle]

I'm forcing myself not to imagining some other body canal...

Now introducing: the revolutionary IEM complement, the IA Subwoofer System! Gut punching bass, literally! Luckily only mono needed at these frequencies.

 

[sejarzo]

The Gate isn't in the Comply tips database yet, but as the 7Hz Salnotes Zero is and those tips fit the Gate, Comply's 500 series should fit.

When I used Comply tips with Etymotics, I could get by with the medium size as the narrow body of the IEM itself allowed me to insert them deeper and at an angle that isn't possible with larger IEMs. With larger dynamic IEMs, I always need a larger tip to get a seal nearer the opening of the canal.

 

[Cote Dazur]

But I can't really hear what's so good about these IEM.

At least they did not cost you much and you can give them to someone that might (most probably) appreciate the great sound they can deliver.
IEM performance is 90% dependent on how they fit your particular ears, as they all have a different nozzle shape/angle and size.
It is my experience that with time we learn how to place them to get great sound. I have 3: Truthear Zero blue, Hola and Salnote Zero2. I can now switch between them and get them within seconds to seal well and deliver amazing sound quality.

 

[sejarzo]

As one ages, this or a similar item may well become necessary to get a proper seal. I've had one for years, use it a couple times per week, and I think it's only needed one new battery.

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[Dalprad]

Horrible to hear. ...You have tried placing them within your ear lightly, without much pushing, I would assume? Two people above were saying that the tips that come with this cheap Salnote IEM are softer, are more conforming. For people considering these, the part of my left ear where most IEMs sit seems to have some complexity to the shape, getting a good seal is always difficult or impossible, but I'm having an easier time of it with these than a lot of others.

I've tried placing them lightly and I get a bit of a seal. Tried all the tips. I like the clarity but I get much better low end from the earplug style tips that come with other brands. My wireless Sony 's probably don't measure as well, but have a tighter seal. They were really expensive though, so maybe not a fair comparison.

 

[Cadillacofminds]

I've tried placing them lightly and I get a bit of a seal. Tried all the tips. I like the clarity but I get much better low end from the earplug style tips that come with other brands. My wireless Sony 's probably don't measure as well, but have a tighter seal. They were really expensive though, so maybe not a fair comparison.

MAAnn, being an ass saying this, but I was just about to post about how these work in my left ear better than a idk how many that I've owned. Lol what I guess has me happy is that these tips that came with these AKG 5005's, when I push it in my problematic ear a bit, then pull back, it's really working.
These have pretty great isolation.
The black ones. Dunno maybe they're actually third party tips, but this shape slash softness level is really doing it for me. Dunno how long this great seal is gonna last in my left ear, but pushing it in a little bit, then pulling it back out really has a great seal going