Truthear GATE $17 IEM Review

[boarbon]

Here's what gives the Gate more (IMO too much) detail:
View attachment 440436

It's the infamous Harman IE shout.

That would do it. I don't hate it necessarily but sometimes it is too much. It's a contrast to my other IEM's, which is what I was after.

Interestingly, despite it's reduction in bass compared to the Zero's and my prefered music being electronic bass heavy stuff, I find the bass to be decent. In quantity at least.

 

[markanini]

Or one can normalize by shout and the Zero 2 has lots of bass. It's all relative.

Relative balance is very real. That's why Harmanoid IEMs can be well-liked by bass heads. And some bass-light IEMs, like Truthear Hexa, can sound warm. The intuition to focus on divergent features doesn't reflect how our ears and brains process FR.

 

[holdingpants01]

Here's what gives the Gate more (IMO too much) detail:
View attachment 440436

It's the infamous Harman IE shout.

this looks like what I wanted to EQ from the Gates, ordering now!

 

[sejarzo]

No better or worse, they are all extremely good and variations on the same theme, so the best for you depends on subjective sound preferences and physical factors like fitting and comfort.

That's the beauty IMHO of all these. Inexpensive so if you don't like the fit, you're not out much, amazingly low distortion, and they are easy to EQ to preference.

 

[xaviescacs]

Wait... what?? 20 bucks?

 

[Jimbob54]

Got a pair yesterday. Some thoughts

1. A little 2 small in the shell for me- similar size but maybe not quite shape as Hola
2. Do indeed look and feel like ewaste
3. Cable is decent but not a looker. Ear hooks very broadly curved but I remove them all anyway
4. As is usual for me I coudnt get on with stock tips (they are fine- just not my size/ shape) or any of my many after market stash. Ended with Spinfit CP 100 XL
5. On first listen at a decent level these sounded a bit had work but shaving down the sizzle in the ear gain region with a Q1 filter to taste at 2800 gets me there plus a low shelf as Amir suggests

 

[mc.god]

1. A little 2 small in the shell for me- similar size but maybe not quite shape as Hola

Yes, they are similar but different, Gate has a small fin on the back that should help keeping it stable, and more recessed 2 pin connectors that make plugs staying closer to the shell, both tings can do better o worse for you depending on yuor anatomy.

4. As is usual for me I coudnt get on with stock tips (they are fine- just not my size/ shape) or any of my many after market stash. Ended with Spinfit CP 100 XL

For me both Tri Carion L and KBear 07 L work great.

[EDIT]
Uhm, Hola too have the back fin, but I have black Hola and white Gate and the different color and surface finish make difficult to me establish if they are exactly the same

 

[Jimbob54]

Here's what gives the Gate more (IMO too much) detail:
View attachment 440436

It's the infamous Harman IE shout.

Entirely agree

 

[Billy Budapest]

Entirely agree

Not exactly sure what you mean by “infamous Harmon IE shout.” When I hear the word “shout,” it means to me that vocals are both louder and subject to distortion—like what happens to a person’s voice when they are shouting. But that might not be what you mean.

This thread seems to be perilously close to threads regarding the “sound” of different brands of vacuum tubes. Just because a subjective impression is widely-repeated on Internet forums doesn’t make it universally true, especially when you take into account the interaction between IEM’s and the physiology of each person’s ear canal. It’s roughly equivalent to how a speaker interacts with a room. That’s why objective measurements are what we should rely on. Then listen for the final analysis of what those measurements sound like to you.

To me, the Gate doesn’t sound like anyone is “shouting.” Instead, vocals sound a little recessed when compared to the bass and treble regions. The bass is deeper and the treble is nowhere near as hot as AirPod Pro 2’s. However, the midrange is not as present.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Here's what gives the Gate more (IMO too much) detail:
View attachment 440436

It's the infamous Harman IE shout.

Responding to this post.

 

[staticV3]

Not exactly sure what you mean by “infamous Harmon IE shout.”

Harman IE shout refers to the 2-10kHz region of the Harman IE2019v2 frequency response target which many people perceive as emphasized/boosted:

 

[DOuG pRATt]

Sounds worse than the Zero:2 to me.

Treble response is peaky and hard to adjust to preference, and upper mids are accentuated and sound honky:
View attachment 439717

Additionally, the Gate feels extremely cheap in the hands.
The housing is bottom-of-the-barrel injection-molded plastic, on par with those $3 KZ IEMs from AliExpress.

A stark step-down from the resin printed housing of the Truthear Hola which this one replaces.

To borrow an expression from IEM devotees, the Gate's sound is a bit too "shouty" for me.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Harman IE shout refers to the 2-10kHz region of the Harman IE2019v2 frequency response target which many people perceive as emphasized/boosted:
View attachment 440494

Perceive as emphasized or boosted compared to what?

I don’t hear anything similar to “shouting” from these earphones. If anything, again, vocals sound recessed as compared to the rest of the sound spectrum. I don’t think we should propagate terminology that isn’t accurate, that’s all.

The typical speaking frequency range of an adult male voice is 80-200Hz. The typical speaking frequency range of an adult female voice is 150-250Hz. Any “shouting”-type sound should be in those ranges.

 

[markanini]

Harman IE shout refers to the 2-10kHz region of the Harman IE2019v2 frequency response target which many people perceive as emphasized/boosted:
View attachment 440494

I noticed that your personal target, that you're contrasting against Harman IE, has a less elevated bass. That's a data point that points to what @Matias said "It's all relative". The 3kHz of Harman IE is relatively elevated. At the same time the broad low end has a significantly higher elevation. This changes the context of the 3Khz area. There's even a real chance that the low-end differences can dominate in your example.

Supporting my conditional argument are the mixed impressions in this very thread, between people that perceive a shout, vs. those that don't. Whereas your binary position falls flat.

 

[mc.god]

Doesn't all of this fall in the grand scheme of Harman IE vs JM1, or, generalizing even more, in personal preference for more or less u-shaped signature?

 

[staticV3]

upper mids are accentuated and sound honky

Gate is more bass light and slightly shouty

I really like Gate stock sound, pinna gain can be a bit hot

upper-mids are too much

the treble is hard to keep under contro

a little too much pinnae gain for my taste

it's rare that I don't have to cut the "hump" region in the Harman curve by 2-3 dB

Just got mine this afternoon, first impressions are good although the treble's a bit spicy sometimes.

I don't hate it necessarily but sometimes it is too much.

this looks like what I wanted to EQ from the Gates

On first listen at a decent level these sounded a bit had work but shaving down the sizzle in the ear gain region with a Q1 filter to taste at 2800 gets me

@Billy Budapest @markanini
How many more of these before we can finally admit that IE2019 has too much ear gain?
And not a single listening impression in sight that calls for more ear gain than stock. How strange.

Rinse and repeat for any other review thread of a Harman-compliant IEM.

All circumstantial evidence, sure, but at some point there's just too much of it to reasonably argue against.

(Really sorry for quote-pinging everyone to illustrate my point!)

 

[mc.god]

@Billy Budapest @markanini
How many more of these before we can finally admit that IE2019 has too much ear gain?
And not a single listening impression in sight that calls for more ear gain than stock. How strange.

Rinse and repeat for any other review thread of a Harman-compliant IEM.

All circumstantial evidence, sure, but at some point there's just too much of it to reasonably argue against.

(Really sorry for quote-pinging everyone to illustrate my point!)

But my entire phrase continued with "according to preference, it's not a problem to me"

 

[mc.god]

Anyway i think that much of this is also depending on listening level habits, I usually listen at low\moderate volume that could make pinna elevation much bearable.

But all in all i'm just posting to reach the next forum status

 

[staticV3]

But my entire phrase continued with "according to preference, it's not a problem to me"

Yes, sorry, I understood the "makes the sound very "snappy" part as "something that calls attention to itself, though not quite enough to tip towards negative", and therefore found it reasonable to include in a list of "not fully neutral" impressions.

My apologies if I misunderstood.

 

[markanini]

@markanini
How many more of these before we can finally admit that IE2019 has too much ear gain?
And not a single listening impression in sight that calls for more ear gain than stock. How strange.

Selective evidence isn't a solid way to draw conclusions. This is evident in how you dismiss impressions that don't align with your opinion, framing them as wrong. FR is contextual, and binary arguments like yours just don't hold up.

It's like how some cultures call green objects 'blue.' That doesn't mean the object reflects blue wavelengths—it just shows how perception and categorization are contextual. You're making the same mistake by confusing subjective labels with objective reality.