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truthear hexa iem

Docmoggy

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Received my Hexa's today. Comparisons with my Zero's are using a Topping G5 and TRN T2 Pro cable (to get the controversy out of the way, this was for more manageable cable handling and nothing else, because I couldn't really tell if there was a perceptive difference between the as received with unit or TRN).

The Hexa IEM is noticeably lighter and more tactile with their angular design which makes fitting them easy (even if you have greasy fingers after a snack!) I fitted a pair of Moondrop MIS-Tip T55 foam eartips to them confirming a suitable replacement for both Zero and Hexa! The G5 was set to mid gain position after a full charge. Both IEMs don't cause any issues with fit into cold ears.

On first listening to the Hexa (out of the box) using my standard test tracks from Early Riser by Taylor McFerrin, I was very impressed, really impressed, but not surprised. Switching as quickly as I could to the Zero I became aware that a simple listening comparison between the two IEMS was going to be out of the question. Definitely not a case of night and day.

I switched between the two many times before my amateur ears finally suggested the HEXA's gave a little bit more "micro" detail and perhaps gave more sound staging by being a little more expansive (please don't ask me what that means, but I hope you do get what I mean). For example the tips on the drum stick striking could be resolved more easily. Little geeky things like that. However, the sound from both units was outstanding. I cannot get my head around why people would pay $3000 for similar items. What bat ears they must have!

The resolution from the Zero is perhaps more in tune with my Wilson speakers, but obviously don't provide the soundstage. The Hexa's are a bit more bassy. This was more evident when playing Roots Manuva's Witness Dub. The Hexa's filled the sound stage with bass while the Zero's were modest, but by no means outshone. Therefore, I concluded that what I heard from my speakers was reproduced strikingly capably by both IEMS. Which perplexes my mind about what possible conceivable extras significantly more expensive IEM could provide. Having said that, I tried my Shure SE 535's and sure enough, they didn't approach both, Truthears in sonic clarity and dynamism. I should point out that the Shure IEM have a tiny nozzle diameter about 3mm, compared to the enormous 6.5mm nozzle of the Truthear offerings. I like the big nozzles! Perhaps the way to go in the future is full ear cover phones with all the bells and whistles!

Now, this next statement could cause a great deal of unwarranted controversy. The performance of the Zero suited the TG5 in Low gain setting while, IMO, the Hexa were "better" at mid gain position. Both IEMs were difficult to manage volume subtly when gain was set to high.

I found the TG5 in low gain position gave much better, more refined, control of volume for both units. Even then, the volume knob was a fraction of its max setting, which baffles me about who the people are that would go to those max extremes without going mad. Indeed, max vol could be the "interrogation" setting for any dubious military outfit.

The Zero's were superb using the G5 in low gain setting, resolving the flighty Supertramp tracks really well. Supertramp had a reputation (as Steely Dan) for going to great lengths to get sonic perfection. Therefore, resolving their obsessive production so competently for $50 or so, is unbelievable. In fact, I thought the Zeros were marginally better at getting the intended sound right for one specific track on the Breakfast in America album (Lossless 16 bit 44KHz). The Zero's do entice and charm with their naturalness and perhaps fall just short in the quest for total resolution. It is perhaps positioned earlier in the asymptotic line to perfection. I think trying to achieve it is perhaps fool hardy because at my age, I've probably lost about 50% of my hearing capability. Common sense would say, just buy stuff that you can hear!

Needless to say playing through the TG5 was a revelation! Turns out Truthear have just released a two Cirrus CS43198 chip dongle DAC called the SHIO for $70. It looks great and might prove to be more portable than the weighty G5. I'll have to await an Amir review, as usual. That goes for Truthear's new IEM offering which at $18 must surely be tested ASAP! Can you imagine the near performance of the Zero for less than half the price!?

To end, for me, the Hexa provides a bit more detail and bass, but it wins by being lighter and tactile than the slippery and more bulky (but more aesthetic) Zero . However, the Zeros are by no way diminished by a quick and dirty comparison, quite the opposite in fact. Their reputation for outstanding value for money is more enhanced. Their tone is a little bit less expansive, but who cares for $50? For an additional $19 you get a light, unobtrusive and ergonomic IEM that makes any music a real pleasure to listen to, especially when paired with a competent DAC like the Topping G5. On that note, Amir's review of the G5, was very positive and I concur that the G5 is a worthwhile benefit, but with the caveat that it is heavy and fairly bulky to be considered a truly portable device (I mean, we have moved a long way from the Sony Walkman); these are now called DAC dongles! Further, it does suffer the odd EMI noise from the Apple phone, but I'm going to try to eliminate this by putting a bit of aluminium foil between the two paired devices to see if that helps (it helped by eliminating it!).

I've made absolutely no reference to Harman chart this and that, because I don't have a comparable analysis of my own hearing. I think these curves are based on averages from a large population. Therefore, perhaps as a loose analogy, perhaps choosing to buy an IEM based on comparison with the Harman plot, without actually knowing what your own hearing dynamics are, would be like going to buy a pair of shoes in a shop that sells only one shoe size based on the average population. This might explain why there is wide variability in assessments when people experience their Truthears. Per se, if we all had exactly the same hearing sweeping across the audible frequency range making Hi Fi equipment would be a doddle as we could write much more comprehensive and specific product specifications. This would be the perfect world! The good thing is that we do all have our own hearing frequency map and I guess it is up to the individual to find their sonic Valhalla. That hallowed goal is made more easy by the excellent performance of DACs, Pre-amps and Amplifiers that more or less are "noiseless".

Obviously, knowing my definitive hearing frequency (logarithmic) range (shoe size) would enable me to find IEM devices or EQ settings that would fit my hearing the best. I wish hearing clinics would offer that service! I suppose that argument could be made for speakers too, now that devices such as DACS and amps are state of the art in terms of SINAD etc... which was a big undesirable input variable in the past.

I may update as I progress with the Hexa, but at this point I have absolutely no intention of buying more expensive IEMS. This will do for me.
 
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Nango

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Design of the capsule is key more than the tips itselfs as it will determine how deep it introduces into the ear and whether or which tips will seal better or even wont seal.
 

Jimbob54

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Have my Hexa- prefer to the Zero- much nicer and lighter build. Sound fine stock but a bit bright- gentle EQ of course and they are good to go.

Pleased they take my fav tip- Spinfit 155
 

asrUser

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Pleased they take my fav tip- Spinfit 155
Haven't bought the Spinfit 155, but I like the Hexa with Dunu S&S and Spinfit W1.
 

Honken

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I recently received a pair of these. Comfort wise, whilst about as subjective as it gets, thanks to their smaller size and lower weight I very much prefer these over my Truthear Zeros. I could wear my Zeros all day without feeling discomfort, but thanks to the smaller size and weight of the Hexa I more or less forget that I have them in my ears. I don't think there's even any part of them that is touching my ear apart from the cable hook and the silicon tip itself, I was worried that it'd be the opposite in this regard. The photos made them look bigger than the Zeros and they really aren't, they are tiny, and that mixed with metallic hard edges seemed like a bad idea. But yeah, the design works excellently for me. The metal and plastic shell sure feels premium to me.

As for the sound, I found the bass lacking on the Hexa out of the box compared to the Zero so I've boosted it by quite a bit with a 6db lowshelf filter at 65Hz. I don't have it dialed in just as I want it yet, but it doesn't sound like they are running out of juice in the lowend so I think I can get them to behave the way I want them to there. I guess they use the same bass driver as the Zeros but with a different nozzle?

Looking at the FR graphs I imagined that these would be percieved as less bright out of the box than the Zero but wow, I've had to dial in some rather massive dips around 8k and 10k to be able to use these comfortably. I don't really see a problem with that for my own usecase (desktop with global EQ) but without the ability to EQ I would find these unusably bright. High hats and vocals singing 'S' pierce through my skull as if these IEMs were branded Mt. Beyer. Thankfully, a quick auto EQ got me most of the way (sharp, massive negative PEQs at 8 and 10.3k), and with some quick manual tweaking on top I rather enjoy them now.

Soundstage seems to be more or less the same as the Zero. The very different nozzle shape made me think that this would be an area where the two IEMs differed but not really - at least not to me. They both sound very wide to me, where the center stage sounds as if it is slightly behind me - odd but I don't really mind most of the time. Can't recall ever having that effect with my other IEMs (Airpods Pro v1 & 2). With games, AKA, when using competent HRTF, they both sound as if I am "there" in the 3d world - excellent. I am using the same tip for both, the medium sized narrow nozzle, perhaps that's relevant for the soundstage.

All in all, I'll keep using these thanks to the perfect comfort. I'm pretty sure I could get them to sound as great as the Zeros with some further EQ fiddling. But if I had no access to EQ? I'd recommend the Zero over the Hexa every day of the week, it sounds a whole lot better out of the box.

After EQ, both the Zero and Hexa sound very good with electronic music thanks to their very clear and extended bottom end. Infected Mushroom's Becoming Insane and Pertubator's Humans are easy Prey sound better on these than they do on my speakers in my room (quite possibly due to my room, but I figure that one would have to treat their room heavily to get bass this dry with speakers).

Even after having paid for both, I still feel like I've gotten an extreme bargain. They both sound excellent even without taking the price for each, or even both together, into account. It will be interesting to see where Truthear goes next.
 

asrUser

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Jimbob54

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What EQ settings do you use?
Work in progress- undecided about the 8k and how big it should be
Screenshot_2023-01-31-20-37-34-518_com.extreamsd.usbaudioplayerpro.jpg
 

Honken

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Nice, Labradford!

As for the EQ, interesting. I find that a boost around 5100Hz makes the Hexa prone to sibilance (I've spent a lot of time chasing red herrings as to where that sound came from, I initially chased some peaks around 8 and 10k that ultimately turned out to be inconsequential). Based off an auto EQ I have the following now:
Filter 1: ON LS Fc 90 Hz Gain 3.0 dB Q 0.70
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 240 Hz Gain -1.8 dB Q 1.50
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 920 Hz Gain 1.5 dB Q 2.17
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1400 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 2.85
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3000 Hz Gain -2.0 dB Q 3.45
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 4175 Hz Gain 1.2 dB Q 4.60

Yeah, I am a basshead. Adjust the first filter to taste.
 

IAtaman

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I got one today and was playing with EQ to get rid of this somewhat nasal sound and the irritating sibilance in some tracks. Looks like I ended up something similar to yours as well. Still does not sound right to me somehow. But than again, no IEM does - I can never get a super natural tonality with them, don't know why. Can it be some sort of resonance somewhere?
 

markanini

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I got one today and was playing with EQ to get rid of this somewhat nasal sound and the irritating sibilance in some tracks. Looks like I ended up something similar to yours as well. Still does not sound right to me somehow. But than again, no IEM does - I can never get a super natural tonality with them, don't know why. Can it be some sort of resonance somewhere?
You could try AutoEQ functionality built into https://squig.link/
 

asrUser

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@IAtaman You could also experiment with other eartips and burn your Hexa in. The longer the better. I don't experience annoying sibilance. Only thing I do is increase mid and upper bass.
 

Jimbob54

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Alas, put these in again today and I think at least one of my right side drivers has failed. Massively noticeable imbalance between L&R particularly for vocals.

Did the usual routine, changed dac/amp, changed cable, swapped cables between L&R, played in Mono etc

In all cases the right hand earpiece is off.

Shame- lets see what Shenzhenaudio say.
 

asrUser

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Alas, put these in again today and I think at least one of my right side drivers has failed. Massively noticeable imbalance between L&R particularly for vocals.

Did the usual routine, changed dac/amp, changed cable, swapped cables between L&R, played in Mono etc

In all cases the right hand earpiece is off.

Shame- lets see what Shenzhenaudio say.
What a shame. Mine are playing fine. Did you burn them in too much like the guy above? :eek:
 

Jimbob54

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Alas, put these in again today and I think at least one of my right side drivers has failed. Massively noticeable imbalance between L&R particularly for vocals.

Did the usual routine, changed dac/amp, changed cable, swapped cables between L&R, played in Mono etc

In all cases the right hand earpiece is off.

Shame- lets see what Shenzhenaudio say.
Interesting interim result on this. Shenzhen advised me to remove the filters.

The short story- one of the filters must have become dislodged/ clogged. The imbalance is gone.

The long story...... I dont see any replacement filters, filter removal tool etc in my box. Each nozzle has two metal cylindrical inserts (they are about 2mm wide and go about 3 mm deep. In each insert is a green or orange "thing". What Shenzhen call the filter I know not (is it the metal tube plus coloured insert or just the insert?) , but good luck getting just the coloured "thing" out of that nozzle and insert. But I do have a filter removal tool from some other IEM so gave that a go. Basically a small screw, bore into the metal cylinder, yank out. Filters removed. One then proceeded to fly off onto the floor never to be seen again.

Shenzhen are sending replacement "filters" - I am hoping that will be 4 new metal tubes complete with coloured "things" already in them that I just have to pop back into the nozzles. If they are sending just some coloured "things" I might be struggling.....

Anyway- drivers seem OK but am I right in thinking the Zero gave some owners issues with filters/ wax guards etc? Not much point having good sounding, great value IEM if the littlest cheapest parts fail too easily is there?
 

posvibes

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I bought the Hexa after being so damn impressed with the Zero's. Another great IEM and they are more comfortable than the zero's. I could live with either, but I am a fan of the Harman curve.

Neither have any weak spots to my subjective hearing, on the Hexa's voices are a little more pronounced and if Dudley Harwood could hear these I'd think he'd be mighty impressed. If you like vocal music these are just outstanding.

@Docmoggy mentioned more micro detail in the Hexa and offhand I'd very much agree with that, I've been listening to large orchestral pieces and symphonic works and you can really pick out very subtle instrumentation touches, tiny delicate sounds against large string and brass ensembles, just a smidgeon of emphasis, glorious.

Very nice, I've packed away by Sennheiser HD6xx's and HiFiman 400i's, I've got the two Truthears, an extension cable and the AKG371's.

Heaven!
 

xpedro

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Interesting interim result on this. Shenzhen advised me to remove the filters.

The short story- one of the filters must have become dislodged/ clogged. The imbalance is gone.

The long story...... I dont see any replacement filters, filter removal tool etc in my box. Each nozzle has two metal cylindrical inserts (they are about 2mm wide and go about 3 mm deep. In each insert is a green or orange "thing". What Shenzhen call the filter I know not (is it the metal tube plus coloured insert or just the insert?) , but good luck getting just the coloured "thing" out of that nozzle and insert. But I do have a filter removal tool from some other IEM so gave that a go. Basically a small screw, bore into the metal cylinder, yank out. Filters removed. One then proceeded to fly off onto the floor never to be seen again.

Shenzhen are sending replacement "filters" - I am hoping that will be 4 new metal tubes complete with coloured "things" already in them that I just have to pop back into the nozzles. If they are sending just some coloured "things" I might be struggling.....

Anyway- drivers seem OK but am I right in thinking the Zero gave some owners issues with filters/ wax guards etc? Not much point having good sounding, great value IEM if the littlest cheapest parts fail too easily is there?

Same problem here: imbalance with the right side being much lower than the left side. And it's my second unit with the exact same problem. I loved the IEMs but I think I am going to ask for a refund this time. I also got it from Shenzhen, by the way. Have you received your filters? Did it solve the problem? I think I would have no idea on how to replace them.
 

sharock

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Does anybody own both the Hexa and Zero? Are the Hexa less bulky in the ear? I like the Zero but comfort is a bit of an issue.

Also, have you tried EQing them both to Harman? :)
 

Jimbob54

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Same problem here: imbalance with the right side being much lower than the left side. And it's my second unit with the exact same problem. I loved the IEMs but I think I am going to ask for a refund this time. I also got it from Shenzhen, by the way. Have you received your filters? Did it solve the problem? I think I would have no idea on how to replace them.
Not received yet but well within usual shipping window at the minute.

I'm not sure what was wrong with the filters, whether one got dislodged or poorly manufactured /fitted but the imbalance was gone when removed.
 

xpedro

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Not received yet but well within usual shipping window at the minute.

I'm not sure what was wrong with the filters, whether one got dislodged or poorly manufactured /fitted but the imbalance was gone when removed.
I see. But removing it didn't affect the sound?
 
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