Closer Examination

Truthear has provided a different cable with the HOLA as compared to the more expensive ZERO and Hexa, and yet I am still impressed with the overall quality of the cable. It is still a quad strand cable in black with a right-angled 3.5 mm TRS connector headed to the source, and the cable now uses OFC (oxygen-free copper) as the conductor instead of silver-plated copper for some cost reduction—Truthear says there are more cores in this cable, for low resistance and capacitance alike. The splitter has the Truthear logo on one side and the name spelled out on the other, with an actually functional cable cinch helping ensure the two individual channels are securely held in place whether you route the cable down your back or the front of your face. The braiding past the splitter is slightly loose, but there were no microphonics perceived in use, and the entire cable to this point was a pleasure to work with in not tangling by itself and being easy to re-shape as needed. Then we get to the pre-formed ear hooks which are less stiff than on the other Truthear cable although you may yet have to take a hairdryer and mold it better for your ears since the curve is on the larger side. On the other end of the cable are two straight housings that host 0.78 mm two-pin connectors headed to the IEMs. There are L/R markings for the channels and all the metal contacts are gold-plated for oxidation resistance.


The HOLA shells are made for Truthear by Heygears, a 3D printing design and manufacturing company that manufactured the ZERO and Hexa before. The HALO shells are DLP 3D printed using an opaque black resin with the prints cured and then undergone surface grinding for a smoother finish. The face plate is a thin sheet of CNC-machined aluminium alloy that is anodized in black and given that geometric design on top for aesthetics. This is then glued on top to make for a set of IEMs that should be lightweight yet resistant to fall damage and everyday wear. The overall shape is ergonomic, aiming to fit inside the ear concha, and I'd describe the design as being mostly utilitarian as with the Hexa before as opposed to flashy such as with the Truthear ZERO.


A closer look at the face plate shows the top surface of the shells could have been smoothened better given they still show signs of the resin print and cure. The face plate is glued well enough albeit one of the sides does seem slightly more offset than the others based on the gap around it. I am not expecting much out of budget IEMs and these would not be easily visible with the naked eye, yet I need to point these out lest people start to make a big deal about how Truthear can put out IEMs that look and feel better than the price point suggests. That said, I will happily mention there is no branding visible on the IEMs to further make for a clean and minimalist aesthetic. A look from the side shows the expected cutout to accommodate the 0.78 mm pins the cable fits into, with L/R markings to help identify the left and right channels, respectively. The inner side has the front and rear vents placed for the dynamic driver inside and we also see the shells have been optimized from the Hexa to allow for an overall thinner footprint inside the concha as well as a shorter and narrower (~5.8 mm at the widest point) nozzle to better fit inside the ear canals. There is also a retaining notch at the end to help secure ear tips in place along with a pre-installed metal filter to prevent contaminants entering the acoustic chamber.


Fitting the different ear tips will require you to slightly stretch the inner bore to fit over the nozzle before pushing them in and going around to ensure they are not at an angle. The retaining notch on the nozzle helps keep them in place and seen above are each of the included size M silicone ear tips installed on the Truthear HOLA. Try out the various tips and sizes, and keep in mind that both ear canals don't need to have the best seal with the same size or set, either. Regardless of which tips you pick, the next step is to connect the cable by carefully identifying the matching channels and orienting the ear hooks around your ear when connecting the IEMs. Doing so is simple as you just reverse the steps from before—just push the pins on the cable into the receptacle on the IEMs, and the recessed connectors in the shells help further by avoiding any unnecessary extension on the cables too. The black on black color scheme also keeps things clean here and makes for a continuous aesthetic from the shells to your source. Speaking of which, now use the 3.5 mm TRS single-ended plug with the source of your choice. I know there are many who prefer using IEMs throughout, but I like to use over-ear headphones when sitting down and IEMs on the go. I paired the Truthear HOLA with many of the tested portable DAC/amps to date, and now is as good a segue as any to talk about the Truthear SHIO!