Truthear Hola: If you buy cheap, you buy twice

Submitted by MadeThisToVent123 t3_126kyzb in headphones

Long time lurker. You know what this is about from my username, so no need to prolong the inevitable.

TL;DR: Hola QC sucks. 3 units and three driver failures/channel imbalance issues is too much. Stick with reputable brands, is my advice.

Exactly 51 days ago I bought the Truthear Hola, after it was hyped up to be great sound at a budget.

They did indeed sound great. So great in fact that I recommended them to two friends of mine, who were equally as impressed, if not more so.

Not even a month went by and my first mate told me that his left driver died. He was bummed about the 18€ he wasted, but that is just a little annoynece really. So, he moved on and got AirPods instead (not that those will last more than two years....)

Then, 6 days ago my other friend contacted me, saying he had severe channel imbalance, with the right driver being a lot quieter than the left one. He too, was a little annoyed, but 18€ aint really worth it to get angry about, so he just picked up a Shure SE 215, hoping that those would last. And for 120€ they better...

Now I am here, complaining that I too have channel imbalance issues. My left driver is A LOT quieter than my right one. I checked with software and I need to quite down the right driver by 7dB to "fix" the issue. Suffice it to say, I am ditching this piece of 18€ e-waste.

I am not mad at the product or company, since 18€ aint much. You cannot even get a bucket at KFC for that chump change. I am annoyed at best.

I am mad at this community, who hypes up some garbage quality product and never ever learns from it.

This is not only about 3 out of 3 Holas failing, this is also about all the Moondrop issues, all the Hifiman nonsense and all the Topping and Schiits frying headphones...

And yet, people just move on. They keep spending money on garbage products, form companies that after fixing one issue, most of the time just introduce another.

Ya'll are in an abusive relationship with audio gear. You keep buying and buying and buying, even if it fails. Then, you just post a pic of it. Sometimes people say they had the same issue, but nothing changes. Often times people say "hAppY CuStoMeRs dOn't ComPLaIn, sO dO nOt leT tHis sCeW yoUr OpiNiOn", which is a shit point to make.

I mean, sure, happy customers dont complain is true. But only because they don't, it does not mean the issue aint real. Some just don't complain, because they don't care. Like, I know a couple of guys who have had serious trouble with their beamers and yet they did not complain online or anywhere else, they just grumbled a bit, whilst selling their first born to the overlords in Munich, so they can fix the issue....

I mean, Jesus Christ, your standards for quality are LOW. Bottom of the barrel. Like, the DCA "Pad-gate" bullshit. Imagien not being able to make a god damn EAR PAD for 1000€ headphones that does keep it's shape!!!! Somehow AKG figured out how to do it on their 130€ 371, so why can't DCA. And yet people just "live with it" or point to a video from Dan, which shows you how to "fix it", when in fact thats not a fix thats a band aid. It took YEARS for them to aknowledge the problem, all the while people still bought their products not giving two shits about the poor quality of their pads.

And do not even get me started on Hifiman, Focal and Fostex or I am gonna be here all day long.

Most peoples quality standards on hear are lower than the beauty standards of a blind person, holy shit.

*exhale*

That is it. Just wanted to shout into the void and probably get attacked by some angry kids that cannot handle the truth of their favourite brand being shit or whatever.

Have a good one :)

23

Comments

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Simeras t1_je9ithy wrote

Shure SE 215 will last forever. ;)

I use "fool me once" logic. I give a brand a chance. If it's good - great. If it's bad - never buy from them again. Does not matter how good of a "bang for a buck" they are (while they last). If they fail in a year or two - garbage.

Good headphones/earphones can last a lifetime.

BTW, doesn't Schiit have their Schiit together already? I blacklisted them long time ago (Asgard damaging Sennheisers drama and their response) . But recently I've read that they changed their ways and make better stuff now. Dunno it that's true though.

2

rhalf t1_je9jwif wrote

>And do not even get me started on [...] Focal and Fostex.

Never heard of it. What's up with them?

5

Titouan_Charles t1_je9kpuj wrote

Replying to rhalf (#2,481,295)

The first batch of Utopia had too weak of a glue and pads came loose, the first Clears had yokes breaking from no reason, same thing with the Elex iirc

Not sure about Fostex tbh except their products have always been underwhelming for me

3

sverek t1_je9kvco wrote

I honestly wouldn't expect chi-fi to last, its like condoms, try it once and its done.

And sadly reviewers do not tell us anything about built issues, they just open box of IEMs, listen to them for a few days and tell us how amazing it sound, done. Sad, but hyping product brings attention and viewers.

Still using my Dunu Titan 5(Five) after years of abuse, darn thing built like a tank.

2

GoTouchGrassKid t1_je9qtl6 wrote

Yup.

This hobby - like most niche hobbies - is just an excuse for consumerism. And some are all to eager to fuel it.

This hobby is easily the worst for it, especially with the endless collabs.

0

TagalogON t1_je9tiym wrote

Some people said their Truthear Hola had clearly uncured resin or something, there was like some picture of it. And I forgot if it was Delta Fyre or Hi-Fri Audio (those people on Facebook that do teardowns/dissection/etc. of IEMs), but the Kiwi Ears Cadenza and is it Tin HiFi C3 or something also had that resin problem (there was liquid leaking just behind the seams).

Here's a recent post, apparently somebody with the new CCA CRA: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11q5wa6/i_stuffed_some_biological_filters_into_my_cca_cra/

Click this sentence for pictures of the new CCA CRA from somebody on Head-Fi/etc.

Basically they changed the box and so on, check the Head-Fi thread for the CCA IEMs. So many stealth revisions or changes even when it comes to $500+ IEMs, lol.

This stealth revision infamously happened with the QKZ VK4 and other budget IEMs.

See zpolt's video on the QKZ VK4, note apparently according to other people or regular commenters he doesn't even have all of the VK4 stealth revisions, lol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9TwlD8scIs

There's also just the unit variances. And like the quality assurances, control, etc.

Here's oratory1990's graph about the deviations with the Sennheiser HD 650: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11mhu3f/hd_6_series_fr_comparison/jbnt9fk/?context=10000

Try to buy HiFiMan from Amazon or a place with good warranty/returns as HiFiMan is infamous for quality control issues.

Here's another recent HiFiMan quality control post, like it's for an open box unit, but that happens with brand new headphones too, lol: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11ex8iw/hifiman_wants_me_to_100_to_send_my_defective_upon/

See here for a bit more info on HiFiMan quality control problems: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/zicl2e/most_common_defects_for_the_he400se/izrcf3p/

Back to the actual Truthear HOLA or IEMs. Try cleaning the filters/nozzle, it might fix the channel imbalance issue. Try also switching cables to see if it solves the problem.

Though yes, people report drivers dying for no reason with the Moondrop Chu, Aria, etc. The prevalence could be due to the amount of volume that Moondrop/etc. sell, or yes just factory/design choices/etc. issues from the start.

Btw, some people damage their IEMs by dropping them all the time or getting the cables tangled/yanked/etc. Make sure to roadie wrap your IEM cables, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fsvANAT3yg, and put them inside a case with hard covers in order to protect them when you're not using the IEMs anymore.

For long term use you might encounter condensation issues with IEMs, try to take breaks every 30 minutes or 1 hour, and wipe the ear tips and IEMs with a clean paper towel or microfiber cloth.

People with the Moondrop Aria have posted pictures about the paint bubbling/peeling/etc. even with the newer Aria Snow Edition. Some recent pictures of the Aria: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/121k4gz/scraped_sanded_my_year_old_moondrop_aria/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11imkcv/1_year_of_using_my_first_iems_the_moondrop_arias/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/10hn5z6/moondrop_aria_se_cover_is_coming_off/

Click this sentence for how to delay or prevent earwax/moisture/etc. from clogging the IEM nozzles with AZLA Sedna MAX Standard ear tips, et cetera.

Essentially for the future, just use a clean paper towel or microfiber cloth and wipe your ear tips and IEMs after each use. That should prevent/delay the clogging/condensation/etc. issues. It's just a problem with certain IEMs, more so the ones with metal outer shell designs. And if you live in a humid area or produce a lot of body heat.

[Click this sentence for how to maybe fix earwax clogging the filters/nozzles.] (https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/yzkk5e/how_to_remove_ear_wax_from_iem_without_damaging_it/ix13bpo/)

Basically use 90+% isopropyl alcohol but make sure the IEM nozzle is facing down as you don't want alcohol to get inside and possibly damage the coating/drivers/etc. behind the nozzle/filters/etc. And then wait several minutes for it to dry, better to wait an hour or so for near certainty that everything is dry.

So ya, you can delay those earwax issues if you use AZLA SednaEarfit MAX Standard (MAX Standard has an integrated wax guard), Spinfits, etc. Like Spinfits have this inner lip for the rotation gimmick and that sometimes help with slowing down the earwax from dripping directly down on the nozzle/filter.

Click this sentence for more info on the importance of ear tips sizing, dimensions, et cetera.

Click this sentence for comfort and everything with ear tips.

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Iggydang t1_je9u7ww wrote

Replying to rhalf (#2,481,295)

> Focal

As far as I remember…

Elear

  • Weak headband with the rest of the “Gen 1” Focals (or so I call them) and prone to snapping since they’re plastic on top underneath the pleather and tend to snap there, not at the yokes
  • First batch had awful QC and dead drivers made it to customers hands, later batches tightened QC but the weak driver/voice coil remained
  • High excursion driver bottoms out on bass heavy tracks at high SPL, THIS IS A QC ISSUE IF YOURS CRACKLES AT YOUR VOLUMES RETURN IT, it should only crackle at unsafe SPLs and allowing them to ship QC failures that bottom out at 85dB is a yoke

Utopia OG

  • Gen 1 headband although I’ve not seen any snap, could be the price causing people to handle them a lot more carefully
  • Same voice coil, same driver failure issues even past the 2020 SKU refresh but warranty was generally extended to 5 years to compensate (iirc Elears had the extension as well)
  • Same driver bottoming out issue
  • 2020 refresh gave it the braided cables, which are also prone to dying because the internal copper wires just snap (all braided cable Focals have this issue afaik, although they’re doing you a favour by having it die so you no longer need to use them)
  • Bad glue on pads as mentioned by the other poster, caused sticky residue to leak out (some claim it killed their driver but my guess is it’s more likely to be the driver just doing Focal things more than because of the residue)

Clear OG

  • Same Gen 1 headband
  • Same braided cables (the Pro has similar cables sans Ikea lampshade braiding, but I’ve not seen reports of failures like the normal one)
  • Same bottoming out issue
  • Paint sucks, peels off after a while and your headphone catches leprosy (also not an issue on the Pro)
  • Strengthened and materially-changed voice coil, seemingly fewer failures than the earlier models but still failure-prone
  • Early pads are supposedly different from later pads so those that paid full price for replacement pads got shafted, the Elex has the same issue since it uses discount Clear pads

Elegia

  • Same Gen 1 headband (most failures have been Elegias after they went on fire sale from what I’ve seen on this sub, makes you think about the relationship between units sold and number of failures seen)
  • Same braided cables
  • Printing on cup side is actually printed instead of being etched on, unfortunately they used squid ink leftover from lunch and it gets rubbed off easily
  • Driver is either the Elear’s or Clears in the low-excursion backing, but for some reason this change means it doesn’t fail as much and avoids the bottoming out problem

Elex

  • See Elear section, it’s literally an Elear with a paint job and Clear pads
  • Same braided cables
  • Pads just generally suck tbh the Clear’s pads feel properly expensive, the Elex’s feel like high-quality toilet paper in comparison

Stellia

  • Same Gen 1 headband, although I don’t recall seeing any failures
  • Same driver/coil as on the Utopia, but for some reason the low-excursion backing means it doesn’t fail or at least not as often

Celestee

  • Same Gen 1 headband
  • Same braided cables
  • Same terrible print quality

Radiance

  • Same Gen 1 headband
  • Same cable as the Pro headphones actually so a plus instead of the awful braided ones
  • Pads in production were different from the samples sent to the press - see Resolve’s measurements and review of the first Radiance he had and the later one, although I’m not sure if the “bad” pads made it into production or was entirely a preproduction prototype problem

Clear MG

  • New “Gen 2” headband! Clamps harder but seems stronger
  • Same cables, but not sure if they still fail
  • Driver bottoming out seems to occur at higher SPLs, probably better QC but also could be due to the new shaped grille allowing for more excursion before impact
  • Early MGs (mine) got the same pads as the OG, later MGs got thinner pads (this is where I suspect the MG hate comes from, since with the OG pads the MG retains the same mids but has better subbass extension and more air >10k, see Jude’s measurements for how the MG with the OG pads differs from the OG)
  • Still too new to say if it’s as bad as the old ones, but seems quite a bit better

Utopia 2022

  • New Gen 2 headband! See Z’s Utopia 2022 review, he literally stretches the poor thing damn near horizontal and it still works fine, so it should be better.
  • Revised voice coil specifically to stop it from dying like the old models
  • Cables seem to be the same braided awfulness from what I remember
  • Still too new to make a conclusion

So just a few things.

> Fostex

My guess is the yokes snapping and possibly the old non-removable cables breaking but I’m not entirely sure on this one either.

8

TagalogON t1_je9uj0v wrote

And yes, don't fall for fear of missing out. Everything in life is about conformity, consumerism, et cetera. Don't have expectations as it's unnecessary stress, most of us do not have any power or influence to change how things are.

For example, some people on Head-Fi were complaining about the ThieAudio products and the returns/refunds system.

Click this sentence for the warranty/return/etc. problem or scandal with the ~$1300 ThieAudio Prestige from January 2023 on Head-Fi.

Click this sentence for somebody's problem with a defective ThieAudio Ghost headphone from like yesterday on Head-Fi.

Look at the recent TANGZU problem from a few days, that's like the same as the previous CCA CRA, KZ CRN/DQ6S, QKZ VK4, et cetera issues.

More info on the TANGZU x SeeAudio Shiminli Encounter Edition controversy: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/124iiqh/disappointing_to_tangzu/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/122o59z/tangzus_response_to_the_shimin_li_encounter/jdr722w/

None of us are key players for the Chinese Communist Party or fuerdai children of the various chaebol/zaibatsu/taipan/conglomerate/etc. companies. And so we can't do much but yes shout into the void and hope things change by spreading awareness.

If some of us (the rational, scientific, etc. ones) have the connection/influence/network/etc. to enforce better regulations and so on with these audiophile products, you'd probably see way less cables, DAPs, amps, DACs, etc. snake oil and fake marketing and so on.

This is why Amazon is key if you can afford such luxury products. These days Linsoul, HiFiGo, ShenzhenAudio, KeepHiFi, et cetera have storefronts (these are often Fulfilled by Amazon too, so better warranty/etc. and can ship same day or the next day) on the various Amazon sites. Like check Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon Japan, et cetera as they often ship internationally.

As an aside, I and many others get offered free, as in literally 0% interest rate, installment plans on IEMs/TWS earbuds/headphones/speakers/etc. or TVs/monitors/computers/etc. And this is probably because we spend a lot on Amazon and barely return stuff unless absolutely necessary. So that's another layer of bonus for us consumers worried about quality assurances/control/etc. problems.

For AliExpress/Taobao/Chinese sites/et cetera, if you don't want to risk problems in the future, always take a video of you opening the package and trying out the product for the first time. This way they cannot claim random excuses to deny your refund/return/etc.

For some people those precaution measures are not how things should be done and so they don't do it. Like if you take pictures they will sometimes deny the refund/etc. too. Or if you are trying to show the sound/defect/etc. problem on video, sometimes the customer service representative has no idea what is going on, and so you have to go in circles and be persistent.

If you're Asian/et cetera, this kind of haggling/negotiation is not that unfamiliar, but it can be really annoying if you're not used to it. What you have to realize is that in a lot of cultures, especially Chinese culture, there's this concept called "face."

What that basically boils down to is that do not be so pushy as to make the seller/storefront/etc. look bad. In fact, just remain calm and communicate in simple sentences as oftentimes the person talking to you is not that fluent in English and so things can get misunderstood.

Some well-known storefronts on AliExpress also scam/etc. people despite having 97/98+% rating and being opened for several years. And so that's why you gotta know how to deal with AliExpress' chat system, visit /r/Aliexpress for more info as it can be a hassle sometimes to navigate the customer service side. Even Amazon these days is like hiding the easy visibility/option for online chat, they just want you to use the premade FAQs for the troubleshooting.

Everything is unfortunately pretty much a blind buy unless there's like an e-earphone (Akihabara, Tokyo) equivalent near your area: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUbeBBh2guM and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GMP8cjAEq0

Some people try IEMs/headphones/etc. on Amazon due to the generous return system, but don't do that as it's not good for your account or other people's experiences, see here for more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/118rmpw/moondrop_kato_channel_imbalance_moondrop_email/j9iu3sx/

With quality control of Chinese IEMs, AliExpress shipping times, see here for a bit more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/10sna0p/i_have_it_engrained_in_my_mind_as_an_american/j7395yr/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/zav570/is_hifigo_a_scam/iynrt65/

3

Suspicious_Life_6846 t1_je9y44h wrote

Turn your sink on and pour the water on the nozzle for about 1.5 sec, though make sure that the water doesn't have enough pressure which could displace the mesh filter. Wait for around 3 days for the IEMs to dry.

If you feel a weird ear pressure while wearing the IEMs, often resulting in a weird or imbalanced sound, then you must simply wait until it disappears. You might not experience this if you wait for more than 3 days, but I'm not sure as I only waited 3 days for each IEM.

Once the pressure is completely gone, the IEMs should sound as new. This method was successful after trying it with the cca cra, moondrop chu and 7hz zero which all had channel imbalance on the right side, especially the chu with its infamous qc.

Did it 2 months ago and still no imbalance until now. I also read a few post claiming that their IEMs survived in the washer, and I can see why.

1

PraiseTheSunNoob t1_jea1tpr wrote

Strange, I bought a bunch of moondrops IEMs (and TWSs) but I literally have zero issues. Even the aria paint chip was from me dropping and treating them rough, but the drivers are still fine

20

blargh4 t1_jea4dut wrote

it’s a product that’s been out for what… a couple months? you’re an early adopter. for $20 that’s a small risk, but ya know…

i try to dissuade people from buying stuff with a bad reputation but it takes getting burned a few times before people stop falling for such “bargains”. fwiw, my Wan’er still going strong after a few months and it should sound very similar, but ya know, its only been a few months.

5

entropyffan t1_jea89uz wrote

As for the "happy customers dont complain" argument. It could be true.

But, when I see a user mentioning that their headphone broke, then the replacement also broke, as for example we have one post today about this happening to a Hifiman.

The argument is no long important. If QC issues are so common to hit the same costumer twice, the brand just doesn't care about QC.

It maybe even using the replacement service to bust consumer confidence in its shit product it sells. Instead of improve QC, if the later is more expensive.

5

IfTheGloveFits t1_jeae1vg wrote

>Ya'll are in an abusive relationship with audio gear. You keep buying and buying and buying, even if it fails. Then, you just post a pic of it.

Speak for yourself pal. I'm not the one who blind bought 3 of the same item. And as /u/MachineTeaching mentioned, have you tried to get those fixed? Must be under the warranty period at least. I understand wanting to vent but why not try to get it repaired/replaced/refunded.

>That is it. Just wanted to shout into the void and probably get attacked by some angry kids that cannot handle the truth of their favourite brand being shit or whatever.

Maybe divert some of this anger toward the manufacturer/reseller and try to get them to fix your broken shit? Just food for thought.

1

Miller_TM t1_jeajcd8 wrote

Instead of writing this you could have gotten replacement units through an RMA, but nooooo.

3

MDZPNMD t1_jeamece wrote

Did you try to figure out the issue with your Holas? If they are broken what bad can you do. I really don't understand why people don't do that and just accept their fate.

From my experience channel imbalances that appear in IEMs after some use are most of the time just some earwax that cloggs up filter.

Can be solved with a bit of water in a bowl, a steady hand and some soap.

​

I also don't see your problem here, you usually get warned about the shortcomings of products in this sub. That's how I know about most.

​

I have and had multiple Chifi products and not a single noteable problem.

I'm using the cheapest legendary IEMs, the MH755, for over a decade now. Replaced the casing once after stepping on them and changed the cables after over half a decade or so but besides that 0 issues.

Have or had the Tin Hifi T2, BL03, Chu, Hexa, MH750 and various other cheap chinese IEMs without a single issue besides some earwax clogging up the filter after some time.

​

I also can't follow your Schiit rant. What happened? I've been using mine with 0 issues for years now.

​

Also not sure how you come up with AKG K371 as the counter argument, they are the best sounding worst headphones.

Horrible quality control, drivers just failing, headbands breaking, replacement parts unavailable. At least thats what happened to me.

​

In regards to Focal. I had 2 RMAs with my Clears because of a broken and later missmatched drivers.

I was aware of the QC issues before thanks to the sub but could not find any headphones which I liked more so decided to get them because I care more for sound, treat my gear good and most things are repaired easily.

​

If you are primarily looking for something that lasts get Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic headphones. The only thing that breaks on them is usually the cable after years of use which costs around 3 bucks to repair.

4

SilentRain2496 t1_jeapayy wrote

Yeah, anything under $100 is trash. We should stop buying them.

−2

okbsan t1_jeavqef wrote

Your personal experience and opinion are not the truth lol. We can see who is the arrogant here.

1

Voursx t1_jeawjvd wrote

Replying to notmac_ (#2,493,651)

yeah while their old headphone build like a tank and outlived most of ur gears , but i heard their new iem have some problem like dead drivers after using it for months

2

Titouan_Charles t1_jeaxxvr wrote

Replying to notmac_ (#2,493,651)

Hate to break it to you but Susvaras have been notorious for the bad QC, the HE1000 was a disaster, the Focal Utopia had bad pads on the first batch, Stax had drivers that would die on their own back in the mid 00's, etc.

Find me one company that has never had any QC complaint in their entire history.

−5

qazzq t1_jeb2ww2 wrote

Someone else already posted it, but i'll just echo it here: i really recommend checking out the filters because this sounds like a classic filter clog issue. You can kinda clean them with q-tips and alcohol as a first step. That might be enough to fix it. Or not. Who knows

6

FastGecko5 t1_jebq54d wrote

Replying to n0t_4_thr0w4w4y (#2,488,145)

I used SE215s daily for 5 years, original cables were still perfectly fine when I sold them.

Downvoted for commenting with a personal anecdote lol. I didn't say SE215s are good (they're not), I just said I owned some and the cable wasn't a problem.

−1

n0t_4_thr0w4w4y t1_jebqev4 wrote

Replying to FastGecko5 (#2,501,105)

I’m glad that was your experience, but that’s not standard, they are known for not being super durable (check out Adam Neely’s video on setting up monitoring for stage performances, he talks about how he and most of his musician buddies hate how fragile the SE215 is)

5

ieure t1_jeczwmc wrote

I went through three pairs of SE215s, the non-removable cable broke after a little more than a year on every pair. The warranty is one year. Never again.

4

MDZPNMD t1_jeejlxq wrote

Replying to sverek (#2,524,774)

They are but produced in China, Sony is also japanese but the MH755 are also produced in China as far as I know.

I'd call all of them Chifi but I can see that many would see it differently.

1

dimesian t1_jefbku3 wrote

I haven't had any problems with any of my IEMs, some are over 8 years old, none of them are budget Chi-Fi.

1