I’m not going to pull any punches on this one. I’ve had and have some of the very best sound IEMs in the world of audiophiles. At one time companies like Moondrop solely owned this catagory for my taste, the catagory of the best brand for the price and performance. But overtime others have stepped up to the plate and have challenged that mantle. And there is no better example of that than Truthears. Their frequency response and tuning really alligns with the things I look for in IEM sound.
The Zero Red is a flat out beast. It is the first IEM I literally can see and understand why someone could pick this up at $50+ and feel there is nothing more needed in life for Audiophiles. You truly have a spectrum of sound quality that truly makes you second guess your life in the Audiophile world if you have spent too much on audio equipment. It challenges the need of more and the cost to do this. The realistic timbre and tonality in this earphone is just so good. The bass, meds, treble, and vocals are so natural. The lightweight design is also so inclusive in this conclusion.
And then we have the Nova! A statement piece of an earphone that not only takes all that they learned from the Zero Red and Hexa but created a culture within itself by seemingly adding elements of the Moondrop Variations frequency response, the mid range DNA of the Thieaudio, and the mid bass and imaging of the Dunu SA6 MK2 into one IEM costing under $130(on Amazon). It takes vocals, mid bass, sub bass, and mid range to a level most don’t see until they are spending $500-$1000 at the very least.
The world of certain audiophiles everywhere doesn’t want to see these types of examples. They are very happy with the status quo. They want to feel like their money buys them things that are unreachable by others unless they too spend that same amount of money. God forbid a company that delivers their same experiences without overcharging. These IEMs position themselves in an area of the market most just believed belonged to those who just couldn’t afford better, and showed this is about settling or about having the need for money to get some of the best sound quality ever. This time it’s those who spend less might just have a reason to laugh at those who spend more.
At the end of the day, you like what you like and these are good as they are they still only get so high on the charts if you truly compare them to something more expensive like Monarchs Mk2 or u12 64 Audio products. Even my Dunu is a clear superior experience. But give them their credit please! They have proven that they are something special.
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