Hi all,
I’m new in this world and I’ve read that Truthear Hola are a great option to start, unfortunately I can’t find them anywhere.
What could be a good alternative with a budget of ~100$?
I have these in mind but I’m open to suggestions:
I’m going to use them in a 5th gen ipod classic and an iPhone + FiiO KA3 dac
Thanks!!
Simgot ew200 would be a good starting point for about half your budget but a step above the entry level iems such as hola, zero, waner etc. If you want to max your $100 than Em6l, ie200, s12 are the current benchmarks
Blon x HBB Z300 or ZiiGaat Nuo.
ew200 are best value under 100$. Best all rounder is em6l.
KZ Castor Black (Harman Target with Improved Bass Version). Excellent for $22.
BTW. I have the Hola and it’s good but Castor Black is much better.
100$ is Simgkt EM6L. Lower price: Simgot EA500, Tangzu Fudu. Don’t even look at KZ, also search sub a bit. My opinion on entering the hobby: Tangzy Fudu (good set, tune, accessories) + Hiby FC3/iBasso DC03 Pro.
I don’t mean to take away from your recs bc they’re all great benchmarks, and OP should definitely look into them, but they’re not really close to truthear hola?
Of the mentioned I’ve got experience with hola, aria’s, chu2, & ew200 and the ew200 is different enough from the hola imo
Chu2 is kinda in between the two. Doesn’t fully match the ew200 technical details but the tuning is splitting the difference
The ziigaat Nuo is probably the closest in terms of budget and tuning. Higher budget I’m more limited but I’d go aria 1 over 2
I’ve seen them, but I’m intrigued, what are the multiple switches they have for?
Haven’t heard about them, how are they with the bass?
Thanks for the suggestion, going to take a look at the DACs, I was almost convinced on going for the fiio ka3 but it’s good to have alternatives. Is there any reason to discard everything from KZ? I know there are some conflicts with the company but is it because of that or is it related to sound quality?
I guess they said they’re new to the world and not that they wanted something close to the Hola, but just an alternative to them. So I think the reccs are solid.
I don’t have too many pairs of IEMs, but I have explored the budget realm recently and was quite unimpressed with the Truthear Holas, for what it’s worth OP. I thought they sounded very flat and unengaging. The Chu ii’s were much better and I think will suit more people’s preferences - but the question here is what music genres you listen to.
In the ultra-budget realm, I would also consider looking at the KZ Castors, alhough mine are on order so can’t comment on them yet. In any case, you can choose between more or less bassy versions, and both have tuning switches so you can refine the sound further. Reviews for them so far are very good and suggest they punch well above their very low price. Note some people do not like the company’s business practices, so I’ll leave the moral quandary up to you.
The ChiFi IEM market moves on very quickly, so I think the Arias will not be great value for money anymore. I don’t have enough experience in the $30-100 range to comment on alternatives, but I know the Simgot EW200 as mentioned is held in very high regard.
The switches are for changing the low, mid & high frequency without having a EQ app.
Depends on what you were using before
Oh snap you’re right. I focused and responded on the Hola part
I agree with the hola being unimpressive but that’s only after trying the chu 2. Coming from salnotes zero to hola it really did impressed me. I assumed OP had taken into account their genres preferences when deciding on an Hola tuning
I still stand by the Nuo tho. I do prefer the Chu2 but it’s a negligible difference.
As far as preference I do prefer the aria 2 and chu 2 and find it more fitting for eclectic genres. But for hola leaning IEMs Nuo or aria 1. The ew200 is great bang for buck and technically better than all others but I find it doesn’t suit as wide range of genres as aria 2 and chu2
Good point on the genres, I mostly listen rock and alternative. I like to hear the bass is there but without the feeling of something hitting your ears
Interesting, I will add them to my candidates list. Thanks for the advice
Okay cool, I would definitely say the Chu II’s are a safe choice because of their price - they do emphasise the bass a lot, maybe a little too much for your preferences, but they still have enough vocal presence for your genres and at $20 they’re always a good buy. The Ziigat Nuos are another solid candidate in the same price range as u/Rusty_Rhin0 says above, which I haven’t tried but have also heard good things about.
Then there are the KZ Castors, which I will have in a couple of weeks, having ordered both the “Harman” white version - which a type of tuning designed to be liked by most people - as well as the more bass-heavy black version. For your tastes you may prefer the Harman version, although again, this is without having tried either myself yet.
As you’ve got a $100 budget, you might be best off starting with one of these $20 pairs (Chu II, KZ Castor, ZiiGaat Nuo), which will give you a bit of an idea of what you like and what you’d like to see improved. Then you’ll be in a bit more of an informed position to decide on another $40-80 pair to complement them.
Thanks for the advice.
I was convinced on going for the Chu II but my wife asked me why was I going to buy a “cheap” iem, she doesn’t trust because of the price. And who am I to question my wife when she asks me to spend more in a better iem? xD
So I’m getting the truthear hexa 
happy wife, happy life!