TRUTHEAR HEXA Headphones Review

The TRUTHEAR HEXA look a bit like a cubist version of the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO: RED. They have a similar teardrop-shaped design, but instead of curves, this shape is built up from six straight lines, hence the HEXA(gon) name. The HEXA's outer shell is made of black plastic, and they ship with a braided, detachable cable. Internally, each IEM sports a 10mm woofer to reproduce low-end and three balanced armature drivers to reproduce mid-range and treble frequencies. The buds ship with waifu packaging, which you might find charming or cringe depending on your tastes.

These headphones have a comfortable in-ear fit. They ship with six different-sized silicone ear tips and one foam ear tip to help you find a good fit. It's unfortunate there's only one foam tip, as it provides the best seal. The foam and silicone tips are only loosely attached to the plastic nozzles on each bud, so sometimes the tips slip off when you pull the buds out of your ears, which can cause a little irritation to your ear canal. The HEXA are designed so that their wire wraps over your ears, which helps prevent the cable from twisting and the buds from becoming dislodged. One notable improvement on the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO: RED is that the wire doesn't become unplugged from the buds through regular, day-to-day use.

These in-ear headphones are incredibly portable. They're very light and occupy little space in a bag or pocket. Their cable is detachable, so you can store it separately, and they include a carrying pouch.

These IEMs come with TRUTHEAR's standard carrying pouch, which is made of a pliable faux leather material with a soft velour interior. This basic pouch doesn't have any extra compartments, and the supple material means the case is designed more for storage than protection.

These IEMs have a good build quality. Their enclosure is made from a mix of hard black plastic and resin that feels durable. Unlike the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO: RED, the TRUTHEAR HEXA have one exposed assembly screw. The braided cable feels stronger than similar IEMs from TRUTHEAR, but the small pair of pins that connect the cable to the pair of sockets on each bud feel a bit fragile. It's worth taking care when plugging or unplugging the cable from the buds. The silicone tips feel thick and strong but can make finding the perfect fit a little tricky. While the foam tip provides the best frequency response, it's also the most fragile of all the tips and might tear if not treated gently.

Once you find the set of tips that fit you best, these IEMS have a stable fit, just like the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO. We tested the TRUTHEAR HEXA using the foam tips, as those provide the best noise isolation and frequency response. We found that these buds will stay in place during moderate to intense workouts, so feel free to do a little weightlifting with them. But be careful because the cable might snag on something, pulling the buds out of your ears.

• TRUTHEAR HEXA headphones
• Detachable cable
• 3x sets of wide diameter silicone ear tips
• 3x sets of narrow diameter silicone ear tips
• 1x set of foam ear tips
• Documentation
• Carrying pouch

The TRUTHEAR HEXA have a generally flat sound profile that's a bit warm with a good amount of boom and presence. Mixes sound generally well-balanced across the entire frequency spectrum, but deep rumbles of sub-bass synths aren't completely full-bodied across the range. Still, 808 kicks have a good amount of punch on the attack. At the other end of the spectrum, the treble region is a bit underemphasized, lending audio a slightly veiled, warm, or smooth quality, depending on your taste. A dip and a peak in the mid-treble region can leave cymbals sounding just a little muffled or uneven, depending on their pitch.

The frequency response consistency is outstanding. Once you've figured out which set of tips fits you best, you'll enjoy consistent audio delivery from wear to wear.

The target compliance of the bass is outstanding. The range is generally well-balanced, so bass notes of different pitches won't jump out of the mix at you. The high bass is a touch elevated for highlighting the boom of the bass in songs like Tame Impala's Neverender. However, a gentle scoop in the mid-bass robs it a little of sounding quite as weighty as on the TRUTHEAR x CRINACLE ZERO: RED, if you prefer a heavier low end, but it's not at all a major concern for hearing a smooth bass.

The mid-range target compliance is remarkable. Other than a minuscule dip in the low-mid and a tiny peak in the upper-mid, these headphones are virtually flat. Vocals sound well-balanced and present without ever getting too honky or boxy.

These headphones have fantastic treble target compliance. The overall tonality skews a bit warm, but in tunes like Four Tet's Love Cry, the cymbals sound present and rather detailed, and the vocal samples have enough articulation to cut through the busy drum part. There's a dip stretching from the low- to mid-treble range and another in the mid-treble that softens details and sharp sibilants.

The peaks and dips performance is very good, meaning the headphones follow their own sound profile very well. There's a narrow notch between the low- and mid-bass that de-emphasizes the thump of kick drums, followed by a tiny peak that adds a little boom. Both of these peaks and dips are so minor it's unlikely you'll notice them in your regular listening. The mid-range is mostly flat, producing even-sounding melodic instruments. A narrow peak and dip in the low treble can make vocals sound a touch harsh or veiled, depending on the singer, but, again, these differences aren't too obvious most of the time. However, the peak in the mid-treble makes cymbals and S and T sounds come across as relatively piercing. The large dip that follows robs select frequencies of airy sheen.

The imaging performance is amazing. It's in line with the excellent quality control we've seen in the other TRUTHEAR headphones we've tested. Our unit's left/right drivers are closely matched in terms of group delay, phase response, amplitude, and frequency response. This is crucial for the precise placement and localization of objects, like instruments, within the stereo image. That said, imaging can still vary between units.

These IEMs have a terrible passive soundstage. Like other in-ear monitors, this is by design. Because the buds sit inside your ear canal, there's no interaction between your outer ear and your audio. This produces a soundstage that feels very small and not very spacious.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance is very good. Most of the distortion is concentrated in a broad peak stretching from the high-mid to mid-treble region, but this will be very hard to hear for even the most discerning audiophiles. We also run these tests at extremely high volumes. Listening to audio at that kind of volume can give you permanent hearing damage over time.

These are the settings used to test the TRUTHEAR HEXA. Our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

The TRUTHEAR HEXA have very good noise isolation that easily surpasses that of the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO: RED. The HEXA don't have ANC, so unsurprisingly do a poor job of blocking out bass frequencies. But the passive isolation provided by their snug in-ear fit means they do a good job isolating you from mid-range sounds like office chatter, and they're great at keeping out higher-pitched sounds like AC hum. It's worth noting we tested the HEXA using their foam tips, which provide noticeably better noise isolation performance than the silicone tips, especially in the mid-and treble-ranges.

The TRUTHEAR HEXA do a slightly less good but still decent job of blocking out more realistic sounds, like street noise and office chatter. However, they do a poor job of keeping out lower-pitched sounds like the rumble of plane engines, but that's to be expected since they don't have ANC. Again, the HEXA do a much better job blocking out daily noises than the TRUTHEAR x Crinacle ZERO: RED.

These IEMs have outstanding leakage performance. The level of escaping audio is so low that you can crank your tunes without disturbing anyone around you. Since leakage is concentrated in the mid-bass region, any audio that does leak out will sound muffled and dark.

The TRUTHEAR HEXA come with a detachable 1.25m long braided audio cable. It has a 1/8" TRS connector, so you'll need an adapter if your audio device only has 1/4" AUX ports. These IEMs don't support a wireless connection.

These headphones provide audio output only when their 1/8" TRS cable is connected to your PC. You'll need to have an external microphone to transmit and receive audio.

These in-ear headphones are compatible with your PlayStation when using your controller's 3.5mm AUX port, but you'll need to buy a separate microphone for audio input.

These buds can deliver audio when plugged into your Xbox controller's AUX port, but they don't include a microphone.