PURE

The TRUTHEAR PURE had a strange assignment in 2025: follow the HEXA without trying to erase it. At just under $90, this 1DD+3BA set lands as a sidegrade to TRUTHEAR's benchmark HEXA, and reviewers kept hearing the same shift from the brand's usual target-adherent lane: more upper-bass and low-mid bloom, thicker note weight, and a calmer treble shelf than the HEXA. Not a sequel. Warm-neutral, denser through the low mids, and easier on listeners who found the HEXA lean or shouty. That's where the consensus locked in fastest. HEXA stays the brighter, leaner, more analytical reference in the sub-$100 lane, while PURE is the smoother sibling. What kept coming up instead was Sennheiser shorthand: HEXA mapped to HD600, PURE to HD650, with the kind of forward low-mid and upper-bass bloom that HD650 listeners will recognize. That tuning from Listener is also why electronic music showed up so often in positive coverage. Reviewers heard more body and low-mid fill than on the HEXA, but not the V-shaped shove of the Juzear x Z Reviews Defiant; against AFUL's $120 Explorer, the PURE landed closer to strict warm-neutral than a bass-heavy middle ground. Where the consensus really split was overall preference versus HEXA. Reviewers using the HEXA for editing or mixing still wanted its extra top-end clarity. People chasing a mellower, less fatiguing listen leaned toward the PURE instead. The honest read across reviews was that neither set wins outright. They occupy different lanes, and the choice depends on whether you want analytical or relaxed. Tip pairing is the other real fork in the road. Listener tuned around the stock wide-bore grey tips to preserve a specific treble dip, but some reviewers found those grating and preferred the stock narrow-bore black set. Another landed on Dunu Candy. So yes, this one rewards tip rolling. Across reviews, the hardware fixes were easy to spot. The silver-plated coaxial cable landed as a clear upgrade over the HEXA's tangle-prone lead, reviewers specifically called out the new lip on the nozzle because tips stayed put, and TRUTHEAR throws in a soft leather pocketable pouch plus three tip sets: wide-bore, narrow-bore, and foams. The only recurring gripe was cosmetic (white cable, black shells, like they were borrowed from different boxes). Fit shifts too. Reviewers converged on a thicker shell than the HEXA but a slimmer nozzle at about 5.6mm, and TRUTHEAR added a small lip on the PURE that the HEXA lacked, so tips stay seated. They treated that as an actual comfort change, not spec-sheet trivia. Reviewers also found the PURE easy to drive from a phone. A Topping E30/L30 II stack showed no downside in one test, but the broader read was simpler: no dedicated DAC or amp needed. What the PURE adds to the sub-$100 field is not another rung on the upgrade ladder. It shows TRUTHEAR understood the HEXA formula didn't need replacing, only a warmer second lane.