Introduction:
Hello Everyone! I’m Binsterrrrr, an aspiring reviewer based in Singapore. I’ve been in this audio hobby for the past 2 years. I’ve recently embarked on writing my own reviews and am still working on my style of writing, so please bear with me here and feel free to offer any comments or insights for my pieces.
I troubled a good friend of mine to help me purchase the Ocharaku Shizuku from a store called E-Earphone in Japan. Also, I paid the full retail price of the IEM.
I own 2 pairs of the Ocharaku Co-Donguri Shizuku. One in Amber Orange and the other in Cosmos. I personally could not pick out any sound differences between the 2 models when using the same tips and source. I will be basing my review on my experience with the Cosmos version which has around 200 hours of run time out of the box.
I personally find this is a very capable IEM for its price of <USD50 and anyone looking for a relatively affordable IEM should give this IEM a try if possible! Read on to see if this IEM suits the type of sound signature that you are looking for!
Specifications:
10mm Dynamic Driver
Sensitivity:106 dBSPL/mW
Impedance: 18 Ohms
Frequency Response: 5 Hz to 40 kHz
Unboxing:
(Front of packaging)
(Back of packaging)
(Simple packaging which includes the earphones, 3 pairs of Spinfit tips in S,M and L size and an instruction manual)
Build Quality:
The build quality of this earphone does not look or feel cheap despite it costing significantly less than most of the other Ocharaku offerings. The cable does not feel cheap and has sufficient strain relief. Cable to me personally feels very light and not too thick but yet not too thin. Best part of the cable is that it does not tangle easily. The body of the earpiece feels sturdy despite being light and does not feel like a budget product at all.
(Photo of Shizuku with M sized Spinfits)
(Photo of Shizuku with M sized Spinfits)
(Soft and flexible cable with sturdy strain relief and does not tangle easily)
Fit:
The earphones can be worn both straight down and over the ear. However, the earpiece is very light and it can be worn straight down comfortably and that is the method that I use when I listen to the Shizuku.
(Photo from Ocharaku website showing the different ways of wearing the earpiece)
Tips:
Tips change the sound of this earpiece pretty significantly. The stock spinfit tips are comfortable and provide sufficient isolation for me with the M sized tips. However, during my visit to CanJam Singapore 2017, the Final Audio booth was giving out some free Final Audio Type E Eartips which manage to fit the bore of the Shizuku. These tips are my preferred choice of tips with the Shizuku as they make the sound thicker and richer than the spinfits. The lusher sound with slightly better comfort make the Final Audio tips my preferred choice of tips for this IEM. However, this IEM has a pretty common bore size that is the same as the other IEMs from Ocharaku and it would be easy to find other third party tips and experiment with the different tips.
(Final Audio Type E tips fitted on the Shizuku)
Sound:
Summary
The Shizuku is a warm sounding monitor, a lot warmer than the other Flat-4 offerings from Ocharaku that I own, namely the Ocharaku Flat-4 Akakeyaki Plus and the Sakura Plus. The sound signature of the Shizuku is a slight V-shaped sound. The Shizuku has a lot more bass than I had expected but still had a very nice sparkly treble. Very musical and fun sounding monitor.
Bass
The Shizuku packs a really deep and dynamic bass that is unlike that of the other Ocharaku Flat-4 IEMs that I have tried. Bass is boomy and rumbly and not the kind of tight and lean bass. Bass is slow and carries a lot of weight and thus it might not be suitable for those very fast paced music. The bass of the Shizuku might be a little too much in terms of quantity for some.
Mids
The midrange of the Shizuku is one of the areas where I was left hoping for more. Midrange might be a little too recessed at times and the vocal positioning is a little too far back for me. When on the Spinfits, the vocals might come across as hollow at times, but when I switched over to the Final Audio Tips, the “hollowness” disappears and the vocals sound more “full”.
Highs
For me personally, I find that the treble of this IEM is the star of the show. It has a very airy top end with just enough treble energy for me. It also gives a lot of detail with nice clarity and is rather well extended. Instruments have a natural sounding timbre and cymbals have a lot of sparkle and energy without sounding sibilant to me.
Soundstage
The Shizuku has a very airy feel with wide soundstage. Although not as wide as any of its siblings from the Flat-4 lineup, it still has a nice 3D soundstage with good instrument separation. Instruments are all nicely spaced out and does not sound congested in any way at all.
Sources:
I used my iPhone 6s, Macbook Air mid 2012, xDuoo x10, Astell&Kern AK240 Stainless Steel and AK380 Copper for this review. The Shizuku scales well with higher end gear but it also sounds fantastic out of the iPhone directly. It is easy to drive and does not really require an amplifier, but it does also have a fuller sound when hooked up to an amplifier like the Kojo KM-01 Brass. Personally, my favourite setup with the Shizuku plugged directly into my iPhone 6s as the synergy between the 2 gives a very warm and musical sound and is very convenient without the need of another external music player.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the Shizuku is a great performer especially at this price range and I would strongly recommend it to anyone looking for an earpiece but is not willing to spend hundreds of dollars. You would still be able to get high fidelity audio from this earpiece from Ocharaku. This IEM would suit genres like POP, rock and it also performs well with classical. It would suit people looking for a slight v-shaped sound signature with bass rumble, sparkly treble and a more airy sound.
However, this might not be the IEM for you if you are looking for an IEM with intimate vocals and you want the feeling where the singer is singing right next to you. Due to the wider soundstage and more recessed mids, vocals are more backward. Also, the bass might be a little too much for some especially if you do not like too much bass.
The Shizuku is an IEM that is very easy for me to recommend to people and it is a great all rounder that sounds good out of almost any source. Good job Ocharaku for creating this IEM.
Hello Everyone! I’m Binsterrrrr, an aspiring reviewer based in Singapore. I’ve been in this audio hobby for the past 2 years. I’ve recently embarked on writing my own reviews and am still working on my style of writing, so please bear with me here and feel free to offer any comments or insights for my pieces.
I troubled a good friend of mine to help me purchase the Ocharaku Shizuku from a store called E-Earphone in Japan. Also, I paid the full retail price of the IEM.
I own 2 pairs of the Ocharaku Co-Donguri Shizuku. One in Amber Orange and the other in Cosmos. I personally could not pick out any sound differences between the 2 models when using the same tips and source. I will be basing my review on my experience with the Cosmos version which has around 200 hours of run time out of the box.
I personally find this is a very capable IEM for its price of <USD50 and anyone looking for a relatively affordable IEM should give this IEM a try if possible! Read on to see if this IEM suits the type of sound signature that you are looking for!
Specifications:
10mm Dynamic Driver
Sensitivity:106 dBSPL/mW
Impedance: 18 Ohms
Frequency Response: 5 Hz to 40 kHz
Unboxing:
(Front of packaging)
(Back of packaging)
(Simple packaging which includes the earphones, 3 pairs of Spinfit tips in S,M and L size and an instruction manual)
Build Quality:
The build quality of this earphone does not look or feel cheap despite it costing significantly less than most of the other Ocharaku offerings. The cable does not feel cheap and has sufficient strain relief. Cable to me personally feels very light and not too thick but yet not too thin. Best part of the cable is that it does not tangle easily. The body of the earpiece feels sturdy despite being light and does not feel like a budget product at all.
(Photo of Shizuku with M sized Spinfits)
(Photo of Shizuku with M sized Spinfits)
(Soft and flexible cable with sturdy strain relief and does not tangle easily)
Fit:
The earphones can be worn both straight down and over the ear. However, the earpiece is very light and it can be worn straight down comfortably and that is the method that I use when I listen to the Shizuku.
(Photo from Ocharaku website showing the different ways of wearing the earpiece)
Tips:
Tips change the sound of this earpiece pretty significantly. The stock spinfit tips are comfortable and provide sufficient isolation for me with the M sized tips. However, during my visit to CanJam Singapore 2017, the Final Audio booth was giving out some free Final Audio Type E Eartips which manage to fit the bore of the Shizuku. These tips are my preferred choice of tips with the Shizuku as they make the sound thicker and richer than the spinfits. The lusher sound with slightly better comfort make the Final Audio tips my preferred choice of tips for this IEM. However, this IEM has a pretty common bore size that is the same as the other IEMs from Ocharaku and it would be easy to find other third party tips and experiment with the different tips.
(Final Audio Type E tips fitted on the Shizuku)
Sound:
Summary
The Shizuku is a warm sounding monitor, a lot warmer than the other Flat-4 offerings from Ocharaku that I own, namely the Ocharaku Flat-4 Akakeyaki Plus and the Sakura Plus. The sound signature of the Shizuku is a slight V-shaped sound. The Shizuku has a lot more bass than I had expected but still had a very nice sparkly treble. Very musical and fun sounding monitor.
Bass
The Shizuku packs a really deep and dynamic bass that is unlike that of the other Ocharaku Flat-4 IEMs that I have tried. Bass is boomy and rumbly and not the kind of tight and lean bass. Bass is slow and carries a lot of weight and thus it might not be suitable for those very fast paced music. The bass of the Shizuku might be a little too much in terms of quantity for some.
Mids
The midrange of the Shizuku is one of the areas where I was left hoping for more. Midrange might be a little too recessed at times and the vocal positioning is a little too far back for me. When on the Spinfits, the vocals might come across as hollow at times, but when I switched over to the Final Audio Tips, the “hollowness” disappears and the vocals sound more “full”.
Highs
For me personally, I find that the treble of this IEM is the star of the show. It has a very airy top end with just enough treble energy for me. It also gives a lot of detail with nice clarity and is rather well extended. Instruments have a natural sounding timbre and cymbals have a lot of sparkle and energy without sounding sibilant to me.
Soundstage
The Shizuku has a very airy feel with wide soundstage. Although not as wide as any of its siblings from the Flat-4 lineup, it still has a nice 3D soundstage with good instrument separation. Instruments are all nicely spaced out and does not sound congested in any way at all.
Sources:
I used my iPhone 6s, Macbook Air mid 2012, xDuoo x10, Astell&Kern AK240 Stainless Steel and AK380 Copper for this review. The Shizuku scales well with higher end gear but it also sounds fantastic out of the iPhone directly. It is easy to drive and does not really require an amplifier, but it does also have a fuller sound when hooked up to an amplifier like the Kojo KM-01 Brass. Personally, my favourite setup with the Shizuku plugged directly into my iPhone 6s as the synergy between the 2 gives a very warm and musical sound and is very convenient without the need of another external music player.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the Shizuku is a great performer especially at this price range and I would strongly recommend it to anyone looking for an earpiece but is not willing to spend hundreds of dollars. You would still be able to get high fidelity audio from this earpiece from Ocharaku. This IEM would suit genres like POP, rock and it also performs well with classical. It would suit people looking for a slight v-shaped sound signature with bass rumble, sparkly treble and a more airy sound.
However, this might not be the IEM for you if you are looking for an IEM with intimate vocals and you want the feeling where the singer is singing right next to you. Due to the wider soundstage and more recessed mids, vocals are more backward. Also, the bass might be a little too much for some especially if you do not like too much bass.
The Shizuku is an IEM that is very easy for me to recommend to people and it is a great all rounder that sounds good out of almost any source. Good job Ocharaku for creating this IEM.