Here is my short review on the Shozy Zero Pre-production unit. I was informed that it should be burnt in using instrumental songs for at least 100 hours and I did it for more than 200 hours by looping Mahler Symphony 2 and 5 using my Shozy Alien Gold Edition. This review is done using my Shozy Alien Gold Modded by Cypherus Audio X.
 
Out of the box using medium stock eartips, it is smooth sounding with light bass, very musical and natural. However, when changed to JVC Spiral Dots, the bass is tighter and controlled with more emphasis on the mid, making it very addictive with vocals. I was reminded that it will be even better after burn in, and so my burn in journey begins.
 
100 hours into burn in, the bass is much heavier now and more prominent when using the stock tips. Things still sounds very natural and musical, especially instrumental symphonies. But I feel that the bass is too heavy for my liking and is also quite loose in my opinion. That's when I swap to JVC Spiral Dots eartips and BOOM! The bass is now very much tighter with more focus on the vocals. Now Enya sounds so immersive and love songs sounds very very musical and emotional. The mids is lush and relatively thick, making both male and female vocals very addictive. Now after 100 hours of burning in, the sound stage did open up bigger and the layering is quite good too. Onward to more burning in...
 
200 hours of burning in milestone reached and time for the real deal. Again, starting with the stock tips, things now sounds too bassy and the bass is too loose. Maybe this will appeal to bass heads. Bass apart, the mids and the treble are relatively flat sounding. Separation is very good with a decently wide and layered sound stage. The focus with the stock tip, imo, is on instrumentals and not so much on vocals. Do not get me wrong, vocals is still nice on these but the instruments stands out more with the stock tips. Instruments and voices sound very natural and smooth. And now going on to the JVC Spiral Dots, the bass have been tamed downed a little and also very much tighter now. The mids are also now more prominent. Separation is still very good as usual but the sound stage sounds a little smaller than the stock tips. Vocals now sounded much sweeter and lovely. 
 
 
Comparison:
 
Against the Westone UM Pro 10 UIEM ($149 USD): Hands down that the Zero wins. The Pro 10 does not have the separation and sound stage. It also does not have the details that the Zero has. The Pro 10 sounded very much thinner than the Zero and is also not musical. When listening to the same song on the same player, same perceived volume, the Pro 10 sounded like listening to MP3 and the Zero is like listening to FLAC. The difference is too great.
 
Against the Eartech Duals CIEM (Starting from $299 USD): The Duals is still currently in the burning in process. The Duals and the Zero have very different sound signature. The Duals sounded more reference-like when compared to the Zero. The Zero have a nice good deep bass while the Duals have a very tight bass. The mids is quite thin on the Duals but it still sound musical and detailed. The Duals is more focused on the accuracy while the Zero is more focused on musicality. They are both very good IEMs but with very different sound signature.
 
Against the 64audio U12 UIEM ($1599 USD): There is no competition for this. The U12 just outperform the Zero. The U12 have a very good separation and sound stage that makes the Zero sound so small. The details are also very much clearer on the U12. But how does the $50 USD UIEM fare against the $1599 USD monster? Well, if U12 is 10, I will rate it 7. Both of them have a similar sound signature and Zero is like the baby brother of the U12. 
 
 
Conclusion:
Is the Shozy Zero worth the $50 USD? HELL YES!!! It is able to go against IEMs way above it's price range, may not be at the $500 level but for that price, it outperform in its own class. Most important thing after getting the Shozy Zero is to burn it in for at least 100 hours using only instrumental symphonies like the Mahler, best if you can hit the 200 hours mark. I will be recommending this Zero to all my friends who are looking for an IEM under the $200 price range.
 
 
 
PS: I listen to mostly slow love songs in both Mandarin and English and also instrumental songs. One example of an English song that I like to listen is "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden. Some example of a Mandarin song that I like to listen is 谢谢你的爱 by Andy Lau and 他不爱我 by Karen Mok.
 
And just for fun:
 

SHOZY Zero Review
I will be giving my impressions on the pre-production wooden in-ear monitors Zero in this review.
In this review I will cover the various areas – build quality, sound quality and price value. The Zero is currently going at 50USD so do check it out.
Build Quality
The SHOZY Zero is made of rosewood with a wooden splitter and jack (uses 3.5mm single ended). The Zero has been quoted in lacquer so it is slightly more scratch and water resistant as compared to raw wood. The cable is sealed in a semi-dark translucent plastic/rubber and under warm lighting looks slightly brown which complements the colour of the Earpiece.
Personally, I like how the Zero gives off a classy and rustic appeal that comes from using wood as the base material for the shell, jack and splitter – although I think the cable might be slightly long for me (2-3 inches shorter might be easier for keeping) and tangles pretty easily due to the material and length.
Sound Quality
The Zero may only use a single driver, but I think it’s not about the driver count because it packs a punch and some surprises after listening to it over the past week. For my review, my accompanying player used is the Onkyo DPX1 and primarily I have only tested the Zero with its stock eartips and spinfit tips.
Before burning in – the first thing that struck me was that the Zero required more power and is harder to drive than most general IEMs. In the beginning, the Zero did not sound so impressive – slightly muddy bass, very recessed mids, recessed highs and wide soundstage. Despite the initial cons, the performance in terms of soundstage, resolution and instruments reproduction were good and the bass was thick and punchy which made the Zero even more energetic and fun.
After burn in, the Zero starts to perform on a whole different level. I had burnt in the Zero with orchestra music on my DPX1 as recommended.
Lows
The previously muddy and rough bass, is now much smoother after burn in. It maintains its thick and punchy bass similar to that of speakers and now possesses more resolution. The Zero produces fantastic instruments in the lower range, running both deep with a fairly wide soundstage. Instruments like drums can be heard and experienced with more impact. However, the bass still remains heavy, occasionally bleeds into the mids and overpowers the highs. Personally, I listen to main pop-ballad songs and I find the bass too heavy and makes the Zero quite fatiguing to listen to for long periods of time.
Mids
As mentioned before, the mids on the Zero are fairly recessed, especially before burn in.
After burn in the mids on the Zero become more forward, however still overcast by the bass. The vocals on the Zero are fairly sweet and intimate. Especially on acoustic songs when the vocals present itself to be warm, intimate and smooth.
Occasionally, you can hear the Zero struggle to play the higher mids on vocals (especially female vocals), but this may be due to how it is slightly harder to drive compared to general iems. When paired with an amp, the mids no longer seem as recessed nor does the Zero struggle on higher mids frequencies.
Highs
Same issue with the mids, the placement of highs on the Zero is quite behind the bass and mids. So if you're looking for something with more forward mids and highs, this might not be the best choice for you.
Despite its backward placement, the Zero produces accurate details on the highs and the "sparkles"on the treble can be heard vividly. Highs from the Zero are well controlled and don't sound too airy or sibilant.
Price Value
Overall, the Zero is a fun iem, which I would recommend for pop and instrumental genre music. The wide soundstage paired with its reproduction of instruments is really quite amazing and can't be found even on some 200-400+ USD iems on the market like the Shure 535 or Westone W40. If you're into mids/vocals you might find it harder to enjoy depending on song to song, or abit fatiguing at times from the heavy bass. The Zero is a steal going at 50USD. It's performance goes way beyond its point on price.
Having said all that, I'm quite looking forward to how the Zero sells in the market as my unit is a pre production unit. I think that with a good branding and packaging of the unit the Zero can be marketed as a classy entry level iem. Personally if the Zero was presented in a wooden box, it would go well with the physical appeal while making the Zero look like a fairly expensive and luxurious gift. I also hope that the Zero could come in different wood colours like maple wood (just my colour preference), though I understand that it would alter the sound.
Conclusion
Build - 8/10
Sound quality - 8/10
Pricing - 10/10
Be it if you're an audiophile or just someone looking for a casual upgrade from earpods, the Zero is great value for money and you should set aside money to buy and try it because at the price there's nothing much to lose, only to gain.

 
Some time ago I received a package in the mail inside of which was a small bag with a pair of IEMs and a note to burn them in for 100 hours with orchestral music. The IEMs turned out to have come from Charles at Shozy (and Cozoy), the maker of the Alien DAP.  Very small with wood and metal housings and in-built cable (which uses high-quality wire according to Charles from Shozy) their only negative is the rubbery outer sheath of the cable which makes it tangle easily and transmits a bit of noise.
 
The first time I listened to them, knowing nothing about them, I was very pleasantly surprised at the good, and fairly evenly-balanced sound, and general lack of any unpleasantness. After burn-in, the sound is more on the warm side of things with a noticeably stronger bass presence, but it keeps its sweet treble and good mids, making them, in my opinion, excellent all-rounders, and worth pairing with a good DAP. One of the best things about them is that the stock tips work perfectly with them. I tried switching in my usual alternatives -- Spinfits and JVC Spiral Dots, but each messed up the nicely balanced sound. The only sonic negative I could find was that they aren't so pleasant to listen with at louder volumes.
 
Overall, this has put them way above any pair of $50 IEMs I've tried (excepting the Meze 11 Neo) and made them good enough to slip them into a pocket for daily carry duty.

Preamble:
The Zeros that I'm reviewing today has been provided to me by Shozy for an honest and unbiased review,for which I'm honoured.The unit that I had received is a BETA UNIT so the retail unit may slightly differ.As mine were pre-production unit they came in a small plastic bag along with 3 stock tips.I'll try to give honest impression about them.The zeros can be purchased for 60$ from here - http://penonaudio.com/SHOZY-Zero
 

About Me:
I'm a student who has just got on the head-fi tour.I've joined this community before a month hence you can understand about my experience regarding to such stuff.My preference in music is Rock,Country music and Indie Pop.I'm not a basshead,I like neutral to warmish sound.As I'm a newbie and this is my 1st review so please bear with me for any mistakes.
 
 
Specifications:
Sensitivity(at 1Khz) :94db
Frequency response :20hz-18Khz
Input connector :3.5mm/1/8 inch gold-plated stereo TRS plug
(From official website)
 
 
Build Quality:
The housing of Zeros is made of Rosewood and metal.The audio jack is gold plated and made of resewood housing.The cable of the zeros looks good,though I feel the cable is not much sturdier but I've been told that the retail version will have better build quaility so take it as a grain of salt.The L-R markings are very hard to see.As photography is not my thing I've attached some pics of retail unit from Penon Audio.




 
Fit and Comfort:
They are very lightweight.I can plug them in for an entire day.You just forget that they're in your ears.They're so tiny and comfortable.The stock tips are pretty good and gives a proper fit.They can be worn both straight down and over ear.
 
Sound Quality:
Coming to the main part the sound signature of the zeros is neutral to warm.The zeros definitely require burn-in for about 150hrs.Before burn in they sounded quite moody,rolled off and congested.After nearly 150 hrs of burn-in they really opened up and the sound gets more defined and spacious.So I would suggest to burn-in them and then evaluate them.The sound tonality is very smooth,airy and detailed.
 
Lows:
The lows are very defined having a great extension.Lows are deeper and have wide spectrum.The mid bass is slightly overpowering.The sub bass is very natural and punchy.The upper bass sometimes interferes with the mids.Other than that lows are great on Zeros.

Mids:
Mids are full of lush.Both the male and female vocals sounds natural.The mids are very enjoyable along with great details.No sibilance,No harshness.IMO best within this price range.

Highs:
Heighs are smooth having enough body.Highs are slightly less detailed.The treble sometimes can be rolled off,it really Lacks some details and seperation.Though considering the price it's acceptable.
 
Soundstage and Seperation:
Zeros have very good sounstage.The depth is great but the width is slightly on the narrower side,though it has enough width to enjoy the music.Instruments sounds well positioned.The sound signature is airy and spacious.Separion is not top notch but good.
 
 
Isolation:
It highly depends on the tips you're using.Personally I feel the stock tips does give below average isolation.However comply tips provides better isolation.
 
 
Comparison:
Since I'm new I don't have a big iem collection but I've RHA MA750,SONY MDR-XB90EX and VE MONK+.Currently due to my study I'd not be able to give justice to such comparision.Though one can pm me if he's interested in such comparison.
 
 
Conclusion:
The Shozy has really nailed it considering the Zeros are their first iems.As we all know no iem can be perfect,the Zeros have their ups and down but believe me the sound is very fun and engaging along with awesome details and spaciousness.The 60$ price is a steal.If you're after iems under 150$ you should definitely not miss out the Zeros if you want smooth sound signature along with great details and excellent bass.Excellent bang for the buck.
 
I'd like to thank the Shozy Representative who provided the review unit.
Thanks to the readers for giving time to this review.
Pardon me for any mistakes and silliness.

Before I begin, I'd like to thank the representative from Shozy for sending me a set free of charge in exchange for my review. I will try and be as honest and truthful as I can in my review regardless. To be honest, when he approached me I had pretty low expectations for these since he was a bit vague on providing any specifics, he just told me he was sending me a "really good sounding IEM" and that I should burn it in before evaluation with at least 100 hours of orchestral music. 
 
My set came in a bubble wrapped bag with a set of eartips and that is it, no case or other accessories, just three sets of tips for small/medium/large ears. It looks like the final ones come with a case and perhaps some other accessories, but since mine didn't come with any of that I won't make a comment on the fit and finish of anything other than the IEMs themselves.
 
The wood housing used for the IEMs, Y split, and connector seems like it's good quality; it's not highly lacquered and then polished for days, and it doesn't look like some exotic endangered species of wood but the color and finish are both really nice, it certainly stands out a bit from the plastic fantastic crowd of IEMs at this price point. The cable is a nice feeling rubber material that's semi transparent and allows some of the strands of copper to show through, giving the cable a really sleek look when you really start looking at it. Microphonics on the cable are still certainly present, even when being worn over the ear, but they aren't too loud I'm guessing a slider would have alleviated this problem but my set did not come with one. The cable seems to have a small amount of memory to it, so trying to straighten the cable out all the way after wrapping them up for a while might be a challenge, but this shouldn't be a problem for most.
 
The housings are fairly tiny and fit very well into my ears. Then again, I have big ears and my go-to IEM for the last two years has been the Sony XBA-H3, which is much bigger, so I might not be the best person to judge fit from.  Isolation seems pretty good for a dynamic IEM but without aftermarket tips that go deeper in the ear canal they certainly shouldn't replace your earplugs or earmuffs in any high volume environments. I am unsure if these are ported or not but given how good the isolation is I'm going to guess they aren't. If they were it would probably be the single best isolating vented IEM I've ever heard with single flanged eartips.
 
Before giving my sound impressions, I just wanted to say that originally the rep didn't give me any pricing info for these until I asked, but I genuinely thought the asking price for these was going to be somewhere in the $100-200 range. When he told me they would be $50 I was pretty flabbergasted.
 
Now onto the sound. Going from bottom to top, the bass on the Shozy Zeros has good punch and great extension; it never felt like it was overpowering any other parts of the sound spectrum but it is definitely very present. I would say the bass has more of a rumble than a punch, which I believe suggests it's a bit more focused in the sub bass than mid-bass area. The extension is really good too, going at least as deep as my budget subwoofers in my car and home theater setups. Either way I was really impressed with the bass and it was probably my favorite part of the sound. 
 
The mids always seem the hardest for me to gauge on IEMs, but here they seem to be well balanced; they aren't heavily recessed or anything and I was able to hear a good amount of information in the range, but they also weren't crystal clear either. I would say some vocals and instruments sounded clearer on my H3s than the Zeros for example, but only by a bit. That may be related more to the treble than anything though. In summary, there's definitely nothing weird going on in the midrange, everything is pretty much where it should be.
 
The treble sounds pretty great too. This is where I feel like a lot of IEMs fail for me: they're either way too treble happy and end up giving me a headache after as little as a few minutes or too soft and dull sounding for fear of sounding like the former, or perhaps to mask treble peaks that they didn't bother fixing. Either way I am happy to say that the Zeros don't have any of these issues and the treble is pretty well balanced. While it does lie on the softer side, there is still a good amount of presence and it sounds more refined than a lot of other cheaper sets of IEMs I have laying around. The Zeros check that very rare mark for me since they don't sound too bright and painful nor too soft. Very few sets I've heard under $150 achieve this as well as the Zeros.
 
So perhaps it's because my sound preferences just align with the Shozy Zero's sound signature, but I really think these are a winner. To me, these IEMs sound like they are worth twice to three times the asking price to me.
 
Equipment used:
Nexus 6P 
Project H: Some Chinese CS4398 DAC combined with an Objective 2 amplifier.
 
For an idea of the kinds of music I listen to, you can look at my last.fm page but in summary I listen to a lot of Japanese music: EDM, anisong, pop, etc along with some American classic rock and miscellaneous other tracks from classical to rap.
 
Again, thanks to the rep and please let me know if anyone has any questions about my review.  

 
[size=24.57px]INTRODUCTION[/size][size=24.57px]

[/size]

This is my 2^nd product from Shozy. I purchased Shozy Alien Gold Edition and loved the product so much so that I put my sincere appreciation of releasing such a great DAP to Shozy and they appreciated my feedback and asked me if I will be interested in reviewing their new IEM, ZERO.  And I was more than happy to try out and review their new IEM, and I am now reviewing this IEM today.

DISCLAIMER

Shozy Zero that I’m reviewing today was provided to me gratis as a review sample and this is not retail version but sample version so the final version may slightly different to the one that I have. I do not make any financial gain from this review – it is has been written simply as my way of sharing my impression both to the Head-Fi and also Shozy themselves.

'ABOUT ME'

My preference in IEM is clear, transparent sound with wide soundstage. I am no basshead and I HATE muddy sounded earphone with over emphasized bass. I’ve used the ZERO from a variety of sources, but for main body of this review, I’ve used it primarily with my Shozy Alien Gold and Fiio X1.

This is a purely subjective review. Please note that I am not an Audiophile and I am actually a newbie who started audio enthusiast road beginning of this year.  And this is my 1^st review on any audio gear. Please take these all with a grain of salt - especially if it does not match your own experience. J

THE REVIEW

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES
Review unit arrived in bubble bag. It had earphone unit and 3 pairs of tips (S, M, L). That is it. I was told that Retail version would come with a Zippered clamshell case, too.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
(From Penon)

 
Sensitivity(at 1Khz) :94db

Frequency response :20hz-18khz

Line Length:1.2m

Resistance:32Ω

Input connector :3.5mm/1/8 inch gold-plated stereo TRS plug

 

BUILD QUALITY / DESIGN

The unit itself is made of real rosewood and front tip part in black is made of aluminum (not 100% sure what kind of metal but it is very light and feel like aluminum). I really like this wooden cylinder chamber. It looks gorgeous and I was amazed how it could be made out of real wood in this small size in this finishing quality and also be able to feed all of speaker units inside without causing cracks on the wooden chamber.

I could not see any pot or vent and found isolation is good.



The L/R marking is on cable strain relief rubber part but it is very hard to see. I wish that it had different color of rubber on each side or has some sort of more visible marks on it so it can be easily distinguishable. 
 

 
The cable has strain relief and look quite durable. However, the cable Y split part does not have any strain relief and looks quite fragile and not sure how long it will withstand daily abuse. I really wish that it had strain relief around Y-Split part so it could be more durable. The Y-split is also wooden cylinder shape cover on it with ZERO word engraved and look nice though.
 


The cable is also easy to get tangled comparing with other IEM such as Yamaha EPH-100, which I will compare shortly.

The jack is also made of wood and Shozy wording engraved on it. It is straight, 3.5mm, gold plated, and has good strain relief.  The jack itself is quite narrow so it should be smart phone case friendly. I tested with my one and it was fine.



FIT / COMFORT

I tried all 3 silicone ear tips and found L size tips fits me perfect and seal very well. The ear tip is quite shallow in depth so it does not go into ear canal deep. I found that it is very comfy and could not feel the weight much at all. At once time, I listened 4 hours straight and did not have any fatigue wearing at all. I found that ZERO is one of the most comfortable IEMs that I have experienced so far.

POWER REQUIREMENTS

This IEM has only 32 ohm impedance and easy to drive. I tested with Shozy Alien, Fiio X1 and HTC M8 and did not have any trouble driving this IEM.

SOUND QUALITY

The following is what I hear from the ZERO. YMMV – and probably will – as my tastes are likely different to yours. For my testing I used mainly Shozy Alien and Fiio X1 and all of my music file format are FLAC.




 
I don’t own many IEMs and only have handful number of IEMs. (You can check my profile to see what IEMs I do own). After 200 hours of burn in and listening, I personally found that ZERO is very similar sound signature with Yamaha EPH-100 that I also own. It has fun and dynamic sound and it goes really well any types of music that I choose to listen.



Comparing with Yam EPH-100, ZERO is slightly darker and has definitely wider soundstage and a bit more bass. It is not bass heavy IEM but when music demands, it surprisingly delivers plenty of bass & sub-bass. Since it is a bit darker, it sounds more organic and less fatiguing. If Yam EPH-100 sounds a bit metallic or brassy, ZERO sounds a bit more analog and tad softer. 
 
Overall Detail / Clarity / Timbre
Tracks used: String Quintet No.3 in G minor, K.516:1. Allegro by Mozart

I am very impressed how ZERO goes well with Classical music especially string instruments. The violin and cello sounds clear and I could definitely feel the timbre and hear all the details clearly. It sounds really natural and very pleasing. Comparing with EPH-100, ZERO sounds definitely better on string instrument oriented  Classical music.

Sound-stage & Imaging
Tracks used: Mad Max: Fury Road – Brothers in Arms

I again very impressed when I listen Mad Max soundtrack with ZERO. This soundtrack is consist of a lot of different instruments such as drum, violins, cellos, percussions and many other digital instruments and ZERO delivers great separation among instruments with BIG sound stage and imaging. I could separate all of instruments playing while listening. Only minor complaint is that I hear slight distortion on bass when there are many drums all playing at the same time but I would not notice this if I did not listen critically.

Bass Quality and Quantity
Tracks used: Fearless – Matt Nash, Carta

I continue being impressed. This track has plenty of bass and I could hear great mid-bass thump and this is more than enough bass quantity for me. If you are not serious basshead, I am quite confident that you will be satisfied with the amount of bass & sub-bass this IEM delivers.

Female Vocals
Tracks used : Nebraska by Lucy Rose, Fields of Gold by Eva Cassidy, Don’t know Why by Norah Jones,.

ZERO goes well with so many genres and Female vocal is not an exception. My personal favorite genre of music is female vocal and I spend great deal of time listening them. Some of bright sounded IEMs give harsh treble when listening high pitch female vocal and ZERO does not. Its slight darkish tone helps listening female vocal without harshness while maintaining great clarity. I really like sound signature ZERO offers.

Male Vocals
Track used: Riptide by Vance Joy, Ophelia by The Lumineers, Budapest by George Ezra

Again –Zero delivers. Folk music with men’s voice goes very well with Zero. I found that the slight dark tone makes the song slightly dark but it brings good bass & timbre to the forefront, whilst retaining richness and fullness through the vocals.

 

[size=24.57px]SHOZY ZERO[/size][size=24.57px] [/size][size=24.57px]– SUMMARY[/size]

First up I want to take the chance to thank (again) Shozy for giving me the chance to listen to Shozy’s new IEM.

I believe that this IEM is a fabulous choice if someone looks for all rounder IEM under $100. It is made of gorgeous real rosewood that is pleasing to Eyes and Ears. It is surprisingly light and offers good isolation.

It has fun & dynamic sound with slight darkish tone. It has good bass quantity without sacrificing clarity on mid & high and it has impressive soundstage.

It is also easy to drive and does not need separate amp.  This IEM makes me wonder why I need Yamaha EPH-100 after all when I have this one now.

My only gripe is hard to see L/R marking, durability of Y-Split area and tangling cable. Other than that, I could not find any major fault. I could not think any IEM that matches sound quality with ZERO at this price and I highly recommend this IEM.

Brilliant sound, brilliant value, and  – 4.5 stars.

 

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Preamble:

A group of engineers and designers has worked as OEM developers and producers for audio products, acting in the background, until 2012, when they decided to found a company for audio products for hi-fi enthusiasts under their own name. And that’s how Shozy, a registered trademark of Cozoy International, was born.
It was some time ago that I had been in touch with Shozy regarding a product review of their sleek looking Cygnus earbuds. They then also mentioned that they had a new cheap single dynamic driver in-ear in the pipeline, a model with rosewood body and a competitive pricing of $50 while it was said to perform up to 10 times the price. Well, I’ve heard that story multiple times (, especially by some users claiming a $10-30 product would smash the $1000 competition, and in about almost every single case it had turned out as utterly nonsense, especially once when the $10 Ivery IS-1 was claimed by many users in its dedicated Head-Fi thread that was later removed to sound neutral and be technically superior to the Sennheiser HD 800, which I didn’t believe at all but took a shot and bought it, just to find out that it was one of the most bass-bloated and control-lacking in-ears I had ever tried, nonetheless there are indeed some in-ears that are over-performing for their competitive price tag, but not by that much) and I honestly told him that I wasn’t much interested, but he replied to me that he’d just throw in a sample of those rosewood IEMs that later turned out to be named “Zero” (http://www.shozy-hk.com/zero-earphone/) and that it was about me to whether I’d write a review or not.
So here we go now, writing as unbiased as possible and entirely hype-free.


Technical Specifications:

Price: ~ $50
Sensitivity (at 1 kHz): 94 dB
Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 18 kHz


Delivery Content:

The final retail packaging wasn’t ready yet and instead of waiting, I agreed that Shozy would just send me the in-ears and dedicated silicone tips. So there is not much to say here this time.
 

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Looks, Feels, Build Quality:

Honestly speaking, judging by all pictures I had seen so far, I had expected an average quality rosewood, but it turned out to be really good. The pictures don’t do the product justice, mine do neither – one has to see the Zero in real life to appreciate its wood’s quality. Every Zero will surely look somewhat different due to the different grain of wood.
The in-ear bodies, y-split (that lacks a cable cinch, meh – but has nice “Zero” lettering engraved) and 3.5 mm plug (with engraved “Shozy” logo) are made of rosewood and look and feel really nice. Strain relief is good on the in-ears and connector and sufficient on the y-split’s lower section.
The side-markers are small letters on the strain relief and could be better distinguishable.
The cable: do you know Knowledge Zenith (KZ) in-ears? Zero’s is quite similar but the coat is darker. As also mentioned in my reviews of some of the KZ in-ears, the cable is pretty good, appears sturdy, is flexible, a bit rubbery and better than what a few other companies equip their more expensive models with.
 

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Comfort, Isolation:

The in-ears are more on the smaller side of average and easy to insert. With my large conchas, comfort and fit are excellent. As with most in-ears of this kind, a wearing style with the cable over the ears is easily possible and also what I recommend and practise with about all in-ears. This also helps to drastically reduce microphonics, as they are very present with the usual “cable down” style because of the lack of a cable cinch.

I cannot see a real vent except for the gap on the nozzle collar that is however covered by the ear tips, nonetheless isolation is "only" somewhat better than average but not excellent yet. Definitely not UE200 or SE425 levels yet, two in-ears with closed (non-vented) bodies that isolate extremely well.


Sound:

Just in case and as requested by Shozy, the in-ears were burnt in with symphonic music (for 200 hours, D’oh!) before listening started, although I suspect a greater burn-in effect (if any at all) with headphones.
For listening, I used the LH Labs Geek Out IEM 100, Leckerton UHA-6S.MKII, iBasso DX90 and DX80 as well as the largest included silicone tips. As desired by Shozy, I also used my iPhone 4, laptop (that puts out a flat signal except for a minor roll-off in the subbass) and AGPTek C05 DAP.

Tonality:

How is the tonality? In my ears, it is smooth, somewhat bassy and warm-ish but with a v-shaped tendency.

Bass is full, but it extends deep, doesn’t have too much lower midrange spillage and is tight, without boominess or being bloated (more on that in the “Resolution” section). It is forward but doesn’t become overwhelming; sound is musical and enjoyable but quite a bit bassier than the ER-4S’s and also UERMs’ neutrality (especially in the upper bass).

Although measurements indicate a bass around +12 dB, doing sine sweeps and EQ adjustments, it is rather ~10 dB in my ears compared to the very flat (diffuse-field target) Etymotic ER-4S and around 7 dB north of neutral compared to my UERM. The bass is full, somewhat big, but not really overwhelming and does not yet reach basshead levels. For my preference, there is somewhat too much (especially upper) bass most of the time, but that’s mainly because upper bass/lower fundamental range is already quite present and strong, something I don’t necessarily like much – in my opinion, upper bass could show somewhat less presence, being less kicking.
Bass starts rising at 800 Hz in my ears, reaching its climax at around 90 Hz but already being full between 100 and 200 Hz, with some rumbling (however with very good control) – the bass has more of a humped shape than straight rising tendency, adding some fullness and warmth to the fundamental range as well as lower vocals.
Yes, voices are more on the sweet and warm, somewhat dark side but I wouldn’t consider them as being really coloured or unnatural yet.
Between about 1 and 3 kHz, I hear a slight recession when doing sine sweeps, followed by a rising level above 3 kHz that extends into a broad-banded, above-zero peak at 5 and 8 kHz, with (just slightly) a bit less level above and really good extension past 16 kHz.

Overall sound is natural, musical. The bass is compensated by the treble that however doesn’t stand in the foreground too much, adding just the right amount of sparkle and perceived air in the upper ranges. Nonetheless, the middle and upper treble are undeniably forward in my ears when doing sine sweeps or listening to music – something that isn’t really showing on the measurement plots (in the middle highs) but rather the opposite, but in my ears, level is in the foreground in these areas. There might be some resonance in my large ear canals with the Zero.
Naturalness is good though, as the peaks are, as mentioned, broad-banded and decay in the upper ranges is just right (neither too fast nor too slow). At low listening levels, the Zero fits nicely in due to its sound signature, then sounding more balanced (keyword: loudness).
 
Resolution:

The Zero is not the super duper multi-driver killer. It is also not the best single dynamic in-ear. Nonetheless, it is a really nice offer for ~ $50 and stands well among other great dynamic driver budget offerings like the TE-02, B3 Pro I, A65 and M3 (direct comparisons further below). In fact, it even does some things better than those other budget offerings that could cost more, judged by pure sound quality.
Are most higher-priced dynamic in-ears overpriced or are all budget offerings (including the Zero) that are said to stand well against higher-priced stuff just sold at much lower prices than they could? Or is it probably a bit of both? It is up to you to decide. Taking manufacturing and buying prices into account, dynamic drivers, even the better ones, are usually much cheaper than BA drivers, and marketing, development and research costs are also things that play a role. So, good dynamic driver in-ears can naturally be sold at low prices if the company isn’t making huge profits from a single sold item and if engineering/research/marketing/design costs are kept rather low.
But enough introductory blah-blah, back to the Shozy Zero: it really does a good job. Could it compete with some other single dynamic driver models below/around $200? Yes. Is it technically better than most multi-driver BA in-ears? Not at all on the objective side, but you could still find it better on the subjective side if it really suits your tonal preference.

Bass quality is really really good for a dynamic driver in-ear. Punchy, quick, nicely controlled, without uncontrolled rumble. Quick music with fast bass lines? No problem at all for the Zero. Though, if we’re talking big boys, there could be a smidgen more bass details. Not a complaint at all for the price. If it was $500, I would desire a somewhat better detail retrieval in the lows, but not for $200 and especially not for $50, as the Zero is very easily worth that.
Midrange details are nicely presented. Not as liquid as with the LEAR LHF-AE1d, but with good minute details and good however not great speech intelligibility (no BA-levels).
Treble sounds natural and well separated, with good naturalness and air. If I was nitpicky, I could say that the violins’ overtones have some tendency to sharpness and if you don’t like a somewhat forward upper treble you might have problems at higher listening levels, but then again, no in-ear is 100% perfect (my UERM and even my beloved ER-4S aren’t) and decay appears neither too fast nor too slow in the upper range, is just spot-on.
For $50, you already get a lot of sound with the Zero, but that’s also true for some other budget offerings. Except for probably coherence, you will definitely get an improvement with good multi-driver BA-only in-ears between $200 and 500, but if you are more into the character of dynamic drivers, you will probably still prefer the Zero.

Soundstage:

Airy. Airy and well positioned. Do I need to say more? Probably not, but I know you want to read more.
Expansion to the sides is somewhat more distinctive than average, but not by much. It completely lacks congestion though. Spatial depth is nicely presented and layering as well as instrument separation are good. Size and airiness aren’t as present as with in-ears like the Havi B3 Pro I or DUNU Titan 1, but spatial precision and separation are really good. Not better BA-level but really good for a dynamic driver in-ear.

---------

In Comparison with other dynamic driver In-Ears:
So let’s see how the Zero stands up against other excellent budget offerings and some higher priced models.

Fostex TE-02:
Believe it or not, the TE-02 already is an excellent budget offering. Ignore its price tag, it doesn’t say anything about its sound. If I didn’t accidentally stumble across a German thread, I would have totally ignored the Fostex. It is one of the super budget (< $30) offerings, if not the only one, where I would personally easily see a price tag past $100.
The Fostex is the clearly more neutral in-ear, sporting a pretty flat bass, no real warm tilt in the lows and (in my ears) a somewhat darker, less present treble.
Overall, I just see a small advantage of the Zero in terms of midrange and treble details (especially as the upper treble decay sounds more natural), with both being on-par when it is about bass speed and control.
The soundstage of both in-ears is similarly wide but the Zero has somewhat more depth with comparable spatial precision.

Havi B3 Pro I:
The Havi B3 Pro I is an excellent in-ear - my only grief with it is that it doesn’t sound 100% coherent to me – besides that, it is a highly recommendable entry-level model. The Zero sports the better coherency with its single driver – but how about the rest? The Havi sounds more balanced, with less bass and fundamental warmth although it has some boost in the middle root range. The Zero has more middle treble whereas the B3 has little more upper highs with the stock black silicone tips I am using with the Havi.
Once again, I wouldn’t be able to say one is clearly better than the other. Both have comparable bass speed and control, resolution is very comparable as well.
The Havi’s soundstage is larger in both directions, with the somewhat better instrument separation.

Fidue A65:
The A65 – a really nice in-ear with titanium-coated diaphragms and built like a tank. Smooth, natural, very enjoyable and with really good bass quality and imaging (not really in terms of soundstage size but separation).
The Shozy sounds bassier and somewhat thicker, with more presence in the sub- and midbass. Treble is comparable though the A65 has somewhat less level in the upper and upper middle highs in my ears.
Talking resolution: the Zero has the very slightly quicker bass decay but the A65’s sounds more tactile, with the better body while maintaining the same if not even having slightly better control. The Fidue sounds somewhat more detailed in the bass. In the mids, both are comparable though I would give the very slight edge towards the Shozy. In the treble, I would say the Zero is slightly more natural as its decay isn’t as fast as the A65’s, but detail retrieval in the highs is nothing where I could make out a winner. It’s a tie.
Talking soundstage: the Zero’s is somewhat larger in both dimensions, but both are equally precise when it is about instrument separation and placement.

Brainwavz M3:
The M3 – a very nice in-ear, overall quite balanced, with just gentle “fun”. Great spatial depth. Average cable.
The Brainwavz has less bass and warmth. M3’s middle treble is more in the background but the peak in the upper highs is steeper, making it sound brighter there.
Bass speed is better on the Zero’s side. Control as well. When it is about midrange details and speech intelligibility, the Brainwavz is somewhat better. The Zero’s treble appears to be somewhat better resolving and little more natural.
Soundstage: the M3 has less width, more depth. M3’s depth is somewhat magical. In comparison, the sides feel somewhat congested on the M3 (imho). The Shozy sports the somewhat better spatial precision, sounds less blurry.

RHA T20 (“reference” filters):
The T20 is a well-built dynamic in-ear. It works well for Classic Rock. Midrange and treble details are quite good though the highs could be somewhat more even (there is some very minor sizzle). Over time, I realised what I personally don’t completely like about the T20 – its bass (not necessarily the quantity as I am rather flexible regarding that but the amount of upper bass and general quality). It is quick but somewhat rumbling. Not rumbling in a good way, but rumbling as in lacking control a bit. Yes, bass is better “distinguishable” therefore but that appears somewhat forced. Directly comparing the T20 to really good budget offerings, I realise that it is actually a bit overpriced for its bass performance alone.
Both in-ears have a similar upper bass level, however as the Zero is quicker and better controlled here, so it sounds a bit less forward – it sounds less bassy than the T20. It’s also because the Zero extends lower without roll-off. Upper treble is more forward on the Zero’s side.
Bass speed and especially control are better with the Zero. Much better distinguishable notes and lines, less rumble, quicker attack and decay. At first listen, it seemed like the Zero was more detailed in the mids and highs, but that was just because of its boost in the upper treble. Listening more closely in the next two hours, the T20 is somewhat better resolving in the mids and treble, but it is gentler and has more muted upper highs wherefore it doesn’t appear as airy at first glance. The T20 shows slightly more midrange details with minute singers’ variations – but it is just a little better and the Zero lacks the slight sizzle the T20 has at times. Bass quality goes quite clearly to the Zero. Treble and midrange quality are things where the RHA is slightly better. Is that alone worth the much higher price? It is not, as I would say because the Zero has the quite better bass quality, it is overall slightly better, especially if you value price-performance ratio where the T20 is, now directly compared to some really good budget in-ears, rather on the average side. But it sports the obviously superior build quality, more flexible cable, nicer packaging and the user experience is on a whole other level. And its soundstage is actually quite nice – a bit more width and depth than the Zero, the somewhat more precise imaging, better forward projection, but with bassier tracks it collapses a little in the upper bass, compared to the Shozy.
If you are willing to pay the upcharge for superior build quality, design, somewhat better soundstage and midrange details, the RHA T20 is still a quite solid dynamic driver offering – but rather expensive for its (especially lower note) performance compared to some budget offerings like the Zero that sounds more controlled, more rounded and just slightly less detailed in the mids.

LEAR LHF-AE1d (upgrade nozzles):
Here we go with one of my favourite dynamic driver in-ears of all time. Why? Good build & cable, variable bass, really natural sound with excellent midrange plus treble and excellent authenticity.
Bass quantity depends on where the LEAR’s screw is at. It can reach from sub-neutral to basshead levels with just a turn of the potentiometer. With the upgrade nozzles, the AE1d’s midrange is flatter, brighter than the Zero’s. The LEAR has got a more even and smoother midrange and treble, with a relaxed-dip around 5 kHz. As it is now, I have tuned the AE1d for a pretty neutral bass response.
The only category where the Zero is somewhat ahead is bass quality with better speed and control as soon as fast music is being played – as the LEAR’s bodies are vented twice, the bass is more on the softer side. Bass details are about comparable although the AE1d sounds less blunt. Midrange and treble resolution? It’s no competition, the LEAR is ahead, especially with its liquid, detailed mids and natural, well-resolving treble. Naturalness as well as authenticity are also things where the AE1d is extremely strong, hence making it one of my favourite dynamic driver in-ears.
Imaging/soundstage: the LEAR has comparable width but more spatial depth; the soundstage seems somewhat more natural. Instrument separation is about comparable.

Sennheiser IE 800:
It’s no fair comparison, I know. The IE 800 is a hell of a single dynamic driver in-ear. Its frequency response is tuned for fun. Bass is super quick and controlled. Separation is excellent. Though, its treble sounds somewhat artificial (cymbal crashes sound somewhat sizzling instead of crashing) and well, the cable is honestly some sort of bad joke at this price point (“What did those people think?! Creating a superbly sounding dynamic driver in-ear and using such a *cough cough average* cable?!”).
The IE 800 is more of a classical v-shaped nature, sporting present sub-bass and upper treble. The Zero doesn’t have less sub-bass at all but less perceived impact and pressure down there. Upper bass is about similarly impactful/present but as the IE 800 is more sub-bassy, it is perceived as somewhat less obtrusive. IE 800’s bass keeps out of the lower mids better. The Senn’s treble is of the typical v-shaped nature: somewhat recessed middle highs, elevated upper highs. IE 800’s upper highs appear more forward.
The IE 800 is overall ahead, but it better should at the price point: obviously better minute detail retrieval, even more control and bass firmness. The IE 800 feels more responsive, quicker, with better transients. Vocal, bass and treble details are better with the Sennheiser. Switching to the Zero, it feels like there is some sort of veil. The IE 800 is more refined, also in the treble where it however sounds somewhat artificial with cymbal crashes. Is the IE 800 12-14 times better than the Zero? It is clearly not. We’re talking about audio where we have a distinct law of diminishing returns with exponential price increase for differences here and there as well as a somewhat better performance.
Now all that’s left is a soundstage comparison. IE 800’s stage expands wide. Not super wide out-of-your-head style but wide. And it is precise. Separation and lateral placement are really good. Soundstage isn’t that super wide actually (no Westone 4R levels yet) but instruments are very finely displayed and it is easy to pick them out. Zero’s soundstage is not as precise and also not as wide but has some more depth and appears more round, circular.


Conclusion:

Sound is a total matter of preference – if a sound signature suits one’s tastes, chances are very high that the headphone will also be enjoyed, even when the objective sound quality doesn’t reach much better models. In the end, it is always a matter of personal taste and preference whether an in-ear will be enjoyed by folks or not.
If you like the character of dynamic driver in-ears with good musicality, some fullness and upper treble air, you get a lot with the Zero. It sounds very natural with most types of music and has a really good bass response. It fares well against other excellent budget offerings, even being somewhat better in some places, and even trumps models like the RHA T20 in some categories. In the bass, it is also somewhat better than my all-time favourite single dynamic in-ear, the LEAR LHF-AE1d, which on the other hand sounds even more natural and is audibly better resolving overall, but that should be expected at four times the price, just as that the Sennheiser IE 800 also trumps the Zero in everything except for upper treble naturalness where I always found the Sennheiser to be slightly artificially splashy sounding.
Is the Zero a really good budget offering? It is, although it is not noticeably better than other great budget offerings when compared face-to-face. Can it objectively compete with better multi-BA in-ears? No, not at all, but if you prefer the character of dynamic in-ears, it probably might for you.
It is no killer but a really good budget offering with natural, vivid sound. Good value? What does the question mark do here, Chris, it does have really good value, just as some of my other favourite budget dynamic driver in-ears I used for comparison. Is it a very enjoyable in-ear? Oh yes, it really is. For my preference though, upper bass could be somewhat less present – but that is a subjective thing.


With my usual 70% sound/price/value (97/100) to 30% build/fit/accessories (89/100 (might change if I get to see a real retail packaging)) weighting, the Zero gets 4.73 out of 5 possible stars.

Acknowledgment   

Thank you Shozy for the review sample in exchange for my honest opinion.

 

Introduction

Shozy is a manufacturer out of Hong Kong known for their interesting portable DAC/Amps and price to performance ratio. The company responsible for the brand has also manufactured under the name Cozoy. I think Shozy sounds nicer. The Zero continues in the same price to performance vein where the esoteric Alien and Alien Gold DACs have tread before, but the Zero is a lot more approachable.
 
Shozy sells the Zero on their website for $60 and notes that there are only a limited list of authorized distributors, check that your local (or not so local) shop is associated with the right distributor.
 

 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

In this section of my reviews I try to let the manufacturer’s story about their product be told. Manufacturers and retailers always have something to say about their products, some of the time it’s accurate. The review sections will tell whether that is the case here.
 
Shozy doesn’t provide very informative information on their website, and has it formatted in a way that makes copy/paste onerous, the whole page is a jpeg. Shozy should definitely improve on making their website not just pretty, but functional. You can put lipstick on a pig, but you probably won't want to take that pig to the village dance--I don't presume to know what your community does. I’ve chopped the relevant bits up for you here.
 
Try googling pig with lipstick, you'll get racism, misogyny, judgemental religious blogs, and other fantastic things besides this great image. She's so stylish, she even knows how to wear pearls. Better trot out your best Sunday suit.
 

 
 

 
 
 
Conspicuously missing from the specs were driver size and impedance. Whilst the driver size isn't listed, it's a pretty safe bet to say between 8 and 10mm. The website says of low impedance. I have no idea what this means, but I'm guessing it means somewhere around 16Ω.
 

 
As can be seen, Shozy kind of sucks at drawing graphs. The scale here is obviously not linear, which makes it difficult to discern where that heavy roll-off really starts happening. That dip that drops down to 0 doesn't look so good to me. Luckily, it sounds better than that graph makes me feel. Maybe I just suck at reading graphs. After all, I've used the XKCD cartoon below for teaching economic modelling.
 
 

 

 

Form & Function

The units I received were one of many beta units sent out into the wild by Shozy, and I was very happy to be approached. My unit came in a simple padded mailer with no case or retail packaging, so I can’t comment on the packaging first hand. These are the accessories listed by Shozy as coming with the IEM:

1. Carrying pouch
2. Single flange eartips (S/M/L)
3. User manual

 
The stock tips have a very wide bore, which I found to increase stage width but decrease bass definition. I preferred the slightly smaller stage and improved overall definition and clarity of the spinfits. One interesting thing on the nozzle is there is a little notch on the bottom. Shozy indicates that this is for tuning, but I found that it also makes it easier to get tips on. The Shozy Zero has quite a large bore and loading the tips over the notch makes fitting tips much easier.
 
Overall the accessories are pretty bare, but are acceptable for the price range. There are headphones at lower prices with much nicer accessories, like the Brainwavz Jive. This is an area where Shozy could improve here, but from what is listed on Penonaudio.com, the cost of the wood might necessitate the price, and further accessories may cut into margins too much. According to Penonaudio:
 
SHOZY Zero in-ear earphones use simple in-ear design, wearing comfortable. Earphone front shell is  precisely processed by lathe and CNC,it has a remarkable acoustic structure designed to allow normal speaker releasing excellent sound; the rear shell, splitting and the plug shell, and are using good quality red sandalwood, precision lathe processed, carefully selected (1500 sets of wooden shell can pick out only about 300 sets). Imported speaker driver, high-sensitivity low impedance, mobile phone can drive it easily, if play with the high-end players and decoding amp, sound quality increase significantly and clearly.
 
The description on Penonaudio using ‘red sandalwood’ is not an error, as rosewood and red sandalwood are varieties of the same family. Rosewood is known for its excellent density, which makes it desirable in audio and woodcarving applications. Suffice to say that rosewood, a less expensive variety of red sandalwood, is still an expensive component.
 
Something to note ahead of getting into all this. I was advised by Shozy’s representative to burn the headphones in using classical music for at least 100 hours, preferably 200 hours. I think that this is a completely unreasonable amount of burn-in for a $60 headphone. If it requires this much burn in, most of this should be done at the factory. I’m also of the opinion that music doesn’t give drivers the same exercise as noise. I would usually burn-in headphones using what I’ve coined ‘Neapolitan noise.’ Neapolitan noise is white noise, pink noise, and brown noise; it’s like vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream combo bricks you find in your grocery freezer section. Noise gives a more full frequency workout that reduces time to burn in drivers completely, and I’ve found that most headphones after 20 hours of noise exhibit no further changes. I have run into headphones that change around 50 hours, but there aren’t many. For the Zeros, I followed the manufacturer instructions, mostly. I tested them at zero, 20, 50, and 100 hours and noted that there were changes along the way. After 100 hours I gave them some Neapolitan noise to firm them up. The zero is more strident at first blush and mellows out over time. Give it due time.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Audio quality

The Shozy Zero has a warm mid/upper bass emphasis with smooth and pleasant sounding treble that does very nice with violins. I found that with the stock tips the bass could be a little fuzzy. A bit more control would be an improvement. The sound stage has good width but depth is superficial. You can hear the relative weight in the stage of instruments at different depths, but you can’t feel the air moving through and around instruments. It is like a painting done with broad brush strokes versus a painting using finer strokes. Both are pleasing, but the details are far superior when the more delicate brush is used. Instrument placement could be more palpable, with better separation in the depth dimension. Soundstage height is excellent on the Shozy Zero. I think the stock tips trade off some detail in order to blast out an impressively wide soundstage.
 
Switching to Spinfits, which give the bass more control and crispy up the treble a bit, I tried the Shozy Zero with a few DAC/DAPs. The Cyberdrive Feather DAC (a crazy bargain at current prices, $30 on IndieGoGo for DSD256 native DAC) is a nice pairing. The Feather DAC is a bit bass shy, so it controls some of the excesses on the Zero. I prefer a bit less emphasis on bass quantity, and more emphasis on bass quality most of the time, and the Feather tones down quantity nicely with the Zero. Soundstage height is still exceptional at this price. The LH Labs Geek Out 1000 is also a good pairing. The GO 1000 is fairly neutral with a bit of treble emphasis giving it a sharp sound that can be a touch metallic. This works well with the Shozy Zero. The iBasso DX50 has a bit of emphasis in the midbass to lower mids, which is where the emphasis is on the Zero also, so it didn’t make as good a pairing. The Opus Audio Opus #1 is a great pairing for anything I threw at it as it is sublimely neutral and was no different with the Shozy Zero.
 
When compared to the MEE Audio Pinnacle P1 (link to review), listening to Father John Misty – The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment, the Shozy Zero has more soundstage width and height, but lacks the definition and depth. The Shozy Zero has a romantic quality to it that many will find inviting. It has more forward mids and bass, and smooth treble that doesn’t extend as well as the Pinnacle, which makes it a less detailed sounding IEM, in comparison. Detail is still good with the Zero. I use Josh Tillman’s voice to check whether the midbass is bleeding into the lower mids and colouring the sound. Whilst there is emphasis in the midbass and upper bass, the Zero didn’t colour Josh Tillman’s voice, which made me very happy.
 
Listening to San Francisco Symphony Orchestra – Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra - I. Allegro (off American Mavericks), with the LH Labs Geek Out V2 as the DAC (low gain, 100mW) the Zero keeps pace well and has good impact, but the 64 Audio X2 is a bit more composed with a greater sense of depth and a bit more impact on drums and percussion. Downloads now has a slew of fantastic recordings, and I particularly enjoy San Francisco Symphony Orchestra recordings. Concerto for Organ with Percussion… is a fantastically lively 5 and ½ minute track. I love me some percussion, and own four or five hi-res percussion albums from 24/96 PCM to DSD256. About the 64 Audio X2, which is relatively unknown, it was a Kickstarter exclusive fixed cable version of the 64 Audio U2, which retails at $399, so it is very impressive that the Shozy Zero is performing on similar level. I much prefer the 64 Audio X2, but it isn’t an open-shut case, and others may have different views. Both are excellent sounding. On Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the Name, the 64 Audio X2 is a bit cleaner and sharper with a slightly more balanced sound, which is more to my sound preference. On Be’Lakor – Abeyance/Remnants of the dynamic range laden metal purity Vinyl remaster of Of Breath and Bone, thanks @Trogdor (follow him on twitter @MetalFi), the 64 Audio X2 has much better bass texture, clarity, instrument separation and depth. The 64 Audio X2 is just better than the Zero, in my opinion.
 
Versus the Fidue A65 (link to review), the Shozy is a touch warmer and a little bit less crunchy.The signature of the Shozy is more restrained, with a bit more depth and width to the stage. The Fidue A65 has a more forward energetic signature with more brightness. Both are stellar performers in the price range. The Fidue A65 can be had from Hi Fi Headphones, locally in the UK for under £50. In a strange note, I’m pretty sure the rose gold Fidue A65 have the exact same cable as the Shozy Zero. The less sexy silver ones I have on hand have a black cable, so I can’t confirm if it is the same.
 
The Zero is really easy to drive. The Feather DAC doesn’t have much power, but it drives the Shozy Zero plenty. I like the Zero best with the Opus #1 and the Geek Out V2, two very neutral dacs with good strength in detail resolution.

 

Conclusions

The Shozy Zero is an excellent under $75 IEM. In fact, it is an excellent under $200 IEM. I don’t know if the joke on HeadFi is apocryphal or true regarding the Zero being designed to compare to headphones with an extra ‘0’ on the price, but I found it competed very well with all my sub $200 offerings.
 
This is a beautiful headphone made with premium wood with a warm and pleasurable sound. The soundstage is impressive for the price. It has smooth treble with a warm inviting sound that many will enjoy. I like a little less emphasis on the upper bass/lower mids, but this is a small quibble. Even with this emphasis, details are still good but do not beat the MEE Audio Pinnacle or the 64 Audio X2.
 
The Shozy Zero is well worth picking up for the low price of admission and competes very well with more expensive offerings.

The SHOZY Zero was sent to me from SHOZY directly in exchange for my honest review of them. The price at the time of this review was $59 on the Penon Audio website:
 
http://penonaudio.com/SHOZY-Zero%20?search=shozy
 
I’m not in any way affiliated with Penon Audio.
 
About me:
 
Built and accessories:
The SHOZY Zero is a single dynamic IEM featuring a driver of unknown size. They’re available in one flavor only as far as I’m aware, Rosewood without a microphone.
 
The cable is made of rubber and although it feels a bit cheap it doesn’t seem to tangle much and does what it should. There’s no chin slider, which is a must for me, so I made my own one (se picture below).  The 3.5 mm connector is straight which I personally don’t like so I’d have preferred an angled one. That being said the connector seem sturdy so I see no need to worry about it. Strain reliefs are in place in the right places and the Y-split is nice being made from rosewood just like the housing and the 3.5mm connector.
 


Home made chin slider in place
 
The build in general seem solid. The housings are made of rosewood and metal (aluminum as far as I can tell) and they both look and feel premium.
 
The L/R marking is black on black and I’d have preferred the marking to have another color to be easier to see.
 
As my Zero is a review sample it arrived in a small zip-lock plastic bag without any retail package
 
The accessories pack is pretty standard and I’ve seen both less and more stuff included at this price point. This is what’s included:
3 pair of silicone tip (S/M/L)
1 zippered storage pouch
 
The SHOZY Zero is a bit harder to drive than your average IEM but still worked very well with all the sources I’ve tried it with including cellphones.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
The specs:
 
Fit and ergonomics:
I find the SHOZY Zero to be very comfortable and got no problem wearing them for several hours. They can be worn both over the ears as well as straight down. I’m using them over the ear since this is my preferred style and it also helps reducing microphonics.
 
The Zero, being straight barrel, is very easy to fit. They’re quite small and light so I don’t get any “hot-spots” when wearing them for longer time.
 
The included tips seem to be a very good fit for the sound of the Zero’s so although there’s only one kind they’re definitely usable. I had no problem finding several tips in my collection that keep the mid bass under controlled and also are comfortable. The JVC Spiral tips, Havi Foam tips and the silicone tips from my Fidelio S2’s are tips that works very well for me in addition to the stock ones.
 
Isolation is about average and above using foam tips.
 
Sound:
I’ve used them in my rotation for the last couple of weeks and they’ve played for well over 100 hours. I’ve used them both around the house and when out and about and I haven’t really found any significant weaknesses in the way they’re designed.
 
I’ve mainly used them with my LG G3 phone as well as the CEntrance DACport Slim and my FiiO X3/Cayin C5 combo and they’ve worked well with all sources I’ve tried them with.
 
For this review I’ve been using them with the Fidelio S2 tips.
 
Demo list:
 
The overall sound signature on the SHOZY Zero is fairly well balanced with a full, smooth, warm and lush presentation and great bass presence.
 
The sub-bass don’t reach as deep as some of the best performers in that area but the presence is good enough to be enjoyable with all kind of music in my opinion. Mid-bass presence is even better and although there’s a lot of it the Zero’s manage to stay on the right side of boomy most of the time but with some recordings it does go a bit overboard. The bass isn’t the tightest I’ve heard but it’s very musical and enjoyable in a way that makes me think of the bass quality of the Aurisonics ASG-1PLUS (although the 1PLUS digs considerable deeper and has less mid bass).
 
The midrange is well in line with the rest of the frequencies and only on rare occasions being intruded by the upper bass. The midrange is lush and liquid in its character and I don’t find any part of it noticeable sticking out.  Male vocals sounds full and natural wile female vocals are smooth and soft, both are very enjoyable without being extraordinary. If I could wish for anything it would be a slight emphasis in the upper midrange to add a bit of sparkle and excitement to the presentation
 
The treble on the Zero’s is nothing that really stands out but it is full, smooth and has enough extension to be enjoyable but never bothersome.
 
Clarity and micro details are well above average for an IEM with this lush and warm signature and I think this is one of the main reasons for the Zero being so enjoyable. The combination of this amount of clarity and lush presentation is not something that’s not very common, especially not at this price point. The Zero’s doesn’t have a very wide soundstage but rather a more intimate presentation with great depth and excellent 3D feeling and timbre to the notes.
 
When I think of it the Zero doesn’t really excel in any area (bass, mids or treble) but still offers an overall presentation that’s very enjoyable. The great 3D imaging combined with the lush and yet clear presentation does make for a very fatigue free listening experience that’s easy to like.  
 
Comparison:
Please note that the comments in the comparison section are not in absolute terms but in comparison between subject A and B. This means (as an example) that if subject A is found to be brighter than subject B it does not necessarily mean that subject A is bright sounding in absolute terms. I hope this makes sense.
 
These comparisons were done listening through the FiiO X3/Cayin C5 combo.
 
PMV A-01 vs SHOZY Zero:
These two are really different with the PMV’s being very airy and fresh in its presentation while the Zero’s lush, intimate and almost like syrup. Compared to the Zero’s the PMV’s have slightly less sub-bass extension and impact. The Zero’s also got more impact in the mid- and upper bass but the PMV’s on the other hand has faster bass response and less bloom. They both have quite equal midrange presence but the bass interfere more on the Zero’s while there’s no bloom whatsoever on the PMV’s. The Zero has better weight and more natural sounding male voices while female vocals are significantly better on the PMV’s. The treble has better extension and more energy on the PMV’s but both are smooth.  The PMV’s have a much wider soundstage, better clarity and a lot more airy presentation while the Zero’s more liquid, have better bass depth and 3D imaging as well as a much more intimate presentation.
 
I find them both equally comfortable with maybe a slight advantage to the PMV.
 
Build in general is good on both but the wood housing on the Zero’s and better ergonomic design put them ahead.
 
The PMV’s easier to drive.
 
Isolation is better on the Zero’s.
 
Aurisonics Rockets vs SHOZY Zero:
These two are more similar that different with a smooth, lush and laid back overall sound. Sub-bass extension and impact is slightly better on the Zero’s and they also got quite a bit more mids- and upper bass presence. The Zero’s does also have better layering in the bass. The midrange on the two is actually quite similar in presence but the upper bass on the Zero’s does interfere a bit while that’s not an issue at all with the Rockets. The Rockets comes across as more mid-centric (maybe U-shaped) while the Zero’s is more L-shaped.  Male vocals sound more or less identical with maybe ever so slightly more weight to them on the Zero’s while female voices  sounds a touch more natural on the Rockets. The Rockets has slightly more energy and air in the upper mids and treble region and sibilance is a non-issue with both. The Rockets also pulls slightly ahead when it comes to clarity and micro details as well as overall resolution. The Rockets are more even across the frequencies and have a slightly better soundstage width as well as a more airy presentation while depth and 3D presentation is quite similar.  Overall the presentation of the Rockets is a bit more “out of your head” while the Zero’s even more intimate.
 
I find them to be equally comfortable.
 
Although overall build quality is good on both the Rockets are probably the best built IEM I own and pull ahead with their titanium housings and Kevlar cable.
 
The Rockets are harder to drive.
 
Isolation is great on both with the Rockets slightly ahead.
 
Havi B3 Pro1 vs SHOZY Zero
Sub-bass have quite similar extension but the Zero’s have much more impact and better layering. The Zero’s also has quite a bit more mid bass presence. The quality of the bass is also quite similar but the mid- and upper bass on the Zero’s can interfere with the midrange on some recordings while this never happens with the Havis’s giving them a cleaner presentation. The Havi’s have noticeable more focus on the midrange and I find the Havi to be more natural with both male and female vocals. The midrange on the Zero’s is thicker and more liquid while it has more air on the Havi’s.  3D imaging and timbre is actually quite similar while the B3’s have better soundstage width and separation. The Havi’s has better extension and details in the treble while it’s fuller and thicker on the Zero’s. Overall clarity and micro details is quite similar on both.
 
I find both of these very comfortable.
 
They both feel well built and quite sturdy so general build quality feels similar to me.
 
The Havi’s are harder to drive.
 
Isolation is better with the Zero.
 
Summary:
The SHOZY Zero is a very interesting first IEM from SHOZY. It’s spots a quite unique signature at its price point with a thick, war, liquid sound with great bass presence while still maintaining a strong midrange as well as good detail and clarity. Come to think of it I find it to be a midcentric signature with the (especially mid) bass tuned up quite a few notcheshat.
 
I’d personally have preferred that the mid bass was toned down a bit and that the Zero’s would have had a bit more energy in the upper midrange. This is not deal breakers for me I any way and neither is the lack of accessories and a chin slider but it’s enough to make me lose half a star on the overall rating.
 
Without really being great in any area the signature combined on the SHOZY Zero makes a very enjoyable listening experience with its lush and smooth presentation. In total, to me, the Zero’s competes with the Havi B3 Pro1 and the PMV A-01 as my favorite sub $100 IEM’s.
 
For anyone looking for a smooth, warm and lush sub $100 offering that also have great bass presence and a very non-fatiguing presentation I’d highly recommend the SHOZY Zero.
 

Intro –

I`ve always had a bit of a sweet spot for wooden iems. The JVC FX-800`s are one of my favourite sounding earphones of all time, and I regret selling them to this day. Shozy are no longer an obscure name in the audio landscape. Like Fiio and Dunu, they are a Chinese company that have proven time and again that every hit they create isn`t a fluke but a carefully designed piece of equipment. Following the hit Alien DAP and the very distinguished Cygnus earbud, the Zero is Shozy`s latest creation. It`s an in-ear earphone with a very modest RRP of $50 USD that claims game-changing performance. Do the Zero`s deliver? *Spoiler* They do!



Disclaimer –

I would like to thank Shozy very much for sending me a review unit in exchange for my honest opinion. I am not in any way affiliated with Shozy and will be as objective about the Zero as possible.



About Me – Some background, Gear of choice, Preferences and Biases

I generally prefer a slight v-shape to my sound, but still closer to neutral. I like a lot of detail and clarity, but can appreciate a smooth, laid back sound such as that on the X10`s. I prefer a more neutral midrange within a relatively tight tolerance, but I`m probably more forgiving of brightness over darkness. I`m not particularly treble sensitive and can tolerate large amounts without fatigue, though too much ruins the enjoyment. If I use a different eartip/pad/cover during the review I will note that and describe the sound changes.

Read More



Accessories –

Since these are a pre-production unit, all I received was a postal pouch containing the Zero`s and three pairs of tips. The retail units will have more finalized packaging of course, in addition to a semi-hard carry case like the Cygnus. Usually, I would ask for more ear tips, but much like the PFE232, the stock tips contribute greatly to the tonality of the earphones.



The stock tips looked flimsy at first sight, but they are well cut and fit snugly. Medium fit me perfectly and their grippy texture formed a strong sealed.



Coming back to the tip dependency issue, I did try using the Zero`s with JVC Spiral Dots but both fit and sound were compromised. The sound became darker and a little more congested. Since the Zero is already on the darker side, I decided to use the stock tips during this review.



Stock large – medium – small with medium Spinfits underneath

The accessory set with the Zero is totally adequate and well-considered. Shozy could include a shirt clip to reduce microphonics, but they are easily come by on the internet (a pack of 30 cost me about $7).



Design –

I feel that wooden products aren`t well captured in photos, especially something as well finished as the Zero. The unique grain, texture and finish of every piece are something that can only be experienced in the hand, or in this instance, the ear. From online pictures, the Shozy Zero`s looked suspiciously similar to the Marley Smile Jamaica, a popular earphone, but not one I found particularly standout in either sound or aesthetic design.



In person, the Zero`s are much nicer, and certainly leagues above the Marleys. Whilst they aren`t as visually striking as the sculpted and chromed JVC FX range, they have an understated and clean design that still presents confidently.



The charming cherry wood housings are well-mated to an aluminium front face and nozzle making for a lightweight yet solid construction. The wood is well finished with a nice, dense grain that looks fantastic and feels great in the ear. It`s a classy and elegant dark brown, well complimented by the gloss black aluminium face. Although I have a pre-production unit, my Zero looks great with none of the issues mentioned by other reviewers. Both earpieces are the same colour and the grain is similar, but runs in different directions. The y-split and plug are the same colour as well. If the finish is this good on a pre-production, I wouldn`t expect anything less than perfection from the retail units shipping later this month. It`s nice to note that Shozy utilizes less than a fifth of the wood chosen in the housings of retail units.



The earbuds themselves are average in size, I doubt many will have troubles getting a good fit. They can be hard to position at first, but stay comfortably in place afterwards. The strain-reliefs are positioned quite far back for deeper insertion. I would have preferred a slightly angled nozzle though. Speaking of the nozzle, there is a small cutout in the nozzle for acoustic design, Shozy stressed that this was not a manufacturing error but a purposeful design choice. Not sure what impact it has on the sound but it doesn`t affect seal or isolation.



The housings are smooth with no sharp edges. They are thus quite comfortable, even after a few hours, forming no hot spots in my use. On account of their fully sealed design and light cable, the earphones don`t budge at all even when walking, stair climbing, etc, but jogging will dislodge them eventually. Luckily, whilst wearing them about, there is barely any wind noise on account of their smoothly sculpted design, they also don`t stick out from the ears too much, though I wouldn`t sleep with them.

Isolation is good, the earphones are sealed and have a modest insertion depth. It isolates slightly less than the smaller RE400 and a lot less than monitor style earphones but it`s enough for public transport and much better than anything vented or shallow fitting.



The cable does look quite interesting with a smoke sheathing that reveals the tri-colour channel and ground wires snaking underneath. It is of the typical rubbery variety, a bit tacky, but also very soft and tangle resistant on account of the internal braid of sorts. It`s of adequate thickness and the lightweight makes for long-term comfort and stability.



The cable is well relieved at the earpieces and plug but not at the y-split. These are the main areas of stress and the earphones seem well built; cable longevity should not be too much of an issue. Despite the traditional, cable-down fitment, microphonics aren`t too distracting. The cable doesn`t contact the face too often on account of distanced strain-reliefs and when the cable does contact something, the volume isn`t bad at all. They can be easily run over the ear for reduced microphonics and more stability, the cable has plenty of length and is supple enough to conform without too much issue.



One design element that is particularly nice is the wooden y-split and plug. Both are low profile and engraved with “Shozy” and “Zero” for identification. They are similarly well built, the jack is gold-plated and although it is off the straight variety, it is small enough not to cause any strain during pocket-use. The Zero`s could do with a chin-slider and the plug could also be textured. It might ruin the clean look but I found the plug difficult to remove at times.

Upon insertion, I did notice very prevalent driver flex. This produced slight crackle at times and I do worry about driver longevity. A very small vent would help tone down bass a bit, decrease driver flex and improve soundstage though it will compromise the seal which is already difficult at times and the isolation which is just enough when outdoors.

The Zero`s demonstrate that sometimes simplicity is key. They are maturely styled and ergonomically designed. On account of their smooth housings, the Zero`s are comfortable, stable and not too microphonic for a cable-down earphone. They could do with a remote, a chin slider and a right-angle or textured plug, but overall they are versatile and well designed. Honestly an amazing attempt for Shozy`s first earphone.



Sound –

Shozy claims that the Zero`s “feature modern tech qualities while fusing the old analogue tuning into a simple and elegant design”. Regardless of some translation issues, I found this to be accurate for the most part; the Zero`s are quite analogue sounding, not distorted, not rolled off, but smooth, non-fatiguing and detailed, a very good combination. The Zero is a v-shaped earphone with a moderately boosted mid and upper bass responses that avoid excessive bloom or bloat. The midrange isn`t overly warmed as a result and the upper midrange actually sounds quite clean. They are on the darker side of neutral but maintain decent balance nonetheless. Highs are well accentuated, not too thin or harsh but still energetic with plenty of air and extension. While far from neutral, they are superbly sculpted and far more balanced than any consumer earphone. The upper bass response might be too much for some, but the more controlled sub-bass and moderate mid-bass prevent boom and midrange spill. The Zero`s offer a much stronger audio performance than the cheaper Xiaomi Piston 3`s, the similarly priced Klipsch S4`s and the more expensive Shure se215`s, all highly regarded models in their respective price classes. And while I doubt the Zero`s more sculpted signature will be met with universal praise, quality wise, the Zero`s are shockingly good.

A prime reason for the Zero`s proficiency is its focus on soundstage, which is pretty standout in this price range. Usually, earphones below $100 and plenty far above have a pretty intimate sound, but the Zero has impressive space, especially for a sealed in-ear. Although I don`t personally believe in burn-in, in this case, there was no denying that it made a difference. I was lucky enough to have access to both a burnt-in pre-production sample and a brand new set, giving me the chance to compare the changes in sound with burn-in. To be honest, I liked the Zero`s as soon as I got them, I listened for a decent dozen hours or so then ran orchestral and classical through my Nano for another 100 hours as requested by Shozy. Swapping between the burnt-in Zero and the brand new one, there was an immediate difference. The burnt-in set had a lotmore balance and clarity to the sound. In addition, the bass response was much tighter and far cleaner. The darkness had also cleared up a bit. In addition, the more level midrange resulted in less thickness to male vocals and female vocals lost that raspy, thin sound. The soundstage, however, was perhaps most improved. The new Zero`s had average width and good depth, quite a strange presentation but it avoided congestion. After 150 hours (probably didn`t need this much), the earphones underwent a metamorphosis. The soundstage width grew and depth improved too. The soundstage is now more rounded and quite large in scale. Instruments are well separated, not to the extent of vented iems like the Dunu Titan 1, but it`s one of the stronger presentations under $200, maybe even the broadest sealed in-ear in this price range. Instrument placement was a bit off, the Zero tended to push sounds to the side more than directly in front, but overall it`s a coherent and easy to listen to sound.



The Zero have a decent 94dB (at 1kHz) sensitivity sensitivity and a low impedance of 32 ohms. Despite this, they get quite loud from mostly any portable source and I didn`t notice any output impedance issues unlike most BA earphones I test. The Zero also doesn`t pick up hiss easily which is a big plus when using them with my HTC M8. They sounded dynamic and clean from my Nano and M8 but had a better sound-staging and detail retrieval from my Fiio e17K. Portable use is very practical with the Zero.

Bass –

The sub-bass extension is very good, better than the single armature Klipsch X10 and slightly superior to the RE-400 for instance, only slightly rolling off at the very lowest frequencies. The sub-bass response is actually slightly lifted from neutral, but still close to it. As such, it is tight and punchy, keeping up with the fastest of bass lines. The mid-bass hump is in between that of the W30 and X10, not overly done but granting the bass a nice full impression. The upper-bass is where most discerning listeners will have problems. The upper bass response has a bit too much emphasis and even bloom at times, but it is also what gives the Zero`s their analogue character. Even so, the Zero`s could do with a few dB less in this region, the Klipsch X10`s pursue a similar warm, analogue sound, but have a higher emphasis on mid-bass over upper-bass, producing a cleaner overall sound at the cost of bass bloat (which the Zero`s keep to a minimum).

So the bass response of the Zero`s is boosted for sure, granting them with a lot of slam, and given the quantity, remarkable punch and tightness to the sub-bass. The whole bass spectrum remains very textured, losing that last bit of detail only due to the upper bass bloom. With most genre`s of music, the bass response is very enjoyable, not boomy at all and avoiding too much midrange spillage.

Mids –

Although the larger upper bass hump does warm the mids, they generally sound quite clean and clear. In fact the bass doesn`t overpower the midrange unless the song is poorly mastered. The mids are recessed but quite even without peaks. Despite this, the mids aren`t the smoothest I`ve heard, but are lathered with detail and clarity instead, somewhat raw like the Westone W30`s and JVC FX800`s. They are slightly dark but retrieve plenty of micro-detail, far more than the Klipsch X10`s and similar, if less aggressively, to the Hifiman RE400`s. I feel that dark can be seen as a negative term, that is definitely not the case, it is purely tonality. Another way of describing the sound of the Zero`s is natural, organic and analogue.

There is still plenty of upper midrange presence and the sound has a lot of clarity. Vocals are on the thinner side, but can hardly be considered thin overall. They never sound raspy of tinny and are well represented when combined with the large sense of space. In fact I would say that the Zero`s are more revealing and clear over warm and dark. The midrange performance of the Zero is fantastic for the price.

Highs –

The highs are presented very well on the Zero`s, extended and slightly accentuated. They have good body and very impressive detail retrieval, light-years ahead of the Xiaomi Pistons 3`s, Klipsch S4`s and X10`s. There is sparkle and abundant air, cymbals sound textured, lively and realistic in tone. The RE400s have similar treble quality, but are more recessed so depending on preference you may prefer either. Like the VE Monk+ I recently reviewed, the slightly dark tone of the midrange gives the treble more isolation, sounding more separated and clear as a result. Whilst it isnt as infinitely resolving as my Sennheiser ie800`s, the treble performance is no doubt one of the strongest under $100.



Verdict –

Shozy released a somewhat joking post not too long ago stating how the Zero could rival earphones 10x it`s price. Whilst I didn`t find them to best my more expensive in-ears, I doubt anything around the same price will sound better, just tonally different. Less technical earphones such as the Klipsch X10`s are bested by Zero whilst the majority of earphones in the Zero`s price range are outclassed.



So whilst other reviewers stated that no part of these earphones are particularly standout, I would argue that no part is particularly lacking either, they are very well-rounded. All aspects of the sound are strong in quality, the build is nice, they are very visually pleasing and work well from any source. If you like a bassy, warm, analogue sound, then you`ll be challenged to find a better in-ear under $100.



Verdict – 9/10, I was very excited to receive the Zero and expected great things from the beginning. I tried not to read too many other reviews and go in fresh. The fact that they met and even exceeded my high expectations is quite a feat. Of course, the Zero’s don`t challenge earphones costing 10x their price but they do get shockingly close to plenty of $100-150 earphones.

*As an experiment I`m going to burn in the new set as well and report any changes, I`ll see if they change like my current Zero has. The differences are very pronounced.

*Update - Below are my results for the burn-in experiment:

[size=17.03px]Introduction – [/size]

As previously mentioned in my Shozy Zero review, the Zero`s respond strongly to burn-in. I`ve never personally been a large believer in burn-in. I assumed it was just a placebo cure to buyers remorse. One reviewer would state, initially these earphones didn`t have enough xx and I was disappointed, but after xxhrs burn-in they are amazing whilst others would state just the opposite; burn-in has been represented as this magical cure to any deficiency a piece of equipment might have.

And then there was Shozy, claiming that “the true zero would manifest after 50hrs burn-in”. A rep requested that I put my pre-production set through 150hrs of burn-in, 3x the advertised amount. Now don`t get me wrong, I`m not skeptical of the Zero`s audio performance, it`s a brilliant earphone from the beginning, I just didn`t think it would undergo metamorphic improvements over time. In all fairness, the Zero`s do use dynamic drivers and the housings are wood, both more subject to change than say, a plastic ba monitor, so I thought I`d give Shozy the benefit of the doubt. After all I had nothing to lose by burning them in.

Aim –

To determine how sound changes over fixed intervals of time.

Method –

To test the validity of burn-in, I compared two identical sets of pre-production Zero`s. I had access to a brand new “fresh” set, and also one that I received about a week earlier. The earlier model had about 150hrs of burn-in by the time I received the new set, so it shouldn`t be subject to much more change. The thing about progressive changes is that they are hard to quantify. Having two identical sets with different hours on the odometer allowed for easy and direct comparison. This presents the question, are the sound differences due to unit variation or is burn-in actually creating these large changes to the sound? I take a sceptic`s approach using a pseudo-report structure, to bring you the rather interesting results.

I played both sets through my iPod Nano 7g, a generally clean source and one that reached sufficient volume through the low impedance Zero`s. I played Mozart, Symphony No.25: Allegro Con Brio and Beethoven`s Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major and Symphony No. 5 in C minor.

All comparisons are in relation to my other Zero that has >150hrs burn-in. I didn`t use this set to prevent further changes to the sound that would invalidate my results.

Results –

0 hours:

The new Zero has a lot more bass than the burnt-in Zero, quite a bit more mid and especially sub and upper bass. The bass has less control, tightness and a fair amount of detail loss due to bloat/bloom. The midrange sounds a bit hollow, male vocals are more truncated sounding whilst female vocals are slightly thin. It also gets overwhelmed by the bass, there is significant spill. The midrange sounds much more balanced on the burnt-in set by comparison. Treble was similar, a bit more accentuated on the new set but also slightly more brittle sounding.

25 hours:

No changes detected.

50 hours:

Now we`re getting somewhere, the fresh Zero is starting to mature. The bass still sounds just as excessive and the highs also sound the same as before, but the midrange is becoming more balanced for sure. Perhaps a result of the midrange changes, the soundstage is starting to sound a bit rounder, but this may be placebo at this stage.

75 hours:

Mids are now pretty close between the two units, but the newer set is still a little peakier and that last bit of clarity and detail is still masked by veil and bass. The bass is strangely still overbearing, I don`t remember my first set ever being this bassy, perhaps there is still room left to change…

100 hours:

So at this point, Im starting to question the changes produced by burn-in. The new set, even after 100 hours of burn-in are still a lot bassier and the midrange is partly engulfed by bass. The rest of the spectrum sounds very similar now including the soundstage. I`ll keep burning them in but I doubt they`ll sound like my first pair.

150 hours:

You`ll notice that I skipped an interval. I was hoping that with a larger time period, the differences would be more pronounced. Unfortunately there is still a big bass emphasis, but the mids are cleaner. Strangely the soundstage now seems larger on this set. The highs are pretty similar. So overall, after 150 hours the new Zero`s still have a much bassier tone, though the rest of the sound signature is very similar, quite a strange phenomena.

At this point I actually contacted Shozy who assured me that there was very little, if any, unit variation at all and recommended higher volume burn-in. Although the burn-in conditions were identical to the first set, I instead ran the second set through my e17K on high gain.

175 hours:

The biggest problem is definitely the bass response, other frequencies sound very similar. The sub-bass is definitely less emphasized than before but still grossly emphasized compared to my original set. I`ll see how things go in a few days since the other spectrums sound identical.

225 hours:

Okay, still not getting too far with burn-in, even after 225 hours at very high volumes. Since sub-bass produces the greatest movement of the driver, I`m going to switch my burn-in material to sub-bass tones and see if that speeds things up. It`s very possible that the earphone isn`t burning in because I haven`t been wearing it, I can only speculate that the pressure formed with the ear results in some kind of change, but we`ll see if anything manifests without.

300 hours:

The sub-bass heavy content seems to have made a slight difference, it definitely sounds like there is less bass than before. Bass no longer dominates the sound, but is very present. Shozy has requested I burn both Zero`s in further with tracks containing more highs for the bassier set and tracks with more bass for the more neutral set.

400 hours:

So I`m finishing the experiment here, it`s simply been too much time. Whilst the bassier Zero has definitely changed, they are still not identical, which is a shame since the neutral Zero sounds very nice. I`ve added some measurements below to validate my more subjective results, you can see that the FR is very similar, but there is a lot more sub-bass on set 2. As for the method of testing, I simply sealed the left earpiece from each set inside a PVC pipe connected to a microphone attached to the other side. The measurements are hardly representative of the earphone`s sound signature, but will suffice for comparison.

The program displays around a 6dB increase in sub-bass equating to approximately twice the perceived volume which seems on point. This is strange because Set 1 didn`t actually have a lot of sub-bass, it was quite neutral in quantity, less than my ie800`s for sure.

Discussion –

My original Zero did have a bassy signature on first listen, but that has subdued considerably with burn-in. They aren`t overly bassy but quite balanced on a whole. You can read my review to see how much I like them, they`re really great. The new Zero`s however, aren`t so balanced. They`re actually not bad sounding, in fact they`re almost as technically proficient as my first set, they just have a more imbalanced tonality. Now this is subjective, but closer to neutral is always preferred; the bassier signature sounds great at times but spoils certain songs whilst a more balanced sound signature will sound great with all genres.

Conclusion –

So now that I`ve finished my review of the Zero`s, I`ve had a look at a couple others to see how their impressions are in comparison to mine. I noticed that all of them have high ratings, reflecting how both zero`s are technically impressive, but some describe the sound as balanced whilst others deem it overly bassy. It is worrying that there is so much unit variation and this could explain the mixed descriptions, but the Zero`s remain a very impressive earphone no matter the variant you receive. Subjectively I prefer the balanced version more but the larger soundstage in addition to individual tastes may result in you preferring the bassier version. As to the outcomes of burn-in there was definitely a change, I can`t exactly quantify how much, but the end result was quite agreeable. The amount of time it took was horrendous, perhaps there is further room to improve, but it is simply inefficient. At 400 hours, Set 2 had almost 3x the burn-in time as Set 1.

As an added note, the most effective burn-in track I used was Nevermind by Infected Mushrooms, a very fast paced, sub-bass heavy track with Mozart`s Symphony No.25 coming in a close second. Shozy recommends Mahler`s Symphony No. 6, but I didn`t have the time to test it out in depth. So ultimately, the effects of burn-in are present here, but they are more like slight tonal changes rather than a completely transformative process, It`s thus best to pragmatically approach the Zero`s tonality; it will likely sound very tonally similar throughout it`s lifetime, but soundstage will achieve bigger changes.

This review was taken from my blog, please have a look for more reviews and guides, thanks for reading:

https://everydaylisteningblog.wordpress.com/2016/05/13/shozy-zero-review-all-natural-stunner/

Before I start, I want to thank the representative from Shozy for giving me an opportunity to review the Zero free of charge in exchange for a honest, unbiased review. 
In my opinion I want to say that I had not much hope when I was approached because Shozy is very terse with specifics on the IEM. When I got it from him when he was in Singapore he told me I will really like it and I should give my opinions after 200 hours of burn in. That's waaay too long so here's my opinion after spending a week (and getting into trouble for having my IEM on while working which is unfortunate and I don't understand why that's a problem) and I will do a separate review when 200 hour mark arrives.
 
As he passed it onto me in person there was no need to have a box or anything or bubble wrap so I don't know how the package looks like but I will assume it's fairly decent.
It comes with a set of S/M/L eartips that seems lifted from a IE800. It was impossible to insert into the IEM but I will get to it later

 
 
The wood machining felt flawless when I went over it with my finger but perhaps not so flat when I photographed it. Okay, big deal, no wood is perfectly flat.

Or the later images might have been out of focus. I have my extreme wide bore tips out for this IEM and it's a better match for this IEM as it's way easier to install but it's dependent on a wide bore IEM as it's bore is more than 5mm or so.
 
The wood used for the Y-split and the connector is just fantastic and the product logo plus the brand is actually engraved not just etched/padprinted

 
Marvelous. So it's not lacquered and then polished for days but it looks like rosewood that's had a bit of stain on it.
 

Unfortunately the cable isn't that good and it's actually very similar to the cables that come with a lot of chinese IEMs but slightly thinner with a tinge of lower microphonics but it's still there even when worn over ear which for some reason no normal IEM will stay intact over my ears and to compound the problem the Y split is positioned a tinge too high so the cable keeps rubbing my face when worn normally. The cable also has memory and is a challenge when I first took it out of the package to reveal that it's a zig zag fold. It's still not straight a week later unfortunately.
 

There is a notch at the bottom which I forgot the reason of its existence.
 

 

 

 
Judging from the size of the IEM I am estimating the driver to be 6-7mm but Shozy is keeping mum on the size of the driver. It is still fairly small and I can fit the whole IEM into my ears but of course, I found that S size tips have to be used to go all the way in my canals and so is my ear that's why I like just microdrivers. 
The Titan 1 in comparison felt like a great big slab of steel in my ears.
Isolation is fairly fantastic and there are no ports on the IEM so it's completely closed but later on you will be surprised.
 
Before I am to give my impressions on the sound, I was pretty surprised it's a 60USD IEM.
 

 

 
So, sonic impressions.
 
Equipment used :
HTC Butterfly 2 with my TPA6120A2 portable amp
My computer w/ AK4490 DAC and SMSL sAp II TPA6120A2 amp
 
Music used :
Basically everything I would listen to in my library without finding some awful stuff like uh ... Yeah. Let's gloss over that. 
Some Anisong but I hate those stupid high pitch songs
fripSide
Love Live (and Best Live Collection I & II)
Metallica
Megadeth
Avenged Sevenfold
Bullet for my valentine (No temper temper please)
Trivium
Children of bodom
Whitechapel
Exit Trance Anisong remix
A-Remix Nation
Armin Van Buuren
Tiesto
 
The bass is stellar but not as tight as I would prefer my bass. (My reference is a 1990s 8" sub in a sealed enclosure) It does have a bit of a punch and thankfully it doesn't have rumble that I feel rather spoils the soundstage.
Extension wise it does as well as my reference sub. Which is to say it really hits hard down and in a controlled fashion too but that's the least of my concerns as bass is easy to pull off, mids and treble aren't.
Which brings me on to treble and mids, 
Mids are neither too forward nor rearward and I like treble and bass to take a backseat to the mids which are beautiful on this IEM with having all the timbre that shows through female voices even deep smooth female voices like Sonoda Umi in Datte Datte Amujou (Suzuko Mimori) and details are great for female voices.
It falls back a bit on male voices when I switch my material to Metallica's Hell And Back or Megadeth's 13. There's a bit of a raised midbass so there's a slight cloudy sound when moving from bass to mids
Treble is slightly rolled off on the Zero but there is no sibilance that even some top IEMs exhibit and therefore I can hear Ayase Eli's beautiful high-mid centric voice without cringing in Arifureta Kanashimi No Hate that often exposes plenty of IEMs sibilance. Fuyu ga kureta yokan sounds like the description of heaven when I listen to that song with the Zero.
 
A lot of IEMs fail for me that they have either really dull treble (KSE1500 : Great mids and details but dull treble and punch-less bass as with as all estats) but the KZ S3 despite costing 6 bucks is a worthy adversary for even this as that comes very close to the Shozy Zero in details.
 
Oh and soundstage. The Zero delivers on soundstage and separation which I'm pleased is surprisingly having realized it's a sealed driver as it has a special sort of reverbation that the wood enclosure provides as opposed to metal of my two other top IEMs : The joyroom E107 and the KZ S3.
 
Although I like the other two a lot and are a whole lot cheaper this is still well worth 60USD they are asking for. It easily shames the DUNU Titan 1 and the FLC8.
 

 
If you have questions on my review ask them in the comments thanks. Thank you again to the rep. You know who you are  

Introduction

My name is George and I'm one a big music fan! I sometimes carry an amp stack to listen to music, even if using IEMs

We use OGG -q10 on almost everything audio related to the games we're creating on https://www.facebook.com/seventh.heart.studios/

I like bright sounds, clear sounds, lots of treble and bass, and I listen mostly to upbeat music, except for a few select masterpieces - like most of the songs made by Jill Tracy.

I've been using ShozyZero for a while now, then my brother was really looking into them, so I gave them to him. He's been really happy with them since he got them so yeah...

This review will also include real world usage notes and what to expect with heavy usage, travel and after abusing ShozyZero.







Words before we go in depth

Before we even begin this review, please understand that the price area of 50 - 250$ is very crowded with literally hundreds of IEMs from many producers and many different signatures, so nobody will be able to pinpoint a best IEM, but best from the tested ones, or best at something, or best for a personal preference. In these conditions, this review will describe the sound as it is - with most personal preferences noted separately.

Equipment used in this test

- Fiio X5ii
- Oppo Ha2
- Fiio X1ii
- HTC 820
- Xiaomi mi max Hydrogen
- Sennheiser ie800
- Ultrasone dj one pro
- SanDisk Clip+
- Probably should stop here, but there are a few others I used when testing ShozyZero.

Accessories

- Box
- Short manual
- 3 pair of rubber tips,
- One of the nicest carry boxes for IEMs at this price range.

After 1 month of usage: Carry box held to usage. It has been dropped a few times, even on public concrete floors, still looks ok.







Cables

While the cables are ever so slightly microphonic, my listening was done while sitting in front of a computer. On the bright side, the cables are long enough so they don't pull the IEMs out of ears, they allow for over the ear wearing, and the cables are flexible (if not a little springy if I may add).




The cables did not get tangled while the IEMs were thrown around, and don't seem to have shape memory.

Isolation

It's pretty good. While music is playing at a moderate level, most outside noises are drowned out, but stronger sounds are still audible. Music doesn't escape from them, so ShozyZero are good to listen to in a silent place.

Build

Wood + rubber all around. While it has a certain novelty to it, the wood does it's job fairly well.

At first, I expected the wood housing to provide a strange feeling or sound, but it's proven to be a fair housing for IEMs. I personally prefer metal or ceramic for IEM housings, but my brother likes the wood both in feeling to the touch and sound.

Comfort

Good, with the mention of some driver flex. While this is not a deal breaker for most people, I prefer no driver flex.

Note: My brother doesn't seem to care much about driver flex, nor to notice it, so not everyone is affected by driver flex.




Bass

Bass is thick, slightly rolled off at the low end, and while it has a great presence, it never feels slow nor sleazy. One thing that can be said about the bass is that it keeps up with the pace while sounding natural. The signature is certainly warm, but the bass has a normal decay.

[Short story]: It is there, thick, doesn't overtake any other frequency.

Mids

Mids are sweet. They sound sweet, are emphasized, the signature being slightly rolled off at low end and rolled off at top end (so we can say that the signature is mid-centric to begin with). Shozy is honest and brings this feature upfront in their advertising. While this signature won't please everyone, listening to guitars surely is a treat and voices are right on spot.
If mids were to be described they would come off as very clear, detailed, and having a specific sweet sound to them.

[Short story]: Mids are the center of Shozy Zero's sound, very clear, good details and an interesting tonality that's dark, warm, but clear.

Treble

Treble is rolled off. Compared to my tastes and listening habits, treble relaxed but it is rolled off.

Now this is both a good and a bad thing, depending on whom you ask. While I need treble to strike with true brightness, my brother likes this smooth signature.
Best way to put treble is that it's a like it or break it thing. It is not for treble heads. Don't get me wrong, we can easily hear cymbal crashes, but they are so very smooth. Adding treble via EQ alleviates the situation, but they won't become bright regardless of adjustments.

Soundstage

Soundstage is a very strong point of ShozyZero! It insantly hits the listener how all sounds can come from different parts of space. For a IEM this small, soundstage is huge, comparable to open back headphones. Bass notes can be heard coming from exact areas in around of the listener, instead of being present in the entire audio space.
It is probably related to the wood housings, but soundstage is one of the very strong points of Shozy Zero.




Source synnergy

ShozyZero sounds pretty good out of my phones (HTC 820 or Mi max). They are not very source dependent, so if you want to buy a ShozyZero and listen to them using a smartphone - it's a pretty good idea. Fiio X5ii surely made the sound better for them, and allowed for a much better EQ than my phones, but the sound directly out of the phone was not disastrous. ShozyZero is pretty sensitive, so most sources will be able to drive them well.

Hiss or other problems

No hiss or other problems were detected, but the signature is forgiving by itself. The forgiveness of the signature can be noted as a problem since I personally want a very bright, revealing and tight sound.

Closing words

ShozyZero sure is an interesting IEM, with a fun sound, that will appear to some. It's very clear, has a good bass, has a warm - darkish mid centric signature with an unexpected large soundstage, especially for it's price.

To describe my experience with them: After receiving ShozyZero, I allowed myself a pause from driving of about 15-25 minutes where I was really intrigued by the sound, especially the soundstage. They need EQ to work well, and Fiio X5ii came in and has really helped ShozyZero sound more to my liking, but I was able to watch a few music videos straight out of my phone and the sound was still clear and detailed, ergo without the treble and the jump in resolution that x5ii brings compared to phones sound.

[Disclaimer : The test unit was provided by Shozy, but the opinions were not affected in any way by any party except for the mood in the moment of writing this review. All impressions are based on one set of ears and one musical preference, so they should be taken with a grain of salt. Comparison with other IEMs or headphones felt unfair as most other IEMs tested or that took part in the test are not in the price class and have a radically different signature.]

After giving the Shozy Zero a good listen for a few months and switching to better sources. I finally got the proper analysis. Thanks NLNH and Shozy for the Shozy Zero. This analysis will be short because it's to keep the reader's attention. My previous reviews were too long winded. So let's get down to specifications.


Sensitivity(at 1Khz) 94db

Frequency Response 20hz-18khz

Input connector :3.5mm (1/8 inch gold-plated stereo TRS plug)

The Shozy Zero also comes with 3 Sets of eartips (S/M/L). A rectangle hard clam case. Also a User Manual showing a frequency chart sweep of the Shozy Zero.

Fit: I used the double flange ear tips that came with the Shozy Zero and it was a perfect match. Excellent comfort and for long duration listening.

Build Quality: Considering that it's made out of wood. You'd expect the durability is expected to be far greater than the typical ABS housing of other IEMs? Right? That is correct. The Wooden earphones of the Shozy Zero feels thicker than the typical ABS earphones. Although I wouldn't recommend tossing these around because they are still made out of wood. It is also advised on the User manual to avoid using this in humid weather so the Shozy Zero will not be damaged. Considering that I got the Shozy Zero in the summer. It was unavoidable. However. The Shozy Zero remained unscathed. The dewpoints that I dealt with all summer were typical for tropical areas (Despite being in New York). Anyway. The cable is thick and springy. The springy cable doesn't really bother me. What bothers me is the short and stubby strain relief above the Shozy engraved Wooden jack. It concerns me. The strain reliefs below the Wooden earphones are thick and inspire longevity. Due to the fact that it's rubbery and stiff.

Onward to the sound.

Source used: ZTE Axon 7 w/Poweramp Alpha Build 703. Headset Hi-Fi Mode on Super.

How does one describe the Shozy Zero. Three words. Organic. Smooth. Warm.

The sound of the Shozy Zero is quite simple and straight forward.

Let's start with the bass.

BASS: For $50. The Bass is quite textured and deep. It seems that it can reach the subbass territory. Will this please bassheads? Probably. Most likely more likely for those who are into Drums and Bass and Trance. It has deep Bass, but it also has some mid bass. As a result the sound is warmer. The bass control is also quite good. It's quick and punchy like a Professional Boxer. There’s practically no Bass bleed. That leads me to talk about the mid-range.

MID-RANGE: This is pretty interesting. Not as good as my Titan 1 (it's close by about 25%), but far better than my retired M-DUO. The detail retrieval is quite good for $60. The strong Bass is helping the mid range become thickened and smooth. Like a delicious cake mix being made for a birthday. This results in a tasty and savory performance of many flavors and for many flavors. Such as Pop, RnB, Hip Hop and Drums n Bass. Another aspect I should mention is the clear vocals. Whenever I listen to Epica's music, I can hear the clear vocals. Clear yet not too forward or too recessed. It's just right. I can actually hear the choir and the lead singer without having to stress my ears. That's good stuff.

TREBLE: It's clearly present due to a bump in the frequency in the upper Mids and lower treble. Although it's not insufferable like the M-DUO. It's softer and more graceful and packed with plenty of detail for a $50 IEM. When I listen to Metal, Classical or Orchestral music. I hear the strumming of strings quite clear. Not TOTL clear, but clear enough that you don't have to focus on trying to hear it. I noticed that that the Shozy Zero does particularly well with Epica’s music. Which is a combination of Metal and Orchestral music. The guitars are like super crunchy and very detailed. It usually puts a smile on my face. The upper treble is there, but somewhat overshadowed by the lower treble.Now onward to the Soundstage/Dynamics.

Soundstage/Dynamics: Now for this part I used a soundtrack that still impresses me bit in this department. I used Evan King's MDK - Shinespark. I was just flat out impressed what this $50 IEM was capable of. You could feel the spaces in between the instruments while maintaining an above average soundstage. Quite impressive. The spaces were still quite small. Yet it was still good. BTW, the soundstage is 3D. Not 360 3D. Mainly because I don't have any true binaural recordings.

Conclusion: After a few months. I have become more attached to the Shozy Zero. It just fits my preference of a more musical experience. The Shozy Zero just does everything right for a $50. If you are into a wholesome warm and musical experience and never owned a wooden IEM and curious about it. Then the Shozy Zero is for you. Otherwise, analytical lovers won't like these. The Shozy Zero is practically the complete opposite.

SHOZY Zero IEMs Review - Expatinjapan

 Head Pie  

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http://www.shozy-hk.com/​

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SHOZY Zero IEMs review​

 - expatinjapan​

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It was pleasant to receive a set of beta SHOZY Zero IEMs in the post recently. I love wooden headphones and earphones. They have a natural, organic, smooth and lush sound. 
I was not disappointed by the SHOZY Zero they seemed to tick all the right boxes straight off the bat.

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Build  
The construction is very simple, nothing too complicated about how they are put together. 
Simple is best, less is more and other adages to explain this concept.
 
The SHOZY Zero is made of (edit) ??? Wood nice and solid.
 
The size is great and would suit any ear canal size with the right tips.
 
No chin slider for fans of the old chin sliders.

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Wood everywhere, even the cable seems to look like its made of wood. ​

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The groove is an air pressure regulator.​

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Fit
 
The SHOZY Zero is an easy fit.
They can be worn hanging down or over the ear, I myself prefer over the ear usually as I can get a good seal and also lock the IEM in place.
Very comfortable for extended periods of time.
 

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  Sound

The sound is well matched with the SHOZY Alien DAP and no
doubt they had a close relationship when it came to tuning these Zero IEMs.

Like the Alien DAP the sound is smooth, organic and accurate.

The SHOZY Zero is fairly flat, it does not seem to overly favor the lows, mids or the highs.

It scales up well with more volume whilst losing no accuracy and creating no distortion.
The Zero has a fast response, great separation, good width and lots of height.
Instrument separation and layering is wonderful.

The vocals are well matched to the music and are neither forward or recessed, but just right where I like them - with the music.

The SHOZY Zero reproduces the original recordings with an accuracy that belies their asking price.
 

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SHOZY Zero frequency response.​

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 Value

The SHOZY Zero is priced at US$50. A reasonable price for the IEMs. They could be priced a bit higher and still be acceptable.
It`s the kind of IEM I would feel happy buying a friend for a gift, smooth, well layered, good width and height, detailed and also lush; not to mention comfortable to wear.
 

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 Overall

The SHOZY Zero is a bargain IEM in terms of its price and performance.
Very smooth and silky, well balanced between the lows, mids and highs make this a pleasure to listen to.
It scales up well with more volume losing no accuracy and creating no distortion.
The Zero has a fast response, great separation, good width and lots of height.
Instrument separation and layering is wonderful.

It is an IEM I could listen to with pleasure for extended periods of time, laid back but without settling for less in the separation, detail, layering departments, decent width and height make this $50 IEM a possibly popular choice in the coming months after its release.
 

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Thank you to SHOZY for sending the ZERO (beta) to Head Pie for review​

- expatinjapan.​

INTRO:-
 

 
 Shozy, A brand that hails from HongKong, going strong since 2012, better known for their amplifiers, DAPs and DACs has the mighty popular Shozy Alien that looks, sounds and performs outstandingly when it comes to SQ and details. They have plenty of outstanding products and are extending their range with new products ever now and then.
 
 What I have with me here is their Latest product, their maiden go at In-ear earphones Shozy Zero which ships worldwide is priced $60 comes in a single color scheme, not exactly color but has only one variant. Made out of selected high density Brazilian rosewood chambers and comes with selected cables.
 
 Some of its features are high efficiency drivers with low impedance, flat frequency response with good extension, low distortion without early roll off.
 
 It remains to be seen how this turn out in real life though.
 
 At $60 it has plenty of competition at its hands from Vsonic VSD3/2, Soundmagic E50, Brainwavz S3, Rockjaws Alfa genus, Vivo XE-800 and even the legendary Hfiman RE-400!! I will compare it with RE-400, Alfa genus and Brainwavz S3.
 
 Lets find out how this wooden beauty performs.
 
 Before that I would like to thank Ken from Shozy for this sample unit.
 If you want one you can get your from these links.
 
http://www.shozy-hk.com/zero-earphone/
 
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Shozy-Zero-HiFi-wooden-stereo-dynamic-in-ear-earphones-ie8-ie800-custom-earphones/601461_32659128608.html
 
https://www.null-audio.com/products/shozy-zero-universal-in-ear-monitor
 
https://www.amazon.com/SHOZY-Zero-HIFI-In-ear-Earphone/dp/B01EHT6Z6C
 
ACCESSORIES ERGONOMICS AND MISCELLANEOUS:-
 

 
 Shozy Zero comes with minimal accessories, Nothing fancy at all. You can find 3 pair of rubber tips, a carry pouch and user manual. Its nothing I will complain about buy they should have included a cable clip, doesn’t matter how selected the cable is, it has microphonics and a cable clip will help in keeping it low.
 
 Don’t expect much from me as mine came with just the earphone and tips. No retail package so I cant show you that.
 
 Build quality is nice, straight barrel design is nothing one can complain about. Rosewood looks really nice, there is some stress reliving at the earpiece end and it does its job, sadly there isnt much at the 3.5mm jack, just tiny bit to protect it from sharp bends. Y splitter has minimal profile and has no stress relievers at all. There is a vent, oh no its not on the outer side, its at the bottom of the nozzle, yup, that’s a vent. R/T markings are on the stress relievers.
 
 Cable might have something special inside but to me it looks like just like the ones we see with KZ earphones. It has some microphonics for sure but not excessive, its bouncy and doesn’t exactly look strong but I have used it under stress and it hold up fine. Lacks a cable slider.
 
 Isolation is average and acceptable.
 
 I like the use of wood, it looks good but not as good as Dzat DF-10, which looks fantastic.
 
SOUND QUALITY:-
 
 This earphone comes from an exceptionally potential brand that has delivered one of the best Hi-res player so it's obvious to have hopes high.
 
 On first listen its quite good, I burned it for more than 150 hrs and used it mostly every day before I go to bed. It sounds perfect without amping and a mobile phone will drive it nicely.
 Signature is warm, bright and slightly splashy, not as bright as HA2 though.
 
 I am using stock Rubber tips for this review, which have really wide bore. It sound better with foam and narrow bore tips, try it if you have some lying around, it helps in smoothening things out.
 Lets start with our basics.
 
 I have to say, Zero responds well to EQ, Try yours.
 

 

 
 BASS:-
 
 It's not exactly balanced, doesn’t take off like a Wooduo neither stays calm like HA2, does its job and keeps calm when not summoned upon.
 
Bass quality is above average, it has nice thump, good amount of air and can reach deep too. It has nice impact but its more soft than hard. Thanks to the wooden chambers Zero sounds really meaty, organic and natural. The only problem I have with this earphone is that it has some mid bass hump which gets bothersome once you come across some mid bassy songs, it takes the center stage and somewhat overshadows sub bass to an extent, and this mid bass hampers decay too, which is good by all means could have been better.
 
 Bass has good amount of details for an $60 earphone, control could have been better, not bad by any means, better than Brainwavz S0 and Soundmagic E50 for sure but can't be compared with RE-400.
 Notes do lack some depth, no bleeding what so ever.
 
 I have seen better, but not from a dynamic driver earphone in this price range, Meelec A1512nd gen is a totally different story.
 
 MID RANGE:-
 
 I am a fan of beautiful mid range presentations, and as far as I am concerned Shozy Zero has some of the best mid range you will find in an earphone for around $50. There are many earphones which sound better overall but zero has really nice clarity and forwardness which I really appreciate. It has good details and nice transparency.
 
 Both male and female vocals sound good, meaty, organic and full bodied, thanks to shallower notes depth male vocals sound thick and sharpness with female vocals make them enjoyable, nicely tuned I must say. Upper mid range has some humps which makes some instruments like cymbals and guitars shine a bit more than others.
 
 Zero has good transparency, imaging, presentation, doesn’t lack much precision and clarity but texture is lacking, it sounds grainy, not as smooth as one would expect, it maybe the housing but what matters in the end is the final output.
 
 Has a nicely spacious stage, not exactly RE-400 spacious, but spacious.
 
 I might have sounded harsh, but all in all this mid range is far superior than S0. E50 and will even surpass 151 2nd gen if you don’t like sharper notes presentation.
 
HIGHS:-
 
 Zero has, I have to say good still not so good highs. It has good energy, good amount of details, better than average separation and transparency, nice sharpness, doesn’t sound harsh but at the same time it lacks the extension I was looking for, its good, but there are some dips and few peaks that make things worse.
 
 Even though it lacks extension, treble on this is neither over done nor rounded off. It sounds cohesive and engaging, doesn’t put anything off, but those peaks with upper mids can be bothersome to some, especially those who are treble intolerant or like it smoother.
 
 COMPARISONS:-
 

 
 VS Brainwavz S3 :-  S3 sounds cleaner, has better clarity, transparency, better bass with deeper reach, no mid bass hump, far better decay, smoother texture devoid of any kind of graininess, better top end extension, devoid of any kind of harshness. Comes with plenty of accessories. Sounds louder, has bigger stage and sonically superior.
 
 Zero has better balance, everything sounds meatier and more natural with awesome timber, notes are thicker too. Has less microphonic cable.
 S3 wins Hands down.
 
Vs RE-400:- Has better sub bass, better extension, faster decay, no mid bass hump. Has better clarity, transparency, details, sound stage and sonicality. Lower microphonics. Better accessories. Has reported durability issues.
 
 Zero has better cable and build, has more bass.
 Technically RE-400 is a far superior earphone.
 
Vs Alfa Genus (Black Nozzle):- Alfa genus has far more attack when it comes to bass energy, has bigger and stronger slam. Vocals have better texture and highs are smoother, has better sonicality. Has far better cables, build quality is awesome.
 
 Zero has better clarity, transparency and details. Everything sounds more natural and organic. Has better decay and top end energy too.
 Shozy all the way unless you want bass.
 
CONCLUSION:-
 Shozy Zero is a perfectly nice sounding earphone with good sound quality, nice timber, good tonality and nice build quality, let down by some mid bass hump and slight graininess.
 
 If you are looking for an earphone that has natural timber, meaty and warm sound signature, thicker notes with good clarity and transparency, you should consider the Shozy Zero.
 
 Thanks for reading guys, cheers. Have fun, enjoy.
 

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW: Shozy Zero In-Ear - The Warm, the Smooth & the Woody
 
 

 
 
 
Website:
www.shozy-hk.com/zero-earphone
 
 
Specifications:
 
Housing material: Rosewood
Frequency range: 20Hz-18KHz
Sensitivity: 94dB
Impedance: 32 Ohms
Cable length: 1.2 m
 
Price (MSRP):  U$D 60. Can be purchased directly from Shozy website.
 

 
 
 
Accessories:
 
3 pairs of single silicone tips (S/M/L)
Carrying pouch
 

 
 
Build & Design:
 
Build quality is about average; not bad, but nothing outstanding. The housings are probably the better made part of the whole Zero IEM, half wood and half metal. The main driver chamber is made of wood and fully sealed, while the front and nozzle part is metal; both parts well attached together. The nozzle is quite peculiar; the lip is cut, apparently for better venting purposes, which seems to work pretty well. The cut is a bit sharp, and mounting the eartips is a bit tricky at first. It'd be better if the lip ends where smoother. The strain relief at the housings is a bit short and stiff, but well glued; the R and L markings are a bit difficult to see. The cable is a bit springy and kind of rubbery. The plug and Y-split are also made of wood, a bit small and lack a proper relief, and a chin slider is also missing. The design itself is quite attractive, like its sound, it looks rather smooth and elegant yet discreet.
 

 

 
 
Fit, Comfort, Isolation:
 
In short, really good! This is a strong characteristic on the Shozy Zero. The straight and compact housings are very light and easy to fit and can be worn both down and over-ear ways. They stay fixed and are among the most comfortable earphones I've tried. Just for reference, the fit is similar to the Zero Audio Tenore and Hifiman RE400/600, and just as comfortable. Same goes for the isolation, which is quite good being a sealed back IEM. Some driver flex is present, mainly on the right side (at least on my pair). Microphonics are about average.
 

 

 
 
Sound:
 
The Shozy Zero has a warm, sweet and very smooth sound. Like its design, the sound is very comfortable, relaxed and easygoing, with slight punch, good clarity and a rich tonality; which could be expected for a wooden in-ear.
 
Bass is not large quantity wise but has good body and decent natural decay. When needed the mid-bass is very slightly enhanced giving some fullness to the overall sound. Quality is rather good without a noticeable bloat, very well controlled but not the tightest or quickest at its price range, and rather limited in depth but reasonably well balanced.
 
The midrange is laid back, well rounded but not too upfront. It's very smooth and rich, and nicely balanced from low to upper mids and almost clean of any hint of bass bleed. Vocals are sweet but don't carry the best texture; mainly upper vocals can sound a bit off due the lack of treble emphasis. On the whole, the mids show a quite good level detail and clarity. They sound very coherent and have the rather natural texture and richness that 'wood' earphones usually present, but definitely not meant for those who seek in crispness and transparency.
 
The transition from mids to high is very smooth (even more than from lows to mids). The treble is very delicate and laid back in comparison to the midrange. Probably one of smoothest and most forgiving earphones I've got to listen. Clarity is not as impressive as with the midrange, and might sound a bit dull or off next to a Fidue A65 or Soundmagic E50 which aren't especially trebly sounding IEMs. As a result they Zero won't be as airy and may sound congested at times. The good thing is there are zero hints of sibilance and harshness even with brighter tracks and very forgiving on poor recordings.
 
Extension is limited on both ends, giving a closer and more intimate presentation. Soundstage is a bit narrow but less compressed than mid-centered in-ear sets such as the A63. Still, the overall presentation is competent for having a more intimate sound.
There's also a very interesting thing on the Zero. It responds quite well to equalization which can help to achieve a better balance.
 

 
 
Zero Vs SoundMagic E50:
 
The SoundMagic E50 is one of my favorite IEMs among the sub $100 bracket, and one of the easiest to recommend both for its sound and as a whole package. The E50 and Zero share a very good sense of musicality and overall balance, with a rich and full midrange. The E50 is a more all-rounder earphone, having a more solid and extended bass response, as well as stronger yet controlled highs. On the other hand, the Zero is softer in bass and much smoother in treble, with more laid back mids. The E50 wins in build quality, while the Zero might have slightly the upper hand in terms of comfort for some people. Personally, I'd pick the E50 as my daily IEM, but both are very strong contenders.
 
 

Hi All,
 
I was given the chance to review the new Shozy Zero Rosewood earphones in exchange for just a small fee to cover the shipping. I received, as I'm sure some other reviewers did, an imperfect model with just tips but no packaging or case. The Zero can be found here...http://www.shozy-hk.com/zero-earphone/
 
Product Details:
Features:

1. Milled CNC nozzles with special front venting
2. Rosewood acoustic chambers
3. High efficiency drivers

Specs:

1. Sensitivity(at 1Khz) :94db
2. Frequency response :20hz-18khz
3. Input connector :3.5mm/1/8 inch gold-plated stereo TRS plug

 
The Zero is available at several e-tailers including Penon Audio Online store which is reputable...http://penonaudio.com/SHOZY-Zero
 

(credit to Penon Audio) Shows the case which I am not able take a photo of.
 
 

 
My pair with my favorite tips on them. Note the small marks on them
 
 
Build Quality:
The Zero build quality is a combination of solid yet lightweight. Rosewood housings and capping for the Y join and plug. Rosewood is handsome and fairly lightweight but the finish may show signs of use or abuse after a while. The CNC nozzles are pretty much bulletproof. Sturdy rubber reliefs come out of the housings and plug. Fit and finish is perfect. Everything straight and clean with nothing out of alignment or ill fitting and no type of adhesive residue to be found. The cable is lightweight and has a slight plastic feeling sheathing. A bit bouncy is the cable but a nice blend of strong yet lighter weight. There is no chin slider which would help with microphonics and over the ear wearing style. A fairly simple design: straight barrel housings, straight plug, and a straight cylinder Y join.
 
Fit and Isolation:
I find the Zero to have a fairly easy and comfortable fit. The straight housings lend to both straight down and over the ear cable routing. The lighter cable can bounce off the ear at times so the a chin slider would have been nice for over the ear wearing.
 
Isolation is above average with the Zero. They are a sealed design with a special notch cut out of the nozzle lip. This can give better than average isolation but may introduce some driver flex with a deeper fit for those trying to get the absolute best seal. I have experienced it some on my right side. I find I can still get even slightly above average isolation with a medium depth insertion.
 
Sound:
The Zero has an overall well balanced sound with a slant towards bass and warmth. A decent bass amount but still far from basshead territory. Even with a tight seal I find them only a bit U shaped and not quite a V sound. Bass focused but the mids and treble are still right there. There is a good driver here combining with the sealed back wood housings for added richness and warmth. The added warmth of the wood and good driver dynamics give a enjoyable and smooth sound that doesn't become too thick or syrupy like many other wood earphones do. The driver is solid in it's performance being very coherent, quick, and accurate. Good extension on both ends that is above the price but short of the best. Dynamics are quite good with crisp lively treble and tight and fairly agile bass unless you seal them up too much where the drivers slow down a bit if they can't breathe as well. Detail is also good for a single dynamic and even presented throughout the range. Just don't expect mutli-armature detail. Clarity is quite good and close to some very good $100 offerings.
 
The Zero drivers sound quite accurate and the housings add in some wood richness. Vocals sound real. Most instruments sound realistic as well. Treble and cymbals are quite well done here. I hear nothing that comes off as artificial. A good portrayal with some nice transparency that gives a convincing experience. I find the Zero is also true to source as far as working well with most sources and not coloring the sound much and performing well. I may have a preference for using the Zero with less warm things but it still works well with those sources since the bass(sans unwanted vibration) is quite tight and composed. The Zero amps well but the extra juice can increase the vibration problem so the bass can muddle up/smear but if countered the bass seems to like added juice and should be quick and tight with more power provided the gear isn't adding significant warmth/bass.
 
The staging is quite good. Not very deep nor too forward though they are slightly on the forward side. Soundstage is large esp. with wide bore tips. Above average but falls short of huge. Smallish housing and a good seal won't present like a Titan 1 or other more open designs. Height, width, and depth are in nice proportion with each other. Maybe a bit taller than wide or deep but not enough to stick out and hurt the cohesion to any large degree.
 
*The caveat to the Zero sounding their best, IME, is keeping unwanted vibration in check. The wood housings seem to vibrate if not held place better with the right fit and/or tips. I noticed this on my pair early on when there was bass bloom combined with a surprising still clear upper mid/treble combination. Odd to hear that much difference and it was clear the front screens weren't to blame being quite fine and extra bass bloom that needs to burn off would effect the upper frequencies more and not leave them with that stark a difference in clarity. So, testing by holding the housing tightly and steady the bass cleaned up instantly and was much more clean and cohesive with the rest of the spectrum. YMMV on the issue with personal fit and tips used. A potential with wood which can resonate beautifully in an instrument but if not seated firmly causing low end smear/bass bloom. You don't know till you hear for yourself if or how much may be present. 
 
Select Comparisons:
I find the Zero compares quite well to two other earphones I have that cost about double the price...
 
Zero vs. ATH-E40(price paid - $89) - The Zero and E40 share a similar slight bass focus and smooth sound. E40 is a bit further back and spaced out not having the wood thickness in the sound. Only a bit more clarity and detail with the pricier Audio-technica monitor earphone which also works well with most of my gear. The Shozy is smaller and lighter and can be worn both ways while the E40 is over the ear due to having a memory wire portion. The E40 has twice the drivers in a dual phase configuration and can give a bit more bass quality and extension but not much difference comparing the overall SQ level of the two.
 
Zero vs. JVC HA-FXT200($100) - I did swap out the JVC's wool-like screens for a pair of metal mesh ones so they are not totally stock. I find the two phone at the same level of performance though a bit different in presentation. The JVC a more forward and immediate sound of similar thickness as the Zero. Again two drivers vs. one and at times or with certain sources the JVC shows a give in the cohesion of the two where the Zero won't. The Shozy has a bit more accurate/transparent treble. Both are very comfy and have lighter cables.
 
Conclusion:
Short and sweet, the Zero is a great little earphone. A good value. Easy to fit and can be worn both ways. Comfy. Sounds smooth and easy on the ears out of most gear but still quick and has some energy, transparency and good resolution and cohesiveness. No annoying flaws. Not the most accessories and could use a chin slider but you get one of the best performing earphones for $50. 

​

 

-Introduction-​

Edit: It's been brought to my attention by the Shozy team that the Sound Blaster E3 does not play nicely with the Zero. I will be re-evaluating it paired from different devices per Shozy's request.
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]In the audiophile world, it’s not uncommon to see products promise to deliver great things, often at prices that undercut their competitors. The community loves to take these claims and run with them, often generating hype trains that blow these promises even further out of proportion, leading inevitably to disappointment when the product is delivered. Unfortunately, the Shozy Zero is one such product. While it’s not bad by any means, the Zero (to my humble ears) does not live up to the hype it’s gotten from many a forum on the internet. At $60, the Shozy Zero is already a good value. But in an already-crowded price segment of high priceerformance IEMs, does it stand out?[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Shozy Zero is available on Penon Audio here for $60.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Shozy Zero is available on Amazon here for $60.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Find the official Shozy Zero web-page here.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Disclaimer: This review is based upon a sample unit provided to me by a manufacturer in exchange for my honest opinion and un-edited words. I do not profit in any way from the writing of the review. I would like to thank Wong at Shozy for providing me with this unit.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Preference and Bias: Before reading a review, it is worth mentioning that there is no way for a reviewer to objectively pass judgment on the enjoy-ability of a product: such a thing is inherently subjective. Therefore, I find it necessary for you to read and understand what I take a natural liking to and how that might affect my rating of a product.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]My ideal sound signature would be an extended sub-bass with a leveled, but textured, bass. The mids should be slightly less pronounced than the treble, but still ahead of the bass. I prefer a more bright upper range.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Source: [/color]The Zero was powered off of a Nexus 6P -> Creative Sound Blaster E3. All music was served as FLAC, ALAC, or as 320Kbps Mp3. I found the standard DAC/Amp inside my phone and PC to be adequate to drive the Zero at near-peak levels of quality, but used the Sound Blaster E3 for consistency's sake. Per Shozy's request, I am double-checking all of my claims against a Nexus 6P and HTC One M8 to ensure I was not making judgments based on a bad pairing.
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Zero does sound significantly better on my M8 than it does on the Nesux 6P or Sound Blaster E3. [/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]

                Tech Specs​

[/color]

1. Driver: Dynamic​
2. Sensitivity(at 1Khz) :94db​
3. Frequency response :20hz-18khz​
4. Input connector :3.5mm/1/8 inch gold-plated stereo TRS plug​

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The above specs were taken directly from the Zero’s page on Penon Audio.[/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]

-Sound Signature-​

[/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Initial Impressions: These impressions were taken before I’d seen any FR response graphs or measurements. Impressions are taken off of random songs in my music library.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Zero has pretty good left/right separation. It’s definitely warm leaning, and took some time to adjust to. The mids seem slightly veiled, but seem less so as my brain burns in. Bass is fast and precise, but isn’t deep and rumbly or boomy. Treble pushes through the mix well.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Treble: Songs used: White Flag, Midnight City, Outlands[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Treble is toned nicely in White Flag, but isn’t the focus of the song. Some vocal effects can sound slightly metallic, but not significantly enough for me to notice the majority of the time. Accuracy and detail is pretty good, but not perfect.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Midnight City’s electric treble was placed well in front of the song, and had a clear and cutting presentation, without sounding harsh or piercing.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The violins of Outlands were presented well, but had a certain softness to them.Pairing the Zero with my 6P and M8 brought out the transparency that I look for in classical songs, and helped solidify the edges of the violins that I was looking for. The symphonic presentation that I was looking for is now more present.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Mids: Songs used: Flagpole Sitta, Jacked Up, I Am The Highway[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]While I found the vocals of Flagpole Sitta to be rather immune to the muggy coloring of the mids, the guitars and background vocals tended to get caught up in the warm tuning of the Zero. While it doesn’t compromise the sound, it does at a flavoring to it that not all listeners will appreciate.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Jacked Up’s pianos were resolved fairly well, but didn’t have super clean edges to them. The guitars, piano, and vocals never mixed together or smudged, which is a plus. There is a lot of detail present, and the general timbre of the mids is pleasant and effortless. The Zero does a particularly good job at resolving guitars of both the acoustic and electric type.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]I Am The Highway’s vocals were placed forward and center, making them easily take control of the song, and stay in control. The guitars had a very good attack and decay to them, lending the Zeros a very precise feeling. Upper mids are rather well presented, and sounded full-bodied.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Bass[/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]: [/color]Songs used: Lights, Gold Dust, 99 Problems (Hugo Cover), Leave Me[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]This section has been edited. All new or changed parts will be in red text.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Zero sounds like it tuned for optimal performance in songs such as Lights. The mid and sub-bass are present, but importantly, shaped. The bass sounds organic, but is not emphasized too much. This lends the song depth and makes for a pleasant listen.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Gold Dust is one of the two songs I use to determine how well the Zero performs on the majority of bass-heavy genres such as Dubstep. Once pairing with my HTC One M8, it was easy to see that the team at Shozy did not abandon us electronic music listeners. Sub-bass response is good, shaped, and clean. Believe it or not, it's a night and day difference compared to the bass response on the Sound Blaster E3.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]99 Problems [/color]sounded good, and had a decent amount of depth to it. The more organic and deep bass presentation of the Zero paired with my M8 significantly helps the drums have an impact and body to them, something I really was not expecting considering my initial experiences with the Zero.
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The bass-laden intro to Leave Me was rather sonorous and had a good amount of depth to it. The presentation and poise of the song is good, and doesn’t have the “disconnected” feeling to it that I got from my previous test tracks. Even when powered off my M8, I still find myself wishing for a little more sub-bass presence in Leave Me. The bass drops still sound a little too shallow for me to get really into it.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Clarity: Songs used: Throne, Map of The Problimatique, I’m Not Alright[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Clarity is one of the Zero’s strong points, and this is especially evident in Throne and I’m Not Alright. Many of the ambient and background sound effects were present and resolved completely, and there was no notable distortion during the chorus. Instrumental separation is on point.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Sound Stage[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Zero’s sound stage is intimate, but not cloistering. It makes for a rather immersive, but not symphonic, experience. Left/right separation is very good during hard-panning. It could use a more air in the sound-stage. I would say the Zero performs right at its price point in terms of staging.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Comparisons[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Zero v.s Thinksound Rain2 ($90)[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Zero is strikingly similar to the Rain2 appearance-wise, but falls short of it in terms of overall musical presentation. While the Rain2 is much warmer, it is just as precise and excels in mid and sub-bass reproduction. It’s got some softened mid reproduction, but lacks the fuzziness of the Zero. All said and done, I think the Rain2 is well worth the $30 over the Zero. The same holds true, even when comparing the two off my M8.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Zero v.s Rock Jaw Alfa Genus V.2 ($60)[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Zero and Alfa Genus V.2 have strikingly similar sound signatures. The Zero has a warmer, but less boomy bass and is quicker, while the Alfa Genus V.2 provides more bass quantity. I’ll still have to give the Alfa Genus V.2 the win considering it’s durable cable, inline controls, and tuning-filter system.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Zero v.s Hidizs EX-01 ($40)[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Zero’s bass is less emphasized than the EX-01, but is significantly more accurate and quick. The Zero is warmer, but at the same time is also brighter than the EX-01. Bassheads should go for the EX-01, while listeners looking for a more versatile IEM should head for the Zero. In terms of build quality, I’d take the Zero any day. The EX-01’s chromed plastic looks and feels cheap in comparison. I'd say the Zero takes this one.[/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]

-Packaging / Unboxing-​

[/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Zero has a very basic unboxing experience. Inside the box you will find the case, with the Zero and extra eartips inside it.[/color]
 
 

​

 

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]

-Build-​

[/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Construction Quality[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Exterior construction of the Zero is very well done. The driver housings are made from rosewood, and the cable is malleable, yet not too thin. It doesn’t tangle too easily, and is smooth enough to not catch on random surfaces. While it doesn’t appear to be too safe from impacts, the Zero doesn’t feel fragile at all. The cable terminates in a straight 3.5mm jack. I wish it would have terminated at 45 or 90 degrees.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][/color]
 
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Some users are reporting large amounts of driver-flex (pressure build-up between you ear canal and the driver), which can lead to a damage driver over time. While I have not been able to detect any large amounts of driver flex, it is possible that others with different ear anatomy are legitimately experiencing it. Food for thought.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Comfort[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Zero is fairly comfortable, fits very well into my ears, and seals easily. While it doesn’t include any comply, I find the standard silicone ear tips to be adequate.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Controls[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Zero does not feature inline controls.[/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]

-Accessories-​

[/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Shozy stocked the Zero with a rather bland set of accessories: one carrying case, and two extra pairs of silicone eartips. While it’s not bad, it certainly isn’t exceptional.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The case is, however, rather nice. It’s a little large for my tastes, but is certainly designed well. You’ll have no problem fitting the Zero into it, and should expect a good amount of shock and impact protection. One side of the case has a net, which is handy if you tend to keep other accessories with your earphones during your travels.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][/color]
 

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]

-Summary-​

[/color]

[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The Shozy Zero is a mildly-warm IEM with solid bass impact. It's a great all-arounder that performs very well for the money. With an organic rosewood build, protective carrying case, and attractive cable, the Zero is certainly worth considering for $60. While it certainly doesn't beat more expensive IEMs, it's solidified it's place in my top five earphones under $100.[/color]