SHOZY Planar Magnetic 14.5mm IEM

SHOZY P20 14.5MM PLANAR MAGNETIC DRIVER IEM
Redcarmoose Labs March 5th, 2024

SHOZY is one of the oldest manufacturers of IEMs in Asia. Though I previously reviewed three SHOZY IEMs, I like them very much. One is the SHOZY B2, a 10mm Dynamic Driver which is so thick and just a warm musical sound that separates it from everything? The B2 somehow does its magic by having good pace besides being thick sounding and ultimately fun. Also there is the ultra-budget IEM called the SHOZY T1, that once again shows us that warm replay can in-fact be our friend.


The famous SHOZY B2 above:
The wacky open-back SHOZY $39.90 USD T1 below:

SHOZY AVA:

Another (above) I use all the time is the SHOZY AVA TWS IEM. The AVA is not really conventional as far as tuning, it has a dark and full-bodied stance (missing that B2 pace) though with a surprising treble tilt. The treble is still not enough to balance the big lower midrange fiasco. Which in turn makes the AVA unique and it’s my favorite TWS IEM, even though it is not perfect, it’s fun when out and about. Though if a better TWS comes along it will go into service. And you know how this bass stuff works, when too much of the bass-stuff (is added) it begins to drown-out clarity even though our hips sway and we get excited to it. The ultimate guilty pleasure in the world of audiophile playback.



P20:
So when I found out that the P20 was coming out I thought maybe we would have a planar IEM which fully incorporated the SHOZY house sound? Yet this is not exactly what turned out to be true. Yes, there is a little of the SHOZY house sound inside the P20, but what was surprising was how even and correct the tune tuned out to be. Meaning they didn’t go as crazy as I thought in the bass department, arriving at a very midrange focussed IEM. One of the reasons this review took longer than most is because the P20 needs a lot of burn-in to be its best. Still the overall sound is also very accessible (and the P20 being itself) straight out of the box. I have had the P20 since the very middle of February and have taken my time with this review.

The review experience:
After some preliminary listening tests I found the P20 incredibly balanced with a more forward midrange and missing the lower midrange thruster power normally included with SHOZY tune. This slightly new tune is both refreshing and fully accomplished, even if a surprise turn-of-events. Such careful evenness and completeness go to make an IEM of such become polite in contrast to some of the other competitors. From memory we don’t have the drastic forward-midrange or bass of the Kiwi ears Melody, or the forward upper-midrange encounters of the NiceHCK F1 Pro.

As such I will once more visit the P20 and try my hands at comparing the tone against my other planar favorites. And besides the tone here it is also of value to see how fit takes place, besides the overall sound value. Here is a list of my all time favorites.


Top row left to right:
TANGZU Zetian Wu (Weight 4 grams a piece) 14.5mm Planar $149.00 USD
NICEHCK Audio F1 PRO (Weight 5 grams a piece) 14.5mm Planar $99.00 USD
Kiwi ears Melody (Weight 5 grams a piece) 12mm Planar $89.00 USD

Bottom row:
SHOZY P20 (Weight 8 grams a piece) 14.5mm Planar $139.00 USD

My testing machine:


I’m using the renowned Sony WM1A with MrWalkman’s aftermarket firmware. I’m using the 4.4mm Simgot Audio LC7 cable and my usual wide-bore ear-tips. This photo (below) is showing almost all of the planar IEMs I have heard…..I have left out two or three in the photograph due to not wanting to give them much notice, namely the TINHIFI P5 and KZ PR1 HiFi.

All are planar IEMs in the below photo.....but don't whine, 2 are Square Planar IEMs and two are Hybrid Planar IEMs.




Comparisons:
TANGZU Zetian Wu:
The Wu was really my very first favorite planar. Sadly it is out of production, but the HBB Wu still is for sale. After 200 hours of burn-in the P20 sound seems to me both smoother and better separated? This could be mental acclamation too? The P20 is both more forward, louder on the same volume and offers a slightly bigger stage. The thing is all these planar IEMs are the best of the best. I have no way to measure volume, but taking the P20 volume down for a guesstimation shows the Wu still offering (many of) the perceived characteristics in relation to the P20. While the Wu does have this thing, and I don’t even know how to explain it, but if you own the Wu you know……….the very finite upper midrange sophistication, where the P20 is all about being simply bigger and more vibrant. Where after about 5 back and forths of the darn two………the P20 is more airy and spread-out, maybe slightly less decays, but truly clearer and more forward in nature. Where the Wu is still pulling off slightly more analogue bass, yet I wish I could find more differences? Really these two are very close to being the same, though with the Wu being aluminum and resin it is much lighter being 1/2 the weight of the P20. There is still this romantic quality the Wu does that is its charm, I would say the Wu maybe inches the P20 out but only by a small amount. In fact at first you think the P20 is way better, only to have that vibrance and forwardness found with slightly less detail and finesse inside. It is the faster decays of the P20 that lend itself to pace, yet the Wu has that pace too, for days and days.

NICEHCK Audio F1 PRO:
This has been my new favorite offering a completely different shape, yet that shape works with less hitting your ear. There is an upper midrange positioning a boost where vocals are slightly more in-your-face and alive here. Sure I reviewed the F1 Pro, but hearing this phenomenon again drives it home. Where their response to power is just about the same, here due to balance of the P20 lows......and simply those lows get slightly more focus, as you don’t have the upper midrange grabbing the limelight. Where vocals are almost what I would call perfect positioning with the P20, and the F1 Pro maybe a wanted energy, and for some possibly too much, but only a little. Just like the Wu we have also an added positioning into the P20 stage that is showing a more even and correctly spread-out size and emphasis. Upon first listening to the P20 I felt it was almost all midrange, but I liked it. Now I am hearing a more fleshed out and wider, and smoother yet not dark in any way shape or form………which once again makes it the different SHOZY from what I heard. If you own the F1 Pro and want a subtle reduction in upper midrange, this is really the ticket here. When this tune takes place like the P20 does, there is no more bass really, but because of the focus on midrange being less than than the F1 Pro we are automatically provided with a clearer window into the low end. Where the P20 is offering-up a less contrasty results frequency wise, but actually performing great forward items here of crystal clear imaging and positioning. So it’s more even and of a balanced nature, where some though may want the upper midrange thrills (and eat them up) with the F1 Pro?

Kiwi ears Melody:
This should be interesting, if memory serves me correct…..to say the Melody will outperform in the thicker low-end, and also be somewhat like the F1 Pro as far as that upper midrange energy………let’s find out? Yes, there is a hint of that low-end, but it is really not that much different between the two? Sure where it is extra is the lower midrange, yet it still has balance due to the Melody having a more vibrant upper midrange positioning. The Melody even goes forward to make the P20 come-off as sleepy, and it is nothing of the sort here. It is just the Kiwi ears Melody made a mark for itself with the most bass in today's testing and an upper midrange a lot like the F1 Pro.



Side-by-side conclusion:
This was an intense battle, as I like these 4 IEMs the most out of all the planar IEMs I have heard. While the Melody was strangely small and low weight it had great separation, though more bass than anything tested. If anything this test proves that the SHOZY P20 can keep up with the best of the best. Yes the forwardness of the P20 imaging and evenness of tune were some of the redeeming factors. Still the F1 Pro is no slouch, heck none of these are bad, and are very close to being at the same level. Sure the shell of the P20 is different from any of the others…..look at the pictures, except they fit fine. And yes, they are 8 grams each, the heaviest in today's tests? Yet, they are all metal construction, where the only other all metal construction is the F1 Pro. Yep the Wu and the Melody are 1/2 resin……3D printed resin and aluminum. It would be really hard for me to recommend one of the others if you already had one. Unless of course the Melody had too much bass, or you found the F1 Pro to be a little too brash in the upper midrange, as was the Melody. So it pleases me to write that the P20 does none of those things but carries itself in the most polite of manners, without being boring or non-musical. Sure there may be a slight airiness in contrast to what the Wu does, and sure the Wu is harder to drive, the hardest of the group……..but in so many ways these planar IEMs are very close to the same. Though I am truly careful with the Wu, and in contrast this P20 is probably better built if I may say?



Build:
The P20 is a little of a beast. I mean when you pick-it-up it is noticeable in your hands. At the same time it is profoundly rewarding in structure, I mean it is not going anywhere……..built like a brick Schiit-house. I must have done at least 30 cable changes in the comparison section, and the cable is totally easy and confidently placed into the 2Pin receivers of the P20. That little shark-fin at the top slides into a section of your outer-ear. The rest even though it is not an involved semi-custom shape is very comfortable being it sits close to your ear. There is one vent under the nozzle and three vents in the center of the faceplate. And while the overall shape is unique in my experience, it goes one more step to prove that many ways can fit the ear and that is not to say that this idea of something going into your outer ear is not advancing forward. Surly the faceplate design is both functional in that ridges make something low weight, yet as strong as a thicker piece of metal. Also as a marketing tool, the faceplate is original with nothing even remotely like it. Being only two pieces of metal the design is both simple and effective. The nozzles are really the perfect length with robust bevels to hold tips on. A wire mesh screen stays in place and is of no hassles.




Package:
Minimal at best, this shows the effort was put into the IEM, and not the other way around. A nice case, and six sets of ear-tips of various sizes and shapes. Just look at the case you get!







Cable:
The cable is simply OK. Yet upon closer inspection it is an example of effort. Why? Well every single part of the cable is metal. It comes with 4.4mm if ordered and only $5.00 more, as I wish I would have gotten it in 4.4mm? The chin-cinch is metal, the plugs and 2Pins are metal and color coded. While yes it is on the thin side of the cable world, it is hard to judge as I mainly use 4.4mm balanced amplification, and with planar IEMs that is worth using. But guessing here, I totally see someone using the 4.4mm cable option, especially as some don’t like thick cables, and this one is not at all thick. The included ear-hooks are just cool. I mean how often do I talk about ear-hooks? Though these can help with fitment and feel great! The included cable winds up nice and has great ergonomics for a little guy.





From a standard phone or other devices:
What can I say the P20 was simply even and correct from a Samsung 3.5mm phone output. Hooked-up with the included cable the P20 definitely showed its potentials, yet was held back by the 3.5mm phone soundstage expansion, the blackness of background and separated imaging. While in a bind out of the house there truly was an added balance to where nothing was exactly thin sounding, only less vivid and clear due to such lesser characteristics. Still if phone playback was all someone had, I would still go ahead and recommend the P20 based on pure musicality. With the P20 in-place with a phone there were strangely no real planar IEM issues, with basically a person upgrading at some point possibly to a Dongle to further the stage width and vivid-up the contrasts held back by the regular phone use. As such we truly can hear the subtle differences between phone use and an upgraded source which is normal for planar drivers to need an ounce or two of better quality power in the end.

Fed by a normal Dongle or DAP there can be a view of better pace as well as a feeling of soaring which takes place with imaging jumping in and out, which is the magic of the planar driver at work. As such it is not hard really to find synergy, as the P20 is not fussy or in need of any one type of correction, quite possibly the conservative tune goes further to compound these outcomes? Meaning sure planar drivers need a little juice to wake-up, but as such you will have good luck really with a number of Dongles or DAPs in the end. With that said (to get my point across)..........switching the P20 (still attached to the included cable) over to the HiBy R3 II we are once again met with a wider stage and more finite imaging taking place. There is no denying the increased presence of DAP resulting resolution and details found. As such this entry level DAP provides a world of difference in how we can perceive music, all at once opening the curtains into viewpoints obscured by the phone fog, and gaining ample details and stage expansion. It is probably this correctness which goes one step further to a place of full recommendation all for the HiBy R3 II price of $179.00.............while using the included cable of the P20 at $139.00………………and surely better with the $5.00 4.4mm cable upgrade!

Music tests:
Here is the most fun, as there are no more comparisons to make, just listening and describing what takes place. I still have a job to do, to discover how the timbre is, to describe just how the P20 goes to recreate instrument and vocal ideas.



Kaveh Cohen, Michael Nielsen
Forza Motorsport OST
Brotherhood
44.1 kHz - 24 bit
I use this song all the time. I use it so much I must play it a couple times a week, therefore I know it and understand it. Part of reviews is simply understanding a sound signature to where it simply does what it should and for the money it should at least provide the wanted thrills. The side-by-sides showed up how performance was against the competition. Though when the bass drops at the 00.09 mark it is something not too much or too little and comes off reassuring that it is just right. Now later in the song the bass will progress to more thrills but here is a standard form of replay where everything is accounted for. At the 00:15 mark we witness the piano and the bass showing a contrast in tone, yet the piano is the real concern here. Why? Well this song has a specific tone to the piano and if that is messed with it shows up fast. Really this is like my first impressions in that the upper midrange is not really that forward but finds itself at what many would perceive as correct, nothing like this song with the added effervescence of a brighter upper midrange like the F1 Pr or the Melody. Now remember those are still winners here, only different where things are still noticeable, but nothing is over the top, unless you are extremely midrange/treble sensitive. Really the P20 walks that line. As such we are not experiencing a super detailed treble which is super out front and splashy or anything. But there is a reason why people buy planar IEMs. It is this nice relationship between the bass pace and midrange, this slight extra planar detail that holds interest in playback. Also especially with this song how the bass and lower midrange offer up warm surprises and correct tone. Where there is a slight issue is an ever so slight planar timbre, yet I had to search for it to be heard. This is the kind of thing that can be found especially with acoustic instruments, where it is just a tilt but it is there.



Hans Zimmer
Inception OST
Old Souls
44.1 kHz - 16 bit
Where this song takes us in on a journey. Not in a motorhome, but in an IEM journey. And once more I have become smitten with just how the P20 does bass. Where this drop at the 00:53 hits it is so in-the-pocket. Meaning it is separated and there, and satisfying but is no way overboard. I guess I’m simply enamored with the balance and what you get for $139.00? That’s all……..because there is a sophistication going on here that is well above the price point. It is found in the tuning of course but then made listenable by the technicalities. Meaning that 00:53 drop was clean and pure holding no distortion of fogginess. The other surprising thing here is there seems to be absolutely no off-timbre that I can hear. Timbre can be a song by song thing at times. And I am sure we may hear a few places of planar timbre during this music test, only not at this point in time.



Gdanian
Induction
Shield Emitter (feat. Tineidae)
44.1 kHz - 24 bit
Great bass, what can I say………this song combined with the P20 is doing it. Now I have reviewed other IEMs that have a more separated treble and a separated midrange…..where this song allows for those items to be heard at times, while here if I was to point out some of the highest treble placements are bunched together and offer a less than perfect window into the items. Still we are entertained as to the total experience this song relays. And to stay positive here, this song is built around layers, layers of many elements. At 00:54 there is a swift skyrocket that flies past your head and is lodged in the wall behind you. As such it makes a sound of impact. This takes place from center off the middle left. All this time though there are bass washes sounding almost like waves……they caress us and guide us further. This is ambient music but a style of bass ambient music.



Lorne Balfe and Andrew Kawczynski
Grand Turismo OST
Academy Race
44.1 kHz - 24 bit
What is the most fun here is just how the P20 sends home the bass! I listen to this song all the time except at 00:11………It’s like what? This IEM does this part well? Often a controlled bass will all of a sudden perform in a song due to ability, yet that ability is on the more careful side, and that’s what we have here. Only at this point in time I wish I would have known to play this song more than at this final stage in the review! Yes, it is that good! Why? It’s physical that’s why. The lows here in the recording are just well done……they are a statement to be found out about especially with planar IEMs. Maybe it’s the speed, maybe it is the balance, at times it is simply good and you don’t always have a reason. What I’m hearing is separate layers of events here, all at once. Yet there is a simple word for this replay and the word is satisfying.

At 00:31 I can hear this percussive attack placed onto the front of the bass note. Now sure it has always been there is this song, yet at this point it sounds totally natural and somehow focused due to nothing overbearing or too much. At 00:39 we are kind of inside this whole world of images, they are using images to showcase the spacial elements here. At 00:43 there is a slight blast of air which comes onto of regularly heard sounds……….and that is how treble detail works here, it is not steely in any form, but still wicked fast, and still separated. Where this blast of air takes place is right in the middle of the left side of the soundstage. Now normally a person would not concentrate on such elements, except if conscious or not to the events they exist and are performed here. As so much is going on with this song and so many layers, each time a new facet of sound can be noticed.



Conclusion:
Well there you have it, the P20 review in the books. And while SHOZY did make a winner of an IEM, it was the balance that was maybe the most surprising. Where this becomes double noticed because of the P20 being SHOZY you would think of a beefy bottom end authority? And while the bass is nothing other than cool, the bass is not really the focus here, and that’s refreshing.

Question:
“Does that mean there is enough bass, I mean I don’t want an anemic IEM.” Let me say one word here………SHOZY. Yep, it still has the SHOZY DNA inside and becomes just that much more valuable due to the exact approach they decided on.

I can almost see the engineers back at their SHOZY LAB going through this tune and saying “This will surprise a few, and bring the mainstream to our doorstep.”

And that is my take. It didn’t take long as the very moment the P20 came out-of-the-box and into my ears I found pretty much a whole understanding of their sound goals. Only days and days of burn-in allowed the P20 to smooth-out and open-up into a more mature sound, this maturity helped propel the P20 into my top four planar IEMs I have ever heard. The P20 is there in the limelight simply due to technicalities and tune. I also couldn’t help but notice the unusual shape and look, which helped get me there? But truthfully the P20 would have gained acceptance simply due to the tune. This style of playback offers the regular planar sound we know so well, only the brought forth midrange encases most of the sound, as it should. The layers of bass are secondary but in a song with a lot of bass those layers can be widely accepted and rejoiced upon. Normally though this style of tune ends valuable due to being well rounded and going with any source, and that is what is taking place here. Easier to drive than the TANGZU Zetian Wu and less upper midrange emphasis than the F1 Pro or Kiwi ears Melody. We are simply left with a near perfect idea of what a $139.00 planar should be. Built like a tank, the P20 proves that on the heavier side can still be comfortable due to sitting inside your ear. In the comparison photographs here the P20 looks big, because it is big, but don’t let the size fool you. Sure it is noticeably the heaviest in today's testing, still not as heavy as some 11 gram IEMs, and the fitment here is truly wonderful, yet you may know the P20 is in your ears, especially when running or doing other physical out-door activity.

Simply walking with the P20 is perfect, and I can’t help but think this size and shape, along with the build material makes the P20 block-out more noise than most IEMs I’ve tried. While the look is different and this time SHOZY went and tried to make an IEM which resembles no other, yet in hand and in-ear there is no denying the P20 means business both in tune/technicalities and shape of construction. Probably what the P20 represents the most here today is a solution, a careful, even, complete and correct tune solution comes along and gains points for just being easily accessible. Just the fact that while listening I was smitten with just how they have done this replay, and with any genre or device tone. Get yours today!

$139.00
https://www.linsoul.com/products/shozy-p20

Disclaimer:
I would like to thank Kareena from Linsoul for the love and SHOZY P20 review sample.

Linsoul website: https://www.linsoul.com/
Linsoul Aliexpress Store: https://ddaudio.aliexpress.com/store/2894006
Linsoul USA Amazon Store link: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=merchant-items&me=A267P2DT104U3C

Equipment Used:
Sony WM1Z Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm and 3.5mm
Sony WM1A Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm and 3.5mm
Samsung Phone 3.5mm
HiBy R3 II 3.5mm/4.4mm output

Bonus size comparisons to EPZ IEMs..........
This (placed out in-front) laughingly makes the P20 look even bigger, yet it is big!