Shozy Form1.1 In-Ear Monitor Review

Specs

• Driver type : 1x Dynamic + 1x balanced armature
• Frequency response : 20 – 20kHz
• Impedance : 19-ohm
• Sensitivity : 100 dB
• Weight : 4g per ear-piece

Design

It’s pretty remarkable to think just how far the design and build quality of affordable IEMs have come over the last 2 years. In the case of this Shozy Form1.1 we have something which almost looks like a custom-made IEM being that it features an acrylic shell and an extremely ergonomic profile. This is something which was almost exclusively reserved for IEMs that cost considerably more than $75.

The build quality and finishing of the housing seems very well-executed as I can’t feel any rough spots on any portion of the glossy finish. From a distance the shell looks almost completely black, and for the most part it is. But when you look closer it becomes apparent that the faceplate has a faint glittery metallic design which almost makes it look like a starry night sky, and there’s also a small embedded Shozy emblem.
As mentioned, this profile is extremely comfortable and it can almost make it feel like a custom-made set.

Something you don’t see very often on an IEM is a ventilation hole like the one Shozy has implemented here. This is most likely to allow the dynamic driver to breathe a little, which usually aids in creating a little more presence in the sub-bass region.I’m also really pleased to see that they’ve gone for a metal nozzle, and also that it features a little lip to help hold the eartips in place. I’ve encountered a number of IEMs now which don’t have this lip at all, and what can often happen is that when you remove the IEM from your ear the tip can stay behind in your ear, which is super annoying.

The cable itself is fairly good as it has a twisted design for the lower portion up to the splitter, and the entire length, including after the splitter, is covered with a protective nylon material. This makes the cable seem and feel pretty durable, but it also makes it a bit stiffer than what I’d like as it tends to create some annoying kinks, especially when storing the IEM.
The connector used for the removable cable is a 2-pin design, and what I found pretty interesting is how they’ve made the housing so that each individual pin-hole sits perfectly flush with the acrylic housing. Whilst I think the quality to the finishing here is very good, this does perhaps create an issue in terms of longevity.If you look at the connector on the cable there is a small plastic portion which surrounds these pins. The purpose of this is to add some protection to the pins as they are pretty easily bent due to how thin they are. However, this only really helps when this plastic portion is countersunk into the housing of the IEM. Because this doesn’t happen here, what it means is that any movement which affects the cable or housing will apply a force to those small pins. Hopefully this will prove not to be a major issue, but it also seems like a potentially really obvious problem which should not have been overlooked.

Sound

As we can see from the frequency response graph, the signature overall is a v-shaped one whereby the mids are noticeably lower in level than the bass and the treble, and in this case it’s the bass region which has the most presence. However, there are some treble peaks at 5kHz and 9kHz which sit only a few decibels below the bass region.

Switching over to the included black silicon and the foam tips can alter the signature noticeably, with the foam having the most impact as it really smoothed out the response between 500Hz and 2kHz.

Then we’ve also got aftermarket tips such as SpinFit and JVC Spiral Dot tips, both of which alter the sound of the Form1.1 to varying degrees.
The SpinFit tips have the most impact here as they really decrease the bass response by a pretty large margin, almost to a point where it looks somewhat similar to what we’d expect from an open-back set of headphones. However, the biggest issue with these tips comes in the treble region whereby these specific tips accentuate the treble even more so than any of the other tips, and it also creates an additional peak at around 7kHz. So whilst the bass might be closer to a more reference level, that treble becomes unbearingly bright. 

The Spiral Dot tips, on the other hand, creates a signature which is much more inline with what the various included silicone tips offer, but it also tames the treble region the most; even more so than the foam tips.
Since the Spiral Dot tips are the ones I usually find to be the most comfortable and in this case altered the signature in the most appropriate manner (for my tastes), my impression of the sound signature is with reference to using these tips. As the graph suggests, the bass can be a little bloated, but thankfully the majority of the bass presence is towards the sub-bass frequencies, so this can make for a fair bit of rumble. This is something I can live with, but it’s the treble which just feels very wrong to me.
There are just a few tracks where these treble spikes can be useful in making things sound a bit more sparkly, but overall it’s just too intrusive. This becomes especially apparent with “s” and “t” sounds where they can become piercing very quickly.

The other thing I found really odd is how narrow the soundstage of the Form1.1 seemed to me. As per usual, Etymotic’s ER2-series are my reference IEMs, and it’s pretty well-known that Etymotics don’t have a particularly impressive sound stage. The ER2-series might very well have the best width of all the Etymotics, but it’s still only average at best. And yet, when I switched from the ER2 over to the Form1.1 things sounded noticeably narrower.

For me, as someone who prefers a more neutral and natural-sounding signature, the Form1.1 just isn’t going to cut it, especially during longer listening sessions where that treble was just too overbearing for me to enjoy listening to music. On the other hand, if you’re a bit of a treble-head then you might enjoy this signature.

Value

So, at $75, what kind of value does the Form1.1 hold? Well, if we completely exclude the sound for just a moment, then a $75 asking-price is pretty good for a set of IEMs which are this well-designed. It looks good and in the ear it’s incredibly comfortable.
But, of course, we can’t ignore the sound for very long, especially since that aspect in particular is arguably the most important one. In that regard, the Form1.1 really doesn’t offer me any noteworthy improvements over other IEMs in this price-range. The sound is just average in my opinion as this type of v-shaped signature is something which is rather common in this price-range. The fit and finish are really the only things that stand out to me as being better than average, but I just can’t personally forgive it for that sound signature. Granted, that is entirely down to my sonic preferences, and so if you are accustomed to this signature then the build quality and comfort will make the Form1.1 a pretty appealing proposition. 
In a few days I’ll be posting my review on the Form1.4, and you’ll see that I much preferred that model despite the substantial jump in price. It offers the same build quality and comfort, but along with a more refined sound signature, so keep a look out for that review.Again, I must commend Shozy on the build, but I do wish they spent a little more effort on tuning the signature to get rid of that sharp treble peak as it’s the only thing holding me back from recommending the Form1.1 as being an extremely good affordable IEM.