Review: Shozy & AAW POLA39

Shozy Pola 39

Sound

 

These impression of POLA39 were done with a mix of the SP1000, Mojo and PAW 6000. Check below for more detail on how the 39 performs with these units.

Because of the ES drivers what strikes you first is the clarity, energy and speed of the upper mids and treble region. At the same time the 10mm dynamic driver isn’t slow either and the synergy between all the driver is perfect. Somethings hybrid can sound incoherent, but not the POLA39. No Sir.

The clarity, precision and speed is present from top to bottom and the mids have a nice spacious and airy presentation. In each section POLA39 shows great separation and detail. Sound stage wise the Pola performs well, but more in width than in depth. The depth and layering is good as well, but when you compare it to the Elysium in example, this is where the improvement can still be made.

The level of detail reproduced by both driver types is really good for the price level and the presentation at all times is musically smooth. Don’t mistaken smooth for warm, cause this is something the POLA39 is not. The tuning is more neutral but the deliver has a layer of smoothness placed over it. Luckily this smoothness doesn’t impact the detail retrieval and precise character, instead it just makes you shake your head and tap your foot.

“Lush mids, fast and deep bass impact and extremely transparent treble

From bass to treble, POLA39 is linear and has lovely timbre, the notes have good decay. Maybe it’s not the very best but it certainly is good to say the least. Depending on the source used you’ll get either good or great dynamics. I strongly suggest using a good quality source with this IEM, as they will show you how good or bad your source actually is. And that doesn’t only go for the dynamics.

I really like how POLA39 is portraying both female as well as male vocals, but I can imagine some finding them just a little sterile. Good file quality and a good source can do magic in this regards however. With the right setup, you can even make Patricia Barber sound good.

Classics:

From a more neutrally tuned IEM, you can’t expect to get skull-crushing bass. That being said, the is neutral level of bass is actually quite good. It also comes in with a good punch and bass had impact when needed. It’s not the biggest bass looking purely at body, which is normal looking at the specific tuning and linearity.

Bass has just enough body and presence to make all of your music sound good. The detail level is good but not the very best, and the same goes for the layering. Bass does go reasonably deep when needed with a good source however but at the same time there’s only so little one single 10mm driver can do for bass and mids.

The mids logically connect perfectly to the bass and show the same level of body. Again the pace is fast and the level of detail good. The mids are spacious and have excellent separation, but like the bass are somewhat lighter in body. As I said, there a layer of smoothness over the mids and that combined with the good technical level, make it a musical sounding midrange. The depth is quite good as well as the layering, but there are better performing hybrid IEMs in this regard.

As mentioned the vocals could not immediately be what you’re used to depending on the source used, but give your ears some time and use top quality files, and you’ll discover how perfectly they fit in POLA39’s tuning.

The upper mids and vocals have superb clarity, and precision. They sound clean, fast, detailed and oh so energetic. The double ES drivers are doing a great job here resulting in a well extended, lively and musical presentation. At the same time everything fits in nicely with the mids and bass, but for me POLA39 really shines here.

Vs POLA

The original universal POLA was much bigger in size than the custom version. Sound-wise the clarity of the new POLA39 is much higher and you get a cleaner sound. Compared to the POLA39, the original POLA sounds darker and slower.

POLA is also slower and it isn’t as spacious and extended as the new 39 version. Bass does have  bit more impact and body, and that’s probably because of the larger dynamic driver. The sound stage width and depth is better on the POLA39, but the regular POLA does give the impression of being fuller sounding. That is also linked to the following: where you with POLA got a more intimate, inside your head sound, the new POLA39 delivers a wider, out of your head experience.

I still like the original POLA and it is very musical but technically the 39 is better on all levels in my opinion. The difference between both isn’t small and going from the old one to the new one is quite refreshing. Once you’re used to listening to the POLA39 version, the original POLA will sound limited in its performance. Take tat into account.

More comparisons, source synergy and our conclusion on the last page of the review. Click here.

4.5/5 - (30 votes)
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Lieven is living in Europe and he's the leader of the gang. He's running Headfonia as a side project next to his full time day job in Digital Marketing & Consultancy. He's a big fan of tube amps and custom inear monitors and has published hundreds of product reviews over the years.

2 Comments

  • Reply December 5, 2020

    TU

    I’ve heard these, I don’t understand all these superlatives from the author, to me they sounded extremely dark and muddled. Nice midrange but the treble was so understated it was distracting.

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