Treble
The treble is airy and transparent, as it’s perhaps the best thing in Ava. The definition of the treble is good as well as its resolution. Highs also have good attack and dynamism. Unlike the midsection, this area has much more freedom to shine. The extension and definition are very good in particular, and highs extend very well with great detail for the price.
However, the bright and forward treble performance creates a contrasting presentation, since the mid-bass part is heavy and dark. Even though the treble delivery is quite nice, that is spoiled by the mid-bass dominance so the Ava presents a dark lower-range and bright high-range. That makes it an unbalanced, incohesive IEM overall.
The treble is not too aggressive or too crispy here, it instead plays breathy with good enough shimmer. I liked this treble presentation because it’s very natural but lively at the same time with good energy without being too much bright. So it’s not a treble issue per se, but the overall character of the unit is not consistent.
Technical Performance
The Ava has good resolution and detail retrieval, but those qualities are overshadowed by the enormous mid-bass emphasis. It lacks some cohesiveness as I mentioned above, all thanks to its huge mid-bass tuning. The soundstage surprises a bit with a wide and deep performance for a TWS IEM though. It has good positioning and stereo image which gives a great atmosphere.
However, the background performance is not the cleanest out there and sometimes it feels too busy and congested with fast tracks that have a lot of instruments. It doesn’t happen with slow to moderate-paced songs though.
Also, the depth of the sound stage is particularly good. It also has good layering performance for this kind of product, which provides a very good experience. Overall Ava performs fairly well when it comes to technicalities and the best part about it are stereo imaging and staging. If only it had a more cohesive presentation with a more consistent response.
Comparisons
The Noble Falcon ANC has a distinct design language, a better unboxing experience and better isolation, of course, with the ANC feature.
Its fit is a bit uncomfortable for me though, as I struggled pretty much the entire adjustment period for finding the right ear tips. Shozy Ava is much better in that department. The Noble has better call quality if that counts for your usage scenario.
The Falcon ANC is also a bassy unit, but the thing with Noble Audio TWS offerings is the EQ application. That way you can tweak that heavy and strong bass to your liking, as well as the other parts of the spectrum. If I have to compare the stock sound, I’d say the Falcon ANC weighs more on the sub-bass area, whilst the Ava has a heavy focus on the mid-bass.
The mids are more full-bodied with the Noble, whilst I think Ava has better clarity and spaciousness in this part. When it comes to treble, Noble is soft and smooth, versus the bright and well-defined treble of the Shozy offering. They both have good soundstage and instrument separation.
The ZE3000 from Final Audio has fantastic build quality, a unique design and much better packaging. It also has a great fit, IPX4 Water Resistance, and more battery stamina.
For sound, the ZE3000 sounds more open, is very coherent, balanced and close to neutral and linear sounding. It’s a drier but more natural sound. I also like its mid-range timbre, with soft treble, which lacks some clarity compared to the Ava, but it’s comfortable to listen to. Overall it’s a more coherent unit. The Shozy offering has more bass, brighter treble and clear mids. But its overall balance is not on the same page.
Conclusion
The Shozy Ava TWS IEMs perform pretty much like most TWS IEMs out there. Being an audiophile-oriented brand, Shozy should improve this unit as it’s their first-ever release in this field. The mid-bass approach and the unbalanced tuning are parallel to many TWS offerings. The Ava has good treble, staging, separation and imaging with a bit better resolution than many, but that doesn’t change its incohesive delivery.
The IEM definitely has the potential to be a great bang-for-buck product with a more refined presentation with better coherency. The design, build quality and fit are all great, and if Shozy, can come up with an improved version of this, I think it might be very successful.
Page 1: About Shozy and Ceres
Page 2: Sound
