Shozy Black Hole Review

Technical Performance

The Black Hole has great resolution, detail retrieval, and transparency.  It also has a great bass control to provide an uncongested signature. That helps to have a relaxed and airy presentation which is neutral and detail-oriented with a good sense of space. The overall control and separation are one of the best in its price bracket. It has supreme imaging and instrument separation.

As you can guess, the sound-stage is very wide and vast. It’s one of the best parts of the Black Hole. The IEM has great positioning and stereo image which gives you the feeling of a concert atmosphere. That is all thanks to its good transparency and resolution. However, I think 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 not excellent. It doesn’t have a great layering performance so the presentation is mostly left & right, which is still a great experience because it’s very very wide and airy. This is not actually for criticizing the IEM, but to highlight its characteristics which are quite different than the IEMs you see in the market. Overall the Black Hole performs very well when it comes to technicalities and the best part about it are stereo imaging and stage width.

Synergy & Cables

I think the Black Hole performs very well with warm-sounding equipment and when it comes to warmth, it doesn’t get warmer than the new Dethonray Honey H1. I will review that one very soon but the synergy with the Black Hole is very satisfying. You get more bass and a more rounded presentation with thick vocals and instrument notes with the H1, and it plays out beautifully with the Black Hole. I think the original Hugo from Chord should play similarly here.

New iFi iDSD Signature also is a great performer and it also is a great source device for this IEM. Although it’s not as warm as the Honey H1, it’s still a click warm and it gives a wonderful presentation with a better background performance with sharper imaging and definition. So overall I recommend pairing it with warmer sources with good natural tonality and with good bass performance.

In terms of cables, I think the best option is the stock cable. I tried it with Brise Audio ASUHA Ref2., which is a fantastic cable but the stage narrowed and the presentation became a bit too warm with it. Black Hole excels with a wide staging performance with a great amount of air but somehow that cable took these away. Effect Audio Grandioso has produced a similar effect so I didn’t like it as well. So although I still think that the cable doesn’t complete a premium IEM like this looks-wise, the performance of the cable is great. I don’t think you’ll ever need aftermarket cables but of course, experimenting is always a good idea.

Comparisons

Fearless Hyper S12

The S12 has a rather bright and detail-oriented nature which is not too much apart from the Black Hole. They both have a neutral bass response but when it comes to mids the Black Hole has a more realistic timbre. It also has more space and air for the instruments. In the treble region, they both perform very well. But it’s the same story as the mids because Shozy has more air and it also has a better definition to me.

They both have good resolution and transparency. They also share a very wide stage but the Shozy offering is a step ahead simply because of its open-back design, which is actually not fair to S12. Fearless has a bit more control with complex songs though. However, I find the Black Hole a bit better balanced. So these two are quite close and if you want the isolation of course you can go with the S12. Otherwise, if you enjoy jazz and classical, the Black Hole is the way to go.

Kinera Nanna

Nanna is a great IEM. It has more bass rumble and kick for popular tunes which is totally different in Shozy. It instead has a linear bass response but I think it has better control in that area. In the mids, the Nanna is very musical and it has great tonality. With Shozy you have more breath and air in the mid-range, making it a better performer with certain genres, and worse in others.

In the treble, the Nanna is extraordinary with its articulation, extension, and resolution. I think the Black Hole is not quite on the same level as the Nanna in that regard. The advantages of the Black Hole are stage width, separation, and balance. So this is also down to your tastes. Go for the Nanna for more popular music, and go for the Black Hole with others.

Conclusion

All in all, Shozy Black Hole is a very different and unique experience. If you’re looking for a very different IEM that goes well with the orchestra music then you have your IEM here. It performs great when it comes to classical and jazz, as well as opera, classic rock, and blues. Just know that this is not quite the IEM for EDM, RnB, Hip Hop, and anything related to electronic music.

In the budget range between 700- 900 $, there are 5 IEMs that I find which are really successful in my opinion. Those are Kinera Nanna, Oriolus Reborn, PEARS SH-2, Final Audio B1, and Shozy Black Hole respectively. The other 4 are already in our recommendations. Because of its extraordinary design, new approach, and sound quality, I decided to add the Black Hole to our Best Universal IEMs page. Well done Shozy.