Shozy Rouge Review (3) – Second Love Song
Pros — Wide stage with good air; excellent note definition; appealing, warm-bright tonality.
Cons — Needs quality equipment to shine.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Shozy Rouge are warm-bright earphones (yes this exists), a rare example where an elevated upper midrange works in favour of a atmospheric midrange.
INTRODUCTION
Shozy have produced some mid-tier earphones with a wonderful sonic appeal. Their $199 Shozy Form 1.4 made it into our “Gear of the Year 2020” list twice (Durwood and myself). My ears find the Form 1.4 (1 DD + 4 BA) extremely appealing. Lots of discussion was spent on whether the younger sibling, the similar sounding $75 Shozy Form 1.1 (1 DD + 1BA) were equally good. I elaborated about this extensively. A bit further down the road, the Form 1.4 turn out to offer a better three-dimensionality in both sound and soundstage. And while this discussion was still ongoing, Shozy issued the $179 Rouge with a 1 DD and 2 BA configuration. Competition for the Form 1.4?
Two of us, Loomis Johnson and Durwood reviewed the Shozy Rouge. Loomis found the Rouge initially underwhelming (here), however stellar with amplification. Durwood appreciated the Shozy Rouge right away (here). When I received the Shozy Rouge after my two co-bloggers, I was not only underwhelmed, I was appalled. The included eartips were too small for my ears so that I “tip rolled”. And whatever I tried, the Shozy Rouge sounded rubbery in the bass and too bright in the upper midrange…be it SpinFit CP145 or Azla SednaEarfit Original Series, to name just a few. So the Rouge ended up on my desk as victims of my procrastination….until I tried the Azla SednaEarfit Xelastec silicone tips…read on…and be surprised.
SPECIFICATIONS
Drivers: Proprietary Dynamic Driver + Dual Knowles Balanced Armatures
Impedance: 32 Ω
Sensitivity: 113 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20 – 20,000 Y Hz
Cable/Connector:
Tested at: $179
Product Page: http://www.shozy-hk.com/rouge
Purchase Link: HifiGo
PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY
The Shozy Rouge, like their Form 1.X siblings come with very light and comfortable earpieces – a trait that appears never sufficiently appreciated by reviewers and buyers alike. The medical resin has an excellent haptic – different from most other earphones outside the Shozy family. No problem with fit here either. The cable is old school, not the currently fashionable “rappa’ chain”. It works just fine and does not tangle. And the eartips are too small for my ear canals. Essentially the same as with the Form 1.4/1.1.
TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES
My tonal preference and testing practice
Equipment used: iPhone 5s, Audioquest Dragonfly Black; stock cable; Azla SednaEarfit Xelastec silicone tips.
The Shozy Rouge have a similarly appealing and “atmospheric” sound as the Shozy Form 1.4 (and Form 1.1), but are generally brighter. I’d characterize them as warm with a tinge of brightness, the other two models mentioned are darker. The stage is rather wide and not so deep, the Rouge are real “wide-screen” performers. Note definition is excellent and so are separation and layering…and that’s where the money is.
The Shozy Rouge are obviously sensitive to eartips and amping. The Azla SednaEarfit Xelastec have the same effect on all three Shozy models mentioned here (for my ears): they clean up the low end by taking out the mid bass boom. That initially “rubbery” Rouge bass became less – but tighter, actually very tight, and almost minimalistic.. The mid-bass hump is still big enough to add the necessary warmth without being boomy – bass response is never anemic or even neutral.
Moving up in the frequency spectrum, that rather uncommon “staircase” pinna gain pattern has an interesting effect in the vocals department. The vocals are warm yet energetic and somewhat bright (and not neutral as in some Moondrop models as the KPE or Starfield). This puts voices somewhere between lean and full-bodied, yet never thin, never aggressive, but with some glare added…which results in a rather atmospheric midrange with great clarity and transparency. Treble extension is decent, that upper treble peak fuels the image with sparkle and air.
SHOZY ROUGE COMPARED
The Shozy Rouge have a similarly appealing tonality as the Form 1.4/1.1 but are settling on the brighter side. The Shozy Form 1.4 are darker in the midrange, and they also have a thicker bass that can be congesting the lower midrange with the wrong eartips. That bass boost is the Form 1.4’s Achilles heel as it cuts into clarity. While the tuning is different between the brighter Rouge and the warmer Form 1.4/1.1 they all have a wonderful timbre appeal. Because of their boosted low end in combination with a lesser pronounced upper midrange, the Shozy Form 1.4 have the deeper stage and the Shozy Rouge the wider one.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
If the Shozy Form 1.4 or 1.1 are too dark for you but you like their fit – try the brighter however never shouty Shozy Rouge with their wider stage and excellent note definition. Shozy tuned their Rouge with an atmospheric midrange, they are a rare example where a well dosed “Chi-Fi peak” works – provided you connect them to the right equipment.
Until next time…keep on listening!
You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.
DISCLAIMER
The Shozy Rouge were provided by the Shozy team upon my request. I thank them for that and apologize for taking to long to write this reviews.
Get the Shozy Rouge from HifiGo
Our generic standard disclaimer.
You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.
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