Shozy Hibiki MK2 HD Earphones Full Review

Shozy is a particularly young company, but well-known in the audiophile scene, in particular with its DAP and the previous in-ear Zero model, the company has been managing to combine performance to the selling price.

With the Hibiki model, the company wants to make itself known to more consumer audience by offering excellent sound quality at an affordable price.

Shozy Hibiki MK2 (Hibiki MK II) is an advanced revision to Hibiki line of IEM earphones. Hibiki released the first edition in 2024 and followed up with recent special or Limited edition which is selling for almost twice the price of the original release. In the latest edition, you find upgrades in the driver which shows the manufacturer topped things up a notch.

The Hibiki MK2 was created in collaboration with AAW (Advanced AcousticWerkes) for the construction of the cable, the latter can be removed from the body of the headset and has an ingress two pins, which is quite rare in this price range. This model is equipped with a proprietary 10 mm full range dynamic driver capable of covering the frequency range from 20 to 40 KHz.

Design Packaging and Accessories

Unique Form – the in-canal design combines with carbon elements; the cable is meticulously crafted, perfectly functional on devices such as Android or iOS.

Better Quality – Flexible wiring body enabling tensile strength. CIEM grade, high-quality copper, internal wiring, pull resistance design. The four-wire braid structured cable is strengthened with ultra-flexible TPE sleeve which minimizes cross interference.

High-Quality Socket – An over-mold detachable cable, manufacturers usually associate these items with custom monitors.

Shozy Hibiki MK2 comes in a simple and elegant manner. On the MK2 IEM earphone, you can find the image of the product and the logo ‘A-S’ which serves to emphasize the joint venture between two companies. The two companies responsible for the product are Shozy and AAW. At the sides of the package box, they wrote the words ‘Chasing Aural perfection’. The back side of the product comes shining this time in opposition to the former matte appearance of the original earphone.

Shozy Hibiki MK2 comes packed neatly in a box you could be mistaken for a book. Once opened, you find the IEMs, the cable – a detachable 0.78mm double pin well-built cable, and two sets of silicone eartips. Also find therein the angled connectors and heat shrink, a black braided cable, a three-button microphone in a black compartment.

Users can easily raise the volume or sound using the buttons, at the same time, they can be used to have the sound play or paused. There’s also the 10mm ultra-thin layer titanium diaphragm with neodymium magnet driver which nevertheless fits into most ears comfortably. Together with the plastic body, it is extremely lightweight. Users often find it very comfortable. One could do chores around and momentarily forget that something is ‘hooked’ up in the ears.

The construction of the earphones is of excellent quality and I must admit that they are aesthetically beautiful – the materials used even if more plastic give a good strength and lightness to the product.

On the outside of the earphones, as you can clearly see from the attached photos, presents a motif of carbon fiber, a factor that gives uniqueness to the product.

The cable as previously mentioned was made in collaboration with AAW and has an excellent build quality even if aesthetically it is not the best. Thanks to the Shozy, the Hibiki can offer excellent comfort.

The cable should be worn in two ways; “over-ear” mode back and front, a typical feature of professional headphones and certainly not belonging to this price range.

The structure of the headset also has two small holes to give vent to the air and to allow a greater soundstage, even if they do not compromise the soundproofing, rather I used these earphones with pleasure even in crowded places such as market and public transport.

Personal Use / Preference

Users can be creative with the use of Shozy Hibiki MK2. If you’re at home, you may consider using Hibiki with a TEAC HA-501 desktop amp with something like Asus FX53V laptop. For portable use, consider pairing it with an LG G5, Shanling M1, HiFiMan MegaMini, or a HiFi E.T MA8.

Sure enough, all of these will bring out the best in listening volume and quality. But users need to know that Hibiki doesn’t require any boosting. To get the best, subscribe to elevated treble and sub-bass, an even and natural mid-range response, with reduced mid-bass. Users have found these settings the best.

Sound Performance

Sound performance, whether for the male or female voice is serene and smooth. Depending on what type of music you listen to, the power of Shozy Hibiki MK2 comes to the fore when you take care to examine the basis of the instrumentals. If you listen to rap, Reggae, country rock, folk or jazz, you should be able to pick up distinct sounds.

Talk about the bass, you will find that it’s heavy. It’s very much like a little world of Home Theatre in a tiny space that is the ear! Users usually find the mid-to-upper bass more interesting and pleasurable. Overall, you definitely will find that the sound is clear and smooth.

Anything above mid-bass could be too overbearing for your ears, yet treble seems sustainable even in higher frequencies. What you should note about the Shozy Hibiki MK2 sound is that it is quite loud. Loud enough to give young people for who audibleness is the pleasure they so often demand.

So for sound performance, Shozy Hibiki MK2 gives off wonderful sounds. These are smooth and users love it because it stands out especially for people who love mainstream music. If you hate loud music, you may dislike the IEM but what’s wrong with keeping things lower every time?

Instrumentals like trumpet sounds are smooth here and that means even bad sounds or recordings can sound better with the use of the product. Count on it to make fatiguing sounds rather relaxing.

Buy Shozy Hibiki MK2 on Amazon Store

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Specifications & Features

Box Contents and Packaging Details

Price Vs Quality

Shozy Hibiki MK2 goes for the price of $62.99 – $68.99. when you compare that price with the packaging, you think it makes sense but some users have expressed disappointment at the product’s lack of accessories. They see these as the type of things that come with low budget earphones.

Maybe a small souvenir would be enough, something like a foam isn’t enough, but a shirt clip would have made buyers happy.

Buy Shozy Hibiki MK2 on Amazon Store

Buy Shozy Hibiki MK2 on Aliexpress Store

Shozy Hibiki MK2 Comparison to other Earphones

Shozy Hibiki MK2 is a beautiful product. Everything from the box to the product itself is made to appeal to the eyes, with pretty good seal and its sound performance is a little step above that of the popular Tin Audio T2 and Geek Wold GK3, which is at a medium level.

For others like Etmotics, the Campfire Comet, or the Massdrop, these are particularly of higher grades. Whereas, Hibiki MK2 is a winner where Kinera Seed is concerned because the latter’s cable comes from a third party vendor appearing to be the number one reason why the cables don’t match with IEM body.

Hibiki VS Whizer A15 PRO – this is a good comparison as they are headphones belonging almost to the same price range, but with a performance worthy of note. 
Whizzers have a more controlled sound with no special emphasis on the low or high range and are more conducive to clear and neutral sound. 

The Hibiki has a warmer and more compassionate sound and therefore certainly more relaxing, even if it tends to be less detailed than the Whizzers.

The bass of the Hibiki presents more quantity and also quality with greater speed and dryness, on the other hand, the Whizzers have a shorter and less pronounced bass. The Whizzers return a more neutral and clean medium range, but perhaps with less vitality and realism.

The dynamics and the response to transients see as absolute winners the Whizzers who manage to return more details and precision in the high range. 

The soundstage is comparable (although the Hibiki have a greater extension in width and depth).

HIBIKI VS IBASSO IT01: HIBIKI have a more warm-sounding signature, on the other side the ITO1s are clearer and more resolute and airy. The dynamic is the prerogative of the iBas and also the details in the high range. 

The HIBIKI are more difficult to drive and they definitely need a good amp to make the best of it. 

HIBIKI VS PERIODIC AUDIO Mg – the Mgs have a cleaner and more realistic sound, with better dynamics and general cleaning. The soundstage is the prerogative of the Hibiki that presents an excellent musical scene with a good instrumental separation. 
The Mg is easily piloted with a smartphone, compared to the Hibiki that certainly need a good amplification.

Why Shozy Hibiki is a Winner

This earphone is truly modern in appearance. The outer face is sleek. The rubber plastic is ergonomic. It is very comfortable though the IEMs are on the slightly large side. The shape is nice, they sit well in the ears. Lastly, notable is the fact that the microphone noise which made the former product a no-no for some users is clearly absent in the latest Hibiki MK2.

Conclusion

Shozy has managed to make a great product considering the price range to which it belongs and certainly, the Hibiki MK2 stands as an excellent alternative to all those mediocre headphones under $70, but we must consider a good amplification to make them play properly.

Buy Shozy Hibiki MK2 on Amazon Store

Buy Shozy Hibiki MK2 on Aliexpress Store