Product page: https://www.linsoul.com/products/shozy-form-1-1

MSRP: $75

Driver configuration: 1BA + 1DD hybrid

The signature of the Form 1.1 can be described as “warm neutral”, though I can also see it being described as a “warm V-shape” depending on your perception of its treble.

The Form 1.1 manages to hit my neutral target curve (at least, in terms of its pinna gain) so in terms of tonality, it’s expectedly proper for my ears. My biggest gripe with it tonality-wise would be the bass response; the wide-band boost of its lower midrange and bass coupled with its arguably-suppressed upper midrange makes for a rather thick and hefty weight to the notes, while lacking the bite and texturing required for instruments like electric guitar and even female vocals.

I wouldn’t call Form 1.1 “muddy”, though it probably pushes that boundary a tad. The small treble emphasis helps in reining in its pervasive warmth, but not by much. There is a a kind of richness (perhaps one could describe it as a “grandness”) to the way it presents music, certainly a rather “coloured” tonality that isn’t the most natural but also not something I’d consider objectively bad. At least nothing sounds overtly strange despite the colouration and there is at least some semblance of balance in the Form 1.1’s tone, so I’d say it gets at least a pass grade here.

In terms of technicalities, the Form 1.1 struggles to maintain a clean attack so fast percussions in particular tend to suffer. Notes tend to blend together on busier tracks, so I wouldn’t consider this IEM if you were a fan of, say, metal or metal-based genres. Music that’s heavy on sustain instruments such as bowed strings tend to fare better, but also isn’t very strong on soprano instruments such as violin.

Imaging capabilities, like many out there, are simply average. Nothing stands out in terms of soundstage width or positional accuracy.

But at any case, the strong point of the Form 1.1 is its price. While the competition in the sub-$100 has gotten much stronger over the years, with sub-$50 IEMs managing to compete with the sub-$100s, I think the Form 1.1 would at least be worthy of a consideration when working with such a budget. It’s not the best in terms of sheer value but it’s also the furthest thing from the worst thing you can buy with your money.