HZSound Heart Mirror Earphones Review – An IEM for K-Pop

First Impressions

Coming from listening to sets with warm sound signatures, the first time I tried out the Heart Mirror took a little bit of an adjustment period. 

After I’d become accustomed to these IEMs, I began to realize that I was expecting them to sound the same as my previous sets with the genres I like. 

I found out soon that these things are real beasts and I was absolutely blown away by how they sounded when I listened to vocal-centric tracks. 

And boy, these things are shiny.

Build Quality

The HZSound Heart Mirror IEMs have a solid construction and premium feel outside of the box. They’re lightweight and quite shiny. 

Although they look really good, one downside is that they’re fingerprint magnets and you’ll definitely feel the urge to wipe them every minute or so.  

It’s a paradox how they’re such eye candies despite being low profile. They do look elegant, for sure.

Now let’s get to the true test of mettle: the abuse.

I’ve lied on them sideways multiple times, dropped them by accident, and slept with them inside my pocket, and they still work in top condition. I haven’t experienced any loss of sound transmission on either the left or right unit. 

They’re made from precision plastic, which is then electroplated and polished. 

Trust me when I say I thought these things were made from aluminum because of how sturdy and durable they are.

Fit and Comfort

The Heart Mirror’s shape for me is very ideal as it doesn’t have any fins or any other funky protrusion to latch on better to your ear. 

Comfort-wise, I have no complaints. 

The fit of any IEM will depend mostly on ear size and ear tips. I use the BGVP A07 medium ear tips and I’ve found a great seal. 

I can’t say more because I don’t have any complaints or any other insights other than that the Heart Mirror hit a clean shot with fit and comfort. 

You don’t even have to take a break from wearing them, unlike oddly shaped IEMs (yes, I’m looking at you, Blon BL-03).

Sound Quality

The HZSound Heart Mirror is tuned to be a true neutral monitor and absolutely kills it in the vocal department. 

You hear me emphasize the vocals a lot of times in this review and it’s because the tuning allows the midrange to shine the most. 

The imaging on this set is above average and you can roughly tell where instruments are placed. Meanwhile, the sound separation on these IEMs is just clean and you’ll be able to list all the instruments used in a track even if you just listen casually. 

The transient response on this set is fast and can render fast drum sequences to their full glory. 

The soundstage is wide but it’s still an in-your-head experience, which is ideal for the kind of tuning that these IEMs have.

Bass 

A lot of people say that they would like more bass in these IEMs and although I do agree, I think that the general tuning of these IEMs wouldn’t allow a huge stretch in terms of raising the bass more. 

The sub-bass is non-existent and people who like their rumble will be disappointed, to say the least. 

The Heart Mirror makes up for this with great mid-bass. You can feel good slam and punch with an uncanny texture. It’s almost like you’re hearing the drums being played in real life on a speaker. 

The timbral characteristics of the bass are top-notch. 

The Heart Mirror is pretty speedy when listening to really fast drum sequences like the one on “Throne” by Bring Me the Horizon. 

Midrange

The true star of the show is the mids. 

It’s a smooth graph from the lower midrange at 250Hz to the midrange at 900Hz. And right about at 1kHz, it’s a slow rise and peaks at about 2kHz. 

The midrange is done well wherein the vocals and instruments come across with extreme clarity and have the right energy to muster up an engaging listen. 

It’s almost a puzzle to describe how well I hold these IEMs’ midrange in high regard – clear and natural sounding.

Treble

The upper midrange and presence regions share similar trends with peaks at 5 and 8kHz. The brilliance region has peaked at 10 and 13kHz dying down to 16kHz bumping up for one last time. 

The Heart Mirror has great treble extension just from its graph and when you listen to it, it becomes more apparent. 

Even details and microdetails like small whistles are clearly heard and it’s crazy how you can hear new unfamiliar sounds from songs you’ve listened to on repeat. 

Test Tracks

I’ve included tracks that work well with the Heart Mirror’s tuning and some side notes for your reference

• Backburner by NIKI (R&B/Soul) – The vocals on this track are almost hypnotic. The midrange is pretty forward and it benefits from the number of layers that the track has. The playback sounds airy and the instruments come across bright and mellow, which makes it an engaging and emotional listen.
• Keeping Tabs by NIKI (Alternative/Indie) – The kickdrum and the synth, along with the vocals, just made me sway my head as I was listening. Of course, the vocals are centerstage but the transients and the stringed instruments sound just as forward while blending into a cohesive sound. The separation is great and props up all of the layers and vocal doubling in the track.  
• Bless by Rin feat. Asmi (J-Pop) – The vocalists Rin and Asmi do a good job of singing back and forth. Both their ranges are great to listen to and are very dynamic. Male and female vocals are the same in both weight and body, so there are no glaring weaknesses in this track.
• I Can’t Stop Me by Twice (K-Pop) – Listening to K-pop on this set may be a true calling because it’s just too good. This track along with other songs by Twice, or any kind of K-pop is just amazing. The vocals are smooth like butter (pun intended) and shine through the mix. The little details, which there are many on K-Pop, really benefit from how the Heart Mirror’s treble is tuned. Hands down, the best genre to listen to on this set. 
• Sparkle by RADWIMPS (Anime) – Pianos generally sound great with these IEMs and with this particular song, there’s piano, vocals, drums, and a bass guitar. I can distinguish all the instruments which tells you how clean the separation is. 

Conclusion

The HZSound Heart Mirror lives up to its namesake as it reflects the heart’s desires – one of which is great-sounding music! 

These IEMs are perfect for studio monitoring as well as playing games that require sound queues to gain an edge. 

This is a really solid pair of IEMs to invest in if you love K-pop and vocal-centric genres. 

With thumpy bass, crystal clear mids, and an engaging treble that has good extension, the HZSound Heart Mirror is the perfect first pair of IEMs to purchase if you want to enter the audio hobby or just want IEMs that sound really good.

This post was last updated on 2024-04-16 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.