Disclaimer: I formally thank Alex from Moritx Audio for providing us with a unit in exchange for an impartial and honest review. On behalf of the team at the Headphone List, we thank him for his generosity and trust in THL.
Summary:
The Moritz Audio Enzo is a masterful IEM with a hedonistic V-shaped signature that is outlandishly fun and engaging. From its extremely controlled yet bombastic bass, ultra-linear treble and holographic imaging, the Enzo is a flagship earphone that explains its sub-$2000 price point.
However, because of this elite price point, the Enzo is entering territory where the returns curve starts to flatline.
Pros:
+ Gorgeous, artisanal build with gilded accents
+ Masterful V-shaped signature with extremely-controlled bass-response and upper-treble airiness
+ Extremely resolving and holographic
Cons:
– Could exhibit more midrange forwardness
– Should’ve included swappable terminations
Introduction
Moritz Audio is an emergent brand in Hong Kong, where the East intersects with the West harmoniously in the Canton of China. Previously, I’ve reviewed their humble-but-mighty ‘Dragon’ IEM, powered by a single-driver topology: an elegant solution that’s tried-and-tested. The Dragon was an impressive sub-$500 IEM with exceptional bass dynamics and expert control.
Today, we’re reviewing an IEM that’s multiples in price. In this case, we’re treading the ‘summit-fi’ path towards the sub-$2000 price point. The Enzo is a flagship earphone that Alex and his team at Moritz Audio laboured on unwaveringly for eight months of research and design (R&D). In Alex’s own words, this is a revelatory product borne out of painstaking engineering.
In this price territory, sensible consumers may be flabbergasted by the exorbitant costs required to acquire this IEM. But performance is in the pudding. Today’s review carefully breaks down whether the Enzo is a value proposition despite its luxurious pricing.
The Enzo can be purchased for USD 1,369 on Moritz Audio’s official website.
Technology
Tri-brid driver array
The Enzo is jam-packed with three driver types: six custom-engineered balanced armatures, one dynamic driver and two planar tweeters on each side, with the frequency response partitioned between them.
Tuning switches
The Enzo boasts two custom switches, allowing users to fine-tune their preferences to better highlight either the bass or the treble with a SIM-card pin.
Unboxing
The Enzo comes shipped in a luxurious oversized cardboard box with an outer sleeve replete with Moritz Audio branding and accompanying copy. An image of Enzo’s silhouette is blown up, front and center. Below the ‘Enzo’ naming in gold lettering, you can see the proud breakdown of its driver array in writing.
Inside the box, you’ll find a generous mix of accessories:
- Moritz Enzo
- Oversized zipper saffiano-leather case with velcro inserts
- SIM card pin
- Silicon tips (S, M, L)
- 4-braid OFC cable with a 4.4mm termination
- Moritz Enzo instruction manual
The Moritz Enzo, for a Chi-Fi product, has lavished more on its unboxing experience in comparison to its counterparts, but it isn’t quite at the level of its Western rivals (i.e. Campfire Audio, Noble Audio).
Design and Build
The Enzo is fabricated from a deep purple acrylic resin front with a larger form-factor to accommodate its sizeable array of miniaturised drivers. Its faceplate is graphite-black, adorned with gilded accents and specks of gold dust pooling nearer to the nozzle-end. On its left channel, the Enzo has an ‘Attack on Titan’ like motif or logo emblazoned at its centre. It is a gorgeous design that borders on the line of ostentatious without ever being gaudy.
There is no visible seam between the faceplates and their resin bodies; each application of lacquer is faultless, nor are there are physical defects under further inspection. The switch arrays are incorporated well at the back of each shell, with a precise cutout to accommodate those panels without a discernible gap.
The Enzo sets a high standard for acrylic-made shells, but it’ll never have the durability or reliability of an all-metal machined shell. The Enzo, nonetheless, is still an exemplary example of why resin is still the go-to material for laying the groundwork for building new IEMs.
Comfort and Ergonomics
The Enzo’s form factor is enlarged with an extended lip behind the nozzle to secure it within the counter-helix of the ear. The Enzo’s moderate-length nozzles are fashioned from stainless steel, with multiple bores exiting from each nozzle.
The Enzo sits comfortably in my ears with the included medium-sized silicon tips. Because the Enzo’s nozzles boast a moderate width and length, the Enzo shouldn’t be a problem universally for most of the wider population. However, keep in mind that its oversized chassis does protrude from the ears.
The ‘shaking head’ test didn’t manage to displace its snug fit in my ears, but it can feel insecure thanks to its larger silhouette. Because the extended lip/fin behind the nozzles are quite prominent, it creates a hotspot in the outer ear during prolonged listening sessions, causing moderate discomfort as it presses into the cartilage of your ears.
For its size, the Enzo retains great comfort, albeit with sticking points that may prove untenable for listeners who have smaller ears or sensitivities to long-term wear.
Cable Quality
The Enzo’s quad-braid OFC cable is strewn from thick spools of cable sheathed in a cloth jacket. Reminiscent of the high-end cable offerings from O.C. Cables in Taiwan, Enzo’s cable is adorned with aluminum accents with a black, bead-blasted finish and gilded screws to match Enzo’s extravagant colourway.
In the hand, Enzo’s cable exudes a hand-woven quality, punctuated by high-quality metal elements that serve as a nice decorative flourish. It’s a very durable cable, but it isn’t very malleable, which can make outdoor use middling thanks to its failure to contort and conform to one’s gait when outdoors.
My main gripe with the cable isn’t its lack of flexibility, by the lack of swappable connectors. I think that this is a solution that should’ve been offered for its asking price, given that the midrange price sector in the Chi-Fi world is generous enough to include them.
Otherwise, the Enzo’s cables are solid and ironclad for long-term use.
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