ZiiGaat - Arcadia

Never had the explorer but heard quite a few people recommend the ziigaat arcadia as an upgrade so I got them. Still not sure how it compares to the explorer but its 100% warm I can tell you that. FR wise seems like a bassier explorer, and yeah it definitely has really strong bass. Its not precise and technical bass but its more controlled than my 7hz legato. Mids are exactly what I looked for, warm and lush whilst still begin decent on female vocals. Treble is quite rolled of but its still very present, just never harsh. I think its plenty relaxed when you lower the volume but gets very fun when you crank it up. Hopefully someone who has both can speak more on this but I'm satisfied with my purchase. Especially since I got it 2nd used at less than what the explorer retails for.

So its not miles ahead of the supermix 4 then. I'm currently stuck in the budget-barely midfi price bracket with S12 pros, TE Nova, Ziigaat Arcadia and I can't convince myself if its evem worth going higher in price especially since I got all of these at big discounts.

Ive had TE Nova, s12 Pros, Ziigaat Arcadia. All pale in comparison to my hd560s in terms of soundstage but I think are still good enough for an iem. Still able to tell directions, space and width but imo I dont find audio gear that necessary for gaming even for competitive ones. Any decent soundstage iem or headphone is enough. I never heard the Arete before and I know freshreviews is like the gold standard for audio gear reviews catered to competetive gaming side of things so it might be a great leap but from the OG TE Zero which he said was good for gaming, didn't notice much of a difference upgrading to the Nova. Idk man, unless you REALLY want to get into high ranking comp games, I personally don't see the benefit. Actually I also ordered the Performer 7 for about the same price and can't wait to get it though I wanted it purely for music enjoyment and maybe casual gaming or media consumption. Better iems or headphones never got me better at gaming so yeah lol. Good luck on deciding tho. Sorry for the lenghty reply

Another Arcadia lover here, absolutely love the warm vocals and rolled off smooth treble whilst not being overly dark. Really like this tuning for most genres as well but it suffers mostly when female vocals are the focus like in pop or jpop. I have other brighter more detailed sets that I go to when I feel like listening to those types of songs. Aside from that its generally a very pleasing and relaxed tuning. Some favd of mine like alt rock from radiohead, deftones, RHCP, SOAD and Blur to name a few are fucking brilliant on these.

Have the Arcadia's but dont have the Explorer, so I'll try to compare with others I have. The Arcadia's are iirc called L shaped where the tuning is highly tilted towards the lower regions. So its quite a bit bassy and mids are warmer than neutral. Highs are also rolled off so the treble never feels spicy or sibilant. I think the bass gets really fun and prominent when the track calls for a lot of bass, but when theres none you dont feel it. Compared to something like my 7hz legatos, tracks sometimes just sound bassy when on other sets you dont even notice it that much making those feel always bassy so I think its better on the Arcadias. Mids are always warmer and lush so I really love that on rock, alternative/indie, rnb with male vocals. For female vocals, they can sound fine to noticeably muted on like jpop or kpop but I've gotten used to it, but due to this, it might be a deal breaker for someone. Personally have other sets when I want to listen to those genres so I dont mind a specialized set for rock for example. This is much more worse on the legatos but think they are slightly better and more focused than on the s12 pros which is v shaped. Treble is very much tamed down and even on high hats or symbals, it never gets sibilant or harsh. Even then, they are still clearly noticable and just enough for me. Might make certain genres less exciting but its still the right amount of treble to play most genres well. But this does make this iem sound less detailed and airy so if technicalities is what you want, prob not it. Def average or even slightly below for the price range so I would advise getting on sale or used. Think thats pretty much it. My entire reasoning for getting these were because some poeple have pointed out that these are just a bassier and upgraded version the Aful Explorers. Again, can't comment on those but they do achieve what I wanted from the Explorers which is smooth and warm tuning but + bass.

I'm probably in the minority here, but I have no complaints about a company releasing a ton of options with branded Knowles or Sonion BAs instead of bellsing crap. People have no idea the price difference in branded BAs is sometimes an increase of 10X over drivers companies like Aful use. If you are at all familiar with graphs and how an IEM diverges from JM-1 (neutral), plus the different properties of certain driver types (Dynamic vs. BA vs. Planar etc) you can usually guess 90% of what it sounds like. I like options. My only complaint is their shell shape creates a pressure point on the top/back of my ear. Ziigaat's shells are the only ones I've ever had a problem with. CHANGE UP THE SHELL SHAPE GUYS.

Have had both. Aful explorer: more comfortable but need EQ in the midrange to not sound off, lack any air and have a more narrow soundstage. Nicer cable/case. Ziigaat x HBB Arcadia: objectively better tuning, detail and soundstage. Makes sense given the Knowles 29689 + Knowles 33518 combo vs. knockoff BAs in the Aful. Comparing both, it's no contest audio-wise but unfortunately Ziigaat shells just don't work for me (and they all have that shell). Upgraded to the Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch though and they are even a big step up from the Arcadia for not a huge jump in price, you can get them for $350 on sale. Endgame for me after trying 20+ sets in the $100-500 range. I say skip Arcadia and go for the Kiwi Punch, sonion ESTs are the real deal.

I have the Arcadias. They bump. Great set for bass heavy genres.

I own the Explorer and Arcadia. The Explorer’s bass is warm and adds girth to the low end but don’t give me that subwoofer bass in the same way as the Arcadia do. I have A/B tested the two sets with my extensive hip hop library. The Explorers hold their own with classic rap but the Arcadia has that boom bap feel to them. “Check the Rhime” by A Tribe Called Quest is a prime example of the difference: the Arcadia bring in that subwoofer kick with authority. Funk, R&B, and Disco? Explorers all day. Rap, EDM, and Freestlye? Arcadia for the win. The one huge difference of note: quality. The Arcadia do feel less premium—despite costing more than the Explorers. Hope that helps!

Appreciate the honesty and candor. I agree with your core point: more money doesn’t necessarily equate to better. Lots of conversations on this subreddit have addressed diminishing returns—and where that diminishment happens varies from person to person, right? I personally found that my happy spot for IEMs is between $80 (Truthear HEXA) and $179 (ZiiGaat x HBB Arcadia). I tried several IEMs in the $300-$500 range but didn’t find them substantially better to my 56 year old ears. And I’m just not interested in spending more than $500 on IEMs at this point in my life. After testing 2 dozen IEMs (Read: A/B testing is the fun, “hobby” part of the deal for me), the five IEMs that remain in rotation all have very specific use cases. So, to each his own taste, budget, and bandwidth in this hobby. Hopefully we all remember to listen and enjoy the music when it’s all said and done. Thanks again for the post. Great convo.

ZiiGaat x HBB Arcadia gets my head bobbing every time. I own the Explorer and Tea Pro IEMs as well. While they get close, neither has the rumble necessary to handle “Brass Monkey”, “Check the Rhime”, “How Low”, or “In Da Club.” The Arcadia aces the quiz with ALL of those tracks and everything else I’ve thrown at them. They are the go to under $200. For the ultimate value option: QKZ x HBB is a winning ticket under $20. Enjoy!

the monarch mkiv can sound jarring if you’re coming from a warmer iem (i have the sa6 mk2 and it’s hard for me to categorize. sometimes it sounds warm, sometimes it sounds open and bright—not sure how you hear it). but, since it’s already in your hands, i’d give it some more time. just today, i put mine on and found them to be warmer than i remembered. sometimes it just depends on what you heard last, how tired you are, etc. otherwise, maybe the mega5est. it’s more vocal forward than the sa6 mk2 and more conventionally tuned, so it would complement your sa6 by giving you something that sounds a little more proper while being more laid back and natural than the monarch mkiv. you also don’t give up too much in terms of technicalities. coming from the monarch mkiv, the bass will definitely sound less defined, but i think it fits the overall sound signature well. some people call the mega5est boring, but musicality is subjective and hard to define. i’m a neutral head and the mega5est has a touch more warmth and bass than what i consider neutral, so in that sense, it’s musical to me. if you want to be risk-averse, the ziigaat arcanis has pretty much replaced the sa6 mk2 in my rotation. it’s what i expected the sa6 mk2 to sound like (and what i wanted the mega5est to sound like). a bit more sub bass and bit more satisfying bass overall. i find the upper mids and vocals of the sa6 mk2 to be too recessed and the arcanis addresses this by bringing them forward just a smidge (but not as much as the mega5est). vocals have a vibrant quality to them that you might consider musical. and there is just enough treble extension to give it air and sparkles. it doesn’t come across as technical as the sa6 mk2, but all of the details are still there. it’s unique and i actually like it more than the mega5est, but that comes down to how it fits in my collection penon/isn has been recommended a lot. i can vouch for the ebc80. its warm, has phenomenal sound stage, and is super fun. it isn’t fatiguing at all to me, but it doesn’t really fall under the category of laid back. their other iems might for the bill, though. these recommendations i think would be an “upgrade” to the sa6 mk2. however, my philosophy is that for a laid back sound, you don’t need to spend a lot of money. so personally, my warm, laid back iem is the ziigaat arcadia. it’s warm, punchy, has just enough treble, and with the right tips, can sound just as well-executed and beautiful as anything in the $200-$250 range. i prefer it to my penon serial and canon 2 for this purpose. i’ve also been going to the odyssey 2 a lot for a laid back listen, though it is not as warm. the punch audio martilo is also a good choice if you think you can tolerate a lot of sub bass. it sounds mostly normal and conventional, which, like the mega5est, could complement the sa6 mk2 well. when there isn’t a lot of sub bass in a song, it doesn’t sound like a bass head iem. but when there is, the bass sounds like you have a sealed subwoofer in front of your face.

If you’re looking into the Arcadia, I suggest you also consider the Dunu x Koto Ito. The Ito has more bass (not a whole lot but noticeable) but has better build and accessories BY FAR. But I think you should probably look at something else, and I say this as an owner of not only those two, but the Explorer as well. I was interested in getting the Martillo after the Explorer but found the Arcadia at a good price and liked it. Unfortunately, it feels cheaper than the Explorer and perhaps that kinda made me not enjoy them as much. Probably a stupid reason but oh well. Decided to go after the Martillo for real but the Ito was released and since it was considered a “Martillo Lite”, I went and got them on the last Amazon sale. I love it and it’s the only set I use apart from the Explorer. But if you’re looking for something better than the Martillo then perhaps there are better options for you. I’m perfectly satisfied with my sets and still want to get my hands on the Martillo; really interested in knowing what you get next.

I have both and while they’re similar, I’d say they have their differences. If there’s a word I’d use to describe the Explorers is SMOOTH. Yes it’s definitely a warm set but at the same time it’s a sound that grows on you the more you listen to them and never gets overwhelming even when cranking up the volume. The Arcadias are a proper basshead set and you can feel it when listening back to back against the Explorers. Cranking up the volume will get you the bass and smooth sound you may crave but it’s a bit more detailed. Still, it’s a nice set but a more traditional one if that makes sense. The Explorers just sound…different. To me, it’s the IEM equivalent of comfort food: not exactly the best but always hits the spot. I’d start with the Explorers. Aside from being cheaper, the build quality is 100 times better (case and cable are in another league, no contest about that) and the shell is smaller, meaning it’s never uncomfortable (not that the Arcadias are not comfortable but they are noticeably bigger).

Ah got it. Ziigaats have decent build quality but for the price, they feel cheap (similar if not same shell design, thin cable). They have been improving in some ways with their recent releases (metal shell, modular cable) but Arcadias are old school Ziigaat. I got the Dunu x Koto Ito this week and haven’t listened to them a lot but so far I’d put them in a similar “upgrade path” from the Explorer and Arcadia, that is smooth not peaky or harsh at all (although the bass is more pronounced than the latter). The build quality and accessories are fantastic though.

I have the arcadias.. don't have the need to buy another pair. I think all that hobby frenzy buying thing is bullshit

I will share my head-fi signature below (it’s long). I have/had most iem’s that are mentioned. I wanted also to buy the DaVinci but it was recommended not do buy them. For example I like the Ziigaat Arcadia (186,-) more than the Punch (449,-). Prices, and even graphs, don’t tell the whole story. It like someone said, most important question is if you enjoy them. Also Doscinco is very good. Headphones: Fiio FT1, PSB M4U, Corsair HS70, Grado SR60X (rebought). IEM’s: Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+, NiceHCK Himalaya, Hidizs MP145, Artti T10, Aoshida E20, Ziigaat X HBB Arcadia , Tripowin X HBB Kailua, QOA Adonis New, HifiMan RE2000S Pro, Faaeal Iris 2.0, Faaeal Anchestor, Aful Explorer, CCA Trio, CCA Hydro, 7Hz Five, Kz EDC Pro, QKZ MDR, Kbear Rosefinch, Yincrow X6. DAC/Amplifier: Hiby R4, Fiio Q3 MQA, Ifi hip dac 3, BGVP T01s , Olaf dual Bocheng chip dongle, NONAME 4.4mm dongle with Apple C101 chip, Aqua Nexum. Tested but send back: Inawaken Dawn-MS, Fiio Q11, iBasso DX180, Joyodio Shine, Fiio Q3, Kz X Libra, Fiio JD3, Sony WF-C500, JBL Tune 130NC, Sennheiser HD 650, Simgot EW200, HiFiMan Sundara, Philips Fidelio X3, Philips Fidelio X2HR, Dali IO4, QOA Vesper (DOA), BeyerDynamic DT 900 Pro X, Beyerdynamic DT 990 32Ohm, HiFiMan Deva Pro wired, Moondrop Kato, Moondrop Blessing 3, Truthear X Crinacle: Red, Tangzu X HBB XuanNV, 7Hz Timeless, Simgot Supermix 4, Tangzu Wan’er SG, Austrian Audio HI-X15, XSL X-One MK4, Sony WH-1000XM5, ThieAudio Hype 2, Owned but sold: SMSL C200, Fiio JM21, 7Hz Timeless AE, Tripowin X 0DiBi: Vivace, Simgot EW-300, Denon AH-D5200, Artti R1, Aful Performer8, Jabra 75T Active Elite, TRN Conch, Ikko oh300, Fiio FP3, HiFiMan HE400SE Bilateral (China edition), Kefine Delci, iBasso SR2, Koss PortaPro, Ziigaat Nuo, Ziigaat Doscinco, Ziigaat X Jay Audio Estrella, Ziigaat Odyssey, Ziigaat Cinno, Ziigaat Cincotres, Grado SR60X(rebought), Kiiboom Evoke, Kiwi Ears Quartet, 7Hz Legato, 7Hz Salnotes Zero, 7Hz Sonus, 7Hz Timeless II, Etymotic ER2XR, Fatfreq X HBB Deuce, Blon BL-03 II, Kiwi Ears Crinacle Singolo, Faaeal Poppy, Qkz Cl8, Faaeal Rosemary, Sennheiser ie200, Fiio FH7S, Fiio JD7, Fiio FF3S, Fiio FF5, Fiio FD3, Hidisz MS3, Hidizs Mermaid MS2, Kiwi Ears Cadenza, Qkz X HBB, Meze 99 Neo, Moondrop Chu 2, Grado SR325X, HiFiMan RE800 Silver, HiFiMan RE400i, Kiwi Ears X HBB Punch, Kiiboom Evoke, 1more Penta P50, Artti T10 Pro, Kz ZEX, Kz ZVX, Kz PR1 balanced edition, Kz X HBB PR2 (first batch), Kz PR3, Kz Castor bass edition, Moondrop Chu, Kz Krila, Kz ZEX Pro, Kz LingLong, Kz DQ6, Kz ZS10 Pro X and Denon AH-C620R🤮 (Worst IEM ever, possible AE imitation). Sources: Tidal, Ipad Pro M4 13’, iPhone 16 PM, Hiby R4 Wishlist: Ziigaat Lush, Ziigaat Arcanis, Fiio M21.

You're probably not sensitive to treble. Lacking treble for you might be neutral for someone else. I haven't tried martilo, but i think it would absolutely murder my ears. Portazo has one of the worst treble to my ears, borderline unlistenable, reminded me of kz saga bass, kids similar graph. Even ziigaat arcadia is too hot in treble, and all reviewers calling it warm/dark. I hope armor will finally solve this.

The Duece is a good bass head set, but fair warning they have a very large nossel 6.9-7mm. I personally prefer the Doscinco, Arcadia and Odyssey to the Duece but that's just my preferences.

You might just like the bass of the QKZ x HBB. The more expensive sets you bought don't have an emphasis on bass. If you want an upgrade that emphasizes bass, move to something like the Ziigaat x HBB Arcadia. That should be quite the upgrade, in my opinion.