ZiiGaat - Arete II

I have the Ziigaat Arete 2’s and the Kiwi Ears Astrals. Both are great for games like Arc raiders or Marvel Rivals. Both are fantastic for music as well. Steel series DAC is fine, I use that one and it drives them well.

I have the Astrals and Arete 2 IEMs. They are my first and only experience with true IEMs. I would recommend either of them for both gaming and music. The Arete 2 has quite a bit more bass and if the bass switch is enabled, slightly more mid bass as well. It’s less detailed in the higher frequencies than the Astrals but still good, less fatiguing. Very comfortable to wear for hours. More “fun” for music. Astrals have a more neutral sound signature but has incredible detail across the board. Soundstage is about the same as Arete 2. Not as comfortable for long sessions. They’re great for music production as well since they’re more neutral and detailed.

Juzear defiant for most bang for buck. Otherwise arete 2 because of the rumble switch so you can alter between more bass and less bass.

Yeah so the people who dont game here aren’t giving you the most accurate responses. You don’t need this particular dac instead go for an official apple dongle, & get a different iem tuned better for competitive purposes. I suggest Kiwi ears Aether. If for some reason you still want to stick to the price point of your hexa, then i suggest kefine delci ae. Finally, just so you have all the options, you can go up to $220 (on sale or so) for the ziigaat Arete. The arete’s are great for gaming, and you wouldn’t need to go any higher for something “better”. Hope this helps

if you’re going to include multi hundred dollar iem then look into arete 2 or kiwi ears astral. the astral have the best imaging Ive personally heard so far in an iem. out of your list I’d recommend kefine delci ae.

Mangird tea pro, ziigat Arete 1 or 2, kiwi ears astral. For headphones hd490 pro.

Oh! So, for music production u want something as flat as possible, this are not bad, but maybe slightly bassy (for music production obv, cus this are not bassy at all) probably something like the Fission if u still want some sparkiness in the treble, but buying something studio focussed and not this type of iem is way better in that sense...(And u can get overear studio for really cheap, im not really into this Sector,but i have friends that works professionally and rarely they use iem). So don't count the music production in ur buy for iems, cus audiophile and music production are 2 separate things. My raccomandation rn are: U want bassy (not basshead obv) and warm (like a Jbl speaker): Kiwi ears Airoso U want basshead (don't start with a pure basshead set like the Legato,the Martilo..., never) U want best neutral (with great trebble so not completely flat): Tanchjim fission U want "neutral" with boosted bass (like the red...): if Qc work, Defiant? (But slightly more get u a lot more) Like the Ziigaat (Ziigoat) odissey and sincerely 99% of iem are tuned like this...so pick ur favorite Budget (under 50 and even 40/30) Warm (my goat) and comfy af(important, cus the Red are massive...):Kiwi ears Cadenza Bass: Qkz x Hbb Cheaper: Kz edx pro 2 (try this mf) My main: Kiwi ears Airoso (music), Ziigaat arete (gaming)

They’ll be replacing my aretes

The Aretes are amazing no doubt but I wanted to see what the hype is on the Tea pros

Had them for about a week now and can say I like them I think compared to the Aretes they are around the same so the price difference probably isn’t worth it but I’m call of duty I’m definitely noticing a little more separation. Also I like the way music sounds through them too I definitely appreciate the bass in them.

Some tips: 1, Get a good seal, stock tips are often good enough, but you most likely will need to buy third party tips of various sizes to see what works for you. Most people will swear by tips like Penon Orange, Dunu S&S and Spinfit W1. 2, Some IEMs need wide bore tips to let through all frequencies, while some need small bore tips to accentuate the bass and calm the treble. You'll have to see what you prefer depending on how treble sensitive you are and how the IEM graph looks like. For example my Ounch Audio Portazo really sounds bright (too much treble) if I use a wide bore tip, but when I use a smaller bore tip like Penon Orange or the included foam tips, suddenly it's one of the best IEMs in my collection. The eartips are crucial and make all the difference. 3, You will eventually get a new set of IEMs, and you will have to base the new purchase on some factors. Did you like the sound of the Aful Explorer? Then get a similarly tuned IEM, or take a gamble and try something new. I loved my Explorers, then switched to other stuff and loved it more, so now I gave the Explorers to my little cousin because I wasn't wearing them anymore. Some people have different IEMs for different genres. I for example love the Ziigaat Arete for gaming and PC use, Punch Audio Portazo for classical music, low frequency heavy music and sound stage, and Ziigaat Odyssey 2 and soon Aful 5+2 for commuting and all kinds of music. 4, Use AliExpress, it will save you a ton of money on things like eartips, DACs and more. With their coins system I just have to login every day through a phone widget and claim daily coins, then I can use them to cut the cost of what I buy, every day the discounts change so I can sometimes find a pair of eartips for like 60% off and build my collection for much less than on Linsoul.

Soundstage the Horizon and the Arete stand out, the Top Pro and Astral are good as well. Imaging, many of them are really good, not ranking them but these are the ones that comes to mind for imaging. The P7, the Astral, the Dusk, the Horizon, Studio 4 and the Top Pro

The Chopin has the best bass of the three, it sounds more V shaped to me than the other two. The Horizon is the brightest and widest of them and has the best details retrieval and technicality. The Arete feels like a mini Horizon, it’s similar but less technical.

I've enjoyed Lush and Arete a lot. Arcanis and Horizion looks interesting!

So, as someone who games, and has similar music tastes inside their playlist. I am going to narrow this down to two options. The Arete, or the Performer 5+2. And there are two big reasons why i would choose these over the other options. Pina Gain. Extension past 10k. So the Pina Gain, or the upsweep from the lower mids to upper mids, is really critical for vocal forward presentation of audio. Its also where the human ear is really attenuated, and so a lot of sound queues in video games will be in that region. So when you look at a "gamer" set like the Arete, you will see that Pina Gain region starts a little earlier, and is a little more emphasized. This will help to hear and position the sounds a little easier. The Performer 5+2 also has a very good Pina Gain that tracks almost identically to the Arete. The second is extension past 10k. This gets more into the psychoacustics of how your brain will perceive and pick up sounds. How reverberations interact with your inner ear. And on some sets that lack this extension beyond 10k, some sounds, like symbol crashes, or brass hitting the floor, or grenade clanks, can kinda get lost in the mix. Because your brain isnt really properly interpreting that reverb reflection from the audio engine. So it ends up sounding kinda flat, and 2 dimensional, rather than positional and wide. And again, we can see both the Performer 5+2 and the Arete share in this trait. Now on the Grit, this Pina Gain carries similar to the others, but its gets a little TOO exaggerated for my liking beyond 2k, and can really make vocals seem very forward, and "out of the mix." Now, admittedly, i have only listened to the Grit once, and dont own them. So i have not gamed on them with any way, so i cant speak to that directly. But the extreme vocal forward nature of the Grit left me in a shallow Uncanny Valley where it would have taken some brain burn in to really come to grips with the sound signature. And in relation to the exdtension past 10k, the Grit, despite its very high pina gain and upper mids, rerally falls off a cliff at 10k. And it was the lack of extension in this area where i kinda lost love with the Grit in my limited listening session. I didnt feel that percussive instruments really rang out with the same level of size and space that other sets did. The BCD did help to fill some of that in. But one of the big issue i had with the Grit, and why i had a limited time listening to it, was because i had to play with about 8 different sets of tips, until i got a set that allowed me to insert it deep enough to get the shell into full contact with my ear. If it wasnt, it had a very boingy bongy sound signature to it, especially with cable microphonics. They were very musical, and i can see where some people might find the appeal. But to me the Grit is an IEM for IEM snobs. Much in the same way coffee snobs need to have their coffee extracted from cat shit and roasted. One alternative i would like to posit to you in this selection, is the OG Performer 5. Its bass level isnt quite as impactful as the Performer 5+2 with its single DD, and it isnt as technically analytical as the 5+2, but it also lacks a certain dryness heard in the 5+2 due to the micro planar top. But what the Performer 5 DOES have, is a great Pina Gain, and an a nice treble extension past 10k that really does a good job of giving it a lighter airier feel, and good sound stage. And, best of all, it can be picked up on sale for well under $200. Sometimes going for as little as $160. And, as crazy as it sounds...i actually prefer the Performer 5 over the Performer 5+2. And its the one IEM that spends the most time in my ears when i am gaming or at my computer. Followed very closely by the Arete. And a toss up in 3rd between the KE4 and the 5+2. https://soundcheck39.squig.link/?share=Apevoix_Grit,Aful_Performer_5+2,Aful_Performer_5,ZiiGaat_Arete https://audioamigo.squig.link/?share=Apevoix_Grit,AFUL_Performer_7,Ziigaat_Arete,AFUL_Performer_5

Own both, used both regularly. Both are in my usual top 5 rotation. P7 is perfectly fine for gaming. It does struggle in some ways with the mids in the Pina Gain Region, where a lot of footsteps are, it has a tendency to be a little flat sometimes. Imaging is decent, for the msot aprt you can pin point directionality. Sometimes heigh can be a bit difficult to discern, and i think that is partly because the airiness provided by the micro planar is just REALLY pronounced, and it kind of pulls some details in a little too much. I think once you get used to a particualr games sound engine, its really not that big of a deal. The P7 still has that roll down in the treble response around 10k, which does help with some of those spatial queues. But its not quite the same as the Arete in terms of spatial representation. The one bit thing with the Arete is the slightly flatter lower mids. It does make some details like footsteps and distant audio queues a little morecleaner in the mix. But, the trade off there is that the bass is a little slower with a longer decay on the Arete, despite its Paper Driver being exceptional (same driver in the Odyssey2 and Horizon), So it can get a little boomy in some games, depending on your settings. But, unlike the P7, the extra pina extension really help to bring out footsteps, mag changes, sheild charges, etc. And the those dips in the upper treble help to accentuate some of the psychoacoustic effect that helps with some directionality and spatial awareness. Now, because of the nature of IEM's that isnt a guarantee for everyone, but generally the feeling is more spacious with the Arete, than how "in the ear" the P7 can feel at times. https://audioamigo.squig.link/?share=AFUL_Performer_7,Ziigaat_Arete Overall, i think both are fine. I think the P7 is the technically "better" IEM, but the Arete is no slouch when it comes to music playback, and general use, outside of just gamming. And i think in terms of gaming, and as a "fun" listening set, the Arete is excellent. I still reach for the P7 more for analytical music listening. But the P5 and the Arete are in my music rotation because of their slightly vocal forward feel, slightly more boomy bass that adds fun and enjoyment, and treble that is well extended, and unoffensive. Unfortunately, the Arete is of the "old" Ziigaat variety, so it still has the shitty non modular cable, and bland tips (KiwiEars Flex Tips are money). Where as the P7 comes with decent stock tips, an excellent stock cable, and an air tight aluminum puck carrying case, and not just a generic zipper pouch like the Arete. Though, i will say, i think the P7 sounds MUCH better, and has fewer issues with tis resin nozzles, if you spend the extra for a set of SpinFit W1 eartips. Their soft silicone barrel really hugs the nozzle, and prevent it from slipping off, like happens with the stock tips on the P7. For me comfort is subjectivly 50/50, i dont have issues with either for hours of use. But the P7 IS more comfortable. As stated above, with the Kiwi Ears Flex, and the Spinfit W1. That should jsut abotu cover everything, but if you would like to know more...