ZiiGaat - x Fresh Reviews Arete

I use Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lites and ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Aretes… am I gaming wrong?

So don’t buy it based on the mic support as you can just switch out the cable to one with a mic on it. I will warn you though I went down that rabbit hole and all the ones I tried sounded like straight ass. I would highly recommend a separate mic. That being said, I have tried just about all the hype gaming IEMs and I will tell you straight tho don’t spend more than about Supermix 4 money. The diminishing returns are crazy when you are strictly talking about gaming. I have the Ziigaat Arete and I can tell you for cod it’s really not significantly better. In fact, I’d argue the Truthear zero blue is all you really need.

I have the arete and it’s good for gaming but it’s not big on the bass side. I had the Thieaudio Hype 4 and I think that is probably more like what you are looking for- huge, clean bass but still maintains that separation you need for audio queues (and it’s amazing for music too). I only moved on from that because I kept chasing the best gaming IEMs thinking it would be a night and day difference. My advice? Don’t go down the rabbit hole too far. I have overspent on too many different IEM’s in the past and I’m still not even thrilled with the Arete. At this point I am in the wheelhouse of “As long as you have a decent IEM with good drivers, it will be good enough for gaming.”

The Ziigaat x Fresh Reviews Arete. If we are talking strictly for gaming, you don’t need to go higher than this. Out of all the gaming specific IEMs, these are my go to because the separation and layering are great and they are very comfortable for me so I can wear them for long gaming sessions.

I have both the Arete and the Supermix 4 and I would say the Supermix 4 is better for multi purpose use. The Arete is great for gaming, but it’s only slightly better than the Supermix and the Supermix is miles better for music listening or movies than the Arete. I personally think the Supermix 4 is one of the best values in IEMs.

Yeah they are really great especially for their price point. I had been using the Ziigaat Arete for gaming a lot lately and then yesterday I decided to give them a shot for the day just to switch things up I forgot how much I prefer them to the Arete for music.

Check out fresh reviews on YouTube. He has a gaming IEM tier list. A word of warning though- there are massive diminishing returns and I honestly wouldn’t spend more than like $200-$250. I personally run the Ziigaat Arete and it’s great, but it’s not night and day better from the Supermix 4 or even the Truthear Zero Blue so don’t break the bank if gaming is your primary use case.

That’s a great question. I took a look at the serial codes on my IEM’s and tried to find info on Google about looking them up and batch numbers, and couldn’t find anything. Maybe somebody with more experience with IEM’s would know? All I can say is I love the Aretes. I didn’t hear about any issues between batches before now. But if my budget was $250 or under, I would 100% buy them again if I had a do-over.

I’m no audiophile, but to say I’m impressed is an understatement. As I mentioned, I jumped from the EW200’s, and mainly use IEM’s for games. The difference in detail is insane. The sound stage is perfect, both for competitive shooters and story driven games. Out of the box, the stock tips made the IEM’s a little too bass heavy, and for the EW200’s I was using Dunu S&S tips, which made the bass even heavier for the Arete’s when I tried them, but I switched to the KBEAR 07 tips and it reduced the bass massively, and with some EQ could improve that even further. Even for music, the bass and sub bass is clean and not overwhelming, but as I said, for competitive shooters I would recommend different tips. For FPS specifically, I was able to pinpoint where gun shots, explosions, and footsteps were, exactly. And these sounds aren’t overwhelming, but I can very easily tell where the direction is, and even “map out,” per se, in my head, where in the area or room I am hearing those footsteps, and aim accordingly. I’m keeping the Arete’s and will now main them for both gaming and music. Hope this helps.

I’m looking to find my hopefully “endgame,” IEM, but I’m experiencing a lot of mixed reviews across many sources. Every time I think I’ve made a decision, I see something that makes me double guess myself. I’m pretty sold on the Mangird Tea Pros, but am also intrigued by the Hype 4’s and Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch. Even something like the AFUL P7’s. I do love bass and my ears can be treble sensitive, as I listen to a lot of EDM and Hip hop, but I listen to pretty much everything. My main use is for competitive gaming and general gaming, and I’m currently using the Ziigaat Arete’s, but want that definitive “endgame,” if there is such a thing. My current collection contains the Arete’s, Apevoix Grit, and EW200’s. Any advice between the Tea Pro’s, Hype 4, Punch, and AFUL’s would be super helpful. TL;DR - looking for endgame IEM’s, between Tea Pro, Hype 4, and P7’s, mainly for gaming but also music.

I do really love the Arete’s for gaming. The bass response and performance is much better than the Grit IMO. I mainly play R6 as my competitive game. To me, the bass helps with placing footsteps better, and the mid’s aren’t too harsh. The Grit does not have enough bass for me personally, however they are a great pair of IEM’s in their own right. But I always feel like they’re slightly lacking compared to the Arete’s for gaming. Plus the Arete’s are more comfortable for me . If I had to choose between the 2, the Arete’s are specifically tuned for competitive gaming in mind, so that’s my pick. I haven’t heard the P7’s for myself.

I have the Grit’s and the Arete’s. My purpose for IEM’s is also gaming, and I’m no audiophile. However, I will say that the Grit’s do have an amazing sound for music. I mainly listen to hip/hop and EDM, with some alt rock and alternative. The bass isn’t exaggerated, or punchy, but it’s very fast and clean, and doesn’t get muddy. And the soundstage is wide. I feel like it’s an IEM that isn’t talked about a whole lot, especially having a bone conductor, in that price range. I will also say that to my ears, they can be a tad uncomfortable with the wrong tips, the nozzle is long and wide, so I’d recommend tip rolling, but again, those are just my ear canals. Because of the bone conductor, if you cough or hit the shell, you will hear the bone conductor “springy-ness” (?), that’s the best way I can describe it. The separation and soundstage are great on both sets. As for the Arete’s, amazing for bass heavy songs if you’re into punchy bass, yet clean and not muddy. My ears are pretty treble sensitive, and neither IEM’s are fatiguing to me, or bright. I try to switch between the 2 for gaming, and always come back to the Arete’s, for sound and comfortably, again comfortably could just be my ear canals. If your main focus is gaming, and you want something that’s “great” for gaming, especially competitive games, even story games, and not better at music, I’d say the Arete’s. If you want something that’s “good” for gaming, but better for music, I’d say go with the Grit’s. Edit: as i’m sure you’re aware, a lot of this is subjective. My ears could hear these IEM’s differently from your ears. But i feel if these 2 are your final choices, you’ll be happy with either. I have prior posts asking similar questions, with comments and good advice you can look thru as well. Good luck, it’s a rabbit hole. And don’t over think it! Just enjoy whatever you end up getting!

I’m using Kiwi Ears Astrals ($250 on Amazon) and they’re top tier in my opinion. Ziigaat’s Arete’s are in Amazon used “like new” condition for $125. That’s a steal for the quality

Look at fresh reviews on YouTube. He has reviews of both, and a tier list. Astrals are ranked A- by him and are ranked best 2025 gaming IEM over on r/IEMS. Arete were #1 in 2024

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)

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...

His collab is at A- on the sheet. The spreadsheet is up to date. I have both the Arete and the Tea Pro and the upgrade was pretty mind blowing.

The GoXLR and audio interfaces in general tend to have terrible headphone jacks that aren't suited for IEMs, this is caused by their output impedance not matching and being too much for IEMs. The results are generally a higher noise floor where you'll hear static or white noise when little or no audio is being played back. It can also alter the intended tuning of multi driver/hybrid IEMs. In the end though, try it out on your GoXLR and if it annoys you then get a dedicated dac/amp, just letting you know what to expect so you know how to resolve it in the future. As someone that owns the Arete, they're really good for shooters. They're tuned to be non fatiguing so you can play for hours and not be forced to take breaks from over emphasized gun shots and kill streaks. Astrals will be the better set though and the only reason I don't already have them is because I have the Tea Pros. As far as for extra stuff to upgrade, Eartips are the first thing to upgrade for fit and comfort is #1. DAC/Amp only upgrade if you need it. IEM cable, only "upgrade" for aesthetics and comfort. 11.11 is the next sales event so you can grab a lot of these IEMs on deep discounts (Astrals $240ish, Arete $175ish, Tea Pros $280ish).