Arete 1 or 2. The 2’s are a fairly small upgrade based off my A/B testing. You can snag the 1’s for cheap and the best bang for the buck IMO. They’re also easy to drive with a simple Apple dongle. You can get a pair + dongle + long cord for under $200. As mentioned earlier, price doesn’t equate to increased FPS performance. I’ve got kilo buck IEM’s that are amazing for music, but terrible for FPS games.
Check out fresh reviews on youtube, he reviews iems for fps gaming and has a tier list. I've tested EW300 x hbb, ZiiGaat Arete 1s, Odyssey 2s, Xenns Tea Pros and Supermix 4s. The SM4s being the ones I decided to keep since they are the most comfortable for me and perform great for fps like R6 and BF6
I just tested the Supermix 4s on Siege but only for a game or 2 because of discomfort. The separation is good, picked up footsteps quite good but I found the treble can be harsh at times, for example, when ying candelas are thrown or after getting flashed.
I was testing the SM4s against the ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Aretes and really liked them. Comfort was better for me, no pressure in ear canal, footsteps were a bit louder, might have something to do with how easy the Arete's are to drive compared to the SM4s. Found imaging to be better, for example on bank while holding top site, sitting in conference, I could hear the enemy nomad run from top square janitor closet hall to white/marble stairs back to janitor closet without having toguess.
If you can get the Arete I would go for those but would also try to get from somewhere that has good return policy just in case they are not comfortable for you same with the SM4s. I used both with apple dongle and worked great.
Check out FreshReviews on YT, he does IEM reviews for comp gaming and has a tier list. I use Softears Volume S for gaming on BF6 and R6. Supermix 4 were great as well and ZiiGaat Arete 1
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.
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
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