ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete – Frivolous Player Of Light Notes
ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete is a $249 USD pair of IEMS or In-Ear Monitors with 5 drivers inside, 1 Dynamic Driver and 4 Balanced Armatures, which will be the focus of our review today. Since they follow a balanced tuning, we will explore how they fit in for Studio and Gaming usage too, but also compare the Arete to othert similarly priced IEMs, including 7Hz Aurora (399 USD), ZiiGaat Cincotres (269 USD), and Letshuoer S15 (329 USD).
Introduction
ZiiGaat is quickly becoming a flavor of the month popular brand of IEMS, having been super influential with their Cincotres, which proved that a company that’s first seeing the light of the day with reviewers can provide a really clean and balanced sound with good detail. Linsoul has been doing an excellent job at distributing Chifi IEMs, and it is one of the best shops you can purchase from, also available on Amazon. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Linsoul has provided the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
PROs – Excellent sonic tuning, with a neutral presentation, high resolution, and revealing. Comfort is excellent, lightweight construction, lightweight cable, comfy eartips, 2-Pin connectors, No Driver Flex, No Void, Good passive noise isolation. Good bass extension and treble extension.
Cons – Only 3.5mm jack connectors for the cable, Long wait time for ordering a pair. Pink shells won’t work for everyone.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://amzn.to/46nPYQa
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
At a subjective level, Arete is quite a bit different from the Cincotres, the fit is tighter and slightly less ergonomic, although the shells look pretty much the same, with a different faceplate. The passive noise isolation is very strong, there’s no sound escaping the IEM either and you can enjoy your favorite tracks on full blast with the Arete.
I am getting a good, medium-deep comfort, with the IEM shells being very light, and the rather tight coiling of the cable providing support for the Arete inside of my ears. Arete is one of the IEMs with the lowest impedance that I have ever seen, and at 9 OHMs, it should theoretically be quite sensitive to source noise. This being said, I am not having a hard time pairing them, and the 108 dB SPL which is rather high helps keep the Arete easy to drive and enjoyable with all sources.
You can only order Arete with a 3.5mm single ended cable at the moment, which is a bit of a pity, as the IEMS are fully compatible with balanced cables, and the vast majority of audiophile sources are 4.4mm balanced connected nowadays. You also should take into account that Arete is currently in a pre-order state, with 1 month of lead time. There is no driver flex, no void and no microphonic noise, as the cable is quite lightweight and loosely braided, but the cable has a bit of memory effect and is never quite straight.
For today’s review I have paired the Arete with a multitude of sources, including Shanling Onix Alpha Xi1, iFi Zen DAC 3, Burson PlayMate 2, Shanling H2, Hiby R4, Creative Sound Blaster X5, HIFI Walker H2 Touch PRO, Aune Yuki, Dethonray Listening M1, and iBasso DX260. Arete can be driven from all of the sources, it tends to reveal hiss a bit more easily than other IEMs, so you will hear it with most entry-level sources, although DX260 doesn’t have any kind of hissing or background noise, and neither does Dethonray Listening M1.
Sound Quality
Overall Signature – ZiiGaat seems to focus on neutral and balanced tunings and signatures, with Arete sounding really neutral, clean and balanced, with very little coloration. This being said, I am surprised to hear a musical and fluid midrange, which is not fatiguing, an actually impressive instrument separation, natural soundstage, and strong bass extension which reaches 30 Hz, and treble extension which easily reaches 16 kHz, and is also not fatiguing, and slightly soft instead, to allow you to enjoy music for a long period of time. At the heart of the sound are 5 drivers, one of which is dynamic, the speed of bass is very different from the speed of the midrange and the treble, and the differences are easily audible.
Bass – When looking for a high quality neutral bass, you have either really tight and dry bass sounds, or slow and sloppy ones which are satisfying, and Arete falls into the second category, as the sound is dominated by a slow, sloppy and full bass which is kept in control with a shelf at around 300 Hz, having zero bleeding in the midrange, and offering a bold outline for all instruments. This bass adds weight and substance to instruments, and gives music presence, substance and impact, without thickening or darkening it too much, allowing sound to be transparent, natural-neutral and very clean.
Midrange – The midrange is characterized by strong detail, high levels of resolution, and exceptional revealing abilities, especially for the price point. The thing that aids in keeping the sound controlled and enjoyable is a softer transient response, as despite having a fast transient response in the upper midrange, the lower midrange has a somewhat slower response, and this creates softer, fluid and enjoyable textures. Male voices are warm, somewhat happy-sounding and lean, while female voices are energetic, clean and pushed slightly forward compared to male voices. Layering is strong, and so is instrument separation with Arete creating multiple layers of music, and the multiple drivers surely aiding in the feeling of distinction between instruments.
Treble – With Arete, the higher you climb, the softer the impact seems to be, and this creates the feeling that you can bump the volume, without getting tired. There’s a good balance between the softer impact and a bit of texture and grain, which makes Arete sound well defined, and detailed without becoming too grainy, or too smooth for a neutral-balanced tuned IEM.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – You can expect different levels of textures and dynamics, as the 5 drivers inside are very different in the impulse response and how much they can present dynamics. Because the low-end driver is slow and sloppy, it creates a realistic bass which is pleasing, but the lower midrange driver is very fast, showing texture and grain easily. The upper midrange and treble drivers are fast, and they show a softer, leaner response, with less grain and textures, each range being really easy to engage with and listen to even with rock and metal.
Volume Control – Your best listening volume with Arete is right in the middle, as it sounds the most balanced, most detailed, and has the deepest, most natural soundstage and presentation at medium volumes. When you go louder, things start to get compressed, while at lower volumes, the staging is wider and more scattered, but this comes at the cost of impact and the whole sound gets a bit distant and soft. By medium, I mean that the best experience can be achieved between 65 dB and 90 dB, which should cover the listening habits of most people, except those who like music really loud or really quiet.
Soundstage – You can expect a natural soundstage which extends naturally both in the vertical, lateral and in depth, with the studio tuning being more focused on instrument separation and definition rather than pushing and scattering the sound in every direction. Arete is rather good at revealing how large or small the soundstage was in the original recording, and it is quite transparent in this aspect.
Gaming / Studio Usage
I find Arete to be excellent for gaming, it has both excellent revealing ability, and it easily shows each bit of detail, clean, helping you understand spatial clues in games for first person shooters. I found myself working easily with Arete for studio work and music mixing / mastering, because it has strong detail and resolution, plus good instrument separation, and the more honest / transparent presentation that shows exactly what is in the recording helps a lot with actual studio work.
The better part is that you hear a clean and neutral tuning for soundtracks, with a bold bass and airy treble, and you get a really pleasing atmospheric presentation for visual novels, and slower, relaxed games. The relaxed transient response in the upper midrange and treble aids in this, leading to a really pleasing listening experience.
Comparisons
ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete vs ZiiGaat Cincotres (249 USD vs 269 USD)
Build – This has to be the first comparison, as Cincotres and Arete are very similar. They have mostly the same shells, same comfort, and same cables even, with Arete being clearly a spinoff from Cincotres, with different shells and a slightly different tuning, but otherwise the same IEM. You can expect basically the same comfort, same power needed to drive both, and they are about equally sensitive to background noise.
Sound – Sonically, it feels like Arete has a slightly bolder sub bass, a more relaxed treble, with a bit more grain in the sound, across all ranges, from lower midrange all the way to the treble. Cincotres is a bit more revealing to my ears, it has a wider, more holographic soundstage, while Arete sounds more intimate, and seems more relaxed, better tuned for long hours of listening, and has a lower fatigue. Both IEMs are equally good, and having Cincotres available with less delay makes it the more compelling offer right now.
ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete vs Letshuoer S15 (249 USD vs 329 USD)
Build – Arete wins in terms of weight, being quite a bit lighter, but the actual ergonomics are great for both IEMs, both fit really nicely inside of my ears, both offer a good passive noise isolation, and both have zero driver flex, zero void, being rather comfy. The cable of S15 is of a higher quality, it comes with a modular cable, with modular jacks, the transport case is more solid, and S15 makes a better package, while Arete is a more practical, economy package that gets the job done for a lower price.
Sound – Sonically, both IEMS are very detailed, but S15 follows a more intimate, more colorful sound, with lower distortion, the voicing is more pleasing, and sound has less grain. Arete shows music with less coloration, less warm, bass being a bit deeper, and treble a bit higher, and more extended in the upper treble, with more kick for details and revealing, but the multi driver configuration has far more coloration between drivers, while S15 sounds more cohesive, the whole IEM has the same speed and type of sound. With S15 being a more relaxed listening experience, Arete feels forward and aggressive by comparison.
ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete vs 7Hz Aurora (249 USD vs 399 USD)
Build – Aurora costs more, but has a modular cable, better build quality, although it is heavier, so comfort is a tie, but the cable situation is much better on the Aurora. Both IEMs are safe from driver flex, both are easy to drive, and both are fun to use, although Aurora is a bit prettier in person, and I like the pattern on the shells more.
Sound – Sonically, they are quite different, with Arete sounding neutral, clean and detailed, while 7Hz Aurora sounds warmer, fuller, more musical, revealing even more detail and sounding cleaner. The soundstage is grander, and more holographic on 7Hz Aurora, which creates the feeling of a room around the head of the listener much better, while Arete stays more neutral, has more instrument separation, but a more intimate soundstage. Arete is a more neutral, more serious experience, while Aurora is a more playful, warmer, and more pleasing listening experience which is more detailed, albeit for a higher price.
Value and Conclusion
ZiiGaat Arete has an excellent value rating, and they offer a nice transport case, and a sound that is super detailed, clean and balanced, with very little coloration, and a strong bass impact, in the sub-bass, without overblowing it into the mids.
At the end of the day, you likely know why you’re here, and if you’re looking for a balanced-neutral sounding IEM which actually has strong bass extension, and a strong treble extension, but is not fatiguing, which has a good comfort, and which has a reliable build quality, and if you don’t mind the waiting time, ZiiGaat Arete is an excellent choice and a fully recommended purchase today.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://amzn.to/46nPYQa
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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