ZIIGAAT NUO: Nuo or Uno?

The word ZIIGAAT is quite strange for us as it is just like some nonsensical word that came up randomly. But the truth was it has something to do with the core tenets of the said audio company. ZIIGAAT is an acronym of Zero-In in Ideas, Innovate, Grow and Achieve All Together (that's quite a wordy one). Their mission-vision as a company is to harness the synergy of both audio quality and the advancement of audio technology for all audio enthusiasts to help to reach their  pinnacle of audio experience with some support of innovation and ideas that they provide, and also their goal as a company is to become one of world-renowned audio company which is quite ambitious endeavour on their behalf.

ZIIGAAT was previously part of a bigger OEM/ODM company that specialises on audio technology solutions just like the origins of some audio companies out there, until they decided to step out and became an independent one.

And I have here one of their inaugural product models, The ZIIGAAT Nuo (looks like a misspelt word to me of a Spanish first cardinal number, Uno). The Nuo is an IEM with a single dynamic driver configuration. The driver that was implemented here is a 10mm dual chambered dynamic driver with LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) diaphragm whose properties have better tensile strength and elasticity for faster movement response on the membrane that will deliver a clearer, more precise and better resolution of the overall sound quality.

The driver is encapsulated in a composite shell chassis consisting of acrylic resin on its cavity base which has an opaque black colour and its faceplate is made aluminium alloy. Its ergonomic shell design takes a modified UIEM-type form factor as it has less protruding stabilising fin on its cavity base. The overall aesthetics appears to be quite minimalist and its shell proportions are of a medium size with a white print of the company logo and model name on each channel part of the shell chassis. As I observe it closely, the faceplate appears to be quite similar to TANCHJIM Oxygen, which I really liked when I auditioned for it in 2019 . It has a vent hole in the part where the dynamic driver was situated as it releases excess air pressure inside generated from the dynamic driver. As for its detachable mechanism, the Nuo has a 0.78mm bi-pin connector that is proven and more stable, and makes it easier to do some cable swapping.

In regards to its cable, The ZIIGAAT Nuo's stock is probably one of the best stock cables of an IEM in under US$25/£19 segment as it is of a good quality, resistant against entanglement and no microphones at all. The cables are made of oxygen-free silver-plated copper wiring in a 2-core configuration that were braided to achieve better flow of  electronic signal and eliminates any chances of microphonics. At its end point, it has a gold-plated 3.5mm SE termination plug.

When it comes to fitting and comfort, The Nuo offer a very comfortable wear to my lugholes as it rests well on the ear canal. It has a decent isolation that it able to block some unwarranted noises from the outside surroundings.

As for its product packaging, the ZIIGAAT NUO is rather straightforward in that fashion as it has a square box with some design and prints looks straight from the 80's. The inclusions are pretty basic just to be simply used.

Here are some following contents included in the packaging box:

■ Pair of ZIIGAAT NUO IEM transducers

■ Stock cable

■ Three (3) pairs of ear tips of different standard sizes.

■ User's manual/warranty card

In terms of power scaling and amplification, this set is pretty easy to drive with 32 ohms and 117dB, it can scale well to any power output from any source from smartphones to desktop-type headphone amplifiers. This set is able to deliver a vivid and full-range sound that encompasses the whole part of the frequency spectrum.

To determine its tonality, ZIIGAAT Nuo has a U-shaped sound signature which I can classify as "Harmanish" as it has more focus on the low end part on the low frequency and some emphasis parts of the upper-mids and accented presence part on the high frequency.

(Graph was provided by [USER=516219]@baskingshark[/USER] ,  credits to him)

LOWS/BASS:

Given of my familiarity with Harman-style of tuning (I approximately owned around 30 sets with the similar target tuning curve and tested and audition about 50 sets from ultra-budgets up to TOTL) that it focuses more on the sub-bass presence than the mid-bass which I highly criticised this type of tuning as I find it lean, unnatural and "too digital" sounding in my liking.

But ZIIGAAT seems to deviate slightly from a typical Harman bass shelf as it adds a little bit of texture on the mid-bass just to give an ample note weight on instruments and vocals to deliver a punchy, precise and zappy bass response. Bass guitars sound more resonant, bass kick drums have rumbling and bit hollow but at least it was able to play back some of the fast double bass kicks from extreme metal tracks and bass-baritones have those rich and resonance voices but i also noticed that its less darker tone, less intense and lack of depth.

MIDRANGE:

Midrange recession is certainly perceived on the overall tuning of this set. It has ample warmth, a balanced texturing on its note weight and energetic quality on them that will be more beneficial towards mostly female vocals, strings and woodwind instrumentation.

Male vocals are somehow smooth, pleasant, fairly lush on baritones while the clear and ringing sound on tenors' voices have and then countertenors have that tender and glossy sound from their falsetto vocals. Females vocals like contraltos have plush and husky vocal qualities but its depth and volume are somehow inadequate, while medium and high vocal range like mezzo-sopranos and sopranos, mezzo-sopranos sound fiery and tender as they sound euphonic with their expressive vocals, whereas the sopranos have those bright, metallic and shining vocals that it was able to project from dramatic sopranos up to the coloratura sopranos although the later might sound too energetic that they sound too shrill and sharp in a long run.

On instruments, as I mentioned that strings and woodwinds will sound more highlighted  on this set, guitars have midrange-y and crisp on its sound on every plucking of its string, violins have full and introspective sound on them, piccolos sounds more intense and penetrating while flutes have a bright and soft sound on them, and then both clarinets and saxophones have warm and earthy sound on them. Brasses like trumpets, horns and trombones, they sound brilliant, mellow and soft respectively. On percussives, snare drums sound sharp and bright, toms-toms sound a bit hollow yet resonant, field drums have sombre sound and kettledrums or also known as timpanis have dry and resonant sound on them. Pianos' sounds seem to be balanced with just added brightness on them.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble response of this one seems to be on smoother side although there is an emphasis somewhere on the upper-mids to presence that gives a more energetic and vibrancy on female vocals that might an issue to some treble-sensitive folks out there but this will give a more crisper and definition on some percussion and rhythm instruments' attack. Sibilance is somehow kept under control but sometimes I noticed some hints of it particularly on sibilant-laden tracks.

On the brilliance part, sparkle is evidently present but it is intense and over sizzle that will affect some instruments' timbre and the airy extension has a moderate range for a single DD. Cymbals sound glistening and shimmering while hi-hats have a shortened buzzing tone with their distinctive chick-y sound. Celestas have bell-like and glistening sounds and glockenspiels have lustrous and striking sounds.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Its sound/speaker overall dimensions seems to on average to above-average on width span, have a measurable height ceiling and it a decent depth on how it projects me front to rear depends on variable amplitude of fundamentals of frequencies and harmonics as it presents me more frontal. Therefore, it  gives me fairly moderate headroom and my head shadow seems to be that I'm at the centre point at perceiving soundscape.

Stereo imaging seems to have a typical two-dimensional stereo presentation as I was able to panned out the positioning of instruments and vocals in both channels, but not the most pinpoint manner to locate each element precisely. It has a decent separation of instruments and layering appears to be not so well-defined on its tonal and frequency layer on how they are arranged in sonic canvas but it seems that it has a decent playback with some complex testing tracks.

Coherency of its driver is quite impressive as it performs quite fast and responsive. It has satisfactory resolution capabilities with good macro-dynamics and its micro-detail retrieval is passable as it can retrieve some nuances and subtleties of information from an audio track.

PEER COMPARISONS:

TINHIFI C2

● Like Nuo, it is a single DD IEM and it also has a 10mm LCP driver but it was encased in aluminium alloy shell structure with some mecha-like aesthetics on its overall design. It has more inclusions of eartips but Nuo has better stock cable.

● As for its tuning, both C2 and Nuo shared a similar sound profile which is U-shaped but the difference was that the C2 has more energetic, crisper and shimmering upper-mids up to brilliance treble. On technicalities, they are quite alike in most cases but the differences are that the C2 has a tad better on layering definition and a bit sharper on its micro-detail retrieval.

7HZ ZERO II

● While it has similar driver configuration and material composition of its shell chassis with the Nuo, it also has some contrasting features like its dynamic driver consists of composite materials and its shell design is more angular and edgy. It also has more ear tips inclusion but its stock cable is quite inferior compared to Nuo's.

● As for tonality, the Zero II has a mild-U sound signature which makes it more balanced sounding compared to the Nuo. It has a bit more sub-bass rumble, less recessed with similar warmness but has a semblance of transparency midrange presentation, and then smooth and a tad refined treble response but it has a modest amount of air and less sparkling compared to Nuo. On the technical side, As they are quite similar in most aspects but sound/speaker depth is a bit more immersive on Zero II but its layering, it has less definition as it struggles a bit on more complex multi-instrumental tracks.

TRUTHEAR HOLA

● Another single DD IEM with LCP diaphragm on its dynamic driver. It has similar shell design too albeit its shell chassis is made of 3D-printed polycarbonate plastic which feels cheap to hold and touch them. At least it has a good quality cable and it has more accessories to offer and it has a storage bin too.

● Hola is also a U-shaped sounding set and compared to Nuo, it has more emphasis on the sub-bass but a bit leaner mid bass, a more noticeable recessed midrange presentation and a tad leaner note weight for vocals and instruments, and then a smooth and a bit relaxed treble response with meagre air and adequate sparkle. On technicalities, Hola is pretty average as it has an average sound/speaker stage on width, depth and height, two-dimensional stereo imaging, less refined on layering and less capable on resolution dynamics.

As I end my assessment and put up a conclusion on this set, It seems that ZIIGAAT did a good job on their inaugural product models as Nuo and other incoming models will probably have some bright opportunities on them given how this set performs satisfactorily. For sure that there are some downsides to this one like no IEM case and sparse amount of inclusions but I think that they will address these drawbacks in the future releases of their products. If you are a starting audio enthusiast who wants to experience some Harman-ish style of tuning with some flare on it, this set is a strong contender that I can recommend.

ZIIGAAT NUO is exclusively available on LINSOUL, you can check the unaffiliated link that I have provided below.

LINSOUL: https://www.linsoul.com/products/ziigaat-nuo

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: ZIIGAAT NUO

IMPEDANCE: 32Ω

SENSITIVITY: 117dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M

PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm

DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER

PROS:

● Affordable price for a budding audio enthusiast who was on budget.

● Its composite shell chassis appears to be well-built and sturdy enough.

● Shell chassis have good ergonomic design as it gives a good fitting and noise isolation.

● 2-pin connector which is quite uncommon in this price range.

● High quality stock cable.

● A different take on the Harman-style of tuning.

● Punchy and rumbling bass response.

● Balanced with some vividness on the midrange.

● Somehow, its treble response has an inherent smoothness on this set but there are some caveats that I share in the cons section later.

● At least, it has acceptable technical capabilities for its asking price.

CONS:

● Despite the ample texture on the mid-bass, it lacks some depth and volume tone on projecting some bass and bass-baritone vocals.

● Tonal colour on some vocals and instruments needs a bit of tuning refinement.

● Some instances of shrill and shout on female vocals and some woodwinds might be too intense to treble-sensitive folk.

● A hint of sibilance on sibilant-laden tracks.

● Not a fan of the Harman-ish type of sound? Look somewhere else.

Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *

Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*

P.S.

I am not affiliated to ZIIGAAT nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to KAREENA TANG from LINSOUL for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.