Ziigaat Luna's Review - A very DD like BA
General/Packaging/Comfort/Build
ZiiGaat has been quite relentless lately with new releases every now and then. There have been several releases over the past few months, the recent one, Odyssey 2, which I had also reviewed is quite good. Today we have the Luna, which is a full BA IEM that packs 6 BAs per side.
Packaging of Ziigaat has been a step up compared to the previous year, several types of eartips are included and a faux leather kind of roomy storage pouch is also included. Cable is also a modular cable with the option to swap from 3.5mm to 4.4mm at will.
In terms of comfort, I do not feel any pressure from the Luna despite not having any vent, the shell is neither too big or small to my ears and it fits and seals very well. I did not feel any discomfort throughout my listening session. The shell is resin based and the faceplate is quite pretty in my opinion.
Equipment and Software used
Aune S9C Pro -> Aune N7
ddHifi Eye 3 Dongle
Apple Music/Tidal/foobar2k
Luna Stock Cable and Eartips
Foreword
My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far
Sound Impression
Upon first listening impression, I am actually quite surprised that the Luna’s sound profile is actually quite close to dynamic drivers. The bass is quite impactful for all BA set, the BA timbre is also very very minimal. To my ears, it is leaning towards a slight V shaped tuning. Sounds quite fun and smooth to my ears. I would say it's quite natural overall, and the treble has sufficient details but not offensive.
Bass
The speed is good and that is to be expected from a balanced armature driver
It doesn’t sound bloated or muddy when listening to busy tracks such as Slipknot’s People’s = Shit!, Metallica’s Lux Aeterna, it handled the speed drumming and kick flawlessly
Sub bass has good extension and rumbly when the track calls for it, in fact i find the sub bass is actually quite close to how a dynamic driver’s sub bass and i actually enjoyed it
The transition from sub to mid bass is very good, the mid bass doesn’t lack punch and the sub and mid bass complement each other very well, transition is quite linear
The bass also has good texture and doesn’t sound “loose”, but i do wish it can have slightly thicker note weight but i understand this is a balanced armature so im just nitpicking here
Mids
The mids are neither too forward nor recessed, just right to my ears
Male and female vocal has good texture to it and doesn’t sound thin, male vocal has sufficient weight whereas the female vocal sounds rich
The bass doesn’t bleed into this range which is good
Pinna gain is rather safe and never shouty even when the volume is being cranked up
Treble
Treble has enough energy yet it is non offensive and offers good clarity for details
Treble extension is good for this set, depending on your personal preference, if you are someone who wants to hear every single detail in the track, Luna might actually get the job done well for you
Amount of air and presence is good and busy tracks doesn’t sound congested
Soundstage/Imaging
Soundstage is slightly out of your head with good width, depth and height perception is good, i wouldn’t say it is very wide or big sounding
Separation is very good and it you can clearly hear some instruments distinctively without feeling everything being mushed together
Imaging is very good as the instruments can be pinpointed easily even during busy track, even for complex orchestral tracks is performing well
Driveability
Luna is not hard to drive and based on my experience, it doesn’t really benefit much from more power, but with different amping, there is a small degree of “coloration” to it depending on the amp type, for me, the Aune S9c does make the overall sound a little warmer with slightly thicker body and note weight
Moving to the ddHifi’s Eye 3 Dongle, High gain with 4.4 balanced output, it is more than capable to drive the Luna to its best, and the Eye 3’s tonality is quite clean overall so it is quite uncolored when Luna is being paired with this dongle, after all, this is really subjective and depends on your personal preference
Comparison (Ziigaat Arcanis)
I do not have a full BA set at the same price range as Luna, hence this comparison happened, it wouldn’t be fair for me to compare the Letshuoer’s Mystic 8 to this
Arcanis is slightly warmer sounding compared to Luna, but with much better bass response due to it sporting dual dynamic driver with 5 BAs
Treble is smooth but resolution and detail retrieval capability is more or less on par with Luna, somehow Luna has a bit more sparkles up top
Soundstage is slightly wider compared to Luna, in terms of imaging, both are quite on par with very minor difference
Mids are somehow thicker compared to Luna, it can be a little mushy on certain track
Upper mids are not perceived as shouty, similar to Luna
Very natural timbre overall and note weight is neither thin nor overly thick
Bass in terms of sub bass and mid bass, the Arcanis is slightly tighter but Luna is better in terms of speed
Overall, i would say the Arcanis is more like a sidegrade of Luna with some minor differences, but if you are coming from other IEMs say Letshuoer Cadenza 4, or Kiwi Ears Aether, the Luna is definitely a step up from both.
Final Thoughts
The Luna to me is an outstanding full BA IEM which deserves a recommendation. A close to natural timbre with very minor hint of BA timbre if you were to nitpick, impressive bass response and detail retrieval, and at the same time It offers good technicalities, approachable price and great accessories bundle, other than that, if you are expecting dynamic driver kind of bass performance or timbre, this is not for you
*A big thanks to Linsoul for sending this over for the purpose of this review. Thanks for the support and opportunity as always
Head over to their store if you are interested in getting a pair:
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