Ziigaat Odyssey- Articulate, Perfection
‼️DISCLAIMER:
This was sent by our friends from Ziigaat! Really appreciate it. They never said anything about how to make of this review.
My video review here:
https://youtu.be/Pfr85mGwYf0?si=tW_pFTBn5eqhx59R
⚜️WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
Typical Ziigaat box
-iems
-tips
-cable
-case
⚜️BUILD and COMFORT
Typical Ziigaat haha. Anyway, the shells are resin with a pinkish shimmery faceplate design. Comfort is decent. Never had real issues here.
⚜️SETUP:
-Shanling M3X, snowsky jm21, shanling m3 plus, using UAPP, Hiby and stock player
⚜️SOUND PROFILE
The tonality of the odyssey can be described as balanced with a bit of emphasis in subbass. Mids are not recessed, and not overly forward. They are natural sounding and devoid of any shout or peakiness. The treble sits at the edege of being playful and safe. It is properly extended with good cymbal timbre. Never fatiguing for my ears and I did not hear any strange BA timbre or sharp transients.
Bass shows good authority and control, never bleeding into the mids , and compliments very well with the overall signature. When it hits, it lets you know it’s there. I like the fact that it is tight and quick. Although it is not focused on the midbass, the meta tuning has an overall lift from 300 to 1khz, so it helps warm things up.
Mids sound natural and organic. Both male and femal vocals exhibit this openness and realism. Guitar tones are not aggressive so they are much easier to listen to. I would have wished it had a bit more edginess, but unfortunately, this is the nature of the Meta tuning.
Treble for me, is in that sweet spot. Even on graphs, you dont see any peaks past 10k. What this translates to is a very smooth yet extended treble presentation. However, there are people who find the treble of the Odyssey peaky. Mike from Shortbus finds the BAs on the Odyssey to be sharp sounding and unnatural. I respect that guy a lot and I think we share the same sentiments regarding meta tuned iems, but not the odyssey. Which just makes this hobby much more interesting because we cant really take out the preference factor in the equation.
"Endgame or pausegame?"
Well, it depends on your thirst for upgrade and wallet depth haha. But for people who just want to end their search? I think this can be a contender. I honestly do!
Because it is honestly hard for me to fault the Odyssey. The bass is already well textured, the mids are natural, and the treble is well implemented. What more can you ask for?
For others, well this can be their pausgame if they want to take some rest in this never ending chifi release
Pause game or endgame, it serves the same purpose, and that us to stop you from spending more
"This is Meta"
In my previous reviews and videos, I have expressed my opinions about the new Meta. Although good sounding, safe and non fatiguing, the sets that I tried following the JM-1 tuning just doesnt have that magic. Even the ever popular Mega5 EST wasnt able to impress me, relative to how they are hyped.
Now this,the Ziigaat Odyssey, has much more to offer even compared to sets that are priced twice as much. Following closelly to the Jm1 tuning, the Odyssey strikes a perfect balance of musicality, engagement and correctness.
Obviously, this is the first META tuning that I really like, and has reached an S rank at that.
I would even daresay that this is better sounding than the davinci prototype I tried, only because it is available for purchase, and yes, it actually sounds similar to that.
"The Meta penalty"
Yeah I think I get what you mean about the mids on the odyssey.
But I think it's the overall penalty of the new meta tuning. That cut in the ear gain really makes instruments less edgier, and vocals a bit blunted
Say for example in the track just a phase by incubus, in the 4:50 where all instruments played, ooofff, they sounded like they're playing the last song of the 3rd set lol. Tired, unenergetic and dull. That guitar screech is supposed to be edgy, and it's deliberately mixed to sound screechy. But nah..
Anyhow, maybe the 3Dness of it, the bass and the smooth treble, all combined created its own character, and that is what won it for me. But yeah, would have wished mids to sound edgy. But then again yeah, I like its "character"😅
"This is perfection "
The tonality, quality of bass, the forward sounding vocals, the non-fatiguing treble, and a spacious stage, everything is being ticked by the Odyssey, at least in my subjective metrics.
Everything just feels right and where they need to be. I did not feel that the bass was overwhelming, in fact, it is tight and has enough texture and dimension to make the signature more engaging.
The vocals are intimate yet controlled. Never shouty and it carries natural vocal timbre for both male and females.
Treble energy is also something to appreciate. Sure, it does not sound brilliant or very sparkly like how IEMs with ESTs do, but they it has enough presence to make cymbals pop. I actually like how it renders cymbal timbre. It was never dull and it not too much. It just hits the right spot.
❤️PROS
-great balance overall
-non shout or any strange timbre
-great bass presentation with good subbass reach
-realistic vocal timbre with good 3D space
💢CONS
-accessories could be better
-not for bassheads nor for trebleheads
-instruments may sometimes sound less edgy
⚜️SCORING
-Please be reminded that my scoring is always based on its price range.
TUNING - 2.5
BASS - 3
MIDS - 3
TREBLE - 3
TECHS - 3
Final SCORE = 14.5
exceptional. A must buy for this price
Check my scoring here :
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15WhgCgiMzWfF3ccgB8SK5-Cg7m87kpIShtxsyg2u-AI/edit?usp=sharing
⚜️GRAB SCORE:
This is easy, I just rate the set whether I would grab them for listening. Very subjective.
0️⃣- I will never touch this again
1️⃣- I grab if I remember
2️⃣- Can be part of my rotation
3️⃣- I break my rotation and grab this one today
4️⃣- F**k rotation, I’ll listen to these for the whole week
5️⃣- Im selling everything, I will only listen to these haha.
💥GRAB SCORE: 4
⚜️COMPARISONS
Ziigaat Lush
Looking at graphs, it looks like the Lush has lesser bass, but on listening, the Odyssey is actually leaner because of the overall treble tilt from the lush. The Lush is warmer in comaprison. If you like a warmer approach, you could go with the Lush. The Odyssey has a better balance overall
Sliivo SL41 mkii
The sliivo is another meta tuned IEM that I ranked S. The tonality is close, but I would probably give this to the Odyssey because of the overall smoothness. The Sliivo sounds a bit sharper in the upper mids and treble, as seen on graphs. If you prefer a brighter meta, then the sliivo.
Hisenior Mega5p
Although, the tuning approach is a little bit different. Both share a balance sound with different emphasis. The mega5p is less forward in the treble, but I feel like it has more realistic vocal presentation, and warmer too! The Odyssey has that good balance of bass and treble, while the vocals can be forward, it’s not as nuanced as the mega5p
Hisenior Megafest
I had to compare the two because of how similar they are in graphs, and also in sound. The Mega5est edges a little better in resolution because it has ESTs. But that also means you have to pay twice as much. I actually prefer the overlall balance of the Odyssey. The Mega5est has this grainy treble that affects cymbals a bit.
Dunu DK3001 Brain Dance
The brain dance is another meta tuned IEM that resembles the gain of the Odyssey. I am comparing both because I am trying to prove a point that, you don’t have to spend much to get a good sounding earphone. Although the BD has a brighter presentation, it has its own character with its treble presentation. Anyhow, I dont even know why I’m comparing both haha. My point is, of all the Meta tuned sets in any price point, the Odyssey has to be the best sounding for me.
🤔FINAL THOUGHTS
I never expected I would like a meta tuning. I mean, I can appreciate its sound presentation, but I dont quite like the fact it has some recession in the gain area. Sure, there are pros to doing this, like better volume scalability, no shout and a smooth treble presentation overall, but it also makes the sound a bit dull.
Not with the odyssey though. It has enough upper mids energy to complement the signature. What this translates to is, the mids, especially vocals, become realistic, rich, and articualte. That is perfection for me
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WHERE TO BUY: non affiliate links
https://www.ziigaat.com/products/ziigaat-odyssey
⚜️MY LIBRARY:
I grew up listening to 90’s music. Alternative, punk-rock, screamo, rap, Philippine OPM, Anime songs, JPOP, KPOP, metal, reggae and a lot more.
The artists I regularly listen to are:
⭐Rock-Alternative-Metal
Incubus, 311, BMTH, Matchbox 20, The Goo Goo Dolls, Paramore, Polyphia, The Calling,, Babymetal, Metallica, Slipknot, Bon Jovi, Coheed and Cambria, Deftones, Red Hot, Green day,
⭐OPM(Original Pinoy Music):
E-heads, Slapshock, Parokya, Urbanddub, Up Dharma Down, Bamboo, IV of spade, Kamikazee, Rivermaya
⭐POP:
IU, Yoasobi, Yorushika, Milet, Reona, Maroon 5, Coldplay, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Taylor, Dua Lipa, Oliva Rodrigo, Billie Eilish
⭐OTHERS:
Carpenters, Micheal Learns to Rock, Celine Dion, Bob Marley, Sitti, Daft Punk, Pink Floyed, Earth wind and fire, Amber rubarth, Sia, Yosi Horikawa
I listen to more, but I can’t just list them all here.haha. Just giving you an idea on what I listen.
Thanks for reaching here. Hope you enjoyed reading. :)
