ZiiGaat Crescent Premium IEMs Review – Intense Zii Gaat Musicality Exprima
ZiiGaat Crescent is a $279 USD pair of IEM In-Ear Monitor Earphones with a dandy 2BA + 2DD Driver combo, tuned for a rich, warm, analogue sound but with the ZiiGaat signature studio grade tonal balance. Today we review the ZiiGaat Crescent and also briefly compare them with other similarly priced IEMs including ZiiGaat Horizon (329 USD), and ZiiGaat Luna (379 USD). As you can see, this review explores three very popular models from ZiiGaat and how they compare directly.
Introduction
ZiiGaat keeps things interesting in the entry-level and midrange market for music lovers and audiophiles, with the Crescent model we’re reviewing today being their closest to a warm and analogue sounding model, at least judging from their marketing. ZiiGaat is known for making some of the most precise, studio tuned IEMS on the market, revealing while on a budget. ZiiGaat IEMs are available for purchase through a selection of vendors, including Linsoul, on the Linsoul Aliexpress shop or the Linsoul Amazon storefront.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4onEYdx
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4ohxGDd
Build Quality And Design
ZiiGaat Crescent is a premium pair of IEMS with a rather fun setup of Dual BA and Dual Dynamic drivers. The dual dynamic driver combo contains two different drivers, one 10mm PET and one 10mm LCP driver, the LCP driver for sub-bass and PET driver tuned for mid bass, and with the synergy of the two promising a warmer and more musically appealing sound that we’ve previously heard from ZiiGaat. For the BA combo, we have a Knowles 30262-163 and a Knowles 33518 driver, and with support from the Artisanal Buld Quality with medical grade resin for your comfort.
Faceplates are hand poured and add a boutique finish to the Crescent. You won’t have to replace the cable as Crescent comes with an audiophile-grade 0.78mm 2-Pin Silver Plated OFC cable that ensures a pristine signal. This is a modular cable and you can use it with both a 3.5mm and a 4.4mm balanced jack plug.
Technically, Crescent has a really low THD of 0.63%, a SPL of 102dB and a promised impedance of 12 OHMs, but as detected and reported by Luxsin X9, the actual impedance is around 32 OHMs.
Subjective Usage
ZiiGaat Crescent feels quite good inside of my ears, and just like all of the other ZiiGaat IEMs, I actually forget that I am wearing them after a short while, as they adjust their temperature to my ears, and basically disappear. Passive noise isolation is ok, and at around 20 dB across the entire FR, you can use the Crescent in most environments just fine. There’s minimal leakage, and they come with a handling noise resistant cable, so overall I am really happy with the construction quality.
There’s a really neat transport case included with the Crescent, and they have a medium fitting, which works well for most users. Default silicone tips include some super sticky tips that increase bass, and which work well with my ears without causing dryness which is also super nice.
Sound Quality
Pairings – I have paired the ZiiGaat Crescent with a collection of sources, FiiO K17, Audioengine HXL, Shanling Onix Beta XI2, Surfans F35 Music Player DAP, iBasso D17 Atheris, Burson Playmate 3, Rose Technics RT-5000, and Luxsin X9.
Although I noticed that Luxsin X9 reports the impedance as 32 OHMs, I am Crescent is easy to drive, but most certainly behaves like a pair of IEMs with an impedance of 32 OHMs, it is far less sensitive to source quality than a pair of IEMS with a 16 OHM impedance. Most DAC AMPs can drive it really well, and as it filters a bit of the signal down to voltage compared to a 16 OHM impedance pair of IEMS, Crescent is great to be used with dongle DAC AMPS, even with ones that are more dirty, as it is not sensitive to THD, and it has an inherently low THD too.
Overall Signature – ZiiGaat Crescent has a sweet, melodic and warm sound with a big and heavy bass, but that’s balanced by the rather clean midrange and treble. It has a clear warm tint for voices, but also a smooth, sonically pleasing female voice presentation. Excellent for modern and compressed music, Crescent also renders orchestras and large compositions in a holographic and warm, full fashion. It has a thick body, which gives music realism and presence, ideal for most styles.
Bass – At the bottom, Crescent starts from the lowest out of all ZiiGaat IEMs, with Crescent having extension from about 30 Hz, and with a fairly full and heavy presence in between the 50 Hz and 120 hZ bass peaking range. This results in a full body, big and ballsy bass, and a really pleasing, warm, analogue deep end. Although there are two distinct bass drivers that produce the bass, I cannot say that I ever heard the difference between the two drivers, the sound is rather cohesive.
Midrange – In fact, this magical cohesiveness is part of how Crescent manages to create that analogue sound, there is no difference in the response of the drivers, as Crescent creates a really pleasing sound. Combined with the ultra low THD or Total Harmonic Distortion, Crescent sounds really controlled, smooth and euphonic. It gives richness and substance to both male and female voices, creating a sound that can be described as fun, full, lush and musical. It is expressive and personal, but still delivers one of the widest images and most holographic soundstage presentations that I’ve heard to date.
Treble – Treble is smooth, mostly silky, and extends up to about 16 kHz, with most energy around 11 kHz and no peaking points outside of this range. Crescent avoids sounding cold and bright at all given points, it is controlled with a smooth treble, enough present to give rock and metal music some air and high-end bite, but it is by no means fatiguing or harsh.
Dynamics And Textures – ZiiGaat Crescent has the highest dynamic range out of all ZiiGaat IEMs to date, and most of them are more compressed sounding, while Crescent allows for a higher DR, more relaxed dynamics and this makes music more real and more fun. At the other end, it also has a smooth, silky texture, which is a far departure from the tighter, more dry presentation of other ZiiGaat IEMs. Crescent is musical and has a full body. It manages to sound detailed and revealing though, by brute force of actually revealing that detail, which is what most high-end IEMS do in the higher price ranges.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – ZiiGaat Crescent has a high dynamic range and low THD, it sounds more consistent across multiple volume levels, being more controlled than the other ZiiGaat IEMS, so you can enjoy it both loud and quiet more easily. It basically works well for all volume levels, I enjoyed it a lot at low volumes, normal and very high volumes.
Soundstage – With a huge soundstage, a slightly more blended presentation, ZiiGaat Crescent really sounds analogue and warm, it is magically wide and holographic. The unique presentation makes music very real and fun, and it is great for all styles including rock, metal, pop, EDM and even classical and orchestral. Despite not being marketed as such, it is the most versatile and universal sounding IEM ZiiGaat made to date.
Comparisons
ZiiGaat Crescent vs ZiiGaat Horizon (279 USD vs 329 USD) – Construction quality is basically the same, minus the shell faceplates which are different. Sonically, horizon is a bit warm, also a bit atmospheric, but Crescent is warmer, bigger, with a fuller body and also sounds more musically euphoric. Horizon sounds more neutral, less optimistic, and more true to the source, but Crescent is the beautiful, really musical partner that you always want to hear more from.
ZiiGaat Crescent vs ZiiGaat Luna (279 USD vs 329 USD) – Luna also has exactly the same comfort, although it is slightly more sensitive to driver flex while Crescent has zero flex. Sonically, Luna is quite neutral, cold and bright, has bass extension but it is not very deep, while Crescent is truly warm, has a full body, deep bass extension and excellent resolution still. In fact, this is the most surprising part, but Luna does not have a much higher detail revealing ability despite the colder and brighter sound while Crescent could be said to reveal more information as it reveals layers of bass and with the extra body, music makes more sense as well.
Value and Conclusion
ZiiGaat Crescent has outstanding value, they sound the most analogue, most enjoyable and warmest out of all the previously released ZiiGaat IEMs, yet they carry the same technical resolution as the more studio and neutral-tuned models, so I can confidently say that I am in love with what I’m hearing from the Crescent and they have the modular cable, transport case and everything to keep them high-value.
At the end of the day, if you like the idea of an ultra-revealing pair of IEMS with excellent build quality, comfortably fitting and with a revealing sound, but if you want something that’s a bit warmer and more analogue sounding, ZiiGaat Crescent rises with the warmth of a thousand suns to bring you fun and musical joy.
PROs
- Comfortable to wear
- Transport case included
- Excellent build quality
- Modular cable
- Warm and pleasing sound with a wide and atmospheric midrange
- Excellent sound resolution
- Analogue sound that reminds me a bit of the tape smoothness
- Extremely fun listening experience.
Cons
- Very different tuning from the ziiGaat family, which may make them a different choice if you heard a ZiiGaat IEM before
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4onEYdx
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4ohxGDd
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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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