In terms of audio quality, the Linsoul ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete are the real deal. In terms of comfort, not so much, but that’s an easy fix with your favorite eartips. These IEMs’ punchy bass and natural-sounding mids are top notch. As gaming IEMs, they’re especially powerful in encapsulating audio as game developers intended.
In the high-fidelity audio world, wired earphones are the norm. Although Bluetooth audio has improved over the past decade, using in-ear monitors (IEMs) with a standalone digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is one of the best ways to fine-tune audio. I’m sure you’ve seen some streamers of late using IEMs instead of traditional headsets, too, so don’t think that IEMs are just for HiFi audio. What if there was a mid-tier (think sub-$500) set of IEMs that are tuned for gaming?
Enter the Linsoul ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Aretes.
I haven’t used Linsoul or ZiiGaat’s products previously, but they’re a known quantity on Reddit and other HiFi forums. From my reading over the past few years, they’ve been known for affordable IEMs and a wide range of products for gamers and audiophiles alike. In the past year, they’ve risen to prominence thanks to multiple collaborations with prominent influencers. The Arete is the result of ZiiGaat collaborating with Fresh Reviews, an FPS content creator known for his reviews of gaming peripherals while playing competitive titles (e.g., APEX, VALORANT).
ZiiGaat has boasted the Arete’s prowess in ensuring midrange, treble, and bass were fluidly emphasized to their fullest potential thanks to a 1DD+4BA configuration of five drivers. Sub-bass and bass response are powered by a 10mm biocellulose diaphragm dynamic driver and neodymium magnets. They also have two Knowles 29689 balanced armature drivers and twin-balanced Knowles 31736 armature drivers to power the mids and treble.
The ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete can be purchased from Linsoul (non-affiliated link).
I don’t expect the average consumer to know what these drivers are, what they’re known for, or why they’re important in the Aretes, so let me translate: The Aretes have been configured to ensure that the midrange of audio, inclusive of string and vocals, sound natural. They’ve also been packed with drivers that emphasize bass without drowning out music. In short, they’re an excellent multipurpose IEM for gaming and music.
Talk is cheap, though. The question remains: How do they hold up for multipurpose HiFi audio?
I have been testing the Aretes for the past two weeks, and I’m thrilled to say that they not only pack an excellent audio punch, but they’re the real deal for a midrange-priced IEM. They’ve easily made their way into my daily driver rotation of IEMs and will remain my go-to IEMs for the foreseeable future.
The Aretes come in three colors: blue, black, and white. I was sent the black model of the Aretes for the purpose of this review. They’re medium sized, larger than my KINBOOFI KZ ZS10 Pros, while also being lighter than those IEMs. The entire unit is plastic with a clear resin exterior at the top. The outward facing design is glittery, similar to a shiny guitar pick. Overall, it’s a flashy design that would assuredly catch the eye of someone wanting a colorful pair of IEMs.
The Arete is shockingly lightweight despite being able to deliver on punchy audio (which I’ll cover in a minute). Because of their weightlessness, the IEMs feel slightly hollow. I read somewhere online that these IEMs were 3D-printed; I don’t see any mention of that on Linsoul’s Store, so take that as you will. Despite the weightlessness, the units feel sturdy. I was comfortable taking them around with me when I had to take the train. The units came with a carrying case for easy transport, but they feel sturdy enough to sit on your table and/or placed in a backpack when in a pinch. The only thing that I wasn’t too pleased with were the detachable braided cables which felt too cheap for my liking. I tend to prefer thicker cables and/or cables with a clear jacket around them. Don’t worry about the cables, though – they’re detachable and can easily be swapped with another set of cables of your liking.
Upon putting the Aretes around and in my ears, I was thrilled with the fit and initial comfort. The wires around the units were snugly wrapped around the top of my ear while also not budging once they were placed in my ear canal. However, at the 90-minute mark (or so), the inside of my ears became slightly sore, leading me to believe that the eartips are too stiff for comfortable long-term use. I tested the medium and small silicone tips and had the same uncomfortable result, so you’re better off getting a secondary set of silicone eartips that have a smidge more cushion as to not irritate the ears. The Aretes also come with a set of foam tips, but the seal and acoustics of foam are different than silicone, in my experience.
Although the Aretes weren’t the most comfortable for longer periods, the default eartips fit so well that all outside noise was removed. I wasn’t able to hear people talking to me in-person unless they were right next to me despite having the volume lowered to ~10% (on my computer, on my phone, and on my Nintendo Switch). Seal is important in IEMs as to prevent sound leakage and to ensure that the audio is contained; the Aretes seal quite well in that regard.
Now, let’s talk about the Arete’s sound quality. This should be the most important aspect of the review. To put the Aretes through their paces, I tested them attached to my Pixel 9 Pro XL, my Nintendo Switch, on my PS5 Dualsense Controller, and attached to my PC’s DAC. This was done to get a fuller understanding of the IEMs capabilities across multiple platforms, especially given that our readers have vastly different audio needs and hardware setups.
The Aretes were capable of delivering powerful, punchy, and deep bass thanks to the subbass extension. Somehow, the bass did not overshadow the midrange despite being so prominent in bass-heavy tracks. This was especially true when listening to Deep House and Tech House, like Luca Bisori’s It’s Cool (Ruben Mandolini Remix). The audio reverberations of Duodisco’s Bang were perfectly captured. In Don Diablo’s Cheque (Original Mix), the beats throughout the song did not overshadow the energetic synthetic piano.
As for midrange audio, the Aretes delivered balanced and natural audio that lacked artificial harshness that often occurs when the mids are amplified in some IEMs. When listening to Stela Cole’s Blue Moon, the instruments (especially the string instruments, yeesh) were crystal clear in the background of Cole’s melodic singing. Safari Riot’s remix of The Stroke had a full-bodied treble and midrange despite the sharp percussions in the track. I could hear every single word Doechii said in Alter Ego with no sibilance. Bob Moses’ Broken Belief, my recent favorite track thanks to The Penguin Season 1, sounded especially clear.
It was when I plugged my Aretes into my JDS Labs Atom Amp+ when I feel like I was pushing my Aretes to their fullest potential. My Atom Amp+ broadened the Aretes’ already wide soundstage, emphasizing the mids and maintaining a clean audio profile. While the Aretes had minimal static to begin with, I was solidly impressed by how well the Aretes sounded. I understand that not all consumers own an amp for their desktop nor intend on pairing their gaming headsets with any form of amp at all, but it’s worth considering if you’re using an amp. Going from using the Aretes with my Pixel 9 Pro XL to my desktop was a noticeable positive difference, so consider that if you haven’t already.
On the gaming side of things, the Aretes have been tuned to emphasize spoken word, footsteps, and delicate sound effects that often matter most in FPS games. Think of things like soft footsteps, bullet casings clinking on the ground, and reloading. I know that many gaming headsets boast their capacity to highlight footsteps (for the CS2/VAL players who are deadest on climbing the ranks), but more often than not they underdeliver on the audio side. Most of the time, gaming headsets over-amplify things like footsteps at the expense of a detailed audio, which makes for a terrible audio experience.
I was pleasantly surprised with how well the Aretes handled spatial audio in-game. I usually expect IEMs to struggle with directional audio given their compressed nature, but the Aretes performed just as well as my Corsair Virtuoso MAX. In Deep Rock Galactic, I could hear my teammates shout out all around me. In Counter-Strike 2, the Aretes would accurately convey my teammates who were around the corner along with their sound effects (e.g., reloading, throwing grenades, and so forth).
The Aretes excel in the competitive sense, as though they were made to deliver audio that game developers intended players to hear. VALORANT is known for its amped up instrumentals alongside its licensed music tracks from the likes of Ashnikko, bbno$, and KISS OF LIFE. When listening to VALORANT’s in-game audio, the background lobby music sounded powerful and helped me get my heart pumping in between matches. In-game, I could hear everything my teammates were saying even when bullets were flying and the announcer was notifying the team of our success.
The Aretes come with a small plasticky carrying case, three pairs of silicone eartips, and one pair of foam eartips. The carrying case was a nice addition, but mine was quite hard to open because of its stiff zipper. I instead chose to use a carbon fiber carrying case from an older set of earbuds that I bought well over a decade ago.
It’s rare to come across a gaming IEM that does gaming and HiFi as well as how the Aretes construct such an excellent soundstage. I will admit that it does not compare to some of the higher-tier IEMs from the likes of THIEAUDIO’s Monarch MKIII or Sennheiser’s IE 600, but both of those IEMs are in the upper echelons of the HiFi audio price range. Even more, the Aretes are perhaps the best gaming IEMs I’ve come across in recent memory.
In terms of audio quality, the Linsoul ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete are the real deal. In terms of comfort, not so much, but that’s an easy fix with your favorite eartips. These IEMs’ punchy bass and natural-sounding mids are top notch. As gaming IEMs, they’re especially powerful in encapsulating audio as game developers intended.
Linsoul provided DigitalChumps with the ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete for the sole purpose of this review.
