Ziigaat, hailing from the land of China is known for their high quality hybrid IEMs. They rose to glory with their Cincotres and Dosinco hybrid IEMs and have been releasing IEMs strictly under $500 for the last couple of years and usually like to play around the numbers of the DD and BA drivers. They did release an all BA IEM Luna earlier this year but are back to their hybrid roots with the Horizon. Housing one DD, 2 BA and 2 micro planar drivers it is comfortably priced at just $329 and ships in only one color scheme. Yes, it’s a tribrid and the 1st of many to come I guess (given the track record). Let’s see how this compares against the Kiwi Ears Septet (quad-brid) and Sivga Nightingale Pro (planar).
Get one for yourself from here:
UNBOXING AND ACCESSORIES:
We get a good set of accessories here. Take out the paper cover, lift the upper box and we have the earpieces in front of us while the case and all the accessories are placed inside a paper box under it. It ships with 2 set of sticky smoked and clear tips in S/M/L sizes and a pair of foam tip. It has a high quality, spacious carry case with structures to store the IEM securely, interestingly this can be taken out to get more room. This time around, we have a modular cable too, which is a welcome change.
BUILD AND ERGONOMICS:
Just like any other Ziigaat IEM, Horizon too has a resin shell, it’s aptly lightweight yet feels solid to the hand. It will definitely not survive a fall of more than 3-4feet on hard surfaces and can be scratched if handled roughly. It doesn’t have a semi custom like shape but has the curves at the right places, offering a reasonably comfortable fit and stability inside the ear. Even though the number of drivers is a bit on the higher side, Horizon isn’t a very voluminous and can fit most ears without many issues. It has a long enough nozzle which helps with the weight balance, offering an aptly secure fit. Its glossy shell looks decent while the glittery back plate looks aesthetically pleasing. It has reasonable sound isolation too.
CABLE:
Horizon ships with the exactly same cable as the Luna. This is a 4 core, silver plated OFC cable with a soft layer of PVC coat on it. It has little to no memory issues, not bouncy and no microphonics to worry about either. Ziigaat has used good quality, metallic connectors here, while the 2pin and Y splitter are reasonably low profile, the jack is on the larger side. It doesn’t have any stress reliever at the jack. Now, even though this looks nice, and the IEM sounds good, this isn’t the best cable for this IEM. I tried the $70 KBear Aureus cable and it takes the experience to a totally different level.
PAIRING WITH SOURCES:
I tried a few sources with the Horizon and even when it has planar drivers (of the Micro variant) it doesn’t need a lot of power to sound good. I tried the warmish and fuller sounding Hidizs S9 pro+ and it does offer a bit more poise and slightly less aggressive finishing energy, making it sound a bit more comfortable but Horizon doesn’t sound less expansive or expressive with it. I tried it with the DDhifi TC44 grip, which is an analytical sounding source, Horizon reciprocates with similarly energetic and precise notes.
Pairing it with the Shanling UA7 was a delicious affair for me, Horizon responded nicely to the slightly fuller and admirably cleaner presentation. So, basically, it doesn’t need a powerful source to sound good but responds to the source’s base nature.
SOUND QUALITY:
5 drivers, Tri-brid, that’s definitely impressive. Horizon has a one DD to take care of the lows, 2 BA drivers for the mid range and two planar drivers for the highs. Even when we have various types of drivers, the good thing is, there is barely any issue of coherency between the drivers. We have a prominent W shaped signature where the bass and mid range aren’t the driving forces as the highs are the king here, and I have to admit, planar for highs can be outstanding and Ziigaat has tuned this IEM admireably. Another thing to keep in mind is, it has a neutral kind of signature and is more like a precision tool which offers high quality details with superior accuracy, accuracy that is even better than BA based IEMs. If you are looking for an warm, smooth, relaxed sounding IEM, look away, this is not for you.
I am using stock smoky tips, Cayin RU3 and Shaling UA7 for this review.
BASS:
Powered by a 10mm biodynamic driver, marketed to offer deep, engaging bass and I won’t disagree. This lower end is not close to bass head level but offers highly engaging and rumbly presentation. It has very good sub-bass depth with class leading type rumbles, and offers higher quality dyanmics, keeps things tight and makes it’s presence felt when the track calls for it. Mid bass is slightly fuller as usual and aids this bass region with the required amount of body and heft. Yes, the area of impact isn’t very big but move good amount of air. Horizon offers superb dynamics and easily changes the intensity, while offering very good directional cues, meeting the demands of the track. It can be focused, centrally heavy and peripherally heavy when needed. Horizon offers nicely layered notes while maintaining very good contrast between back and foreground instruments, exhibiting its technical capabilities. Decay is a bit on the slower side, letting the notes gain some uncontrolled weight, losing composure in some scenarios. Horizon offers aptly tight upper bass notes, it’s not the cleanest but is clean enough.
MID RANGE:
Ziigaat has used 2 BA drivers for the mid range and it performs reasonably well. This is a W shaped IEM and does focus a bit more on the vocals while retaining very good energy and clarity with the instruments. Yes, the instruments around the vocals are slightly less energetic (even a few instruments like trumpet and violin that are supposed to maintain a similar level of energy throughout a particular note feel a bit more uneven, yet spicing things up) to give a bit more space and pop to the vocals yet have enough resolution to stay relevant. We get a bit more finishing definition and resolution with a hint of extra sharpness and precision but nothing to worry about, which is true for the upper mids too (as expected from BA drivers). It does have a bit more bite than usual but doesn’t get uncomfortable yet can be tiring if not paired with a warm source during a long listening session.
Unsurprisingly these BA drivers prioritize precision over lushness with vocals (typical nature of BA drivers). It has no metallic timber to worry about but it’s not warm or smooth either but has similarly neutral tonality like a few last gen DD IEMs (EA1000 and Falcon Ultra). These BA drivers have faster decay, losing brownie points for not sounding emotional or cohesive enough (something the Kiwi Ears Septet manages to offer). Male vocals could have been fuller and throaty. It retains decent texture while female vocals sound more accurate and aptly agile. We get a fairly neutral tonality and okay-ish cohesion across the mid range.
HIGHS:
I am totally convinced that planar for highs are the best thing that has gone main-stream recently (Unless you prefer smooth, relaxed and dark highs obviously). We are dealt with excellent clarity, transparency, superb extension maintaining very good energy till the end. Horizon has sparkly, agile and lively notes with a forward presentation, which can be slightly aggressive if you aren’t comfortable with this kind of presentation, the good thing is, it maintains uniform energy and has no spikes or peaks to be wary of. We get very good layering and separation, it nicely layers foreground instruments one over another while the background instruments have decent space to fade (faster than Kiwi Ears Septet and Sivga Nightingale Pro) and move around when needed. I would have liked a bit more Z-axis depth but this isn’t bad either. Planar highs have always been known for their cleanliness and that’s true for horizon too and thanks to this we get class leading amount of air between instruments highly accurate placements.
STAGE AND IMAGING:
Stage of this IEM is easily one of the most developed around $400 with a wider stage, it’s not very tall and is okay with Z-axis depth. What is makes up with is an extra layer of background instruments when compared to similarly priced IEM like Septet. Bass notes fire inward, most of the vocals are placed inside the head while some of the mid range instruments eventually make it out of the head and most of the treble notes are projected out of the head. One odd thing is, its stage doesn’t have much projection under the ears, lacking definition at the floor. Thanks to its precise notes, it has superior clarity and pinpoint cue placements, giving it an edge over competition with transient instruments.
COMPARISON:
VS Kiwi Ears Septet:
These two IEMs have very similar kind of presentation and tuning principals. While the Horizon is slightly more balanced and a bit more open sounding (especially with the highs) Septet has better control and slightly fuller vocals when powered nicely. The bigger difference is with the stage, Septet has better Z-axis depth while Horizon is wider and has a more distinctive background separation. If this intrigues you, here is my comparison video:
VS Sivga Nightingale Pro:
This is an interesting kind of comparison. A single planar vs a Tri-brid with two micro planars. Horizon has the edge when it comes to treble energy and bass rumble. It has a more agile and cleaner treble notes with slightly more air between instruments. Bass on the other hand has more rumble and body, has a slower decay, offering juicy notes, yes, these lack the control and separation of the Sivga. Sivga nearly does everything else better. It has better contrast, dynamics and a gradual decay across the spectrum. Stage size of Sivga is bigger but Horizon is a wider stage, when it comes to imaging, Horizon has a more vivid back ground separation but Sivga has better Z-axis depth. It has tighter bass notes. Horizon can sound a bit raw and jagged while Sivga is more refined and uniform with its energy across the spectrum which can get slightly boring after a while.
CONCLUSION:
Ziigaat Horizon is an excellent example of what a W shaped IEM is supposed to sound like. Its planar drivers handle the highs exceptionally well, offering superb extension and energy without sounding sharp or uncomfortable. It offers an distinctive layer of background instruments, giving its stage a more developed feel. 10mm DD handles the lows with ease, offering high quality rumbles and fuller notes. Yes, mids could have been slightly more organic and emotional but I will pass it since Horizon is tuned for accuracy and precision. This is easily one of the best IEMs under $300 in my opinion, if you are looking for a bassier IEM, look into the Kiwi Ears Astral and if you want better refinement while maintaining similar details and clarity, I will suggest the Sivga Nightingale Pro.
So.. This is it, if you have any doubts about the Horizon, feel free to ask.
Cheers and enjoy!!
