Dom Q’s spot (Recap of CanJam NYC and other things)

Great point. For now, Tri Clarion tips seem to open the treble a smidge. But nothing like a piezo would.

Really enjoying the Explorer. I keep reaching for it almost every day.

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Do the Clarions even stay on the nozzle for you? They seem to slip off so easily for me so I didn’t even risk it.

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Yes, sir. No problem here.

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Alright, I’ll give it a try!

These are my very subjective opinion of how eartips affect sound. I used Prisma Azul and Dunu Vulkan to assess the various ways these eartips affect the sound.
The green ones are my favorite.

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That’s actually a sick list, thank you for sharing that and putting it together. I would agree with pretty much everything you wrote here.

For me though, the Tri Clarions and the SS20s increase mid bass as well as the texture associated it. Something about the larger opening on both and the closer driver-to-eardrum distance on the SS20s definitely provide some extra thump in my ears.

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for me, JVC EP-FX10 spiral dots have a similar effect on sound. acoustune aex50s are another with a wider opening but big midbass bump but they’re so difficult to recommend as fitting them consistently is annoying, can see them being used when you want maximum stability but they’re a weird case for sure.

@Cameleon30 have you tried the acoustune aex70? I like most of the green listed tips from your list and you might find them interesting. they’re probably best described a premium version of the aet07

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Interesting new set in the house for potential review if they’re good enough to actually write about. Spoiler; they are actually pretty damn good as of the last 10 minutes of listening.

The Cylest Wyvern Qing





In typical Kinera/Celest fashion, the small but elegant unboxing experience is nice. The front graphic and little detail about the Dragon :dragon: are very nice touches. Not to mention the actual shell design is gorgeous. Part of the reason why I said yes to this unit is the shell design, I’m man enough to admit that…

I had no expectations if I’m honest, I haven’t seen a single graph or even talk about this set around any forums so I was going in completely blind. The only expectations I had was that of usual Kinera house tuning, big bass shelf with an emphasis on the mid bass but with an equality, sometimes even bigger, emphasis on the upper mids which from past experience, is not my favorite and that’s putting it lightly. The last Celest set I had in hands was the Pandamon 2 and I did not enjoy that set at all.

This set however, is a perfectly serviceable pair of ultra budget IEMs. I assume pricing will be around $20. For that you get an absolutely beautiful shell (in my opinion) and surprisingly well balanced tuning. The upper mids are slightly forward, but nothing I can’t tolerate and the mid bass punch is nice. Treble seems on the slightly darker side causing the sound to be very in my head and intimate in terms of width, but depth is surprisingly good, must be that bass tuning…

Anyways - I may do a full write up on these with more listening but as of right now, I like em!

Thanks for reading :pray:

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Haha that almost got me too.

24 usd

Tuning is somewhat similar to the older chifis.

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Very Harman-like for sure. Idk if the DD quality keeps getting improved over time, making them think a new set is a good idea, but this set has pretty good bass quality imo so maybe that’s the case.

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If you mean the DD tech in general, yes it does but slow af.

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The Ziigaat X Jay’s Audio Estrella

Pros;

Summary

Stunning faceplate design

Excellent fit for my ears

Zero Pressure issues

Actual branded BAs are used, no “custom” non-sense here

Strong Sub-bass with rumble and texture

Mid-bass has thump and authority

Fast bass response, no mud

Clean transition into the mids

Mids are fantastic - clean and clear with just the right amount of warmth

Vocals are textured and detailed and tuned almost exactly how I’d like

Treble is some of the best I’ve heard in the hobby. Full Stop.

Layering is top tier up to $1000

Texture and overall resolution is top tier up to $1000

Cons;

Summary

Mid-bass impact could have some more texture and impact

I could use maybe a hair less upper-mid amplitude (very subjective)

Staging doesn’t appear to be particularly wide, deep or tall (subjective to HRTF)

As of August 8th, I cannot speak on the unboxing experience or the included accessories, but looking back on Ziigaat’s previous releases, it should be serviceable but nothing to write home about. That could change with the Estrella, but I am unsure as of the time of writing this.

Full Disclosure; Jay from Jay’s Audio is a really good buddy of mine, we met on the forums probably about 2 years ago and we’ve both been a part of a tour group for well over a year now. We have discussions, conversations, and general banter with one another pretty much every day. I’d like to think we’ve become friends over the last few years so of course, there is going to be a strong bias here for his first collab IEM. It’s pretty amazing - at one point, Jay had decided to take a step back from reviewing and focus on another aspect of his life, which we were all in favor of if that meant Jay would be happier or more comfortable in his day-to-day life. In our tour group and on his YouTube comments, I felt like we were all as supportive as we could be, but there was no denying that we were all collectively a little disappointed.

Fast forward to today, which is literally exactly a year and a week since then and… Wow. I am honored and proud to call Jay a friend and I truly believe he put so much work into this project with Ziigaat. He also welcomed so much input not only from the tour group and his immediate personal friends up in the Great White North but the Audio community as well. He really wanted to make a good IEM and it shows with everything he’s done up to this point. The backstory behind this IEM and the tuning is fascinating and I, along with our other buddies in the tour group had a front-row seat on the journey. I assume all of our collective preferences played a role in the decisions made in the tuning of this IEM, and it shows because even after listening to them for over a week, I still could find very little to no fault in their sound. I know I know, I get it - It makes sense. It’s my friend’s IEM… how could I find fault? Wouldn’t I shill the hell out of this IEM? I see your point. But truly, I let Jay know from the beginning that I was going to still have to keep it real and he not only understood, but he hoped my review wouldn’t be too glowing and positive, but instead show a little more objectivity….

With all that being said, I was provided this very special pair of Estrellas in order to capture some images for marketing as well as a full write-up evaluation, which will be one of the very first I believe. Outside of the dudes at Ziigaat, Jay, and his buddies up in Canada, I’m the first person to get ears on the Estrella, which just feels so special to me. This particular pair has gone on to the next stop in the first leg of the reviewer tour, so I no longer have them but I wrote plenty of notes during my listening and quite frankly, it’s just a very memorable IEM, period. Side note; my wife chose the name Estrella, which I think is just so cool… Needless to say, this is and will probably be the most important review/write-up/article/impressions I ever write.

So, without further ado, here’s my full write-up on the Ziigaat X Jay’s Audio Estrella.

Test tracks and Sources used

Summary
  • Give Life Back to Music - daft punk - Overall clarity

  • Infinity Repeating - daft punk - Lower mids control

  • Voyager - daft punk - Bass line clarity/busy track layering

  • Overnight - Parcels - mid bass punch

  • Tieduprightnow - Parcels - bass line/sibilance test

  • Justice - Neverender - Sub bass rumble and mid bass impact with treble sparkle balance

  • Daytime - Lunar Vacation - Staging/female vocals w/ heavy bass

  • Days - No Vacation - Vibe test/treble energy

  • Fruiting Body - Goon - Sub bass

  • Wavy Maze - Goon - Mid bass

  • Together - Maggie Rodgers - Female Vocals

  • Slide Tackle - Japanese Breakfast - Sibilance test/consonants harshness

  • Decode - Paramore - Vibe test/stage depth

  • Vinta - Crumb - Stage depth/layering

  • Kim’s Caravan - Courtney Barnett - Female Vocals/resolution test

  • Small Poppies - Courtney Barnett - Distorted Guitar

  • Lifelong Song - Men I Trust - Sub/mid bass texture

  • One and Only - Adele - Female Vocals/consonants harshness test

  • Waves - Wild Painting - Overall Enjoyment and stage depth/width/Bass guitar speed

  • Not the One - Highnoon - Female Vocals

  • Cowboy Killer - Varsity - Layering

  • Alone in My Principles - Varsity - Distorted female vocals

  • Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang - Treble Harshness

  • They Are Growing - Renata Zeiguer - Mid bass impact

Sources

  • Apple Music Streaming Hi-Res Lossless when available

  • Topping D10s/Earmen ST-Amp stack

  • Muse HiFi M4

  • Fosi DS2

  • FiiO BTR7 BT

Pricing will be $299.00 and the pre-orders are open right now!

Tech specs;
2DD + 4BA Hybrid IEM
Impedance
7Ω@1kHz
Sensitivity
108dB (±1dB) @1kHz
DC Impedance
10Ω
Driver
10mm PET DD2 + Knowles 29689 1+Sonion 2345 * 1+Sonion E50 * 1

If you’d like to pre-order the Estrella, you can follow this unaffiliated link below;

Fitment note; The Estrellas fit my ears like a glove. For context, my most comfortable IEM I own is the Monarch MK2… I have big outer ears for sure and the Estrella exhibited fantastic isolation, fit security and absolutely no pressure build up or long term discomfort for me. I’d say the shells are about a medium size and the nozzle length is slightly shorter, maybe even shorter than I’d like, with an average nozzle opening size of 5.5mm so tips should have no issues going and staying on.

TLDR; Where do I begin? The Estrella is an IEM that is special to me in a lot of ways as I highlighted above but above everything else, the sound is damn near my perfect EDC tune. It has a deep, textured sub-bass that rumbles with speed and impact. The mid-bass amount is perfect for my preferences with 0 bleed into the mid-range which is beautifully textured, detailed, and just at the right spot in the mix. The more gradual pinna gain + the small 4k bump is just a genius tuning decision. With the very easy and very reversible tape mod, the mids and vocals specifically become even more texture and detailed rivaling my Monarch MK2 in terms of natural timbre, tone, and detail. No kidding. The treble is some of the best I’ve heard at this point and I’ve heard some of the best treble this hobby has to offer in my humble opinion. It is just wonderfully executed with just the right amount of sparkle and energy, it gave me chills the first time it hit me, which I’ll dive into in just a second. The technicalities, the resolution, detail retrieval, staging, and layering are all above its price bracket and that’s not hyperbole. I’d say the layering rivals kilo-buck sets. Every instrument is clearly heard, felt, and experienced. If I had 1 nitpick of the Estrella, I would prefer a little less upper-mids here, to allow the bass and treble to breathe a little more but that’s highly subjective. I’d say that for most folks, this tune might be a perfect all-arounder with some extra sauce thrown in the treble.

Bass

The bass of the Estrella is deep, textured, and fast. On songs like Neverender by Justice, the baseline is clear and impactful with a strong sub-bass rumble that isn’t just a bass tone, but rather, a constant vibration that doesn’t quite mimic them live, but it is well balanced in the mix. My ultimate sub-bass test, Fruiting Body by Goon was passed and absolutely smashed. I remember putting that song on for the first time with the Estrella and feeling super hesitant to do so because, well, quite frankly, once an IEM doesn’t pass that song as a test, it gets multiple points knocked off. I know that sounds silly, but it’s such an important aspect of that song to me and I am so happy to say that the Estrella not only passed that test, but it literally made me fist pump in the air with joy. The speed of the bass is something that impressed me as well - fast bass guitar Lines like in the song Waves by Wild Painting are wonderfully rendered. The timbre and tone is extremely well done too. It feels like the bassist is perfectly placed in the mix for that song. All in all, I’d say the bass sector is extremely well done. The only knock I could give the Estrella is a slight lack of texture in the mid-bass, especially with bass kicks and bass hits specifically, but I think that’s a product of the tune here. The 2 DDs in this thing are well-implemented and give a thumpy, meaty, and powerful experience.

Mids

From the lower mids to the upper mids, I think the Estrella is trying to be as balanced as possible and succeeding - There’s a little bit of warmth and thickness from the lower mid but then there’s ample energy in the upper-mid so nothing ever sounds soupy or overly thick, but then also nothing ever sounds too bright or thin, it’s a wonderful balancing act in my opinion. Instruments sound as natural as can be, vocals are very natural sounding timbre-wise and are placed just a smidge forward in the mix and most likely where most folks would find that sweet spot. I mentioned the more gradual rise in the pinna followed by a small bump at 4 being a genius tuning decision earlier and I mean that - when you have them actually In-ear, you’ll see what I mean. For everyday use and for every genre, every artist, there’s never any sibilant nasty-ness or overly thin vocals for female singers but rather lovely resolution, details, and smooth tones. Male singers have similar strengths too, they have a little most body and husk due to those lower mids being nice and filled out, just enough to give that extra body. If you want ULTRA clean vocals, it’s a 10-second mod away. Putting a small bit of either scotch tape or micropore tape over the back vent lowers the bass levels quite a bit, cleaning up the lower mids and showcases a vocal presentation that rivals some of the best I’ve heard; Symphonium Crimson, Elysian Diva, OG Dark Magician… etc. etc. No joke - The vocal texture and simply how much emotion comes through the mix is stunning. I just prefer the stock configuration due to the heightened contrast in the overall presentation but it’s amazing to know that damn near TOTL vocals are here as well with just a quick patch of scotch tape.

Emotional vocalists like from Lunar Vacation, No Vacation, Maggie Rogers, Hayley from Paramore, and Wild Painting all are just stunning on the Estrella. It never once was harsh in any way, even when cranking up the volume a bit to get a more dynamic sound - oh, and the scalability of the Estrella is another amazing aspect. To summarize the mids, it’s a wonderful tune, with the techs to back it up. The only subjective thing I’d like to throw in there is that I would prefer a little less overall amplitude over the entire upper-mid range but that’s just me - I’m particularly sensitive to 3k so I have a thing for really low Pinna sets, but those always tend to be specialists in their own lane, whereas the Estrella is trying to be a beast everywhere it touches and it does that! Rest assured, these are not shouty in the slightest! I just love me some low pinna.

Treble

The Main event on the Estrella is the treble - I won’t ramble on this part; The Treble tuning, tone, and timbre on the Estrella is some of the best I’ve ever heard. Period. The only other IEMs I have heard during my time in this hobby that had a treble response that I preferred over the Estrella are the Elysian Annihilator, the Subtonic STORM, and maybe the Symphonium Meteors… the Estrella might even be above the Meteors and that’s something a lot because the treble and mids balance on the Meteors I thought was a genius tuning choice but somehow here, on the Estrella its even better? You name a song I listened to over the past week with the Estrella, doesn’t matter which one, and the treble tuning blew my mind. Seriously, this part of the IEM is what has set it apart from literally every other release under $!000 that I’ve heard, outside of the Meteors. I even prefer this treble tuning over my pair of Monarch MK2s. I don’t know what else to say besides that, if that doesn’t get your blood flowing a little bit then I don’t know what will!

Technicalities

All across the board, I think the techs on the Estrella are top of their class and that includes overall resolution, detail retrial, layering, timbre, and tonality. The only part I can’t really speak on, just because I hard time experiencing it, is the staging and how 3D or non-3D it is. I would the layering and the overall speed and quality of these drivers in this IEM is nothing short of amazing, considering the price tag, it competes with sets that I’ve heard that cost three to 10 times more… no joke. Imagine is another strong sector on the Esterlla, when I first got them in I played a few hours of Warzone with them and I had 0 issues on that game which has horrible audio cues as it is, so IEMs and headphones with blurry imaging are simply un-usable, the Estrella was more than usable and showed great sound placement, height, depth, directions cues, you name it. I had no issues with comfort either!

Conclusion

The Estrella is obviously the advancement of technology in this hobby, along with some extra effort and sweat embodied in an IEM that completes one’s collection from beginning to end. This release will move the goalposts very far ahead, so far in fact I don’t think a lot of companies will be able to keep up. I feel like Simgot did this when they released the EA500, you guys remember that? If anyone, and I mean anyone was looking for an IEM and they had $100 to spend, the EA500 was the default rec, I mean it was nuts! The only thing was, the Simgot house sound has a more aggressive upper-mid are, the fit could be weird for some people, and it had those tuning nozzles that some people don’t like yadayadayada…. Think of the Estrella as THE default rec under $500, except, it has no major flaws at all. It’s not boring. It’s not overly energetic. It’s not uncomfortable. It doesn’t have weird switches or tuning nozzles that get lost. I mean… as far as I’m concerned, this is THE default rec for under $500 as of right now and I feel as though it will be for the foreseeable future. Amazing techs, ultra-balanced tuning with powerful and rumbly bass, smooth clean and clear mids with top-notch texture and resolution, along with some of the best damn treble you will hear under $1000 and maybe even above it too.

Congrats to Ziigaat and more importantly to Jay for his first collaboration project with a manufacturer. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this couldn’t have gone any better, at all. The only thing to worry about now is keeping up with the production demand because while the upcoming HBB collaboration might steal the spotlight at first, I have a strong feeling that once people start getting their sets in and sharing their experiences with the rest of the forums, the steam shall be picked up.

What a wonderful pair of IEMs, thank you for the chance to listen to them first, Jay, you’re a legend <3 Thank you for reading everyone and happy Estrella day!

#BuyEstrella

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Solid review bro :+1:…one question what termination is on the cable? are there going to be options?

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Thanks, mate :handshake: That’s the one thing I’m not sure of, the accessories. I’ll let @VIVIDICI_111 answer that when he gets the moment :call_me_hand:

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It looks like it’ll come with the same accessories as Dos/Cinco.

It’s a small chink in the hype armor.

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That’s absolutely right - just a small chink, they obviously dumped the money into the IEM it self, which I have no complaints of!

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Same here plus I’ve got more fricking cables than XINHS :smile:

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Amazing write up Dom….
As always🤙

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And dang this takes me back :smile:

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Thank you, brother! I am now realizing after being awake for a few hours that the amount of typos in here is actually quite funny… that’s what you get at 5am with 3 hours of sleep! LOL

Thanks for reading, brother

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