Ziigaat Nuo

A nicely balanced IEM at an incredible price

The Nuo is Ziigaat’s entry level IEM and entries the market in the super competitive sub $25 price range.

Luckily, if you are interested in an excellently tuned IEM, the Nuo may well be one to add to your collection.

Read on to find out why …

What is in the box

The Nuo comes in a fairly simple box, typical of this end of the IEM market. I do like the way the Nuo’s are presented to you once you open the box.

It is a little hard to get them out but once you do, you can then easily access the cable and the accessories.

Overall it is a well-designed package. The accessories are a bit limited with just the usual L/M/S sized ear tips. The cable is reasonable quality for this price and finally a user guide is provided.

Design and Build Quality

The Nuo IEM shell itself boasts a sleek, minimalist design, appealing to those who appreciate subtlety and elegance in their audio gear. The build quality is impressive for its price bracket, featuring a durable body that feels robust yet lightweight. The attention to detail in the finish and the choice of materials raises it above similar priced IEM’s like the Salnotes Zero 2. a pleasant surprise in this cost-effective segment.

One minor thing, was it is a pity that the Nuo doesn’t have a recessed 2-pin connection, as I do worry that eventually the 2-pin connector will bend and ultimately break.

Comfort and Fit

I found Ziigaat Nuo comfortable (though it’s ‘sister’ the Ziigaat Cinno’s was more comfortable). I think it has much better shape than similarly priced competitors like the Moondrop Chu 2 (too small) or the Salnotes Zero 2 (too blocky) or even the Tanchjim One (too small). I spend 4-5 hours one day without any discomfort, with an excellent seal and almost forgetting I was wearing them.

That said I did find the angle of the nozzle wasn’t quite right for me, this is where I think the Ziigaat Cinno has the more comfortable fit, but this especially will be very subjective and it was only a concern when trying the longer fitting Ear tips (like a triple flange).

My advise is to try allot of IEM’s and once you discovery the shape and nozzle angle that suits you best, use a video like the one I provided above to find the best IEM for comfort and fit and then look into the sound signature.

I found the weight and balance to be excellent, again at an almost ‘goldilocks’ level where it was not too light and definitely not too heavy but just about right for long sessions.

The cable was good especially at this price point, it was mostly tangle free and kept its shape well so did not get in the way.

Sound Quality

The sound quality of the Ziigaat Nuo is remarkably neutral, nicely following the ‘Harman Target’ target. The only concern I had was with the upper treble but lets get into the details.

Bass

The bass is well-balanced, providing enough punch and depth to satisfy bass enthusiasts without overpowering the mids and treble. It’s tight and controlled, offering a natural and accurate representation of low frequencies. I did find a sub-bass roll off when listening to a frequency sweep, so a deep subwoofer rumble when watching movies might not always happen but for listening to music I never found the bass wanting. With Massive Attack’s Angel the bass kicked in after a second or 2 and was appropraite balanced for the whole track, no ‘boomy’ bass but also nothing missing from the bass.

Mids

Midrange performance is a standout feature, with vocals and instruments rendered with clarity and detail. The neutrality in the mids ensures a true-to-life representation, making it ideal for a wide range of music genres. I loved the tonality on all of my usual midrange tracks for example on “Baby plays around” by Elvis Costello and Anne Sofie van Otter, Anne’s voice was just stunning.

Treble

Treble frequencies are mostly handled with care, delivering crisp and clear highs without any sibilance or harshness. But I did feel occasionally there was slightly too much upper treble though some people will simply call this its ’technicalities’ I would have thought its slightly more than appropriate at least in my reference songs. But if you want to hear treble detail without sibiliance this makes a great choice at this price point. My own preference would be for slightly ‘brightness’, so I used a Foam eartip ultimately which as you will see in the Measurement section does lower that treble region slightly.

Soundstage and Imaging

The soundstage is surprisingly expansive for an IEM in this category, providing a good sense of space and positioning. Imaging is good for this price point, with a clear distinction of instruments and vocals, allowing for an immersive sound experience.

Specifications and Measurements

Specifications

The important specifications:

Measurements

Background to these measurements

So new in this review I decided to standardise on a set of measurements which I will use in all future reviews. The idea is to do measure the frequency response of the standard tips (typically the Medium size) but then also measure a typical selection of ear tips which can easily be used to adjust the sound signature. So, I have choosen the following extra measurement options, a narrow bore ear tip, a wide bore, a ’tall’ shaped ear tip, a normal foam tip, a large ‘comfly’ foam tip, a double flange and finally a triple flange.

Because a double and triple flange are typically used by people who have larger than average ear canals so I have adapted these eartips slightly to allow a ‘deeper’ fit my IEC711 ‘clone’ coupler, basically try to simulate a longer ear canal in ‘standard’ coupler. I believe this technique will allow people to select both the best IEM for a specific tonality for them (does not always have to be ‘harman’) and then fine tune it with some ’ear tip rolling’ and for those who find it hard to get good seal this technique might allow them to experiment with alternative eartips and have a reasonable understand of how those alternative eartips alter the frequency response of their ideal IEM.

All measurements will go up on my IEM measurements database Pragmatic Audio Measurements.link

So now onto the measurements…

L/F Balance and Distortion

Good Left/Right balance and tonality is very close to Harman:

Very low distortion

Various Ear tip Frequency Responses

Showing all the ear tip variatons shows you can alter the treble regions significantly in the 4kHz to 8Khz region depending on the tip:

Given how close this is to Harman depending on if you want a more Air

Comparison with IEM’s

Some comparisions (lots more on my measurement database ):

Overall you can see the Nuo is an excellent Harman Neutral IEM.

Rating

The Nuo gets a pragmatic score of 4 stars, it is one of the best IEM’s in this price range (if not the best), it is comfortable, measures well and most importantly sounds great.

Conclusion

The Ziigaat Nuo IEM is a stellar offering in the budget IEM market, especially for audiophiles seeking a neutral sound signature. It’s adherence to the Neutral ‘Harman Target’ frequency response, combined with a single dynamic driver design, results in an authentic and balanced audio experience. The build quality, comfort, and sound performance make it an excellent choice for both casual listeners and audio enthusiasts.

The Ziigaat Nuo stands out as a high-value proposition, offering a premium listening experience at an accessible price point.