The ZiiGaat Crescent comes in the great new ZiiGaat packaging like the Luna. I’m very impressed with the inclusions for their price point, with the eartips (two different silicone types and one pair of foam), cable with 3.5mm and 4.4mm termination options, and case all of great quality. As with the Luna I used the grey soft silicone tips and had no concerns at all – they were very comfortable for long listening periods.
The Crescent in a 2 DD, 2 BA set. The two DD’s are different types, they mention that they are in an isobaric setup however I don’t believe that it’s the correct use of the term given they are different drivers. Terminology aside, they definitely do work well together creating an interesting and enjoyable bass experience but more on that later! The BA’s are Knowles with one for mids, and one for treble, with both technically dual BA’s but only listed as one.
I listened to these for a little over two weeks, and they accompanied me on a work trip as my only IEM so had a lot of use! They were primarily driven out of my LP E7, however I also used them from my LP W4 dongle. They scaled a bit, with the E7 sounding all around better than the dongle, however they were no slouch from the dongle and would be fine for most people. I also had a good listen out of the Cayin N3 Ultra over the last week and it performed well from that, the N3 Ultra is a little warmer with its tube setup, which I thought may not have suited this, however it worked perfectly which did surprise me. In summary, decent source is desirable however it’ll work well enough from most.
My music tastes are all over the place, I was stuck on Bob Dylan, Nine Inch Nails, Pink Floyd (and some Roger Waters solo works), Radiohead, and Taylor Swift for a lot of my review time, but also listened to most genres to get a feel on how they went across the board. I caught up on some of my Berlin Philharmonic subscription too with this set, and it was enjoyable for classical.
With that out of the way… let’s get onto the sound (with these impressions pretty much based on the LP E7 experience):
Bass:
The two DD’s here work extremely well together. While it’s not an extreme bass set the sub-bass has a great feel to it, it feels big, almost headphone like at times. Hans Zimmer – Why So Serious, the sub bass section at around 3:30 gives you a proper rumble, close your eyes and you’ll easily forget that you’re listening through an IEM. The soundstage isn’t massive, but as I mentioned before the bass does feel big. Something in the setup here with the two DD’s works really well and pushes out textured, big feeling, bass. Drums too have a great feel to them, I’ve listened to Roger Waters – This is not a Drill, many times since it came out on this set and the drums on Another Brick in the Wall Pt 3 sounds simply amazing on the Crescent. They’re impactful and extremely enjoyable. The bass doesn’t overpower anything else either, staying very much in its lane, very well done.
Mids:
Neutral warm. Vocals are articulate with no issues making out nuances – I had a slight preference to male vocals over female on this set; however both were enjoyable and sounded ‘right’. Instruments sound realistic for the most past, with the warmer feel you don’t get the level of detail that you have on some sets, however on the flip side you get an extremely enjoyable listen on nearly every track, with this set working across well and poorly recorded music. Listening to some vinyl recordings, which have noise on tracks, wasn’t at all distracting with the Crescent, instead just becoming part of the overall texture of the track – on some extremely technical sets the pops and clicks can be too distracting meaning that I don’t listen to these recordings. I had a great time listening through my Radiohead vinyl recordings on the Crescent!!
Treble:
Smooth, a little laid back, and a little darked sounding. Coming straight from the Luna to this they are two very different tunings. Due to its darker leaning sound it doesn’t have as much air up top, and isn’t as defined, but leans into it working with all recordings. When running through my treble test tracks nothing sounded bad, tracks that have the potential to pierce your eardrums on other sets were handled well here, on the flip side some tracks which have a lot happening up top lost a little bit of detail. The Crescent is a very musical set, and the treble presented here works for that purpose.
Technical Performance:
Soundstage and Imaging:
Soundstage is a standard width for IEMs, with good imaging capabilities, it doesn’t pinpoint as well as some other sets (mainly due it’s overall musical feel), but with that said nothing is really tripping over itself. Depth was interesting, on the E7 I don’t get much depth to the sound, with music pretty much happening on a slightly curved 2d plane, with the Cayin N3 Ultra there was a little more depth, with the stage expanding out in from and becoming a little more holographic. I had a similar experience listening out of the LP P6 Pro, with the sound becoming more holographic. I really enjoyed it in both setups, with the E7 sounding a little more musical, and the Cayin N3 Ultra and P6 Pro, a little more technical with its ability to place instruments in more of a field.
Detail and Resolution:
The review up to this point probably sounds like it isn’t overly detailed or resolving, however that’s more as a comparison to the Luna which is very strong on this front. There is sufficient detail and resolution for the most part with the Crescent, and through my time listening to it I never felt like I wanted to switch over to another set, it just leans more musical.
Subjective thoughts:
ZiiGaat are on a role, I was extremely impressed with the Luna and the Crescent once again impressed me. It’s a very different tuning to the Luna and I think they complement each other well. With this set I could throw anything on, knowing that it would sound great and I’d be whisked away into the soundscape that the artist intended. The new packaging from ZiiGaat also lifts these above some of the competitors at this price point making the Crescent an easy recommendation. I’m listening to Radiohead – OK Computer on the Crescent as I expand my two and a bit weeks of notes into this review and it’s just a fantastic listen. Both this and the Luna will be my daily carry’s for a while.
Overall:
The ZiiGaat Crescent is another strong showing from ZiiGaat, sitting alongside the Luna as a different but equally enjoyable tuning. Its dual dynamic plus dual balanced armature configuration delivers a big, textured bass that feels almost headphone-like at times, articulate mids with a touch of warmth, and smooth, slightly laid-back treble that works well across all genres and recording qualities. Technicalities lean more toward musicality than a detail monster, making this an easy set to listen to for hours without fatigue. Combined with excellent comfort, quality accessories, and a versatile tuning, the Crescent is an IEM you can throw anything at and simply enjoy the music. It gets an easy recommended from me!
Scorecard at $279:
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bass | 4.5/5 | Big, textured, impactful yet controlled. |
| Mids | 4.2/5 | Neutral warm, articulate, slightly better with male vocals. |
| Treble | 4/5 | Smooth, slightly dark, forgiving but less airy. |
| Technicalities | 4.5/5 | Good separation and resolution, leans musical. |
| Build/Design | 5/5 | Very comfortable, improved accessories, robust and well-made (Same as Luna, simply excellent at this price) |
| Value | 4.5/5 | Strong performance and package for the price. |
| Overall | 4.5/5 | Musical, engaging, and easy to recommend. |
Aussie Audiophile 
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