My Experience with the Ziigaat Lush (plus comparisons to the Aful Explorer)

The Ziigaat Lush is an IEM I feel very conflicted about, to put it simply. While I've heard some people compare it to the aful explorer, my favorite set that I own, I think there are some major differences. The best way I could put it is that the lush feels like it doesn't stand out in any way, it just sounds correct to my ears. While that makes it great for gaming, the comfort and sound just don't do anything better for me compared to my aful explorers that would make me prefer the lush. While it does sound more quote unquote correct, I would still rather listen to music with the explorer, and it's a toss-up between the two for gaming.

First of all, there's comfort, which I deem as the second most important factor for IEMs behind sound. While I have some issues, the overall comfort isn't anything bad, as I still don't feel any discomfort using them for a double block of scrims (around 4-5 hours). While there's no pain or discomfort, it doesn't feel like I'm wearing nothing, and the feeling of them being there doesn't go away to where you don't even think about it. They fit much more shallow in my ears, but they still form a great seal and have good sound isolation, which is becoming more and more important for me in my new apartment. Overall, I think the comfort is good but could be improved, and it isn't anything egregious that would make me not want to wear them.

As for sound quality and tuning, these are enjoyable for my preferences and they sound very natural or correct as I would put it. The best comparison I can make is that they sound like a slightly off version of my HD6XX, but with more bass and a little less natural. They are very much a neutral-warm IEM, and they follow my preference of a slightly dark treble, as I tend to be a bit sensitive if treble is overtuned. For my library and purposes, the sound works very well as an all-rounder IEM, as I listen to a lot of hip-hop but also a ton of other genres that don't demand the same amount of bass. That said, there isn't as much bass as I really enjoy having for something I can just sit back and listen to my entire playlist, but it definitely doesn't lack in the bass department. I will say, the tuning works well for gaming, with bass not being overwhelming while having enough treble to still make out important details in the game, especially for Overwatch and Apex. Overall, the sound aligns well to my preferences, just with a few lacking points. This IEM really seems to excel with the JRPG soundtracks and J-pop in my library (think Persona 5, 4, 3, 3R, Yorushika, Penthouse) and still performs well with hip-hop and EDM to make for an IEM you can listen to for a while without stopping.

As for comparisons to the Aful Explorer, I do prefer the explorer overall, but I think both are good options. I would definitely suggest the explorer over the lush just due to price differences ($110 vs $180) and bass response, as I feel like most people, along with myself, would appreciate the increased bass in the explorer. The explorers are a bit more comfortable, just because they are the definition of disappearing once you insert them. I think the midrange on the lush is a bit better, with it sounding more natural, due to the decreased bass and where the bass is increased in terms of frequency. For gaming, I really think it's a toss up and more based on what the individual plays and wants. In terms of music listening, I would lean towards the explorer for libraries with a lot of hip-hop, EDM, or if you just prefer boosted bass. On the other hand, I would lean towards the lush if you have less bass-dependent genres in your library mostly, and a lot of this comes up to personal preference, as with most things audio.

All in all, I think the lush is a good IEM, just not to the level of other options, even at lower price levels, and for the price I would go with something like the daybreak or the explorer for less. Also, while I didn't mention it, the silver-blue lush look very nice, which is always a bonus when talking about IEMs.