In this video I review the Ziigaat Arete II, the successor to the original Arete and the second collab between Ziigaat and Fresh Reviews. It keeps the same 1DD + 4BA driver configuration and comes in at $249, but the big story here is the new direction Ziigaat might be taking: full aluminum, anodized, high-gloss metal shells. It’s the first Ziigaat I’ve handled that feels genuinely “premium” compared to their usual 3D printed shells, and I’m hoping they keep going this way. You also get a physical bass switch on the shell, plus modular cable, better tips, and a replaceable nozzle mesh. I go over measurements and then my subjective impressions. Stock, the bass is already satisfying—quick, deep, and well-controlled—and with the switch on you’re getting about +3dB more bass, but it can get a bit bloated and bleed into the lower mids. Treble is intentionally conservative and slightly darker than neutral (trimmed pinna gain), which makes it very non-fatiguing for long sessions, especially gaming. Soundstage isn’t the biggest, but imaging and localization are precise. Compared to the Ziigaat Horizon, I still prefer the Horizon on pure stage and “scale,” but I like the Arete II’s deeper bass and overall package—metal build and switch included.