If there’s one defining factor in IEMs over the last three or four years, it would have to be the JM-1 target curve, known affectionately as the “New Meta.” Popularized by YouTuber and all-around IEM guru Crinacle, it served as a counterpoint to the flawed methodology that went into Harman’s research into in ear target curves, which has always been strange considering how much goes into their room and headphone research. After years of IEMs striving to adhere to the Harman curve and creating variations of V-shaped sound signatures, the JM-1 target took a stab at the concept of “neutral” without being too lifeless or boring.
The New Meta sound can be easily defined by smooth, linear mid-range into a climb into the upper mids and presence region where vocals reign supreme. Then the treble cascades downwards in a subtle, smooth manner, which makes for an overall appealing listening experience. If you were to look at the target curves made by Crin and Super*Review’s Mark Ryan, you’ll see that a lot of the New Meta preference is for a smoother bass response, but that hasn’t been the reality in meta-released IEMs. “JM-1 with a bass boost” has become the norm, and thus we arrive at the ZiiGaat Odyssey 2. Tuned by an unnamed crew member (or members) at Crin’s Singapore-based retail shop, the Hangout (but not by Crin himself), the Odyssey 2 is perhaps the gold standard for the $250 range of bass-boosted JM-1 sets.
If you haven’t heard a New Meta tuned set yet, the idea is that it’s an all-arounder sound signature. To some, it could be spicy in the early treble, but to most, it’ll just be fine. Adding in the bass boost helps to smooth the entire thing out and creating what people will call a u-shaped sound signature. I have some sensitivity between 2-4khz personally, as well as 6 and 8, and upon first listen to this set, it absolutely felt like “too much,” until the realization hit me that the stubby nozzles on this set made it so my usual range of tips weren’t going to cut it.
Let me tell you, I haven’t run into tip issues in a long, long time. Most of the time size L tips will cut it for me, and occasionally when XL tips are available, XL is where my ideal is. My usual selection is Dunu Candy tips in L, Dunu S&S in XL, Nicehck C04 in L, Divinus Velvet in L, and Spinfit W1 in L. This set required the Dunu S&S XL for me to get a decent seal, and even pushed me to try some smaller tips out. I actually found that the basic Kbear 07s in M+ (between medium and large) worked extremely well, which was an interesting surprise. Once I was able to actually get a seal and get a better impression of the overall package, my impressions were initially “this sounds very clean,” and quickly evolved into “if I didn’t have another IEM like this, this would feel incredible, but otherwise… it’s fine.”
That’s not a bad thing. After about two weeks of listening, my initial impressions haven’t changed much. The ZiiGaat Odyssey 2 is a really good set and competitive in the price range, but if you already own a set with a similar multi-driver setup that’s tuned in this manner, you’re good. My primary set is the Aful Performer 5+2, which is slightly more relaxed in the presence and mids, but a very similar tuning in the bass and treble, with perhaps a bit more upper treble energy. But, at the end of the day, it’s a bass boosted New Meta set, with some of the Aful treble flavoring. They’re different, but they’re also alarmingly similar and can easily be EQ’ed to sound even more similar to each other, if that’s something you’re into doing. There are a lot of sets within a similar price range that are tuned similarly, and like I said, if you’ve already got one of those, you probably don’t need another.
When I was in the market for the Performer 7, my original list of potential choices were the newly-released CrinEar Daybreak, the Performer 7, and the Odyssey 2. I landed on the Performer 7 and don’t regret it. If we’re real here, the tuning differences are squabbles in some places, margins of error in others. The good news is that for those of us comfortable with EQ’ing, this is an incredibye capable set. Personally, I love EQ and feel like EQ is the best tool to get the most out of your sets. AutoEQ can serve as a solid starting point, but the individual properties of each IEM are going to be different. Even sets with similar driver configurations could have different branded drivers that behave differently, different crossover circuits and different acoustic treatment inside of the shells themselves that influence the stock tuning heavily, so EQ’ing is best done by ear. Sites like Squig.link have great EQ tools that allows you to have a chart up for your set, run some pink noise and start pulling on points to see how it impacts you, or go for the more precise route and run sine sweeps and noting problem areas for you that you can fine tune. Note that tone generators can sometimes overemphasize these problem areas and listening to music will always be the best litmus test. When I ran through sine sweeps with this IEM there were a few areas bordering on spicy, but I’ve found that listening to them stock without any EQ to be a pleasant, although not mind-blowing experience. There’s no religious, out-of-body, tear-inducing experience with this set. It’s a well-tuned, good-sounding, and well-built set meant to be a great step up for someone in the hobby, or fill a gap for someone else.
Really, that’s what it comes down to with this set. If I hadn’t already had a taste of a good New Meta-tuned set in my collection, listening to this set would feel different. If you’ve only dabbled in single dynamic driver, sets or some of the more exciting, v-shaped sets and never heard one of these, it’s worth checking out. This set would make a great part of anyone’s collection as a smooth daily driver. The earpieces themselves are on the smaller side, semi-custom molded to fit into an ear cavity just fine, and comfortable. The stubby nozzles mean they need some work to get a seal, but once you do you’ll be able to wear them and forget about it. The included cable is not the best I’ve had, but it’s not bad, either. The black and green color is certainly a choice that works with the shells, but the swappable terminations are extremely long and unwieldy, the cable errs on the stiffer side, and I ended up using a Tripowin Zonie with it, anyway. The included ear tips are fine (note: I didn’t use them because IEM tour and hygiene, ya know?), and the case is a chonky boy that feels more premium than what you get for most of these sets, but unnecessary. The case is the kind you’d expect with a far more expensive IEM that you’re going to baby, and thus not be tossing it into a pocket or a small bag to bring around with you anyway, not what you’d expect for a solid daily driver like the Odyssey 2. Just like the obnoxious metal puck the Performer 7 came with, I question the use of such a case and would’ve preferred a smaller zip-case with a key ring.
I’m not a huge believer in specific music being necessary for certain IEMs. Bass is bass. Mids are mids. Treble is treble. An IEM’s ability to reproduce the spectrum of sound in an engaging way won’t change much unless the music you’re listening to and your preferences are into the fringes of extremes, like you absolutely need massive amounts of clean bass, or you only listen to female pop and need that big ole 3k peak to feel alive. This isn’t the most ‘spacious’ sounding set on the planet, but that aligns with other sets of similar tuning. Without a lot of upper treble there’s less detail retrieval and instrument separation, but again, most of these things are not special, magical properties bestowed upon the audiophile faithful from up high on specific sets with specific drivers or anything, most of it is simply tuning. This set is tuned to be engaging, smooth and enjoyable, and delivers exactly that. If you’re looking for something more thumpy, exciting or analytical and are allergic to EQ, then this isn’t a great set for you. If you’re looking for a solid mid-range set that can handle everything well and is incredibly easy to drive, then this is really a great value.
My listening habits over the last few weeks have included basic test tracks at first (yawn), and quickly branched off into a blend of different kinds of music. My most listened to album has been Boris’s Flood, which is a post-metal masterpiece of one very long song with a lot of soaring guitar solos, contemplative dynamics, and congested walls of noise. This includes the recently-released live version featuring Michio Kurihara on guitar. Speaking of Kurihara, I’m always listening to the Japanese band Ghost, including the albums Second Time Around and In Stormy Nights. I’ve gone back to listening to Ember Knight’s Bowie-esque Cheryl, which features some really spicy mixes. To go along with that, I’ve been listening to Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever and Charli XCX’s recent Wuthering Heights soundtrack. More in line with the Boris album, I’ve been exploring the new albums from Sunn O))) (self-titled) and An Undying Love for a Burning World by Neurosis. Lastly, I don’t think I’ve ever stopped listening to the utterly perfect Random Access Memories by Daft Punk or mellowing out to some Pink Floyd.
For source gear I listen on my desktop via my FLAC library on my Fosi ZD3 and Topping A50 III setup. On the go I have my HiBy R4, as well as an Android phone where I tested using a JCally JM6 Pro, Moondrop Dawn Pro, and Nicehck Octave.
This set came to me from Linsoul, on an IEM tour ran by Metalverse (themetalverse.net), which have zero influence over my impressions provided above. If you’re interested in checking them out, they’re on sale via Amazon right now. Yes, that’s an affiliate link.