Moonbuds Kingslayer

Hello hello
Here we have one more Moonbuds from the famous Master Moon maker. Moonbuds Kingslayer

As the name suggest yes it's a slayer of buds under 100$
And yes it's costs exactly 100$.
Wonderful out of the box, the sound, the design, the build quality everything is just reminds me the brilliant line up of moonbuds.


Box and technical specs of the product

Specifications
Driver : 15.38 mm driver and MX500 shell
Impedance: 32 ohm
Wire:4 core OCC Copper
4 core hand braided.
Splitter and slider are of top quality
Cable Length: 1.2m
Plug: 3.5mm Gold plated silver Kevlar texture.slightly larger than usual.

Box contents
Earbuds
Lots of foam tips,
Leather cable organizer,
One faux leather durable Carry pouch.
One cotton pouch

Overall premium package and good material used no complains here.

Sound description
Clean sound out of the box. Fun sound moderately V shaped.
But the sound stage super wide which makes the sound brilliant and none of the frequency seems lacking.

Now we will look at some songs

Song :Mid night train to Georgia.
Artist: Gladys knights and the pips.

Male vocals are lush but seem to have to take a step back
good body and good resolution in the mids. The drums and snares are on point. very good clarity.

Song: Hotel California Live
Artist: Eagles

From the start of the song everything is crystal clear and lush and musical. The strings of box guitar the bass guitar har the right amount timbre. The African bongo congo has the right amount of slam. Only thing missing is the mids. Male vocals could be more lush. But the mids are still enjoyable for a starter moonbuds price range.

Song: 11 GhostsII
Artist: Nine Inch Nails

This is an instrumental from the Ghosts album series. Industrial rock album, very creative using guitars and drums like never used before through a synthesizer giving everything an acid texture
The king slayer performance is brilliant for this song. Not lacking anywhere.

Song: Best club
Artist: Maggie8

Song starts with brilliant drum riffs with lush female vocals with the back drop of the electric guitar the song seems to have a very good presentation on the kingslayers.
Sometime really confused that the mids are balanced or slightly pushed back but they definitely have a good resolution and sound stage is brilliant wide, giving good amount of air for a brilliant imaging.

Song: Botswana beduim.
Artist: Lindstorm.

Sub bass has a very good texture. The drums has a brilliant kick to them even the snares are clean and controlled treble no sharpness. The xyolophone have some slight sharpness but other than that no treble peaks and the highs have a good extension.

Song: Cinder and smoke
Artist: Iron and Wine.

Brilliant sound stage is what i can feel from this songand the mids some how seem balanced on this song with good lush vocals,
even the guitar strings are clean and melodious with good amount of timbre.

Song: Black bird.
Artist: Milos Karadaglic.

love the strings. very beautiful presentation with lots of dynamics to the sound, brilliant separation between the two giutars and wide sound stage. As always the imaging capabilities of moonbuds never disappoints.

Song: 28th Floor (ABGT333).
Artist: Sebastian Silva.

This is a electro house sound and the subbass texture ia brilliant with enough control for you to enjoy the synth mixup on the track.
the kingslayers seem like the perfect V Shaped earbuds to me with enough resolution in the mids for when you need them.

Song: The day i tried to live
Artist: Soundgarden.

What a song and such brilliant presentation of the over all sound on the king slayer is just making the whole experience brilliant,
the bass guitar riffs are so clean with the drum set having that perfect body and punch even Chris Cornell's voice seems lush if you can imagine that.
For a earbuds of 100$ this is a great achievement.

Over all performance

As you can see these buds have given a very good performance for maximum kind of genre. I can easily say despite of the V Shape sound the mids are in no way left behind wit very good resolution the Kingslayers turnout to be one of the best buds under 100$ ans super value for money.


Maker
https://www.facebook.com/MoonbudsOfficial/

Review by
https://www.facebook.com/Shotmoviemusic/

The Company


“Personal made earbuds made by Moon. Each model offers unique and remarkable sound that will suit your taste.”. This are the description that will welcome you as you visit the moonbuds Facebook page. Moonbuds has been a fast growing DIY buds creator last 2018, his work catches the eye (aesthetically pleasing) and will surely please your ears (at least for every moonbuds that I’ve tried).

The Moonbuds Kingslayer

The Kingslayer is the first budget earbuds of Moonbuds to follow the tuning of Bunting and Nightingale which are their TOTL earbuds. Unlike the Crescent, it is tuned to be more neutral and to be as versatile as possible with various genres. Unlike the first unit, Moon included a premium leather case that can actually fit 3 moon buds inside, a cable strap with “MOON” written on it and the Kingslayer itself. It has identical braiding with the Bunting, they also have the same number of cores but unlike the Bunting which is 4 core SPC, the Kingslayer is a SPC and copper hybrid. I don’t know what kind or cable Moonbuds is using but even after a year the Bunting never showed oxidation which is very commendable. The Kingslayer comes with MX500 shell which is a bit larger and bulkier than the PK yuin shell, the splitter and slider both improved as well, it looks more elegant and lighter. The 3.5 mm jack has an imprinted Moonbuds logo with a crown, it represents the name of the product which is Kingslayer, Moonbuds Phoenix have this kind of printing too. The jack is smaller than the Crescent and has a strain relief cover to improve durability.

Specification:

• Driver: 15.38 MM (Made in JAPAN)
• Shell: MX500
• Impedance: 32Ω
• Frequency Response: 19 Hz to 21 kHz
• Sound pressure level: 98.5db 0.18v 1 kHz
• Cable: 4 Core SPC and Copper Hybrid

Sound

I love IEMs and earbuds with midcentric to flat sound signature as I really love listening to vocals rather than instruments. My genre ranges from heavy rock, alternative rock, pop rock, acoustic, pop, jazz and folk. Majority of my test tracks are in 16 bit – 44 khz and 24 bit – 48 khz FLAC file and here is the list of my commom test tracks.

1. Reese Lansangan – For the Fickle (background, female vocals and upper mids)
2. Foo Fighters – Bridge Burning (Imaging, Layering, Coherence, Sub bass and Mid bass, Mids, Treble)
3. LANY – Thick And Thin (Mid Bass, Mids)
4. Ed Sheeran – Dive (Mid bass, Lower Mids)
5. Norah Jones – Don’t Know Why (Upper Mids and Instruments)
6. Paramore – Hard Times (Imaging, Layering, Coherence, Sub bass and Mid bass, Mids, Treble)
7. Radiohead – Life in a Glasshouse (Imaging Layering, Bass, Instruments, Lower mids, Treble)
8. Passenger – Coins in a Fountain (Mid bass, Layering, Imaging, Instruments, Lower mids, Treble)
9. Tori Kelly – Hollow (Background, Upper mids)
10. Ariana Grande – Raindrops (Background, Upper mids)

Bass

Sub bass depth is just adequate, it isn’t bass head level and that’s perfect for me who doesn’t want too much sub bass and mid bass. Quality and texture is definitely good as well as the attack and decay speed, and it is placed neutrally. Mid bass is very accurate, rounded and thumpy, bass notes doesn’t prolong too much making it a versatile pair when handling rock and EDM tracks. The bass has enough weight but still bass heads might find it lacking, bass control is note worthy too because I never heard it bleeding to the lower midrange.

Midrange


Damn vocals, upper midrange is the center of the show. Lower midrange isn’t as thin as the upper midrange, there’s a good sense of warmth here giving enough body for male vocals and guitar strums. Listening to Radwimps, Kingslayer’s lower midrange is one of the best balanced of warmth and transparency, there’s no dryness here and that’s commendable. “Language” of Tori Kelly sounded super sweet and relaxing, it is a bit forward specially compared to lower midrange but it’s not too much. There’s a very little sibilance but it actually varies with sources and tracks, with Shanling M3s + Periodic Audio Ni there’s zero sibilance but with Huawei Mate 10 + Periodic Audio Ni there’s a bit.

Treble

This one is airier than the bunting but it packs less sparkle and extension. Playing “Rose-Colored Boy” cymbals are rendered very well with right amount of sparkle and air, compared to the Bunting this one is kinda smoother but still resolving. The extension is just moderate, it doesn’t sound rolled off at all. Attack and decay speed are commendable, fast enough to not have any congestion even with complex tracks. Details are there but unlike bunting, it will not slap you with tons of it just enough to enjoy your tracks.

Sound Stage and Resolution


The staging is above average, very good width, height and depth it expands well with various tracks that I’ve tested. Testing it with Chlara’s rendition of “The Nights” which sounded very intimate, the Kingslayer did a great job giving sufficient space and headroom to the recording. Layering and imaging is superb, I like how accurate this set, it’s better than the Penon BS1 and Blur 150 Ohms (first gen), playing “Asphyxia” by Co Shu Nie, I can properly locate instruments on the projected stage. Resolution is fine as well, it’s not the most detailed pair that I’ve tried but it’s not far behind the likes of Moonbuds Nightingale V1 and Rose Mojito.

Sound Signature and Synergy

The sound signature of the Kingslayer is close to being Neutral with slight bump on the upper midrange. Pairing it with neutral or analytical source would be great especially if you’re musical taste matches mine. Using warm source would be fine too adding some body and weight on the lower end would make the Kingslayer a more versatile pair especially for pop, rap and EDM genres which is very famous today.

Shanling M3s (High Gain, 50 Steps Volume)


Nice pairing, the M3s added some flavour on the upper bass to lower mids which the Kingslayer slightly lacks (especially on the point of view of bass heads). Upper midrange sounds slightly warm but still quite forward and intimate. Treble is kinda smooth, good amount of air and extension, and there’s just right amount of sparkle. The sound stage is above average, it expands very well and has good layering and imaging. Lastly resolution is not overwhelming, it’s there but it’s not as detailed and technical as the bunting.

Shanling M3s + Periodic Audio Ni


The Ni improved control of Kinslayer with bass and treble in particular, bass became tighter and more detailed. Midrange almost sound the same with upper midrange becoming slightly thinner and sweeter. Treble became less airy and more defined, it has more sparkle. Stage became slightly wider but less airy, imaging and layering remained the same. Resolution only noticeably upscaled on the treble part.

Shanling M3s + iFi iCAN SE

There’s an added heft on the bass, sub bass became deeper too but it doesn’t pushed forward. Lower midrange slightly gained more body as well but retaining transparency and details. Upper midrange sounded as sweet as ever, still a bit forward but this time more details are retrieved compared to the previous sources. Treble almost sound the same with the M3s high gain, maybe because the Ni is kinda bright, it is airy and has moderate sparkle. Sound stage became more spacious, same goes to layering and imaging though it is subtle. Resolution improved especially on the lows and midrange.

iPad 2 and Huawei Mate 10

On mate 10, they still sounds good, the volume is loud enough at 60-70 steps but details are definitely softer and less evident on this pairing. There’s added sparkle on the treble but extension and control decreased. There’s less depth and texture on the sub bass while the midrange sounds less resolving and a bit veiled.

As expected, the iPad 2 was able to drive the Kingslayer with flying colors. It almost have the same tonality with M3s except that this pairing sounds less full. There’s almost no added heft on the bass, midrange sounds clean and treble sounds brighter compared to M3s. Soundstage seems to be identical with the M3s too but I’d say that the M3s is more accurate in terms of layering and imaging. Resolution is almost at the same level with the M3s.

Comparison

Penon BS1

The Penon BS1 sounds warmer and fuller compared to the Kingslayer, it has less transparency especially on the midrange as well. Sub bass is deeper and more forward on the BS1 while there’s more texture on the Kingslayer, for the mid bass the BS1 sounds a bit more forward with fuller sound, while the Kingslayer sounds faster, tighter and more resolving. Midrange sounds more transparent with the Kingslayer but it has less body and smoothness, upper midrange has more sweetness and transparency on the Kingslayer. Treble seems to have the same presentation with the BS1 being tad bit brighter, it is a bit airer ad well while the level of resolution is on par. Sound stage is equally spacious but Kingslayer sounds more accurate in terms of layering and imaging. Resolution goes to the Kingslayer becsuse the BS1 has smoother sub bass and mid bass despite having that heft.

Moonbuds Bunting

Bunting is my favorite buds to date, it easily beats Blur 150 Ohms (Ver. 1) in terms of tonality, details and transparency though the Blur 150 sounds smoother and thicker. Bunting has less sub bass depth but has better texture and control, same goes to mid bass, the Kingslayer has more weight while they have same speed the bunting has a bit more details. Midrange sounds almost identical, lower midrange of Kingslayer is a bit warmer but the upper midrange goes to Kingslayer because it’s a bit more forward making it more intimate. Treble goes to the Bunting, it is more refined, has better sparkle without compromising speed and airiness. The bunting has better treble extension as well. Sound stage sounds a bit more spacious on the kingslayer but the Bunting sounds more accurate, it has better imaging and layering lastly, resolution goes to bunting it has better detail retrieval and has more extension on the treble.

Conclusion


Kingslayer – a no brainer earbuds for 5000 Php (100 USD). It doesn’t have any drastic weak points while it has lots of good points. The sub bass depth is definitely sufficient, despite not having bass head level of sub bass quantity, it has very good amount of details. Mid bass has good amount of weight while maintaining above average details, speed and control. Lower mids sounds less engaging compared to the upper midrange but still, it sounds very clean and has natural tonality. Upper midrange is a show stopper, after burn in it sounds intimate, sweet and transparent without sounding sibilant or shrill. Treble lacks sparkle especially coming from Bunting, but it has good amount of air, more than decent extension and quick enough decay speed. Sound stage sounds accurate and spacious, and lastly it is a very resolving pair for the price. I never knew that Moon will release something that’s almost on the same level of bunting under 5000 Php, a King slayer indeed.

Introduction
My first contact with Moonbuds happened on last February by their flagship ‘Heron’ Earbud. No doubt it was a splendid experience for me. Personally, I am an Earbud lover because of Earbuds always helpful either I am walking on the streets or working inside the cubicle. IEMS and Headphones have their own space and time in my daily music journey but Earbuds are an all-time companion. Recently Moonbuds launched few new Earbud models like Kingslayer & Super Nightingale and I would like to thanks Moon Harvester for sending me a unit of Kingslayer to review this time.

Specification
Driver - 15.38 MM (Made in JAPAN),
Impedance - 32Ω,
Frequency Response – 19 Hz to 21 kHz,
Sound pressure level: 98.5db 0.18v 1 kHz,
Wire - Beautiful hand braided wire,
Cable Length: 1m,
Plug: 3.5mm Gold plated.

Buying Link – Contact manufacturer through his Facebook page. Here

What’s inside the Box
Moonbuds Kingslayer Earbud,
Lots of foam tips,
Leather cable organizer,
1 Durable Leather Carry case.

Source
Moonbuds Kingslayer is relatively easy to drive and most of the devices can run it easily. I have used my Fiio Q5, Dethonray Dtr1 Prelude, Modi 3 + Topping NX3s and iPhone SE to evaluate Kingslayer. 50 Hours of Burn-in has been done before starting any serious listening.

Tracks/ Albums used for this Review
‘I Can't Stand Still’ - Don Henley,
‘Hotel California’ – Eagles,
‘The Very Best Of The Eagles’ – Eagles,
‘The Best Of Me’ - Bryan Adams,
‘Acoustic Live’ - Nils Lofgren,
‘The Singles (Expanded)’ - Phil Collins,
‘At Last!’ - Etta James,
‘FRIENDS’ - Marshmello, Anne-Marie,
‘Paradise ‘ – Coldplay,
‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ - Sam Cooke,
‘Long As I Can See The Light’ - Creedence Clearwater Revival,
'Calling All My Lovelies’ - Bruno Mars.

Presentation, Design & Build Quality
Presentation is simple but premium. Hand-crafted Earbud with mx500 shell, beautifully braided cable, a leather cable organizer and a bunch of colorful foam pads have been packed inside a personalized leather carry case. Mx500 shell is the most common shell in the market and fits most of the ears perfectly. The most prominent and attractive design element in Moonbuds earbud is its selection of cables. Each and every cable is unique and beautiful but last time my main concern was with Heron’s cable, as it was a bit softer side but this time Moonbuds improved the cable quality too. The improvement also can be noticed on the chin slider and 3.5 mm plug. Overall Moonbuds Kingslayer can be sub 100$ Earbud but comes with better build quality than its predecessors.

Sound
Burn-in may be controversial or questionable for some users but personally, I have seen major improvements after the burn-in period, especially in Earbuds. After 50 hours of burn-in improvement in Mids can be noticed in Kingslayer too. So after burn-in, Kingslayer is now almost a balanced sounding Earbud. Now let’s talk segment wise, how actually Kingslayer is performing.

Bass
Bass is tight and punchy with good textures. Both quality and quantity are sufficient. Emphasis on the mid-bass region than sub-bass and so rumble is minimum, no such sudden boost in 100 to 250 Hz range hence its less boomy. Speed is fast and accurate. Listening to the song ‘Calling All My Lovelies’ by Bruno Mars on Kingslayer was quite surprising, the attack and speed are impressive.

Mids
Mids in Kingslayer is transparent and almost natural. Out of the box, the mid-range is recessed a bit but after burn-in now this sense of recession almost vanished. Upper Mid has been forwarded slightly than lower Mids resulting female vocals sounding sharper than male vocals. Vocals are crisp, energetic and less colored. The song ‘Talking to the moon ‘ by Don Henly on Kingslayer was smooth where the song like ‘ My Dearest Darling’ by Etta James was crisp and full of energy.

Treble
Upper frequency is well extended, some emphasis is also there but no sibilance of fatigue while listening for long sessions. Lower frequency part is quite consistent and no sudden peak is there still the treble part is a bit dry. Well mastered tracks sounding very good while poorly recorded tracks suffer too much. For those who appreciate shimmer in upper frequency part would appreciate Kingslayer for sure.

Soundstage & Imaging
Soundstage in Kingslayer is wide and Spacious, but Lack of depth and height is also present. Kingslayer is capable of producing moderate space between voice and Instruments. Instrument separation is good and performed well with busy songs like ‘Victim of Love’ by Eagles. Micro detail retrieval is also excellent.

Comparison

Moonbuds Kingslayer Vs ISN Audio Rambo – Rambo is priced around 65$ and cheaper than Kingslayer. Soundwise they are not similar at all. Rambo is more focused on vocals where kingslayer is an all-rounder. The lushness of Mids and sparkle of the treble of Rambo is missing in Kingslayer but Kingslayer is a clear winner when Bass is a concern. The soundstage is also better in Kingslayer.

Conclusion
Moonbuds Earbuds are always an excellent example of craftsmanship with good sound. With Kingslayer, Moonbuds managed to bring such a high level of craftsmanship even under 100$ price point. Soundwise, Kingslayer tuned such a way that anyone can enjoy it with his playlist.