Disclaimer: I spent for the unit with my own expense and I'm not affiliated with any stores/sellers or the company at all. This review comes purely from my own opinion on the IEM and you are welcome to agree or disagree with it.
Introduction:
Who doesn't know Moondrop by now?
Those who have been into the chi-fi games for a while must have known Moondrop as one of the few chi-fi companies that have been pretty consistent in making good products (with the exception of their earbuds line-up) and loveable waifus throughout their journey in the industry.
Most of their IEMs, since the Kanas era until the recent release like the Starfield, are mostly getting favourable receptions from the community and almost always get into the recommended list to those who are looking for a sub $100-200 IEMs. So it'll be a pretty rare sight to find anyone dislikes the products from the critically acclaimed brand, Moondrop.
Price: $320
Basic Specs:
MOONDROP Blessing 2 In-Ear Headphones
Impedance: 22 Ω @ 1kHz (± 15%)
Unit configuration: 1DD & 4 BA each side
Frequency response range: 9-37KHz
(1 / 4-inch free-field microphone, -3dB)
Treble unit: Knowles SWFK
Midrange: Softears D-MID-A
Bass: 10mm paper cone diaphragm coil
Effective frequency response: 20-20KHZ
(EC60318-4)
Quality control range: ± 1dB @ 1kHz
Sensitivity: 117dB / Vrms @ 1kHz
Change connector: 0.78-2Pin
THD: <1% @ 1KHz
Shell technology: 3D printing of imported medical resin
Unboxing:
The packaging here is similar to its big brother S8, with the only difference, the anime girl and the naming on their outer sleeves. Accessories and cable wise, it was the same as the S8 as well. It was simple yet still elegant. Definitely a step up from their previous version, in my opinion.
In the box:
- Faux Leather Case
- 4-Braid 6N OFC Litz Copper Cable
- 2 set of silicone eartips (S, M, L)
- Travel/airline adaptor
- Manuals & QC card
Compared to the original blessing, the packaging of the old Moondrop Blessing was using a smaller square-shaped wooden box and it has much simpler accessories that were included.
Built & Fit:
Housing - Blessing 2's shell is made of transparent 3D printed medical-grade UV resin, while the faceplate was made out of CNC stainless steel with Blessing 2 logo engraved on it. It was a well-made shell for sure, as it feels very solid and premium on the hand. But most importantly, you can have a custom engraving with the waifu of your choice on the empty faceplate as well now.
This combination makes the shell become heavier and bigger. So if you have a smaller ear, you might have some fit issue. But if you have a bigger ear like me, once you put them on your ear, you'll not feel any pain or discomfort thanks to the ergonomics of the semi-custom shape design they have. It will be very comfortable and secure on the ear as if you are wearing a CIEM. I have been wearing them for around 5-6 hours a day and I never feel any fatigue so far. With their fitting, it makes their isolation very good too.
However, they are still going to protrude from your ear due to their bulkiness, so they couldn't be used for sleeping.
One small note, the nozzle is slightly bigger than normal size, even from Starfield and it has no lips. So if you want to use smaller bore tips, they might slip off if you didn't put it in a correct way.
Cable & Eartips - To be honest, I quite like the Litz cable. They are good looking, and have a better feeling than the one included on Starfield (they made some modification to the colour of cable, but it was the same litz cable). The shorter 2-pin connector used also didn't extend too much like aftermarket cables, and with that, the memory wire still can fully wrap around your ear. But having no chin slider, using plastic-based connectors and jack make it a let down for me.
If they can give an 8 braid version of the cable with better jack and a chin slider, I'm pretty sure they can beat most of their competitors in this department.
The stock eartips aren't bad either and they are different than the sets included on Starfield. They are still narrow bore tips, but a bit wider and have a different cone. The cone on Blessing 2's tips is thinner and longer, while on Starfield's, the tips are thicker and shorter. I used them for sometimes before I changed it to Sedna Light.
Carrying Case - The grey case is pretty big and looks luxurious too, similar to the Dignis Arca case. It can fit up to two cables at the same time (stock + my ISN s8) but they can't be pocketed. Other than that, they do their job very well to protect the IEMs & the accessories inside.
Sound Analysis:
My gears in this review:
• Source: Shanling M5s (Balanced)
• Cable: ISN S8 2.5mm
• Eartips: SednaEarfit Light Short
The genre that I listen to:
Orchestral, Korean pop, J-pop, neo-soul, R&B, Jazz, alternative hip-hop, Dance
Moondrop Blessing 2 is a hybrid IEM that is equipped with 4 BAs and 1 DD per side. Utilizing 2 balanced armature for the highs, 2 more balanced armature to handle the mids, and a 10mm paper cone diaphragm coil for the low frequency.
Similar to its predecessor, Blessing 2 is also a relatively bright sounding IEM. But what Moondrop aiming here with the new Blessing 2, is to fix the bass quality and the harshness on the mid and high frequency of the original Moondrop Blessing.
The tuning of Blessing 2 is based on the Moondrop's own target, the VDSF response.
Lows - Blessing 2 has a rather neutral-sounding bass with a little bass boost, around 5db, to prevent them from sounding too cold or analytical. They are fast, controlled, and clean, almost to the level of the BA bass, yet they still able to deliver plenty amount of impact and rumble of a DD.
However, the impact can be a bit too soft sometimes, and although they can extend much more than they are now, the rumble is way shorter than most DDs I had listened to. The bass may also go a little blunt sometimes on some tracks (bass-heavy tracks mostly, but not all of it) and it lacks a fraction of texturing as well.
Aside from the downsides, the bass on blessing 2 is more focused on the sub-bass instead of mid-bass, which will be great for some people. But although it's sub-bass focused, it doesn't intervene much with other frequency due to the low/almost neutral quantity, so you can hear pretty much everything clearly without getting mixed up.
Mids - The mids sound very transparent, natural, and realistically reproduced. It also has a good body and accurate tonality to it, which I believe not many of their rivals in a similar price range or even above can do better than them. Plus, even with the brightness that they have in the mids, they never sound too harsh or shrill to the ear as well.
In terms of position, they aren't being too forward or behind others. They are pretty much in the center of the mix, in my opinion.
I can't really find any weakness here except the male vocal is going to be a tad more recessed and thin sounding than the female vocal due to the bright nature of Blessing 2.
Highs - The treble has a good extension. They are not overly done and have enough air to make them sound open and less congested. The presentation of the cymbals is clean and crisp yet still feels natural overall.
While they can be pretty aggressive sometimes, they still never get shouty or even piercing. So they are great for my long listening sessions.
Soundstage and Imaging - The size of the soundstage is slightly above the average, and I feel that they have more height than width. The sense of depth also done nicely and precise too, which makes them very good in layering and generating 3D like imaging.
Resolutions and Separations - Their resolution and detail retrieval are undoubtedly beyond their class. This is because they can render all of the details and clarity so effortlessly almost to the level of the TOTLs.
The instruments are also separated incredibly well in Blessing 2, as you'll never find yourself hearing the instruments getting mixed together here in any classical or orchestral tracks.
Drivability - They are relatively easy to drive even with my phone. But they need a bit more power than Starfield since I need to turn up the volume more to be in the same level of loudness as Starfield. (Starfield 40 = B2 around 42/45)
Comparison:
Moondrop Starfield
Size comparison between Moondrop Blessing 2 and Starfield:
Although Starfield was using the same VDSF reference as Blessing 2, Starfield's sound signature can be considered pretty the opposite of B2. Starfield is neutral to warm while B2 is neutral to bright.
Starting from the lower end, Starfield has much more bass quantity than B2. The bass also has a harder punch, much slower in decay and looser. But despite the better punch, they didn't sound as clean as B2 due to the slower decay and mid-bass bleed.
In term of the mids, Starfield is a tad thicker and fuller than B2 due to the warmth that they have. This, in turn, makes the recess between male and female vocals less obvious than in the B2. The transparency is also slightly lower on the Starfield, as they can be a little bit grainy.
The treble on Starfield doesn't extend as much as the B2, which can make them a bit muddy and splashy sometimes when there are cymbals playing. But this lower quantity of treble also makes the peak on Starfield less intense, making them a fatigue-free iem which is good for treble sensitive people.
The technicalities, which include the imaging, soundstage, resolution, and instrument separation on Starfield are obviously less resolving than B2 in comparison.
- The imaging is flatter
- The soundstage is more intimate
- The resolution is slightly lower because of the lower treble quantity
- The instruments can get mixed up sometimes if they are playing a busy track.
B2 also has a more laid back presentation overall, while Starfield is more in your face.
So, is it worth it to upgrade from the Starfield to Blessing 2?
If you don't mind the less quantity and softer bass punch and you are looking for a similar tuning with a TOTL quality, it's definitely a yes. But overall, Starfield still very good for its price.
Moondrop Blessing
Size comparison between original Blessing and Blessing 2:
The tuning of the original blessing is based on the Harman target unlike the B2 with their house sound VDSF, but overall they measure fairly close to each other from the graph below.
Although they are identical in the graph, I can assure you that the improvements they made on the B2 are massive.
The bass quality on the og Blessing was clearly inferior compared to the B2's. The bass slam is lackluster, the texturing is just so so and it doesn't really rumble. The speed and decays is also a tad faster than on the B2, which makes them sound less natural to me. Even though it has a little more quantity than the B2, the bass on B1 sounds much drier and less due to the aspects above.
For the mids, B2 is smoother and laid back compared to the B1. The vocal on the B1 feels more forward and thinner, making the male vocal become more distanced and female vocal sound shouty as the result. It still didn't cause any sibilance, but it can cause fatigue in the long term. The clarity here also slightly below the B2 as I caught it grainy sometimes on some tracks.
The treble between the two performs closely, just that B2 doesn't have the dip on the 7k that make B1 lose a bit clarity from the B2. Both extend also well without a doubt but cymbals and high hats sound better on the B2 as it has more air than B1.
Coming to the technicalities, you can immediately notice that B1 has more intimate soundstage than the B2. The sense of depth is also lacking on B1, but the width between both are pretty similar, making B1 feels flatter on their imaging. Resolution, instrument separations and layering also without a doubt better on the B2 because on B1 instruments can sound fuzzy/mixed up sometimes tho it's not as bad as Starfield, imho.
Overall, B2 is a very good upgrade if you are looking for an iem with a similar sound signature as it offers major improvements from most of the weaknesses that people complained about the og Blessing.
For the fit, it's pretty funny for me because I can't really get a good fit with the B1 especially the left side even when I had used sedna tips and it has a more universal type shell. It keeps sucking my left ear even without using sony hybrid / final E tips.
Closing statement:
Moondrop Blessing 2 is without a doubt, one of the best performing mid-fi range IEM that you can get right now. And the fact that they're executing way more than their price value aside from the few small drawbacks, especially with the much lower price they have than their predecessors, made it even crazier. Although they still can't compete with the TOTLs like the 64audio's u12t or tia trio, at least they have been pretty close in closing the gap now. So if I'm going to look for an upgrade from the Blessing 2, I need at least going to the kilo bucks range now.
One small side note:
Just for a precaution that you should never ever drop the B2. As after they accidentally sliding off the table and dropped to the floor, one of the faceplates fell off and the pin sockets also come loose. Thankfully, the drivers are not affected. I had glued them back together after consulting with their rep, so they are fine by now.
Introduction:
Who doesn't know Moondrop by now?
Those who have been into the chi-fi games for a while must have known Moondrop as one of the few chi-fi companies that have been pretty consistent in making good products (with the exception of their earbuds line-up) and loveable waifus throughout their journey in the industry.
Most of their IEMs, since the Kanas era until the recent release like the Starfield, are mostly getting favourable receptions from the community and almost always get into the recommended list to those who are looking for a sub $100-200 IEMs. So it'll be a pretty rare sight to find anyone dislikes the products from the critically acclaimed brand, Moondrop.
Price: $320
Basic Specs:
MOONDROP Blessing 2 In-Ear Headphones
Impedance: 22 Ω @ 1kHz (± 15%)
Unit configuration: 1DD & 4 BA each side
Frequency response range: 9-37KHz
(1 / 4-inch free-field microphone, -3dB)
Treble unit: Knowles SWFK
Midrange: Softears D-MID-A
Bass: 10mm paper cone diaphragm coil
Effective frequency response: 20-20KHZ
(EC60318-4)
Quality control range: ± 1dB @ 1kHz
Sensitivity: 117dB / Vrms @ 1kHz
Change connector: 0.78-2Pin
THD: <1% @ 1KHz
Shell technology: 3D printing of imported medical resin
Unboxing:
The packaging here is similar to its big brother S8, with the only difference, the anime girl and the naming on their outer sleeves. Accessories and cable wise, it was the same as the S8 as well. It was simple yet still elegant. Definitely a step up from their previous version, in my opinion.
In the box:
- Faux Leather Case
- 4-Braid 6N OFC Litz Copper Cable
- 2 set of silicone eartips (S, M, L)
- Travel/airline adaptor
- Manuals & QC card
Compared to the original blessing, the packaging of the old Moondrop Blessing was using a smaller square-shaped wooden box and it has much simpler accessories that were included.
Built & Fit:
Housing - Blessing 2's shell is made of transparent 3D printed medical-grade UV resin, while the faceplate was made out of CNC stainless steel with Blessing 2 logo engraved on it. It was a well-made shell for sure, as it feels very solid and premium on the hand. But most importantly, you can have a custom engraving with the waifu of your choice on the empty faceplate as well now.
This combination makes the shell become heavier and bigger. So if you have a smaller ear, you might have some fit issue. But if you have a bigger ear like me, once you put them on your ear, you'll not feel any pain or discomfort thanks to the ergonomics of the semi-custom shape design they have. It will be very comfortable and secure on the ear as if you are wearing a CIEM. I have been wearing them for around 5-6 hours a day and I never feel any fatigue so far. With their fitting, it makes their isolation very good too.
However, they are still going to protrude from your ear due to their bulkiness, so they couldn't be used for sleeping.
One small note, the nozzle is slightly bigger than normal size, even from Starfield and it has no lips. So if you want to use smaller bore tips, they might slip off if you didn't put it in a correct way.
Cable & Eartips - To be honest, I quite like the Litz cable. They are good looking, and have a better feeling than the one included on Starfield (they made some modification to the colour of cable, but it was the same litz cable). The shorter 2-pin connector used also didn't extend too much like aftermarket cables, and with that, the memory wire still can fully wrap around your ear. But having no chin slider, using plastic-based connectors and jack make it a let down for me.
If they can give an 8 braid version of the cable with better jack and a chin slider, I'm pretty sure they can beat most of their competitors in this department.
The stock eartips aren't bad either and they are different than the sets included on Starfield. They are still narrow bore tips, but a bit wider and have a different cone. The cone on Blessing 2's tips is thinner and longer, while on Starfield's, the tips are thicker and shorter. I used them for sometimes before I changed it to Sedna Light.
Carrying Case - The grey case is pretty big and looks luxurious too, similar to the Dignis Arca case. It can fit up to two cables at the same time (stock + my ISN s8) but they can't be pocketed. Other than that, they do their job very well to protect the IEMs & the accessories inside.
Sound Analysis:
My gears in this review:
• Source: Shanling M5s (Balanced)
• Cable: ISN S8 2.5mm
• Eartips: SednaEarfit Light Short
The genre that I listen to:
Orchestral, Korean pop, J-pop, neo-soul, R&B, Jazz, alternative hip-hop, Dance
Moondrop Blessing 2 is a hybrid IEM that is equipped with 4 BAs and 1 DD per side. Utilizing 2 balanced armature for the highs, 2 more balanced armature to handle the mids, and a 10mm paper cone diaphragm coil for the low frequency.
Similar to its predecessor, Blessing 2 is also a relatively bright sounding IEM. But what Moondrop aiming here with the new Blessing 2, is to fix the bass quality and the harshness on the mid and high frequency of the original Moondrop Blessing.
The tuning of Blessing 2 is based on the Moondrop's own target, the VDSF response.
Frequency graph of Moondrop Blessing 2.
The measurement was done using an IEC-711 clone with 8k as a resonance peak. The data is raw & uncompensated, so flat in the graph is not flat in real life.
Lows - Blessing 2 has a rather neutral-sounding bass with a little bass boost, around 5db, to prevent them from sounding too cold or analytical. They are fast, controlled, and clean, almost to the level of the BA bass, yet they still able to deliver plenty amount of impact and rumble of a DD.
However, the impact can be a bit too soft sometimes, and although they can extend much more than they are now, the rumble is way shorter than most DDs I had listened to. The bass may also go a little blunt sometimes on some tracks (bass-heavy tracks mostly, but not all of it) and it lacks a fraction of texturing as well.
Aside from the downsides, the bass on blessing 2 is more focused on the sub-bass instead of mid-bass, which will be great for some people. But although it's sub-bass focused, it doesn't intervene much with other frequency due to the low/almost neutral quantity, so you can hear pretty much everything clearly without getting mixed up.
Mids - The mids sound very transparent, natural, and realistically reproduced. It also has a good body and accurate tonality to it, which I believe not many of their rivals in a similar price range or even above can do better than them. Plus, even with the brightness that they have in the mids, they never sound too harsh or shrill to the ear as well.
In terms of position, they aren't being too forward or behind others. They are pretty much in the center of the mix, in my opinion.
I can't really find any weakness here except the male vocal is going to be a tad more recessed and thin sounding than the female vocal due to the bright nature of Blessing 2.
Highs - The treble has a good extension. They are not overly done and have enough air to make them sound open and less congested. The presentation of the cymbals is clean and crisp yet still feels natural overall.
While they can be pretty aggressive sometimes, they still never get shouty or even piercing. So they are great for my long listening sessions.
Soundstage and Imaging - The size of the soundstage is slightly above the average, and I feel that they have more height than width. The sense of depth also done nicely and precise too, which makes them very good in layering and generating 3D like imaging.
Resolutions and Separations - Their resolution and detail retrieval are undoubtedly beyond their class. This is because they can render all of the details and clarity so effortlessly almost to the level of the TOTLs.
The instruments are also separated incredibly well in Blessing 2, as you'll never find yourself hearing the instruments getting mixed together here in any classical or orchestral tracks.
Drivability - They are relatively easy to drive even with my phone. But they need a bit more power than Starfield since I need to turn up the volume more to be in the same level of loudness as Starfield. (Starfield 40 = B2 around 42/45)
Comparison:
Moondrop Starfield
Size comparison between Moondrop Blessing 2 and Starfield:
Although Starfield was using the same VDSF reference as Blessing 2, Starfield's sound signature can be considered pretty the opposite of B2. Starfield is neutral to warm while B2 is neutral to bright.
Graph comparison between the Blessing 2 vs Starfield
Starting from the lower end, Starfield has much more bass quantity than B2. The bass also has a harder punch, much slower in decay and looser. But despite the better punch, they didn't sound as clean as B2 due to the slower decay and mid-bass bleed.
In term of the mids, Starfield is a tad thicker and fuller than B2 due to the warmth that they have. This, in turn, makes the recess between male and female vocals less obvious than in the B2. The transparency is also slightly lower on the Starfield, as they can be a little bit grainy.
The treble on Starfield doesn't extend as much as the B2, which can make them a bit muddy and splashy sometimes when there are cymbals playing. But this lower quantity of treble also makes the peak on Starfield less intense, making them a fatigue-free iem which is good for treble sensitive people.
The technicalities, which include the imaging, soundstage, resolution, and instrument separation on Starfield are obviously less resolving than B2 in comparison.
- The imaging is flatter
- The soundstage is more intimate
- The resolution is slightly lower because of the lower treble quantity
- The instruments can get mixed up sometimes if they are playing a busy track.
B2 also has a more laid back presentation overall, while Starfield is more in your face.
So, is it worth it to upgrade from the Starfield to Blessing 2?
If you don't mind the less quantity and softer bass punch and you are looking for a similar tuning with a TOTL quality, it's definitely a yes. But overall, Starfield still very good for its price.
Moondrop Blessing
Size comparison between original Blessing and Blessing 2:
The tuning of the original blessing is based on the Harman target unlike the B2 with their house sound VDSF, but overall they measure fairly close to each other from the graph below.
Graph comparison between B1 and B2
Although they are identical in the graph, I can assure you that the improvements they made on the B2 are massive.
The bass quality on the og Blessing was clearly inferior compared to the B2's. The bass slam is lackluster, the texturing is just so so and it doesn't really rumble. The speed and decays is also a tad faster than on the B2, which makes them sound less natural to me. Even though it has a little more quantity than the B2, the bass on B1 sounds much drier and less due to the aspects above.
For the mids, B2 is smoother and laid back compared to the B1. The vocal on the B1 feels more forward and thinner, making the male vocal become more distanced and female vocal sound shouty as the result. It still didn't cause any sibilance, but it can cause fatigue in the long term. The clarity here also slightly below the B2 as I caught it grainy sometimes on some tracks.
The treble between the two performs closely, just that B2 doesn't have the dip on the 7k that make B1 lose a bit clarity from the B2. Both extend also well without a doubt but cymbals and high hats sound better on the B2 as it has more air than B1.
Coming to the technicalities, you can immediately notice that B1 has more intimate soundstage than the B2. The sense of depth is also lacking on B1, but the width between both are pretty similar, making B1 feels flatter on their imaging. Resolution, instrument separations and layering also without a doubt better on the B2 because on B1 instruments can sound fuzzy/mixed up sometimes tho it's not as bad as Starfield, imho.
Overall, B2 is a very good upgrade if you are looking for an iem with a similar sound signature as it offers major improvements from most of the weaknesses that people complained about the og Blessing.
For the fit, it's pretty funny for me because I can't really get a good fit with the B1 especially the left side even when I had used sedna tips and it has a more universal type shell. It keeps sucking my left ear even without using sony hybrid / final E tips.
Closing statement:
Moondrop Blessing 2 is without a doubt, one of the best performing mid-fi range IEM that you can get right now. And the fact that they're executing way more than their price value aside from the few small drawbacks, especially with the much lower price they have than their predecessors, made it even crazier. Although they still can't compete with the TOTLs like the 64audio's u12t or tia trio, at least they have been pretty close in closing the gap now. So if I'm going to look for an upgrade from the Blessing 2, I need at least going to the kilo bucks range now.
One small side note:
Just for a precaution that you should never ever drop the B2. As after they accidentally sliding off the table and dropped to the floor, one of the faceplates fell off and the pin sockets also come loose. Thankfully, the drivers are not affected. I had glued them back together after consulting with their rep, so they are fine by now.