Moondrop Blessing 2

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.


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.



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.

Moondrop released their latest installment in the hybrid multi-driver range of in-ear monitors in the form of Moondrop Blessing 2. The Blessing 2 is coming as a direct update to the Moondrop Blessing. While the previous one was priced at around 400$ price tag, the latest version comes at a price tag of 320$ and offers a variety of features. The Blessing 2 features a five driver hybrid unit on each side with 4 Balanced Armature units and one large Dynamic Driver unit. The drivers have a three-way configuration with the DD driver handling the lower end, Dual BA Drivers handling the Mids section, and another Dual BA unit handling the Higher end.

Disclaimer:-
I got Moondrop Blessing 2 as a sample unit from Hifigo.com at a discounted price for this review. You can buy the unit from their store here. Please note that I just got it for some discount I am not paid by anyone to write a positive/negative review. Also note that I received a sample unit so it came without any packaging. So my review won’t be including the unboxing part. The unit was burned in for more than 120 hours before writing this review today.

Build Quality & Fit:-

The Moondrop Blessing 2 has got an amazing and tough build quality, the pair looks brilliant. It has medical grade 3D printed resin shells with Stainless Steel faceplates. The right side faceplate has Blessing 2 branding printed on it. And as per the latest update from Moondrop now you can get the left earpiece custom-printed. You can choose from a variety of designs at just 30$ extra. From the inner cavity of ear shells is completely transparent and you can see different drivers placed around neatly.

The build quality is superb, but I found one issue here. The earpieces are quite big and they sit on the outer side of our ears. People with small ears might find issues in getting a perfect fit, for me, I have medium-sized ears and it provided a comfortable fit for me. Apart from large-sized earpieces, I didn’t found any issues with the build quality of Moondrop Blessing 2.

The cable included I the package is a 4-Core braided Copper cable with 0.78mm two-pin interface. The cable feels rich and premium, it has a Moondrop branded circular Y splitter. It terminates at an L shape 3.5mm plug. But I feel like the cable could be improved, my other IEM DK-3001 Pro from DUNU comes with an outstanding cable, though I know its 150$ costly.

Sound Quality:-

In terms of Sound Quality, the Moondrop Blessing 2 has a bright and detailed sound signature. The pair provides the users with an airy soundstage and a brilliant level of imaging. It performs closely with my Dunu DK-3001 Pro, it’s just the Dunu has a warmer signature as compared to the Moondrop Blessing 2. The pair holds great strength throughout the entire frequency range. It shows a beautiful synergy paired with my FiiO M11 Pro. I got the unit from a friend of mine who reviewed the unit first. He told me that there was some peakiness in upper mids, but after his burn-in period of about 50 hours, it got settled. I myself didn’t felt any type of peakiness. Now I will tell more about the pair with different parts of the frequency range.

Lows:-
There is a 10mm dynamic driver handling the lower end of Blessing 2. The Lower end shows a quick and snappy bass response, it has a neat and clean bass section. The drum thumps in Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons are quick and neat, they show good depths. They have a natural response, they don’t overlap over the other frequencies or sections of the frequency range. Listening to EDM tracks like, Instant Crush by Daft Punk is a fun experience, the bass thumps feels accurate and lively. If you listen to bass-heavy songs like Bad guy by Billie Ellish, Say my name by David Guetta, you will love the controlled bass response.

Mids:-
The mids section is transparent and natural, you will hear good acoustic details with detailed and lush vocals. Listening to songs like A Heartbreak by Angus & Julia Stone, The Animals Were Gone by Damien Rice, Lost in Japan by Shawn Mendes, Speak Softly Love by Yao Si Ting, and more, I loved the natural and lush vocals. They sounded natural, neither thick nor thin. Guitars and other instruments in unplugged songs, like those on MTV Unplugged sessions, Cover Sessions by Boyce Avenue carry an airiness around them.

Highs:-
The Highs are transparent and airy. This section is smooth and detailed, there is no harshness or sibilance with any of the musical instruments even at louder volumes. Violins by Tina Guo in songs like Wonder Woman Main Theme, Apocalypse instruments have a full-body representation. The airiness provides an amazing instrument separation experience with the pair. Here I would like to also tell you that I am sensitive to harsh treble, but I felt the treble region here to be smooth and transparent.

Soundstage and Imaging:-

The soundstage representation is quite wide and deep paired with brilliant instrumental imaging. When you close your eyes listening to music here on the Blessing 2 you can feel the stage from one corner of your mind to the next.

Timbre:-
The Instruments have got a natural tonality and timbre here with the Blessing 2, the airiness also makes instrumental details pop out from the music.

Final Verdict:-

Finally, I must say that I loved the Moondrop Blessing 2, it reproduces brilliant details in my music with a sense of airiness all around. It has a bright sound signature but it doesn’t feel peaky or harsh even a bit. The pair stands head to head with my main IEM DUNU DK-3001 Pro which is priced about 150$ more than the Blessing 2. At a price of 320$, I feel like it is one of the must-have pairs under the 500$ price range.

Now time to do some comparisons with similarly priced products:-

Moondrop Blessing 2 vs DUNU DK-3001 Pro:-

I love my pair of DUNU DK-3001 Pro. Earlier it used to be my all-time favorite under the 500$ price range. The DUNU DK-3001 Pro has a warmer sound signature as compared to the Blessing 2, but the Blessing 2 offers a better price to performance ratio. The Blessing 2 provides the users with a similarly detailed sound output for 150$ less, but the DUNU surely comes with a better cable with a pure single crystal copper cable with modular plug design. I am gonna keep both the IEM’s as I just can’t decide between them which one is better LOL.

Moondrop Blessing 2 vs QOA Mojito:-

The QOA Mojito is the latest IEM Priced at around 400$ with a 6 BA driver configuration. The Blessing 2 here shows better bass response, though the bass is cleaner in QOA Mojito but it feels less in quantity and snappiness. The Mojito produce lesser details as compared to the Blessing 2 and while the Blessing 2 feels like a balanced sounding pair, the Mojito sounds more like mid centric one with more emphasis on acoustic and vocals. I liked the QOA Mojito for listening to regional Bollywood songs or acoustic songs, but as a balanced and pair for any genre, I liked the Moondrop Blessing 2 more.

Thank You.

EDIT 2020-10-20: From 4.5/5 to 3.5/5. A lot of BA timbre that bottlenecks the naturality of the sound and the Tanchjim Oxygen is just better than the B2 in a lot of ways and is also cheaper. The LZ A7 also exists in this price range with completely superior SQ and technicalities.

Disclaimer: Bought on HifiGO with a discount for this review, thank you very much

Price: 320 usd

Specifications:

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


Accessories:

Silicone tips

Airplane adapter

4 core cable


Cable: The cable is quite a disappointment, while the cable itself looks quite good, the materials on the plug, divider and connector feels very cheap. Nothing much to say about it but I recommend that you get another cable for it.


Build: Made out of both transparent resin and stainless steel. Really unique build because the overall body is made out of resin while the faceplate is made with stainless steel.

This combines the visual appeal of metal (stainless steel in this case) and the more comfortable resin material for the part that touches your ears. You get the best out of both worlds, instead of being purely metal or resin. It is heavier than average iems, but this does not pose a problem with fit. Has 3 sound bores for each driver and one of the bigger BA have a Knowles filter in it.


Fit: The fit is quite good on these, even though the shell itself is very big. I consider my ears to be around Small/medium but the fit is still very good with the B2.

If you have very small ears then it might not fit though, but if you have at least small/medium then it should fit. (since it is so big, it will protrude from your ears and therefore cannot be used for sleeping)

Comfort: Now with the big size comfort is usually the first thing that falls off with big iems with my ears. But the B2 is actually comfortable, only problem with comfort is that since it is so big it will generate more heat than normal so that is a bit uncomfortable to me (I have sensitive skin).

I suspect that if you have very small ears it will not be comfortable but if you have at least medium sized it should be extremely comfortable.

Isolation: even though the shell is big, the isolation is good but not exceptionally good (like the Audiosense DT200 or T800) but it should be good for most cases, although if you are using it in public transport then I suspect that the little bass that it has will be drowned out by the outside noise.

Setup: Fiio M11, some wide bore tip I forgot the name of (L), cable 173

Lows: bass is very flat with a tiny bass boost, but you can consider it neutral because the quantity is quite low (but not anemic or non-existent). The bass is tight and fast and stays very clean. Quality is top tier except that it does lack a bit of texture.

You could say that it sounds like a BA bass but with a DD punch (very light punch, but feels natural). Sub and Mid bass are quite evenly balanced and it does not favor one over the other. While the bass can extend pretty low it doesn’t feel like it because of the low quantity, doesn’t have much rumble it pretty much is a tight/fast and clean bass all the time, so versatility isn’t that good.

Mid-bass: the mid-bass is very good for rock/metal, even for tracks where there is rapid machine-gun-drumming (for example this: ).

The tight/fast and clean mid-bass makes this sound clean and uncluttered even when there is so much going on in the bass. Downside to the mid-bass (along with Sub-bass) is that the quantity is so low that Hip-hop, house and similar style music are not very suited for the B2.

Sub-bass: the sub-bass is the weak point in the bass, because of its low quantity and little to no rumble. NOT suited for EDM, Dance, Hip-hop and similar style where sub-bass is the meat. There is a bit more punch though, than other neutral iems in the sub-bass so that’s good, but not good enough and EQ doesn’t really help either. So, if you want to use it for those kinds of music, you should look elsewhere.

Mids: Forward mids, clean and detailed. Vocal tonality is good although male vocals lacks warmth. Timbre is very poor.

Highs: Clean and detailed, can be a bit shouty in the lower-treble. Timbre is very unnatural.

Soundstage: wide soundstage but not average in depth.

Tonality: Bright-neutral tonality with a note weight on the thinner side. Timbre is very unnatural and incoherent across the range.

Details: Very detailed, both macro and micro.

Instrument Separation: separation and imaging are very good.

Songs that highlight the IEM: , , , , , (this one might be a bass focused song but it is so clean and sounds very nice)

Good genres: Rock, Metal, Jpop, OST, Orchestral, female focused songs/genres and maybe Classic? (I don’t listen to classic so not sure about that)

Bad genres: bass focused genres/songs



Comparisons:

LZ A6(pink filter): Treble is more extended on the A6 and it has much more air in it (so much so that it makes it less natural), quality is kind of equal because A6 has more details in the treble but with the unnatural amount of air it makes it less natural. So, you are trading details with naturality in the treble. Mids are much more evenly balanced between male/female vocals on the A6and placed in the middle and not forward nor recessed, while in the B2 male vocals are placed in the middle while female vocals are forward.

When it comes to the quality in the mids, the A6 has more natural male vocals because it isn’t as bright as in the B2 and is more detailed too, while female vocals on the B2 is better because the air in the A6 is noticeable and makes it less natural, A6 does have more detailed female vocals too but that might be due to the treble quantity affecting the perceived details.

Bass is much stronger in punch and rumble, even with the much more treble quantity on the A6 it is still extremely apparent that the bass is much stronger. A6 has more textured but a bit slower bass while tightness is about the same. This does give the B2 an edge when it comes to how clean the low end is. A6 also extends a bit more, but since the B2 has so little bass quantity you don’t really notice the very low sub-bass as you do with the A6.

Soundstage, details are better on the A6 but timbre and instrument separation are better on the B2. A6 is much more versatile (due to the 9 filters and its bass) and suits more genres but since it does have quite a lot of treble quantity, the risk of sibilance is higher so if you aren’t a treble-head/sensitive to treble then it might not be good for you. While the B2 is more of a specialist iem for certain genres like Rock/metal, Jpop and OSTs and not as versatile.

Final Audio E5000: These are complete polar opposites, but before I start with the sound you have to know that the E5000 NEEDS much more power than the B2 to drive so if you are using a smartphone or even a low-tier dap you should just forget about the E5000. Now with these 2 sounding so very different It is definitely up to your personal tastes and music library to decide which one is better for you. Bass on the E5000 is looser, slower and less clean while being MUCH more powerful, it is leaning more on rumble side than a tight/punchy style, extends lower and you can definitely feel the rumble. Quantity is so much on the E5000 that it should be good enough for a basshead too.

Mids are warmer and more organic, male vocals sounds very full and extremely good on the E5000 (although the bass does make the male vocals less clear), while the B2 definitely has better female vocals both in quantity and quality, sounding more natural and makes the E5000 sound like it has something covering it.

Treble on the B2 extends more and has much more quantity than the E5000. The overall treble range is much more natural, brighter and energetic on the B2 while the E5000 has a very warm presentation. Soundstage, details, instrument separation are definitely better on the B2, but the E5000 sure is impressive even with its massive bass bottlenecking a lot of the technicalities. Timbre is difficult to say which is better because the B2 has a more natural treble, female vocals and bass but the overall sound on the E5000 has a very special organic sound to it.

E5000 is actually a bit less versatile in what it can play due to its bass and warm presentation but it is better for bass focused songs and suits people that want a warmer and more relaxed sound. B2 is better if you want a more clear, energetic and brighter sound while also being a bit more versatile in what it can play.

Audiosense T800 (stock + green filter): (keep in mind that my T800 is a heavily modified version) The T800 extends lower in the bass, has much more quantity but not as fast/tight and clean as the B2 (also doesn’t sound as natural as the B2 because of the BA drivers). Mids are a bit recessed on the T800 but balancing between male/female vocals is better, B2 have a more natural mids and more detailed.

Treble has more quantity in the B2, sound clearer and more natural. soundstage, separation, timbre and details are better on the B2. Overall, the B2 sounds more natural and quality is higher. T800 is better suited for people that want strong bass, more versatile in what It can play and much better isolation. B2 is better for a brighter sound and overall cleaner sound, while being a perfect match for Jpop and great for rock/metal.

Blon BL-03(mesh filter mod): Bass is stronger in quantity but it isn’t as tight/fast and clean as the B2, 03 has much more rumble in the low end though. Mids are more balanced between male/female vocals and male vocals on the 03 is more forward than the B2, but overall, the mids is much better on the B2 more natural and MUCH more details.

Treble is more relaxed and more natural on the 03, but quality is worse while quantity is more on the B2. Soundstage, separation, details are superior on the B2 but overall timbre is better on the 03. 03 is more versatile due to the bass and is a more fun and at the same time more relaxed listening compared to the more analytical and energetic B2. 03 suits you more if you want a more fun, warmer and bassier sound while the B2 is better for brighter, analytical and just an overall better quality.

Tin Hifi P1(micropore mod): P1 needs extreme amount of power to drive and is hard to use portably. Bass is more anemic/non-existent on the P1 even with the micropore mod, it is also a bit slower and looser. Bass is superior on the B2.

Mids are better on the P1, it has a bit more natural sound and is more balanced between male/female vocals. B2 does have a more forward female vocals but overall, the mids are better in the P1 (especially the male vocals, sounding more natural). treble is more natural on the B2 but it also has more quantity so some songs can be a bit sharper on it.

P1 extends a bit more in the treble and also has a bit more air (to me it makes that makes it a bit less natural than the B2). Soundstage and timbre are better on the B2 but separation and details are better on the P1.

P1 should be a bit more versatile than the B2 due to it having better male vocals (they both are really low on bass quantity and even though the B2 does have more bass it is still not good for bass focused songs).

P1 however needs a powerful source so it is worse as a portable iem and more suited for a desktop setup. B2 is a much better choice in that regard and that it has a MUCH better fit (fit on the P1 is horrible).

Moondrop KXXS: The B2 is almost a direct upgrade to the KXXS. Treble has more quantity in the B2, extends more and more air. Mids are very similar in presentation where female vocals are forward and male vocals in the middle. Bass has more quantity in the KXXS but is slower, looser and not as clean as the B2 while the B2 also extends lower (although you hear the rumble more in the KXXS due to the quantity being more).

Soundstage, details, separation and even timbre is better on the B2. Overall due to the KXXS having more bass quantity and less treble quantity it is an overall warmer sound, but other than that the B2 is superior in every way and sounds very similar to the KXXS (except the bass and treble when it comes to quantity). B2 is the most similar iem to the KXXS and is the upgrade to it. (although the starfield should be a better pick than the KXXS with it being almost half the price and should sound almost the same.)



Conclusion: in conclusion the B2 is a very impressive iem and is a specialist iem for rock/metal and especially Jpop and OSTs. If I were to describe it with as few words as possible, it would be “cleanliness and clarity incarnate and a really natural vocal performer”. I welcome it as my second Endgame certified iem along with the LZ A6. Thanks for reading

Side note: I added a 4.0mm dust filter on the nozzle to protect it against dust/earwax, they are super cheap on AliExpress. (If you plan on buying them, I suggest something around 4.3mm and It should cover all 3 bores, the search term is “dust network”)

Cable source: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/resistance-of-cables-pics-comments-and-links.907998/

Moondrop Blessing 2 IEM Review: Beautiful and Detailed!!!

Who doesn’t know Moondrop, they are some of the best Chi-fi IEM makers in the market and bring the users a wide range of brilliant sounding in-ear monitors ranging from around a 100$ priced Starfield with a CNT Dynamic Driver unit and goes up to Moondrop Solis a 4BA and 2 EST flagship hybrid driver pair at 1100$. Moondrop has released a new hybrid driver IEM, the Moondrop Blessing 2. The Blessing 2 has got a five driver hybrid setup, one Dynamic driver and four Balanced armature drivers. I have got a sample unit for the Moondrop Blessing 2 a few days back and today I am going to share my review for this beautiful pair. I received a sample of Moondrop Blessing 2 from HiFiGo in return of my honest opinion, you can buy it from here from their store.





Please note that the unit that I have received for this review is a sample unit, it doesn’t have retail packaging just got the earpieces with a two-pin copper cable, so I won’t be able to tell you about the unboxing and contents of the unit and for this review, the unit has been burned in for more than 50 hours, as that is the least suggested for a DD IEM to burn-in.

Build Quality:-




People all around already praise Moondrop for its brilliant craftsmanship, whether it be Moondrop Kanas Pro, Moondrop S8, or just a 100$ priced Starfield all are built with good quality material and have a strong build. The Moondrop Blessing 2 is also not an exception, it looks exceptionally beautiful with a stainless steel faceplate placed on a transparent resin shell from which you can see through to the precise placements of different driver units inside. I can see a large dynamic driver coil, and two pairs of BA’s, from this I can tell you that it has a triple crossover design, Dynamic Driver handling the lows, dual BA for mids, and dual BA for Highs. The faceplate has a hole near the corner it is to reduce the dynamic driver flex, and I have not heard that flex noise even while pushing the earpieces deep into my ears.





The cable that came to me with the unit surely looks its stock cable, it is a 4 wire braided copper cable with 2 wires on each side and a 0.78mm two-pin connector type. The cable has an L type 3.5mm termination plug. The Y splitter on the cable has a Blessing 2 logo printed on it.
Overall the earpieces surely look beautiful, they have a strong and tough build.

Fit:-



The Moondrop Blessing 2 has a bit big sized earpieces, so for people with small-sized ears, you guys might get some fit related issues. For me, I have medium-sized ears and the fit is perfect for me. The earpieces block my ear completely and provide me with great isolation, I can’t hear to people around me even on lower volumes.

Sound Quality:-

Ever since I had tried the Kanas Pro from a friend I was so excited to see the new line up of Moondrop, and The Moondrop Blessing 2 sounds amazing. It has a U-shaped sound signature with a wider staging representation. The staging is absolutely amazing here, it is wide, it is deep. You can feel an entire orchestra being played personally for you in your ears. The sound has that airy feel to it which is expected from Mid-level IEM’s. The elevated Bass and Treble sections have good detailing and smoother response, mids initially felt a bit peaky especially the upper mids holding vocals for us, but as I have given this pair some time of burning in the mids have settled really well. There is no peakiness now, the vocals feel crisp and lush. The instruments have got natural timbre and good quality imaging capabilities. Let’s talk about the different areas of the frequency response range in detail now.





Lower end/Bass:-

As we already know a DD is handling the bass here, and my god the thumps that I had got when I first listened to this pair. Please note that previously I own the DUNU DK-3001 Pro IEM’s which is a balanced pair but it also has good bass, but when I heard the bass thumps on the Blessing 2 I actually got amazed. It has got a deep and punchy bass, the bass doesn’t roll off quickly and provides the users with a deep response. Drums in Clarity by John Mayer surely left a deep impression in my brain. The entire bass region is controlled really well and it doesn’t overlap or leaks to the other sections.

Mids/Vocals:-

The pair has a U shaped sound signature but there is surely some elevation in the upper mids which brings the vocals to upfront, this initially made the vocals a bit peaky, but after the burn-in period everything is settled. The vocals have settled and are smooth now. I mostly listen to vocal-based songs by artists like Damien Rice, Yao SI Ting, MTV Unplugged sessions. And post the burn in it is a bliss to listen to them on this pair. There is no harshness or peakiness in the pair after the burn-in period is over. The vocals feel natural they are neither thin nor thick, there are no coloration just crisp details.

Highs/Treble:-

The treble is the main attraction in Blessing 2's sound. The treble response is very detailed and brilliant. Whether it be violin in any of the songs by Tina Guo, Electric guitar in Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses, you will feel no harshness or peakiness at all. The Instrumental details are rendered so beautifully and precisely that even with such bright details the pair generates a relaxed sound. I really appreciate the tuning of Moondrop for this detailed treble response with no harshness. You will notice no sibilance in any of the instruments even at louder volumes.




Staging:-

The Moondrop Blessing 2 has a very wide stage representation. The stage has got a feeling of airiness, it has a feeling of depth, and with such beautiful details and staging the tuning of Moondrop surely looks promising and makes me eager to try out more products by them.
Overall the Sound quality of Moondrop Blessing 2 is very good. It has got a brilliantly detailed sound output with deep and clean bass thumps, natural-sounding vocals, and detailed and beautiful treble response. The pair plays all the genres I tried like EDM, Rock, Vocals, Pop with aplomb and very good clarity.


Powering the Moondrop Blessing 2:-



I have used the pair with my Fiio M11 Pro, Fiio M11 Pro paired with Aune B1s Amp, and One plus 6T smartphone with Cozoy TAKT C DAC/AMP and all of them powered the pair easily, though I feel like the pair has higher power requirements as I had to push the volume up to enjoy the pair fully.


Final Verdict:-

As I have told earlier in this review that I was excited to try out something from Moondrop, and thus came The Blessing 2. I loved the pair so much. It renders amazing details, it carries deep punchier bass response, and lush vocals exactly the type of sound that according to me makes any genre of music shine. This pair has made me a fan of Moondrop and now I am eager to try out more from the brand while keeping this as my daily driver now.