Moondrop Nekocake

Introduction:
Moondrop is a company from China that produces in-ear monitors. They were made famous by their signature all-metal build and their balanced in-house sound signature closely resembling the Harman target curve. Their first attempt in the true wireless domain is the Sparks which was released earlier this year, and shortly after, they released the Nekocake. The Nekocake currently retails for 43 USD, and was provided to me for free by HiFiGO in exchange for this review.

International purchase link

Specifications:
Driver unit: 13 mm dynamic, titanium dome composite diaphragm
Impedance: 32 ohms
Bluetooth version: 5.0
Charging time: up to 1 hour
Charging time (case): up to 1.5 hours
Battery capacity (earphones): 37mAh.
Battery capacity(charging case): 380mAh.
Battery life: up to 4 hours on a single charge, up to 12 hours with charging case

Source:
Poco X3, Poco M3, Redmi Note 7 Pro

Test tracks:
Africano - Earth Wind and Fire
Dark Necessities - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Gurenge - Lisa
The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
Monsters - All Time Low
Ours - Taylor Swift
Stay - Mayday Parade
Snuff - Slipknot
Yesterday Once More - Carpenters
So Slow - Freestyle
Aurora Sunrise - Franco
Attention - Pentatonix
Blue Bird - Ikimono-gakari
You're Still The One - Shania Twain
Anyone Who Knows What Love Is(Will Understand) - Irma Thomas
Salamin - Slapshock
AOV - Slipknot
Hey Jude - The Beatles
The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson
...and a lot more.

Unboxing and Accessories:
The Nekocake comes in a dark, glittery box with a white sleeve. Upon opening, you will see the charging case and the earphones resting on a thin piece of plastic sheet. Underneath are the accessories which include additional 3 pairs of eartips, with the fourth one inserted already on the earphones, a warranty card, a USB C charging cable, and a thick instruction manual.

Build:
The charging case is made entirely of plastic, with the classic flip top lid design. At the front, there is a single LED to indicate the remaining battery of the case and charging status. At the underside there is the female USB C port for charging, and at the back there is a single multifunction button to enter pairing mode, to manually check the battery status of the case, and to do a factory reset of the earphones. One thing worth mentioning about the case is that the space inside is very limited, and only allows a handful of different eartips to be used. Eartips like the Spinfit CP100 will not fit inside.

The earphones are made entirely of plastic as well. It has a stem design that looks a lot like the Apple Airpods Pro. Near the end of the stem there is a small hole for the microphone. At the top portion, there is a large oval vent, must be for the microphone used for the active noise cancelling. Near the nozzle, there is another vent. The nozzles are oval in shape, and has a metal mesh filter, and a lip to hold the eartips in place.

With the Moondrop Link app, the Nekocake has 4 additional sound configurations, and the ability to change the behavior of touch controls. For the sound impressions, I will be using the stock, Balanced tuning, then compare it to the other configurations later.

Now let's get to the sound.

Lows:
The lows have a very slight emphasis. Subbass has a slightly above average depth, along with a good amount of rumble. Midbass is also elevated that sometimes it can get slightly bloated or sound a little boomy. That being said, instances of bass bleed is at the minimal.

Overall, this was not the type of tuning I expected from the Nekocake since this is a Moondrop's product. It's far from being bad looking back at Moondrop's previous products, I expected the lows to be lesser in quantity.

Mids:
The mids are presented in a laid back manner with a bit of a warm tonality. Vocals are slightly recessed, thicker than average and reproduced in linear fashion; male and female vocals share the same weight, position and have good articulation. String instruments and percussions also have that hint of warmth in them.

Overall, the mids can get a bit too relaxed sometimes in a way that the voices and instruments feel like lacking in energy. The use of Wennebostel or Moondrop Classic configuration is recommended if you want more appealing mids.

Highs:
The highs, just like the mids, are tuned in a relaxed manner and doesn't have much presence. The reach in the treble is below average, with its decay being just the right amount. Cymbals can sometimes sound grainy and hollow, and can get lost in the mix quite easily.

Overall, this is the weakest area of the Nekocake's sound. From what I observed with a number of TWS IEMs, this characteristic of the highs is prevalent in those with only the AAC codec. IEMs with aptX or LDAC have much better treble response.

Soundstage and Imaging:
The Nekocake has a soundstage that is on the narrow side. The height has a slightly bigger expansion than the width. Imaging is good but it's quite obvious that it could have been a lot better if the treble was more present. Instrument separation and their layering is just average, and their is a moderate level of congestion that becomes increasingly noticeable as the tracks get busier.

Comparisons:
Moondrop Classic configuration
Before anything else, this configuration throws all the volume out the window. Volume is like halved in this configuration. Lows are relaxed and actually sound more balanced now. The mids became more transparent, forward and natural sounding. Highs became more forward as well, improving the presence, reach, and prolonging the decay. Soundstage opened up, expanding both the height and the width. Imaging and instrument separation were improved as well.

X Dynamic configuration
This configuration makes the Nekocake a V-shaped sounding TWS. Lows are elevated. Subbass and midbass had bigger and stronger impact, but of course, the lows now obviously bleeds into the mids. The thickness of the mids was increased considerably, reducing its transparency. The highs are now more solid. The decay and reach stayed the same but became louder and more forward. The size of the stage was reduced due to the lows. Imaging became slightly blurry and there were frequent hints of congestion.

Nobass configuration
Does exactly what it says. No difference from the Balanced configuration aside from the lows being greatly reduced in quantity.

Wennebostel configuration
Wennebostel is the name of a municipality in Germany where Sennheiser's headquarters is located. So this is Moondrop's attempt at imitating Sennheiser's in-house sound. This configuration actually sounds a lot like the X Dynamic one, but with a more natural tonality. Mids are just more forward with better clarity.

Conclusion:
The Nekocake is an affordable pair of true wireless IEMs that packs a lot of features and performs surprisingly good considering the competition in its given price point. To date, this is the most affordable pair that supports sound and functionality customizations through an app. Of course, there are still some rough edges that need to be smoothened out, and some minor issues that need to be addressed, but looking at it right now, the Nekocake is one of the better options in the budget range of the TWS market.

As always, for the Spanish speaking crowd, you can find this review in Spanish on Youtube and my blog, links at the end of the post.



The Moondrop Nekocake have been sent to me by Shenzen Audio in exchange for the publication of this review. They have not requested anything specific but my usual warning stands, I will do my best to be as honest and impartial as possible but it is always good to consider that these earphones have not cost me anything.

As always, I avoid posting purchase links (even though they are non-affiliate) outside of my own blog and channel, so to see the link to the Nekocake via Shenzhen Audio, please visit the version published on my blog.

Intro…

As some may already know, I am a fan of Moondrop. My experience with them has been that they offer quality that is at least as good as the price range they sit in, sometimes competing with others that are quite a bit higher in price.

This was one of the main things that made me happily accept to review the Nekocake when Shenzen offered to send them out, although I don’t usually review many bluetooth products, mainly because I am not a huge user of bluetooth.

I do have a few TWS IEMs, although they are getting a little long in the tooth (in Chinese product release time at least), but my main bluetooth set up of choice (when I want to be cable free) are the Moondrop Aria connected to the Shanling MW200. The Moondrop Nekocake come in quite a bit cheaper than that, costing less than 40€ (around 100€ cheaper than the MW200+Aria option) and placing them easily inside the sub 50€ bracket that I focus on.

The IEMs themselves use a 13mm dynamic driver, with a titanium coated dome and a Daikaku ultra-thin CCAW voice coil imported from Japan, which they say is to “ensure the lowest possible suspension system mass, so that the earphones can offer a more rapid transient response and further enhance detailed performance”. This sounds pretty impressive on paper, especially for 40€, but let’s see what it’s like in the real world.



Presentation…

Continuing with the anime theme that Moondrop have on the majority of their products, the box is a white box with a sketch of an anime girl on the cover. On the back they show the specs along with a graph of the FR, but we’ll get to sound in just a moment.

Inside the box we find the IEMs along and the charging case on the top level, with a manual, 3 sets of spare silicone tips and a charging cable underneath.

There is nothing really exciting about the presentation or contents but for 40€, I would much rather see that not much has been spent on packing and accessories.

Build and aesthetics…

The aesthetics of the IEMs are very reminiscent of the Apple options. Although not identical, they do have that kind of vibe to them and I could see someone who has never heard of Moondrop mistaking these for some kind of Apple imitation. On the part that extends down there is the logo of the cat (which I guess I should have mentioned that Nekocake means “Cat Cake”, not sure who came up with that name but it is at least a break from the usual Pro, X and Neo that we keeps seeing everywhere) along with Moondrop, both in brown.

The charging case is also a very simple white case with the cat logo on the front and Nekocake across the top cover. It is actually quite a nice and compact case, not the smallest I have ever seen but compact enough to easily be carried in a pocket.

The comfort of the IEMs is not bad, not the most comfortable but they don’t irritate me over periods of 2 or 3 hours, and they are nice and light.

The build quality seems to be pretty decent, it is obviously still completely plastic but in general it does seem to have been well put together and I see no obvious flaws.



Functionality…

The functionality of the Nekocake is simple, much the same as 90% of the TWS offerings available. You take them out of the case, they connect to your phone and you are ready to go. The only thing that is slightly different is that you enter pairing mode by holding the button on the case while the IEMs are in it (with the cover open). Other than that, you get play/pause by tapping either side once, you get next/last track by tapping the right or left side (respectively) and you get the assistant by triple tapping. You can also activate ANC by tapping and holding either side for a couple of seconds, with a VTuber voice that tells you it has been activated or deactivated. You can also answer calls, hang up and refuse calls by using the same system.

The functionality of these single/double/triple taps can be reassigned in the Moondrop Link app, letting you choose which you would like each combination of taps to do, although there are no extra functions you can assign. To be honest, I have no issue with the way the functions are assigned as they are, however, I do miss not being able to raise and lower volume from the IEMs themselves, something that I would like all bluetooth IEMs and headphones to have, as getting my phone out of my pocket to change volume is something I would rather avoid when going wireless.

In the app you can also change the EQ of the IEMs and it gives you a choice of 5 different settings, I will mention more about these in just a second.

I can’t say that I have had any issues with connectivity, although I haven’t really tested the distance (10m according to the spec) and the battery life has been enough for my daily use, which is 4 hours for the IEMs and 12h with the case (according to the manufacturer). As I usually place them back in the case when I don’t have them in my ears, they have never run out of battery on me and the case has lasted over 2 days easily (no warning light for the battery), although I automatically recharged it at the end of the second day.

I made a few calls and the other end said that while I didn’t sound perfectly clear, they could easily understand me, so I can’t complain about using them for calls either.

The last thing to mention is codecs. While the Nekocake uses bluetooth 5.0, which seems to be good to not experience any glitches in connection or lag, they only support SBC or AAC codecs. Now, I would much prefer to have the option of a higher quality codec, such as LDAC, but I haven’t found it to be that important, my opinions on sound will probably clear this up.



EQ Presets…

As I just mentioned, the Moondrop Link app (which is the same app for the Moondrop Sparks) allows the choice of 5 EQ presets: Balanced (the default option), Moondrop Classic, X’ Dynamic, Nobass and Wennebostel.

Balanced is, as I just said, the default option and, in my opinion, is the only one that I found to be usable for me. I will talk more about this preset in the sound section, as it is the one I have been using and have based my opinions on.

This is what the Balanced EQ looks like on paper:



Moondrop Classic is strange as it seems to cut the volume level in half, I mean, it actually drops the output by about 8dB in comparison to the Balanced option. I have no idea why this is a preset or who came up with the idea but here is the graph of it vs Balanced:



X’ Dynamic is a bass boost but not in a good way, at least in my opinion. I know that I am someone who is not a bass head and that I don’t favour overly present bass (except on occasions) but this preset just seems to make everything muddy and, well, wrong. It boosts everything all the way through the mids also. This is the graph of the ‘X Dynamic vs Balanced:



Nobass is just that, no bass. This is certainly not a tuning that I would choose but, to me at least, it is much better than the X’ Dynamic option. This is what it looks like on paper, vs the Balanced option, although the impression when listening is of even less bass:



Finally we have Wennebostel, a very strange name for an EQ preset. Wennebostel is a place in Germany and from what I have read, this preset brings “Sennheiser like” characteristics. Now, I haven’t had much experience with Sennheiser TWS IEMs, except for some brief tests, but this doesn’t remind me of any Sennheiser I have heard, at least that I can remember. Maybe I am remembering wrong and it is reminiscent of a Senn product but I certainly wouldn’t have guessed it if I hadn't read it, it reminds me more of the X’Dynamic preset than anything else.

Here is the Wennebostel graph vs the Balanced:



Sound…

So, finally, on to the sound section. As I said, I chose the Balanced profile and all of my opinions are based on using this preset.

Starting off with the subbass, I would say that it is on a par with the rest of the frequencies. There is a roll off that happens due to the fact that there is no boost and our hearing rolls off naturally as we get to the lowest end of the spectrum. There is some rumble present when listening to "[Chameleon](https://songwhip.com/trentemoller/chameleon)" but by no means is it to a level that I would consider “bassy” in comparison to so many other sets. This is not really an issue for me with the majority of music I listen to but it is something to consider if you like deep rumbling subbass.

Moving into the mid bass frequencies, as you can see on the graph, there is a bit of a dip going on. This dip works fairly well to stop any muddy transitions between the bass and mids but can also remove some of the lower body of acoustic instruments. To be fair, it is not as bad as it looks on paper, I still find acoustic guitars and basses to have a nice body to them but they are missing a little bit of warmth down there.

The lower mids are clean due to the dip in the upper mid bass that I mentioned and are actually fairly well balanced up until the higher mids where there is again a bit of a dip. This does avoid the vocals becoming harsh in their upper mid range but may make some voices feel a little further back than usual. For example, Leonard Cohen has a voice that is usually placed quite a bit forwards in comparison to the instruments (using “[Happens to the Heart](https://songwhip.com/leonard-cohen/happens-to-the-heart)'' as an example) yet on the Nekocake it is much more balanced. It is as though Moondrop has used these two dips (upper bass and upper mids) to stay safe and it seems to work ok. It is not my favourite FR in this regard but it is definitely not offensive.

The higher ranges are rather smooth, once again avoiding any harshness or even sibilance. My usual “[Code Cool](https://songwhip.com/patricia-barber/code-cool)” test did not present any more sibilance than it should. However, in this same track, the treble itself does sound a little wrong.

I know that wrong isn’t really a good way of explaining anything, but it sort of sounds like there is a slight delay between the hit and the roll off of the higher notes, giving a sort of strange misaligned effect. Again, this is not exactly a very comprehensive way of explaining it but I am struggling to describe it.

The higher end of the treble does roll off, lacking a little bit of extension and air, but that is something that I find on 99% of single DD IEMs that I try.

The soundstage is actually rather decent, better than I would have expected, with a placement of images that is actually fairly well done. No, this does not make you close your eyes and focus on images with millimetric accuracy but I find it to be better than many of the wired alternatives at similar prices.

As far as detail, these are not the most detailed of IEMs. There is a bit of a smoothness to the overall sound, meaning that small details do get lost in the overall picture of things, but that doesn’t really take away from the enjoyment of the Nekocake for what they are, which I guess brings me to the…



Conclusion…

I feel that the Moondrop Nekocake are a set of TWS IEMs that don’t pretend to be something that they are not. They are a simple, economical, set that just delivers sound in a smooth and simple way.

I found myself using them with Spotify most of the time and enjoying them. I did not spend my time focusing on the music and looking for details (except when actually consciously doing so for this review), I just got on with my life with the freedom that TWS brings. That is, in my opinion, what these IEMs set out to do, they give you a way of listening to some background music while you go about your day to day.

They follow a tuning that is fairly balanced and safe, at least in “Balanced” mode, which some may think is a bit boring but I, personally, found it quite pleasant and non offensive, again, meaning that my attention wasn’t really brought to the music, it was kept on whatever other tasks I was doing at the time.

The ANC is not the greatest but it does tame constant rumbles (such as the AC) reducing them by quite a bit, although voices and other non-constant sounds are still easily audible.

I don’t have a huge amount of experience with TWS IEMs, so I really don’t know what these are up against in the price bracket they sit in, but I certainly don’t think they are bad value for 40€ if what you want is the commodity of TWS and not ultra defined high resolution audio. Yes, I could pick plenty of things that I would prefer to improve on them but they are things that are not really important (to me) when I am doing something that brings me to choose TWS.

I think that the vast majority of people who just want some wireless buds to go with their phone for when they are out and about would be more than happy with the Nekocake, unless they are someone who wants a lot of bass, but then they could just turn on the X’ Dynamic mode and have more bass than they wished for In fact, I think if moondrop could release a few more (i.e: better) EQ presets for these, they would be a great buy for the price.

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Moondrop's Nekocake Review - Killer Budget TWS?



Intro

Moondrop is no stranger when it comes to the audio community. Most of their releases are hits rather than misses, being priced affordably, does not mean they skimp on the sound quality. Let’s take a look and see if it’s holding up against other similarly priced TWS.


Packaging

The packaging is pretty straight forward, nothing to expect at this price point.
A box consists of the IEM, eartips. Pretty straight forward no BS, not to mention the usual anime art.


Build and Comfort

The whole earbud is made out of plastic and there are no sharp edges or any protrusion that causes discomfort. Despite it’s fully plastic,it doesn’t look cheap and it’s light, i’ve worn them for several hours during my meeting and there’s no discomfort throughout the period.


Specifications

Bluetooth version: 5.0
Protocol supported: A2DP/AVRCP/HFP/HSP/SBC/AAC
Charging port: Type-c
Impedance: 32±15%Ω@1kHz
Working distance: 10m (barrier-free open environment)
Support system: All Bluetooth devices and smartphones
Charging time: About 1 hour
Charging time of charging case: About 1.5 hours
Battery capacity: 3.7V/ 37mAh
Battery capacity of charging case: 3.7V/ 380mAh
Battery life: About 4 hours
Battery life with charging case: About 12 hours

Sadly, there’s no fast charging available when the device is in the case, but this is just nitpicking especially at this price point.


Connection Test and Latency

• Placing my phone on my dining table in my living room, i walked to my balcony with a thick wall in between and there’s no disconnection nor any distortion, connection remained rock solid stable
• As for gaming, the delay is very noticeable, but then again, this TWS is not meant/marketed for gamers in mind.
• Watching Netflix with it on my iPad, there isn’t any delay as well,the audio and video is pretty much in sync. No noticeable delay

Audio Quality

Nekocake’s default tuning is more on the “fun” side of spectrum. Slightly elevated low and high without recessing the vocal. You can change the tuning of Nekocake by downloading the LINK app from Apple’s app store if you are using iOS or Google Playstore if you’re using Android. Sort of like an EQ

*This evaluation is done using the Classic Moondrop Preset via the Moondrop LINK App

Bass

• Sub bass rumble can be felt and heard during EDM track such as Ping Pong by Armin
• Bass quantity and quality is good enough (You can always change to a different preset if you feel like having more “Boom”)
• Bass response is neither fast nor slow to a point where it got too boomy
• Typical Harman kind of bass response when using the Classic Moondrop Preset

Mids

• Vocal is forward and slight intimate to my ears
• Good enough detail at this spectrum of frequency
• At time it feels a little lean

Treble

• Treble is smooth and non sibilant nor fatiguing
• Good enough detail retrieval
• Average resolution

Soundstage and Imaging

• Soundstage is pretty much in your head, not too narrow or wide
• Imaging is alright as the instruments can be pinpointed correctly

Battery Life Test

• I would say the battery life is not bad nor exceptional, good enough to last you through the day if you are a heavy user, as the case hold an additional of 12 hours approximately
• Single usage is more or less the same as claimed by Moondrop which is 4 hours +- depending on your volume level, during the time of testing, i am playing it at about 40% of volume level which is loud enough to me

ANC Test

If i were to rate the ANC performance, In comparison with AirPod Pro, i’m giving the AirPod Pro a 8/10 and Nekocake at 5/10. This is to be expected as the ANC performance for Nekocake is definitely not on par with the high tiered TWS that offers a better ANC performance.

This is to be expected and I am not nitpicking especially at this asking price. The ANC does work, however it doesn’t cancel out most of the noise, EG, my mechanical keyboard typing sound, Keys jingling sound. It does cancel out the road noise when i am driving. When I'm out about in a busy restaurant, it’s not dead silent, but it does cancel out some noise in order for me to listen to the music at average listening volume without having to crank up the volume.


Final Thoughts

Throughout the week that i’ve been using Nekocake, i find them to be very comfortable over all and soundwise, they offers a good price performance ratio, the stock eartips offers good enough seal for me, it’s kinda hard for me to change the eartips as it won’t fit into the charging case. I find myself going for Nekocake instead of my wired setup throughout this test period because it offers good enough performance and the convenience that TWS offers

Overall I find them to offer a balanced performance with a good price performance ratio considering the specifications of the earbuds. At this asking price, It is very easy to recommend it to anyone who is looking for a budget TWS right now. I see no reason why I shouldn't recommend it.

An easy 4.5/5 judging from the value and performance it offers.

*I received the unit in exchange for my honest opinion by Cloris from ShenZhen Audio. The link attached is not affiliated and i don’t earn a single cent even if you decide to purchase it