Moondrop Stellaris
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https://apos.audio/products/moondrop-stellaris-iems
I would like to thank Apos audio for letting me try this interesting IEM. My opinion is my own. No affiliate links, non-influenced , non-biased. Just my honest opinion and experiences.
Technical Specifications:
>Impedance: 36Ω±15%.
>Sensitivity: 117dB.
>Frequency response: 10Hz-50kHz.
>Effective Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz.
>Connectors: Standard 0.78mm 2-pin connectors.
Features:
>Newly-Developed 14.5mm Planar Magnetic Driver.
>High-precision miniature-grade Magnetic array.
>Sub-Nanometer Diaphragm.
>Exquisite Design with Iridescent Shells.
>Premium Softears Ultra-Clear Eartips.
>High-quality Mis-Tip Foam ear tips.
>Professional tuning following VDSF target response.
>Ergonomic and Comfortable.
Packaging is well done, it's a large enough well decorated box to let you know something inside is good. Inside is the very beautiful MD Stellaris, a nice cable similar to the LAN or at least in look. The case is the KATO case, and it fits them well. The Tips are non-standard for MoonDrop, kind of a longer SednaEarfit Crystal in materials but there is also Foam ones in different sizes. The shell is oblong and has that Starfield paint and design look. So, these take many cues from other well liked MoonDrop IEM. Build is very solid with some heft. Once in you won't notice it much. The Nozzles are big and extend deep into the ear, because of this isolation is superb.
Sound:
Bass:
The Lower end on the MoonDrop Stellaris is more of a quality over quantity kind of Bass. There is a good detail and Mid-Bass still has kick when called on, and Sub-Bass shows good depth at times but nothing too deep, this is insertion and tip dependent. Bass has good speed and details overall.
Midrange:
The Mids are clearly a strong point of the Stellaris. The mids present with good energy, they are both open and well textured. Somewhat just shy of transparent and Neutral with separation, and front and center vocals, both male and female are equal in body, quality and details.
Treble:
The Highs are energetic and bright with good details. For certain music and warm sources, they sound very natural and open. The treble has excellent speed and is revealing to a fault with somewhat good microdetails, and while I found the highs pleasant enough on most recording it can be unforgiving on brighter ones. Treble is spiky at some points and combined with upper treble can be harsh at times. Easily fixed with the included foam tips, or use of hybrid ones, and of course EQ. Honestly, I don't like to do ever.
Soundstage:
Its open and has a wide field with good depth and high too, above average in this. The Stellaris also has a fair amount of separation. Imaging is very accurate, and it could do some gaming but it's not holographic, 3D or any other catchphrase.
Afterthoughts:
The MoonDrop Stellaris is a unique tuned IEM planar IEM, not for everyone. It has many good traits, and it should be noted this needs power! I used the ifi Gryphon for the majority of the review with the Questyle M15 and Periodic Neon at times. Its not small either but for me after the right tips it was all just a pleasant experience.
Basic introduction before I start I got these moondrop Stellaris along with the 7hz timeless on sale during black Friday I have tested many closed-back headphones 50+ I only own 7 though and some open-back headphones 20+ own 1 I have however only tested 6 IEMs all of which I own except the moondrop chu's that seemed to break. as I am new to head-fi and reviewing IEM's I might do things a little differently. But with that being said lets begin.
The Good:
I gotta start off by saying I love these IEMs honestly I do, I like the way they sound when they have been eq'ed and honestly I think they sound alright uneq'ed(as long as you are ok with slight shrapnel in your ears) these IEM's have shown me something I didn't know I wanted or needed. what was that thing? well, it was detail.let me first say that my musical taste is certainly not normal I listen to music based on the feeling and texture of the music or even how the music subjectively "tastes" to me. for example, I like a lot of music by snails house because "his music sounds how sour tastes" the noise is an adhd filled noise scape a lot of the time and this extends to a lot of Vocaloid music I listen to and the jazz I like. This is to say that a lot of music I listen to has lots of noise like a lot of noise that mixes together and you can't actually tell one thing apart from another. why is this important to tell you this is because this IEM makes that chaos sound so clean and beautiful that I cannot explain to you the emotion I felt when I heard a song that had been missing its nuance or in other words detail for the first time.
these IEMs made me cry like literally cry because for once in my life I felt like I could hear the whole song. the vast majority of my library of music is extremely cheerful but there are others that are not when I listened to the album "Unhappy refrain" by wowaka on these I literally cried I could feel the deep emotions he must have had in mind when he made something so messy and disorienting. it's something personal when the music touches you and really connects with you with something that you really understand firsthand and when I listened to it again I reconnected with the album again immediately I instantly got taken back to when I first was exposed to his music when I was in a deep depression using the Audio Technica m50, not to get too personal and not to just pour out my heart in a random online review. basically, the Stellaris brought me so much closer to some of the music I listen to. would it have happened without the Stellaris I don't know should I have gotten the variations instead of buying 2 iems I will never know but I certainly understand detail now.
I honestly find it difficult to articulate how that's something that's so strange sounding that these IEM's are for sure not the best audio equipment I have had, that I think the soundstage needs improvement, that the fit is terrible, that if you use the foam tip the soundstage and imaging go blurry. this iem kinda sucks but with just a little refinement you can really make it that diamond in the rough, getting that experience eq'ing because you need to but because you want to, changing the tips to find that perfect fit that makes the IEM really shine, I have to say it after listening to these I think they are not good enough these are the kind of IEM that MAKES you want to get another pair, and then another, and then when its all done you come back to these and listen just to compare.
like the second I turn on my happy songs or any song with strings that wants room in the soundstage instantly turns off don't care the sound is whatever if I wanted to listen to a soundscape I could grab my old akg k701 or even any of my closed back headphone almost any of them would beat the soundstage on this.
I grab these if I want to listen to a soundhell, a bunch of noises that give the song texture and weight.
ok so now that I have over-explained in 6 paragraphs what the single thing these IEM's are good at let me tell you why you might not want one
The Bad:
Honesty I don't know where to start, I swear most of the first part were actually bad things that via sunk cost fallacy have made me think are good. it's crazy they made something with this much technical detail under the layers and layers of less-than-ideal things.
Maybe we start with probably the worst part in my opinion the fit, they do not fit in my ears my ear canals are kind of too small but they are passable. this was a major pain point since I had trouble with listening and after hours of fiddling and finding out which tip let the sound really come out of the Stellaris and I eventually surpassed its major design flaw. the deep fit is awful and I don't think they can't get much worse than this but obviously, I don't have that much experience with IEMs so maybe it can be worse. the next part of this is that the shells are heavy they are possibly heavier than most over-ears headphones comfort is something that drove me to over-ears, to begin with, and that ended with me wanting something lighter, not heavier.
Ok, the next problem to talk about these actually needs some power to use, on other peoples recommendation I got the apple dongle but for USB c at max volume, it sounds just fine enough but I would really like the option for more sound but that's fine that's what my portable dac/amp is for great now I have to connect to a dongle into the amp into the IEM. wow how convenient and not cumbersome.
alright so at this point you have the IEM and yeah you carry the amp with you they are heavy on your ears and fatiguing in two different ways let's talk about The 2k spike I am by no means an eq master or tuning manic I literally think the tuning craze that people are on to usually be unjustified but the spike here is meaningless I cannot tell why it exists I cannot tell what it makes sound better I can't why is it there alright so in addition to the other stuff you have to either add a physical filter or eq
ok so you fix all of this it's perfectly tuned now you have all the gear you need to really drive this thing you have everything you would want and you listen to them and compare them to 7hz timeless or compare them to literally anything with better soundstage and you realize how the soundstage is only marginally better than the 20$ iems and you think wow I want a slight upgrade it would be nice if it was just a tiny bit better, I say this in my timeless review but the soundstage sounds roughly 2cm away from my head side to side and about 8cm in height but you might read my timeless review and say but the timeless is only 2cm more than this that's only a tiny amount 2cm is almost an inch don't tell me an inch is meaningless, lest an inch be taken from you.
after all that I don't think there are that many other negatives overall if none of that dissuades you, I'm telling you absolutely get one just to try it out it's your money but I absolutely got my money's worth a nice mention is they came with the tips I now also use on the timeless.
Tuning:
It's alright I guess some extra boost in the low end would be nice as well but honestly, everyone likes it a little differently realistically your perfect sound exists but honestly, I don't feel like stock tuning has stopped me before even the stock 2k spike is alright in my opinion, even perfectly flat is fine with me.
I'll let someone way more qualified or knowledgeable talk about this I read a lot of reviews before buying so I knew what I was getting into I honestly don't care about the tuning too much.
Technicals:
Other people often talk about tuning when talking about an IEM I think although its something important I don't think any person actually thinks tuning is more important than technicals, despite these most reviewers spend over 80% of the review on the tuning and only 20% on what in my opinion what they should care about why would you buy a 2000$ IEM if only tuning mattered just eq a lesser but similar set. it makes no sense to me and they don't even separate out the different categories alot of the time, for me the 2 I have learned to distinguish well, especially between the timeless and Stellaris are detail and stage.
So let's talk about the "star" of the show
Detail:
detail is amazing on the Stellaris even when two distortion guitars are playing you can hear them strum and hear all of the resonance of the distortion it's amazing frankly this is probably going to be the basis at which I judge detail and let me tell you I do not think thing are going to pass after this their detail is significantly better than every on-ear with tiny exceptions I don't even need to compare them to the timeless I came into this thinking the timeless would beat the Stellaris slightly in every category its more expensive after all but the detail does not even come close what sounds like just distortion on the timeless has full body and detail meaning a distortion sound effect becomes a full guitar strumming fading notes become bright drops of light, plucks of the string and more are made fully present. this is only present in incredibly messy mixes something that isn't exactly common
youtube music
youtube
some of the songs used to test the detail others were part of "unhappy refrain" by wowaka flac that I have on pc and various Vocaloid songs artists like kikuo even songs you don't expect to have huge detail have moments where you cannot believe the detail that is presented to you, it's not always clear which means there is room to go for detail for sure but I'm not sure where the price tag for something like that would sit compared to this
Soundstage and imaging:
This is where the Stellaris suffers the most compared to the timeless and its lower-cost siblings don't get me wrong it's better than most of the lower-cost IEM's it just does not blow me away honestly though if both the details went up and the soundstage was fixed this would easily be a blind buy even with its flaws honestly the price I would pay for something with a stellar soundstage on par with the closed backs I use and the detail without the fit and heft would be crazy I tend not to spend more than 400$ on audio gear the diminishing returns are extreme past a certain point but a few tweaks and improvements to soundstage maybe the Stellaris 2 can be my "endgame" as some would call it. my testing music is linked below
YouTube music
Youtube
Conclusion:
Even with all its flaws I can't help but love this IEM, do I think you should go out and buy one? probably not if you don't listen to chaotic mixes, but for people who do? they know what they should do. make sure they fit well or the soundstage is terrible and suffers, even more, I don't recommend the foam tips honestly. anyways I think I've said everything I really can about these wonderful detail monsters. note that everything I say is subjective if you have a 500$ IEM my review probably doesn't apply to you anyways.
thanks for reading, wishing all a happy holidays
A real unexpected adventure from this box
The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for my honest review.
I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links.
The price of the Moondrop Stellaris is $109.99 and you can buy it from Shenzhen audio.
Moondrop Stellaris
The Stellaris is the first planar in-ear monitor from the well established Moondrop brand with a budget friendly price.
Among the many planar drivers on the market, Moondrop selected a 14.5mm planar driver with excellent nonlinear distortion performance and consistency. The acoustic structure of the driver has been carefully modified by attaching an independent built-in acoustic cavity to accurately control the resonant frequencies of the system.
The driver of the Stellaris utilizes a sub-nanometer diaphragm with a thickness of 1μm, whose high-precision, ultra-thin, uniformly stressed diaphragm structure can deliver lower split vibration and nonlinear distortion in the vibration process.
So it can generate a more transparent and melodious timbre with clearer details. a frequency response performance that is highly consistent with the VDSF Target Response based on HRTF and optimized for listening characteristics.
The fully symmetrical magnetic circuit is composed of 7+7 N52H magnets, precisely arrayed during mold assembly, delivering lower harmonic distortion and higher magnetic circuit efficiency, and producing a maximum magnetic flux at the magnetic gap close to 1 Tesla, resulting in clearer sound quality.
Build quality, appearance and fit
The shells are made from aluminum alloy and feature an iridescent finish with a starry, Stellaris, theme which can reflect different colors under varying angles and light conditions.
The finish is flawless but it looks prone to chipping if the earshells get accidentally dropped to a solid surface.
The artistic design is very beautiful, Moondrop makes some of the best looking earphones in the market but the Stellaris is very different from the mostly compact sized earphones of the brand.
This one is really huge and quite heavy, the earshells are bulky and the sound nozzle is too long.
This particular shape is kind of odd as it makes the housings sit far away from your ear concha with a great gap between them so the nozzle acts like a lever.
The earshells can move and rock up/down but you can achieve a deep and tight fit with great passive noise attenuation, well at least as long as you don't move your head too much.
Cable
The Stellaris features a detachable cable with the 0.78mm 2-pin interface that ends in a 3.5mm plug.
The cable is of typical quality for the price tag, not bad but nothing special to talk about.
It is quite soft, it doesn't get too tangled and it has low microphonic noise.
Accessories
The Stellaris, except for the cable, comes with three pairs of silicone and three pairs of memory foam ear-tips plus a nice carrying case.
The silicone ear-tips are newly developed by Softears and are made of high-permeability liquid silicone. Based on ergonomic design, they fit far more snugly in the ear canal than ordinary silicone ear-tips, ensuring the lossless sound quality of bass under pressure and improved bass performance without any bleeding into the treble.
Power requirements
The Stellaris requires a good amount of burning time.
At first they sounded very bright and harsh but after about 150 hours they have settled to become treble forward but not in an annoying manner as to cause listener fatigue.
The Stellaris are also quite power hungry and they need a decent source to sound at their best.
If you make the mistake of using them straight out of your phone or a low power output USB DAC dongle, then they will sound excessively bright and thin.
Give them more power and you will find out that the overall sound signature is getting a noticeable improvement.
Most of the listening was done with the Chord electronics Mojo 2.
Listening impressions
The overall sound signature reminds me a lot of some HiFiMan headphones, like the HE400SE or even some Beyerdynamics with the infamous treble peak.
The Stellaris has an overly energetic and lively sound signature with a good amount of bass, an upper-mids forwardness and treble emphasis tuning.
The bass extension and overall low end balance are really good, you get a decent amount of sub-bass with a fairly neutral and linear tuning up to the mids without excessive mid-bass emphasis or bleeding into the mid-range.
The bass is tight and well controlled with a fairly good amount of definition and clarity, the typical planar bass that is not that visceral and dynamic but has great layering and excellent articulation while the neutral tuning helps a lot as to avoid any masking effects.
The mid-range has a kind of uneven tuning, it is balanced and neutral with the exception of an upper mids emphasis, you can call it a peak, which favors the register so certain instruments or vocals can sound out of tune, too pronounced or even shouting depending on the recording.
The texture is rather lean, there is plenty of free space while clarity and articulation are good but don't expect miracles regarding the resolution, the Stellaris is not that refined and transparent sounding in the mid-range nor in the treble.
The treble is on the brighter and energetic side of things with too much of accentuation on the brilliance range that adds a metallic timbre to the sound and an artificial tonality to certain instruments that are also perceived as lacking in weight and natural decay.
The Stellaris offers plenty of detail retrieval and has a very luminous tilt to the sound which adds an overly shiny and brilliant character to the Stellaris which nonetheless manages to avoid sounding too harsh or piercing at least with well recorded music.
The Stellaris is better matched with warmer sounding sources and is not at its best with lower quality mixes that are already bright and harsh.
It fairs pretty well with good quality productions of classical music as long as you are not critical about some tonal inaccuracies and the lack of texture weight.
It is aided in this task by the spacious and open soundstage which might be lacking in depth and holography but it has a realistic wideness and a sharp, accurate imaging.
Compared to the TinHifi P1 Max ($99)
The TinHifi P1 Max is another budget friendly planar magnetic earphone.
This is also quite bulky but nowhere near the Stellaris and is also considerably more lightweight and offers a much more comfortable and secure fit thanks to the anatomically shaped earshells.
You get 11 pairs of various eartips and a better quality cable but only a carrying pouch instead of the beautiful case that comes with the Stellaris.
The tuning of the P1 Max is the exact opposite of the Stellaris, this is a mildly warm and inoffensive sounding earphone with a touch of mid-bass emphasis and mildly subdued upper-mids and treble.
It is not as technical and clear sounding as the Stellaris, nor that well defined and controlled in the bass but it is much more even, coherent and enjoyable with a greater factor of musicality and much more natural timbre.
The soundstage might be lacking the spaciousness and the sharper imagining of the Stellaris but it feels more holographic and immersive plus it has a more weighty and lusher texture.
In the end
The Stellaris is a welcomed first planar magnetic earphone from Moondrop that unfortunately needs some extra polishing and reworking in order to be competitive and really stellar.
For now, it is mostly recommended for people who like a lively and bright sound signature with plenty of detail retrieval and a luminous character as long as they don't mind the extra bulk and the odd shape.
There is much room for improvement and Moondrop will certainly do better in their next planar installment.
Test playlist
Copyright - Petros Laskis 2022.
I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links.
The price of the Moondrop Stellaris is $109.99 and you can buy it from Shenzhen audio.
Moondrop Stellaris
The Stellaris is the first planar in-ear monitor from the well established Moondrop brand with a budget friendly price.
Among the many planar drivers on the market, Moondrop selected a 14.5mm planar driver with excellent nonlinear distortion performance and consistency. The acoustic structure of the driver has been carefully modified by attaching an independent built-in acoustic cavity to accurately control the resonant frequencies of the system.
The driver of the Stellaris utilizes a sub-nanometer diaphragm with a thickness of 1μm, whose high-precision, ultra-thin, uniformly stressed diaphragm structure can deliver lower split vibration and nonlinear distortion in the vibration process.
So it can generate a more transparent and melodious timbre with clearer details. a frequency response performance that is highly consistent with the VDSF Target Response based on HRTF and optimized for listening characteristics.
The fully symmetrical magnetic circuit is composed of 7+7 N52H magnets, precisely arrayed during mold assembly, delivering lower harmonic distortion and higher magnetic circuit efficiency, and producing a maximum magnetic flux at the magnetic gap close to 1 Tesla, resulting in clearer sound quality.
Build quality, appearance and fit
The shells are made from aluminum alloy and feature an iridescent finish with a starry, Stellaris, theme which can reflect different colors under varying angles and light conditions.
The finish is flawless but it looks prone to chipping if the earshells get accidentally dropped to a solid surface.
The artistic design is very beautiful, Moondrop makes some of the best looking earphones in the market but the Stellaris is very different from the mostly compact sized earphones of the brand.
This one is really huge and quite heavy, the earshells are bulky and the sound nozzle is too long.
This particular shape is kind of odd as it makes the housings sit far away from your ear concha with a great gap between them so the nozzle acts like a lever.
The earshells can move and rock up/down but you can achieve a deep and tight fit with great passive noise attenuation, well at least as long as you don't move your head too much.
Cable
The Stellaris features a detachable cable with the 0.78mm 2-pin interface that ends in a 3.5mm plug.
The cable is of typical quality for the price tag, not bad but nothing special to talk about.
It is quite soft, it doesn't get too tangled and it has low microphonic noise.
Accessories
The Stellaris, except for the cable, comes with three pairs of silicone and three pairs of memory foam ear-tips plus a nice carrying case.
The silicone ear-tips are newly developed by Softears and are made of high-permeability liquid silicone. Based on ergonomic design, they fit far more snugly in the ear canal than ordinary silicone ear-tips, ensuring the lossless sound quality of bass under pressure and improved bass performance without any bleeding into the treble.
Power requirements
The Stellaris requires a good amount of burning time.
At first they sounded very bright and harsh but after about 150 hours they have settled to become treble forward but not in an annoying manner as to cause listener fatigue.
The Stellaris are also quite power hungry and they need a decent source to sound at their best.
If you make the mistake of using them straight out of your phone or a low power output USB DAC dongle, then they will sound excessively bright and thin.
Give them more power and you will find out that the overall sound signature is getting a noticeable improvement.
Most of the listening was done with the Chord electronics Mojo 2.
Listening impressions
The overall sound signature reminds me a lot of some HiFiMan headphones, like the HE400SE or even some Beyerdynamics with the infamous treble peak.
The Stellaris has an overly energetic and lively sound signature with a good amount of bass, an upper-mids forwardness and treble emphasis tuning.
The bass extension and overall low end balance are really good, you get a decent amount of sub-bass with a fairly neutral and linear tuning up to the mids without excessive mid-bass emphasis or bleeding into the mid-range.
The bass is tight and well controlled with a fairly good amount of definition and clarity, the typical planar bass that is not that visceral and dynamic but has great layering and excellent articulation while the neutral tuning helps a lot as to avoid any masking effects.
The mid-range has a kind of uneven tuning, it is balanced and neutral with the exception of an upper mids emphasis, you can call it a peak, which favors the register so certain instruments or vocals can sound out of tune, too pronounced or even shouting depending on the recording.
The texture is rather lean, there is plenty of free space while clarity and articulation are good but don't expect miracles regarding the resolution, the Stellaris is not that refined and transparent sounding in the mid-range nor in the treble.
The treble is on the brighter and energetic side of things with too much of accentuation on the brilliance range that adds a metallic timbre to the sound and an artificial tonality to certain instruments that are also perceived as lacking in weight and natural decay.
The Stellaris offers plenty of detail retrieval and has a very luminous tilt to the sound which adds an overly shiny and brilliant character to the Stellaris which nonetheless manages to avoid sounding too harsh or piercing at least with well recorded music.
The Stellaris is better matched with warmer sounding sources and is not at its best with lower quality mixes that are already bright and harsh.
It fairs pretty well with good quality productions of classical music as long as you are not critical about some tonal inaccuracies and the lack of texture weight.
It is aided in this task by the spacious and open soundstage which might be lacking in depth and holography but it has a realistic wideness and a sharp, accurate imaging.
Compared to the TinHifi P1 Max ($99)
The TinHifi P1 Max is another budget friendly planar magnetic earphone.
This is also quite bulky but nowhere near the Stellaris and is also considerably more lightweight and offers a much more comfortable and secure fit thanks to the anatomically shaped earshells.
You get 11 pairs of various eartips and a better quality cable but only a carrying pouch instead of the beautiful case that comes with the Stellaris.
The tuning of the P1 Max is the exact opposite of the Stellaris, this is a mildly warm and inoffensive sounding earphone with a touch of mid-bass emphasis and mildly subdued upper-mids and treble.
It is not as technical and clear sounding as the Stellaris, nor that well defined and controlled in the bass but it is much more even, coherent and enjoyable with a greater factor of musicality and much more natural timbre.
The soundstage might be lacking the spaciousness and the sharper imagining of the Stellaris but it feels more holographic and immersive plus it has a more weighty and lusher texture.
In the end
The Stellaris is a welcomed first planar magnetic earphone from Moondrop that unfortunately needs some extra polishing and reworking in order to be competitive and really stellar.
For now, it is mostly recommended for people who like a lively and bright sound signature with plenty of detail retrieval and a luminous character as long as they don't mind the extra bulk and the odd shape.
There is much room for improvement and Moondrop will certainly do better in their next planar installment.
Test playlist
Copyright - Petros Laskis 2022.
Sharppain
I did the Short Bus Olina mod with a filter from Olina on the mouth of the nozzle and that took away some of the shout in the mids and the picks in the treble. The resolution remained impressive.
Ichos
It's great that some of you can experiment with my mods.
But it makes me wonder why the manufactures can't do it.
But it makes me wonder why the manufactures can't do it.
Moondrop Stellaris : Planar to the Moon!
Summary:
Launched in Sep'2022, Moondrop Stellaris is the 1st Planar IEM by Mondrop. Stellaris comes with a 14.5mm Planar Driver and is a great looking IEM.
The review unit was sent to me by @shenzhenaudio - but everything written below are based on my own thoughts and experiences with the IEM.
Introduction:
Let's quickly dive into the details without making the introduction very lengthy. The Stellaris is a Planar IEM with with 14.5mm planar Driver, and Moondrop proprietary UC silicon ear tips and other accessories.
The Stellaris is priced at $93.49 (Black Friday Deal).
Design & Build:
The shells look great but are quite heavy also. the nozzle is quite long for deeper insertion. The fit is quite comfortable but not ideal for log hours of music listening really.
From the website:
Specifications:
The Moondrop Stellaris comes at $93.49 (Black Friday Deal) price tag and the specifications are as below:
https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/...iems-sub-nanometer-diaphragm-dynamic-earphone
and
https://moondroplab.com/en/products/stellaris
The Box & Accessories:
NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SOUND....
Items Used for this Review:
DAC/AMP & Dongles: @Questyle M15 Dongle DAC/AMP, Cayin C9 Amplifier
Portable Players / Sources : @Questyle QP2R, Cayin N8ii, Lotoo Paw Gold Touch, A&K SP1000M
Streaming Source: QOBUZ
Ear Tips:
I've tried tip-rolling with a variety of tips such as: the default Softears silicon tips, JVC Spiral dots, Spiral Dots+, @SpinFit Eartip CP500, CP155. Out of all of these I have found the Softears eartips that came with the package to be the best fit for my ears in terms of overall fit, isolation & comfort.
Tracks Used:
The tracks I have used can be found from the below playlist that I have used and generally use for most reviews...
Pairing Performance with different sources:
Dongle DAC/AMPs:
Stellaris had the good pairing with @Questyle M15.
However, it is recommended to use with warmer sources to avoid the treble peaks.
Portable Players:
Obviously the Stellaris had the best pairing with the LPGT & specially Cayin N8ii since that comes with Class-A amplification and a new DAC which is super resolving and not to forget the Nutubes! But those are $3500+ range also and out of reach for most people!
But it performs well with A&K SP1000M.
MOONDROP STELLARIS Sound Impressions in Short:
The BASS:
The Bass seemed quite lean though there were some details coming from the sub-bass and the mid-bass had some kick. But the bass seemed kind of dull being lean. In tracks like: "Fools Paradise (LP Version) – Donna Lewis" and "Chocolate Chip Trip - Tool" you can feel the bass lacking texture and layers.
The MIDS:
The midrange is amongst the stronger traits of the Stellaris and it comes with ample clarity and openness. There is good amount of muscle and texture and the instruments sound very lively and enjoyable. Vocals are very immersive and both male and female vocals come with ample texture but lacks in the details a bit. Transients are good for a planar. In tracks like: "Anchor - Trace Bundy", "A dog named Freedom – Kinky Friedman" and "Ruby Tuesday – Franco Battiato" you can find enjoyable vocal performances while there is some lack in the details.
The TREBLE:
The treble is where it becomes quite peaky and offensive. I have found peaks which seemed quite piercing in a lot of tracks.
You will clearly feel in tracks that have cymbals.
The SOUNDSTAGE:
The Staging capabilities of the Stellaris is the quite good and above average for $100 price range. It comes with the right amount of width, height, depth and is well defined and just as much as the track requires. Tracks like: “The Secret Drawer – Bela Fleck and the Flecktones” or “She Don’t know – Melody Gardot” or “Bohemian Rhapsody (live aid) – Queen” sound amazing & enjoyable. This is amongst the strongest trait of this IEM.
Separation & Imaging:
When it comes to separation, the Stellaris is performs is an average performer. However, Imaging is quite spot on and location of each instrument can be felt quite clearly. Tracks like: “Rotterdam (Or Anywhere) - The Beautiful South “or “Hello Again - Howard Carpendale & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra” just shine through.
Comparisons:
It comes in similar range of the 7hz Dioko which is also a planar IEM. Hence, it makes a good comparison.
Stellaris vs Dioko:
Bass: Owing to the much more detailed bass performance of the Dioko, it gets the preference as the as the Stellaris bass is quite lean.
Mids: The midrange of the Stellaris is as good as any and at times seemed slightly more textured than Dioko.
Treble: This is where the Stellaris loses ground to the Dioko. The Dioko doesn't have those peaks that are prominent in the Stellaris.
Soundstage, Imaging and Separation: The staging on the Stellaris is quite wide and much above average. The Dioko also has good staging and its likely a tie in this department.
Conclusion:
The Moondrop Stellaris being the 1st planar by Moondrop has come a long way. It looks great and feels great in the hand.
It maybe a good choice for people who are not treble sensitive.
Summary:
Launched in Sep'2022, Moondrop Stellaris is the 1st Planar IEM by Mondrop. Stellaris comes with a 14.5mm Planar Driver and is a great looking IEM.
The review unit was sent to me by @shenzhenaudio - but everything written below are based on my own thoughts and experiences with the IEM.
Introduction:
Let's quickly dive into the details without making the introduction very lengthy. The Stellaris is a Planar IEM with with 14.5mm planar Driver, and Moondrop proprietary UC silicon ear tips and other accessories.
The Stellaris is priced at $93.49 (Black Friday Deal).
Design & Build:
The shells look great but are quite heavy also. the nozzle is quite long for deeper insertion. The fit is quite comfortable but not ideal for log hours of music listening really.
From the website:
Specifications:
The Moondrop Stellaris comes at $93.49 (Black Friday Deal) price tag and the specifications are as below:
https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/...iems-sub-nanometer-diaphragm-dynamic-earphone
and
https://moondroplab.com/en/products/stellaris
The Box & Accessories:
NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SOUND....
Items Used for this Review:
DAC/AMP & Dongles: @Questyle M15 Dongle DAC/AMP, Cayin C9 Amplifier
Portable Players / Sources : @Questyle QP2R, Cayin N8ii, Lotoo Paw Gold Touch, A&K SP1000M
Streaming Source: QOBUZ
Ear Tips:
I've tried tip-rolling with a variety of tips such as: the default Softears silicon tips, JVC Spiral dots, Spiral Dots+, @SpinFit Eartip CP500, CP155. Out of all of these I have found the Softears eartips that came with the package to be the best fit for my ears in terms of overall fit, isolation & comfort.
Tracks Used:
The tracks I have used can be found from the below playlist that I have used and generally use for most reviews...
Pairing Performance with different sources:
Dongle DAC/AMPs:
Stellaris had the good pairing with @Questyle M15.
However, it is recommended to use with warmer sources to avoid the treble peaks.
Portable Players:
Obviously the Stellaris had the best pairing with the LPGT & specially Cayin N8ii since that comes with Class-A amplification and a new DAC which is super resolving and not to forget the Nutubes! But those are $3500+ range also and out of reach for most people!
But it performs well with A&K SP1000M.
MOONDROP STELLARIS Sound Impressions in Short:
The BASS:
The Bass seemed quite lean though there were some details coming from the sub-bass and the mid-bass had some kick. But the bass seemed kind of dull being lean. In tracks like: "Fools Paradise (LP Version) – Donna Lewis" and "Chocolate Chip Trip - Tool" you can feel the bass lacking texture and layers.
The MIDS:
The midrange is amongst the stronger traits of the Stellaris and it comes with ample clarity and openness. There is good amount of muscle and texture and the instruments sound very lively and enjoyable. Vocals are very immersive and both male and female vocals come with ample texture but lacks in the details a bit. Transients are good for a planar. In tracks like: "Anchor - Trace Bundy", "A dog named Freedom – Kinky Friedman" and "Ruby Tuesday – Franco Battiato" you can find enjoyable vocal performances while there is some lack in the details.
The TREBLE:
The treble is where it becomes quite peaky and offensive. I have found peaks which seemed quite piercing in a lot of tracks.
You will clearly feel in tracks that have cymbals.
The SOUNDSTAGE:
The Staging capabilities of the Stellaris is the quite good and above average for $100 price range. It comes with the right amount of width, height, depth and is well defined and just as much as the track requires. Tracks like: “The Secret Drawer – Bela Fleck and the Flecktones” or “She Don’t know – Melody Gardot” or “Bohemian Rhapsody (live aid) – Queen” sound amazing & enjoyable. This is amongst the strongest trait of this IEM.
Separation & Imaging:
When it comes to separation, the Stellaris is performs is an average performer. However, Imaging is quite spot on and location of each instrument can be felt quite clearly. Tracks like: “Rotterdam (Or Anywhere) - The Beautiful South “or “Hello Again - Howard Carpendale & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra” just shine through.
Comparisons:
It comes in similar range of the 7hz Dioko which is also a planar IEM. Hence, it makes a good comparison.
Stellaris vs Dioko:
Bass: Owing to the much more detailed bass performance of the Dioko, it gets the preference as the as the Stellaris bass is quite lean.
Mids: The midrange of the Stellaris is as good as any and at times seemed slightly more textured than Dioko.
Treble: This is where the Stellaris loses ground to the Dioko. The Dioko doesn't have those peaks that are prominent in the Stellaris.
Soundstage, Imaging and Separation: The staging on the Stellaris is quite wide and much above average. The Dioko also has good staging and its likely a tie in this department.
Conclusion:
The Moondrop Stellaris being the 1st planar by Moondrop has come a long way. It looks great and feels great in the hand.
It maybe a good choice for people who are not treble sensitive.
Sharppain
Soundstage is bigger and detail retrieval is more. But you may find the mids too forward and the way out is to make a Short Bus Olina mod with a mesh from Olina on the mouth of the nozzle.
The subbass presence of Stellaris is more but the mid-bass less - it is Ok and different from Timeless. Also the deep fit is needed - all the nozzle in - if you do not do that then you will get piercing highs. I have both and like them same.
But if you want the largest soundstage and big openness from a planar, with good resolution, look into Hook-X HBB.
And the better Timeless is the AE release (the blue one).
The subbass presence of Stellaris is more but the mid-bass less - it is Ok and different from Timeless. Also the deep fit is needed - all the nozzle in - if you do not do that then you will get piercing highs. I have both and like them same.
But if you want the largest soundstage and big openness from a planar, with good resolution, look into Hook-X HBB.
And the better Timeless is the AE release (the blue one).
Hi there head-fi forum, been long time not doing any review both in my YouTube and this forum,
before starting the review, this review is NOT in any way sponsored (i bought this set myself) and is clearly my subjective opinion,
also please forgive my broken english
PACKAGING & UNBOXING :
inside the box :
BUILD QUALITY :
lets start with the IEM / shell build quality, the shell is painted and the finish on my unit is great, it has the same finish as Starfield, the IEM itself also pretty heavy and feels really well made,
for the cable, i cant say much about it, it works, looks pretty, but thin like noodle
FITTING :
the IEM is pretty much sits on my concha and touch a bit the outer side of my earlobe (tragus?) as well, to be honest, the weight of STELLARIS is not really fatiguing on my earlobe.
fitting itself is not that bad and i can get decent seal, but how it affects this set sounds thats the part that makes it challenging (more on this later below)
SOUND :
the STELLARIS is tested using my trusty E1DA 9038D, Audient ID4 MKii Interface and Moondrop Dawn 3,5 Edition
using Apple Music Lossless files, i listen mostly (J-POP, Anisong, Jazz, Rap&Hip-Hop, also a bit of Metal)
using A LOT of eartips brand and size
first off, let me say, the STELLARIS DIDN'T SOUND like your typical Moondrop IEMs with their VDSF target curved (Harmann-ish tuning)
for sound in general, on my ears with the right tip and insertion depth, the STELLARIS sounds more like a W shape with pronounced SUB Bass, Forward Upper MIDS and Forward Treble
POWER / PAIRING :
this set is kinda power hungry for an IEM, definitely loves power and paired well with warmer source
TIMBRE :
yes it has that "planar timbre" because this set is planar (obviously?)
Do i Recommend this IEM? / TLDR ;
YES if you want the most details and technicalities iems on a tight budget that can also easily beats probably iem cost 2x or even more than this set priced
YES if you already have your allrounder iem and want something different and willing to experiment with A LOT of eartips and insertion depths
NO if you want an allrounder IEM for daily driver
NO if you dislike forward treble
NO if you prefer warmer set and musicality
BONUS EQ just in case you've already purchase this set and didn't like how it sounds
*just in case you still didn't like it, feel free to EQ your IEM however you like, or mod using mesh filter or sell it, i did this eq like in 5 minutes lol
i guess that's all for now, if i remember something else i probably will edit this post later.
also if i have some time i will make video on this set on my YouTube as well (Bahasa Indonesia).
thanks for reading, i hope you can understand my broken English.
before starting the review, this review is NOT in any way sponsored (i bought this set myself) and is clearly my subjective opinion,
also please forgive my broken english
PACKAGING & UNBOXING :
- your typical Moondrop pouch that you can't really use with STELLARIS (see picture below)
- cable that looks exactly like SSR & SSP & Aria SE cable BUT now with cable slider and Stellaris color themed
- UC TIPS (SML)
- MIS-TIP T41 (SML)
- Moondrop Waifu POSTCARD, Guide, QC Card, Warranty Card, etc etc
nozzle too long for pouch bruh
BUILD QUALITY :
lets start with the IEM / shell build quality, the shell is painted and the finish on my unit is great, it has the same finish as Starfield, the IEM itself also pretty heavy and feels really well made,
FITTING :
fitting itself is not that bad and i can get decent seal, but how it affects this set sounds thats the part that makes it challenging (more on this later below)
SOUND :
the STELLARIS is tested using my trusty E1DA 9038D, Audient ID4 MKii Interface and Moondrop Dawn 3,5 Edition
using Apple Music Lossless files, i listen mostly (J-POP, Anisong, Jazz, Rap&Hip-Hop, also a bit of Metal)
using A LOT of eartips brand and size
first off, let me say, the STELLARIS DIDN'T SOUND like your typical Moondrop IEMs with their VDSF target curved (Harmann-ish tuning)
for sound in general, on my ears with the right tip and insertion depth, the STELLARIS sounds more like a W shape with pronounced SUB Bass, Forward Upper MIDS and Forward Treble
Bass:
bass here is focused on the sub bass region, it has great rumble that you can feel, the mid bass here is not that pronounced, also the bass is kinda THICK and PUNCHY but speedy in a way that is only planar can produce, definitely NOT for BASSHEAD the bass separation is also very good
my subjective opinion is that i REALLY like the bass presentation on STELLARIS, its not too much but it has A LOT of definition and you can FEEL the definition of the bass like hi res bass?
for example :
Mei Ehara - Day to Night
it has repetitive badadudududud bass guitar, with badumbadum kick drum from start to end of the song *pardon my poor sound imitation LOL
with STELLARIS you can clearly discern the sound of bass guitar and kick drum without sounding muddled up together and you can still feel the vibration of the bass guitar strings
2Pac - Hit 'Em Up
the bass quantity is not really that big like just say beats by dre *DUH !!
but it has good punch , the bass itself is still boosted you can hear a lot of vibration and feel the definition with the STELLARIS
Trivium - Throes of Perdition:
the bass speed is speedy enough for this songs, you can hear each drum note hits.
Mids:
Mids has weird peak around 2.5k region, it makes vocal sounds forward and intimate, BUT on some vocalist it makes it sounds "NASSALY" like they have flu or their nose is clogged while singing.
it also makes some instruments like trumpet or guitar / violin intense / forward.
note weight on the mids itself is a bit THIN sounding and on the colder /analytical side.
mids also has very good definition on STELLARIS.
lets just say you can clearly hear the definition of violin and breaths of vocalist
example :
Trivium - Throes of Perdition
because of the peaks on the 2.5k, guitar have weird ringing sound
EVE - Shinkai
if you want to hear Eve singing with his nose clogged, use the STELLARIS, lol
IMPORTANT
vocal itself is really dependant on correct tip and insertion depth, with UC tips and Spring Tips, no matter size SML tips i use and how deep i insert the iem, vocal will sounds very sibilant and harsh,
with mis-tip S size, Acoustune AET08 L Size, and Final Type E L Size, the sibilant on vocal is nowhere to heard, but if i use smaller size tips lets say generic eartips from Moondrop Starfield and aiming for super deep insertion, it can makes the vocal also sounds harsh and have a lot of sibilant, if i use large and aim for shallow insertion, it also has weird harshness and metalic sounding on the vocal.
you definitely need to experiment a lot with eartips and insertion depth combination with this IEM.
for me the STELLARIS sounds best using Final Type E L Size, Acoustune AET08 L Size, and Moondrop Mis Tip S Size.
why insertion depth matters you may ask?
it affect the placement of treble peaks and thus have corellation with mids and overall timbral of an iem. use google for more detail on this topic.
why did i know this you may ask? its because i used to be FR consultant help tuning for some local "d-bag" IEM makers
Treble :
STELLARIS has a LOT of TREBLE peaks and it sounds BRIGHT.
the Treble on STELLARIS is pretty forward and not shy to say hi to your ears, it also has a LOT of definition and micro details, the treble decay is a bit on the faster side, a bit dry sounding and might be tiring to hear for some people,
STELLARIS on the treble region itself is not that harsh, but the peak on treble affect the overall timbre of this IEM, like i explained earlier, the treble peaks affecting the vocal etc etc,
bass here is focused on the sub bass region, it has great rumble that you can feel, the mid bass here is not that pronounced, also the bass is kinda THICK and PUNCHY but speedy in a way that is only planar can produce, definitely NOT for BASSHEAD the bass separation is also very good
my subjective opinion is that i REALLY like the bass presentation on STELLARIS, its not too much but it has A LOT of definition and you can FEEL the definition of the bass like hi res bass?
for example :
Mei Ehara - Day to Night
it has repetitive badadudududud bass guitar, with badumbadum kick drum from start to end of the song *pardon my poor sound imitation LOL
with STELLARIS you can clearly discern the sound of bass guitar and kick drum without sounding muddled up together and you can still feel the vibration of the bass guitar strings
2Pac - Hit 'Em Up
the bass quantity is not really that big like just say beats by dre *DUH !!
but it has good punch , the bass itself is still boosted you can hear a lot of vibration and feel the definition with the STELLARIS
Trivium - Throes of Perdition:
the bass speed is speedy enough for this songs, you can hear each drum note hits.
Mids:
Mids has weird peak around 2.5k region, it makes vocal sounds forward and intimate, BUT on some vocalist it makes it sounds "NASSALY" like they have flu or their nose is clogged while singing.
it also makes some instruments like trumpet or guitar / violin intense / forward.
note weight on the mids itself is a bit THIN sounding and on the colder /analytical side.
mids also has very good definition on STELLARIS.
lets just say you can clearly hear the definition of violin and breaths of vocalist
example :
Trivium - Throes of Perdition
because of the peaks on the 2.5k, guitar have weird ringing sound
EVE - Shinkai
if you want to hear Eve singing with his nose clogged, use the STELLARIS, lol
IMPORTANT
vocal itself is really dependant on correct tip and insertion depth, with UC tips and Spring Tips, no matter size SML tips i use and how deep i insert the iem, vocal will sounds very sibilant and harsh,
with mis-tip S size, Acoustune AET08 L Size, and Final Type E L Size, the sibilant on vocal is nowhere to heard, but if i use smaller size tips lets say generic eartips from Moondrop Starfield and aiming for super deep insertion, it can makes the vocal also sounds harsh and have a lot of sibilant, if i use large and aim for shallow insertion, it also has weird harshness and metalic sounding on the vocal.
you definitely need to experiment a lot with eartips and insertion depth combination with this IEM.
for me the STELLARIS sounds best using Final Type E L Size, Acoustune AET08 L Size, and Moondrop Mis Tip S Size.
why insertion depth matters you may ask?
it affect the placement of treble peaks and thus have corellation with mids and overall timbral of an iem. use google for more detail on this topic.
why did i know this you may ask? its because i used to be FR consultant help tuning for some local "d-bag" IEM makers
Treble :
STELLARIS has a LOT of TREBLE peaks and it sounds BRIGHT.
the Treble on STELLARIS is pretty forward and not shy to say hi to your ears, it also has a LOT of definition and micro details, the treble decay is a bit on the faster side, a bit dry sounding and might be tiring to hear for some people,
STELLARIS on the treble region itself is not that harsh, but the peak on treble affect the overall timbre of this IEM, like i explained earlier, the treble peaks affecting the vocal etc etc,
Detail Retrieval: SPECTACULAR, just... WOW it can extract A LOT of micro details, probably detail retrieval alone it can easily beats iems twice or even more of how much the STELLARIS cost
STAGE: STELLARIS has a moderate width and depth simetrical soundstage (headstage) also decent verticality for playing games (tested on Apex & Valorant)
to me Stellaris staging is like empty space and not having exact wall (if you know what i mean)
Positioning : tested on Apex Legends & Valorant, i can easily locate where all the foot steps without any problem.
Imaging & Separation: separation on this set also pretty good, it didn't have any problem on any songs i throw at it, no matter how complex the songs, regardless of any genre.
for imaging, atleast on my ears, the STELLARIS sounds a bit like 2,5D ? dont get me wrong, its good, really good, but it lacks some depths to it.
STAGE: STELLARIS has a moderate width and depth simetrical soundstage (headstage) also decent verticality for playing games (tested on Apex & Valorant)
to me Stellaris staging is like empty space and not having exact wall (if you know what i mean)
Positioning : tested on Apex Legends & Valorant, i can easily locate where all the foot steps without any problem.
Imaging & Separation: separation on this set also pretty good, it didn't have any problem on any songs i throw at it, no matter how complex the songs, regardless of any genre.
for imaging, atleast on my ears, the STELLARIS sounds a bit like 2,5D ? dont get me wrong, its good, really good, but it lacks some depths to it.
POWER / PAIRING :
this set is kinda power hungry for an IEM, definitely loves power and paired well with warmer source
TIMBRE :
yes it has that "planar timbre" because this set is planar (obviously?)
Do i Recommend this IEM? / TLDR ;
YES if you want the most details and technicalities iems on a tight budget that can also easily beats probably iem cost 2x or even more than this set priced
YES if you already have your allrounder iem and want something different and willing to experiment with A LOT of eartips and insertion depths
NO if you want an allrounder IEM for daily driver
NO if you dislike forward treble
NO if you prefer warmer set and musicality
BONUS EQ just in case you've already purchase this set and didn't like how it sounds
*just in case you still didn't like it, feel free to EQ your IEM however you like, or mod using mesh filter or sell it, i did this eq like in 5 minutes lol
i guess that's all for now, if i remember something else i probably will edit this post later.
also if i have some time i will make video on this set on my YouTube as well (Bahasa Indonesia).
thanks for reading, i hope you can understand my broken English.
Sharppain
Great review!
For a month, already, I am puzzled by the 'grande' reviewers trying to kill the Stellaris since it is that technical and practically reshapes the industry pricing. Stellaris has enormous potential. Just the fit is a trouble but if you get it right - you are praised with great performance. I use foam stock tips and very deep insertion, deep that all the nozzle is in - than I have all the subbass + enough midbass, vocals are fully ok (not thin and shouty) and highs are not sharp, find the timber convincing.
And if anybody finds the vocals shouty and the highs still too much - solution: Short Bus Olina mod with one mesh on top of the nozzle!
I think you should explain a bit more (having in mind you consultant experience) about the fit of this iem.
For a month, already, I am puzzled by the 'grande' reviewers trying to kill the Stellaris since it is that technical and practically reshapes the industry pricing. Stellaris has enormous potential. Just the fit is a trouble but if you get it right - you are praised with great performance. I use foam stock tips and very deep insertion, deep that all the nozzle is in - than I have all the subbass + enough midbass, vocals are fully ok (not thin and shouty) and highs are not sharp, find the timber convincing.
And if anybody finds the vocals shouty and the highs still too much - solution: Short Bus Olina mod with one mesh on top of the nozzle!
I think you should explain a bit more (having in mind you consultant experience) about the fit of this iem.
littlenezt
hi, sorry i never tried the timeless but i do have Hifiman Sundara (2020+ release), in terms of technicality the Stellaris is "almost" as good as my Sundara, not on the same level but its almost there
(total 3 - 5 mins read)
Moondrop Stellaris is Moondrop's answer to the never-ending Planar IEM war that has been going on for 1-2 years now. With so many IEMs to choose from now, especially in the $100usd~ price range, can Moondrop separate themselves from the crowd with their $100usd Planar magnetic driver IEM, the Moondrop Stellaris?
TLDR; In order to get a good fit, I have to resort to the Spinfit cp-360 eartips, shove them deeper into the ears, and cut off the earhooks on the cable to get them to fit well. Once I've done that, fit is great and haven't been an issue for me since.
After changing to Spinfit cp360 eartips, comfort is good too. However, I do wish that they are on the lighter side though, as you do feel the weight of the IEMs in your ears after a few hours of use—especially with a bad fit.
Amplification is recommended to get the most out of the Moondrop Stellaris.
Bass - Bass on the Stellaris is quite well-extended down to the sub-bass region. Mid-bass is on the leaner side so the star of the show here is definitely the sub-bass. The bass texture of the Stellaris is really good. Instead of the meaty, thick, punchy bass of the KBEar Ormosia I reviewed last (link here), the bass here is textured, tight, fast, and clean. Listening to modern Electro/Pop/EDM songs that are generally sub-bass focused really brings the best out of the Stellaris' bass.
However, listening to songs that aren't sub-bass heavy, the lack of mid-bass really do show as it makes the midrange & treble sound bright, thin, and shrilly. I think a bit more mid-bass would balance the tonality of the Stellaris a bit more, but that's just my opinion.
Midrange - I would describe the Midrange here to be thin, lean, and clean. Midrange resolution on the Stellaris is really good. It has really good microdetail retrieval and it is able to pick up a lot of tiny nuances in most tracks. In terms of vocal presentation, just like the Moondrop SSR, vocals here are unquestionably forward. With a 13dB pinna gain, vocals are almost always presented forward. If you are sensitive to shout, this can come off as shouty and that might throw you off.
Treble - Treble here is sparkly, revealing and bright. I actually quite like the treble here myself thanks to how detailed it sounds. It gives the treble a bit of "characteristic" instead of the typical "Harman smooth" rolled-off treble response. With genres like Jazz, Classical, Blues, the treble here really shines.
However, the treble here can also come off as shrilly and hot, especially with poorly mastered tracks. This will make the treble harsh and fatiguing to listen to.
Timbre - Timbre here is thin and unnatural. Instrument sounds metallic and thin. Vocals sound screechy and unnatural.
Soundstage - Soundstage is slightly out of your head. Not too wide, not to narrow. It is more wide than deep/tall. Slightly 2D
Imaging - Imaging here is accurate and pretty typical for a Planar. Just like most planars, I find the imaging here to be "unnatural". What I mean by that is that the imaging lacks the "natural 3D holographic imaging" that some 1DD IEM is able to achieve at this price. Not only that, the imaging is also slightly bottlenecked by the soundstage, as the imaging here is mostly "inside your head".
With the amount of "Harman tuned" IEMs coming out these days, I am truly refreshed and happy to see Moondrop taking a risk and going against the norm with the Moondrop Stellaris.
If you are looking for a safely tuned, "Jack of all trades" IEM, best look elsewhere as the Moondrop Stellaris is definitely not for you. However, if you are:
do give Moondrop Stellaris a try!
Thank you HiFiGo for loaning me the Moondrop Stellaris for review purposes.
Interested in getting the Tronsmart Onyx Pure? Here is the purchase link (non-affiliated):
Link to Moondrop Stellaris - https://hifigo.com/products/moondrop-stellaris
Link to Spinfit cp-360 - https://hifigo.com/products/dunu-sp...dYp9BMoKFU4WR125E0-CH8qyCJWtq8wgJF33zTux99_QQ
Moondrop Stellaris is Moondrop's answer to the never-ending Planar IEM war that has been going on for 1-2 years now. With so many IEMs to choose from now, especially in the $100usd~ price range, can Moondrop separate themselves from the crowd with their $100usd Planar magnetic driver IEM, the Moondrop Stellaris?
UNBOXING
Unboxing the Moondrop Stellaris is a very pleasant experience. Just like most Moondrop products, the presentation is spot on. Beautiful anime drawing in front, specs + details + FR measurement at the back, and upon opening the box, you are presented with a beautiful carrying case, 3 sets of UC silicone eartips, 3 sets of foam tips, a 2pin 3.5mm cable, some documentations and last but not least, the Moondrop Stellaris itself.
FIT & COMFORT
In terms of fit, I have faced quite a bit of fit issues with the Stellaris, especially with the stock UC silicone eartips. I have documented and wrote about the fit issues I've faced with the Stellaris in my 1st & 2nd Impression posts. You can check them out here and here. Feel free to check those out if you are interested.TLDR; In order to get a good fit, I have to resort to the Spinfit cp-360 eartips, shove them deeper into the ears, and cut off the earhooks on the cable to get them to fit well. Once I've done that, fit is great and haven't been an issue for me since.
After changing to Spinfit cp360 eartips, comfort is good too. However, I do wish that they are on the lighter side though, as you do feel the weight of the IEMs in your ears after a few hours of use—especially with a bad fit.
BUILD QUALITY
In terms of build, Moondrop nails it right on the head with their Stellaris. With a Stardust/Starfield-like shell design and matching blue-accented cable, the Moondrop Stellaris just looks great.
SOUND
In terms of sound signature, I would describe the Stellaris as "bright V-shaped", with most of the emphasis being on sub-bass, the upper mid region, and treble. If you are familiar with how the Moondrop SSR sounds, the Moondrop Stellaris is literally "SSR on steroids". Imagine SSR, but with more sub-bass and treble.Amplification is recommended to get the most out of the Moondrop Stellaris.
Bass - Bass on the Stellaris is quite well-extended down to the sub-bass region. Mid-bass is on the leaner side so the star of the show here is definitely the sub-bass. The bass texture of the Stellaris is really good. Instead of the meaty, thick, punchy bass of the KBEar Ormosia I reviewed last (link here), the bass here is textured, tight, fast, and clean. Listening to modern Electro/Pop/EDM songs that are generally sub-bass focused really brings the best out of the Stellaris' bass.
However, listening to songs that aren't sub-bass heavy, the lack of mid-bass really do show as it makes the midrange & treble sound bright, thin, and shrilly. I think a bit more mid-bass would balance the tonality of the Stellaris a bit more, but that's just my opinion.
Midrange - I would describe the Midrange here to be thin, lean, and clean. Midrange resolution on the Stellaris is really good. It has really good microdetail retrieval and it is able to pick up a lot of tiny nuances in most tracks. In terms of vocal presentation, just like the Moondrop SSR, vocals here are unquestionably forward. With a 13dB pinna gain, vocals are almost always presented forward. If you are sensitive to shout, this can come off as shouty and that might throw you off.
Treble - Treble here is sparkly, revealing and bright. I actually quite like the treble here myself thanks to how detailed it sounds. It gives the treble a bit of "characteristic" instead of the typical "Harman smooth" rolled-off treble response. With genres like Jazz, Classical, Blues, the treble here really shines.
However, the treble here can also come off as shrilly and hot, especially with poorly mastered tracks. This will make the treble harsh and fatiguing to listen to.
Timbre - Timbre here is thin and unnatural. Instrument sounds metallic and thin. Vocals sound screechy and unnatural.
Soundstage - Soundstage is slightly out of your head. Not too wide, not to narrow. It is more wide than deep/tall. Slightly 2D
Imaging - Imaging here is accurate and pretty typical for a Planar. Just like most planars, I find the imaging here to be "unnatural". What I mean by that is that the imaging lacks the "natural 3D holographic imaging" that some 1DD IEM is able to achieve at this price. Not only that, the imaging is also slightly bottlenecked by the soundstage, as the imaging here is mostly "inside your head".
CONCLUSION
I named the title of this review as "Moondrop SSR fanservice", and that isn't without reason. The Moondrop Stellaris is literally that—a polarizing and niche tuning for the select few that like it. As a Moondrop SSR fan myself, I can appreciate what Moondrop has done with the Stellaris.With the amount of "Harman tuned" IEMs coming out these days, I am truly refreshed and happy to see Moondrop taking a risk and going against the norm with the Moondrop Stellaris.
If you are looking for a safely tuned, "Jack of all trades" IEM, best look elsewhere as the Moondrop Stellaris is definitely not for you. However, if you are:
- looking for a highly detailed and technical IEM,
- a fan of the Moondrop SSR,
- want something that sounds different,
- and is sick of the current oversaturation of "Harman tuned" IEMs out now,
do give Moondrop Stellaris a try!
Thank you HiFiGo for loaning me the Moondrop Stellaris for review purposes.
Interested in getting the Tronsmart Onyx Pure? Here is the purchase link (non-affiliated):
Link to Moondrop Stellaris - https://hifigo.com/products/moondrop-stellaris
Link to Spinfit cp-360 - https://hifigo.com/products/dunu-sp...dYp9BMoKFU4WR125E0-CH8qyCJWtq8wgJF33zTux99_QQ
Attachments
General Info (Packaging/Comfort/Build)
I don’t think Moondrop needs any further introduction as they’re pretty well known for the budget model namely Aria and several other midrange models such as Blessing 2 and Variation.
Packaging from Moondrop is fairly standard across the models and looks very premium, it is bundled with two types or eartips, the Softear UC tips as well as Moondrop’s MIS foam tips. Build quality is solid, and the iem does feel a little hefty, but personally I do not have any issue with the fit, your experience might vary depending on your ear anatomy.
The whole shell is iridescent finish as mentioned by Moondrop, and it is similar to Moondrop’s Starfield.
Equipment and Software used
- iFi Zen Dac + iFi Zen Air Can
- Tempotec V6
- iPod Touch 2G
- Dunu DTC 500
- Hidizs S9 Pro
- Macbook Air M2
- Apple Music/Tidal/foobar2k
Sound
To my ears, Stellaris is a neutral bright sounding IEM, if you already saw the graph somewhere else and you might actually cringe about it. That’s my initial thought as well. When I received them and listened to them right out of the box, playing some Jpop track (Lisa - Gurenge), it was really bad and it’s outright harsh. So i left it on with pink noise and listened to it on and off, and at least to me, the highs are a little bit smoother and definitely not as harsh as it was right out of the box. So yeah, burn them in for approximately 20-30 hrs. (At least it works for me, not gonna go on debating whether burn in is real or not, subjectively, it works for me). Let’s go into the break down of the sound:
Bass
- Bass is fast and tight, a little lacking in terms of quantity
- It is more sub bass focused rather than mid bass, bass is sufficient provided you achieve a proper seal
- Sub bass does rumbles when it’s called for, mid bass however is a little lacking
- Bass is certainly not the star of the show here, basshead especially will not like it
- Texture could be better
Mids
- Vocal presentation is generally forward and in your face
- Both male and female vocal lacks a little texture to it, they don’t sound bad, just doesn’t stand out
- Instruments in the mid range, especially on the upper mid range will all come at you, it is what i would call it as “hot” upper mids, instruments in the lower mids are not that forward
- This region is perhaps the achilles heel of Stellaris, very very resolving but also very bright at the same time (depending on your preference, it’s a love it or hate it kind of thing here)
- Detail retrieval capability is excellent here, microdetails are being revealed effortlessly by Stellaris
- If you are sensitive to emphasised treble, a lot of instruments in this range will sound harsh to you as there’s a peak at the 12k region, JPop track such as Lisa’s Gurenge will sound very hot especially in the chorus
Soundstage/Imaging
- Soundstage is slightly out of your head, but lacking a little height and depth, not too bad considering its asking price
- Imaging is decent as you can clearly hear the instruments being layered properly and you can easily identify where its coming from
You can get decent volume/loudness from a low powered dongle such as Apple’s Lightning dongle, however the bass will sound even thinner and treble will come off even hotter. It does scale with a better source, of course amping it will help in tightening the bass a little and a lil extra punch to it. As for source, it is better to pair it with a warm source instead of a cool sounding source to avoid it from sounding even more “cool”.
Suggested Tweaks
- The stock Softears UC tips will sound bright, if you are sensitive to it, you can use the bundled MIS foam tips, or if you have Final Type E or Acoustune AET08 eartips, the overall music presentation will have more body and note weight to it (YMMV) as this is subjective and i only share what i hear by using both the eartips.
- Switching to a copper cable will also help to tame the brightness a little, this is me sharing what i heard by switching to a copper, as mentioned previously, this is subjective and if you don’t believe in cable changing the sound, let’s leave it at that as the debate is never ending.
Final Thoughts
Stellaris is Moondrop’s first Planar IEM, one thing for sure is that it isn’t an all rounder. To me, it is a love it or hate it kind, there’s nothing in between (speaking purely on stock configuration). However, if you are willing to tip roll and cable roll, you may actually find a combination that works for you and enjoy it.
Not an easy recommendation if you are treble sensitive and also not an all rounder, but if you are willing to experiment as I mentioned above, feel free to give it a shot.
*I received this unit F.O.C from @shenzhenaudio in exchange for this review. I receive no monetary compensation nor am I influenced in any way to produce this review. A big thanks to them for the support as always.
Moondrop Stellaris
14.5mm Magnetic Planar IEM
Foreword
The Build
Bold, lavish and outlandish is the theme for Stellaris. Made entirely of metal shells, Stellaris is a big IEM any which way I look at it. There’s no mistaking Stellaris for anything else. The golden motifs of stars and sun on iridescent sparkling royal blue really stand out even at distances. Designed to impart a statement on grandeur.
However, all this lavish show, it comes at a cost. First and foremost, weighted at 28gm for both IEM shells, Stellaris is officially the HEAVIEST IEMs I have ever had. It is well 2gm heavier than the all metal construction of Etymotic EVO. To visualize some perspective, my all-time favorite of Kinera Idun Golden is just a measly 7.7gm – Stellaris being 20gm heavier.
* Comparative weight versus Kinera Idun Golden.
On top of that, Stellaris also turned out to be the one with the longest length with that exceedingly protruding nozzle which is longer than Etymotic EVO (which is designed specifically for deep insert 2.5mm nozzle). Stellaris being a 4mm nozzle type, I must say the reach and outlook of that nozzle alone is quite intimidating to say the least.
Perhaps one element that I personally felt as a letdown, the size, dimensions and ergonomics of Stellaris made it difficult for me to use it – not without imparting some sort of wear fatigue due to the weight and nozzle depth insertion. Wear it up to one hour and it hurts. I am the type of music geek who spend 5-6 hours a day listening to music. Stellaris not being wearable beyond 1 hour is a personal letdown to me. Maybe it will fare better for those with bigger ears concha and shallow enough to fully accommodate the nozzle – but not for me unfortunately.
Rants aside, Moondrop did not disappoint with great packaging. Stellaris does feel premium with the inclusion of stylishly designed cable unique to Moondrop, with circular medallion at the juncture. It is clear transparent and quite pliable (and apparently quite strong to support the Stellaris weight).
Then there’s the inclusion of highly receptive foam tips which I really like. The foam tips are the slow rebound type and for my own usage, I have to use the S sized otherwise using M will make the stellaris unable to go in deep enough for a proper seal. Of course there’s also the UC “High Liquid Permeability” silicone tips which I didn’t use at all – I have issues with silicone tips.
Equipment Used
- Xiaomi Mi 9T (3.5mm SE and USB Port)
- Sony Xperia X Compact (3.5mm SE and USB Port)
- Windows 10 with Native USB Drivers
- HiBy Audio Player USB Exclusive Mode with FLAC files
- CEntrance DACport HD
- Cayin RU6
- Ovidius B1
- VE Abigail
- NotByVE Avani
- VE Megatron
- MUSE HiFi M1
Test Audio Playlist
Sound Impressions
What I do like about Stellaris, the overall sound curve is very well balanced on the frequency spread. Not exactly neutral but close enough with very mild hint of Harman-ish tuning (which seems to be wildly popular nowadays).
Lows, Highs and Mids all getting equal focus and staging with no pronounced elevation that I regard as overly colored. Perhaps being critical, I would say that there’s also strong evidence of boosting from upper Mids onwards.
Timbral wise, Stellaris is faithful to classic Magnetic Planar sound which embodies some element of smoothened near organic output – reminded me a lot to the planar implementation of Fostex Foster T series drivers. So I am grateful for the fact that the euphony level emitted by Stellaris in general term being mature and disciplined.
Looking at Mids, the placement and staging emitted by Stellaris is just about right. No indication of being recessed or overly forward. Mids offer great transparency and depth. With instruments seemingly natural sounding for the most part. And I say “for the most part” primarily because I cannot ignore the heightened sense of boosting of upper Mids which made some instruments (especially stringed ones) overly pronounced to the point of sizzling. For any guitar sound enthusiast, this would translate into attack which is rather aggressive with very crisp edged prompt decays. This is glaringly evident when I subjected Stellaris to my playlist of Metal/Rock/Indie. The faster the guitar pace, the harder edged it is. I listen a lot to Avant Garde Metal and Black Metal on daily basis, anywhere from classics of Burzum, Darkthrone to the newer gen of Atmospheric Black Metal – these songs are guitars heavy tracks and many of them exceeding 200 BPM of pace – suffice to say Stellaris is not a fun IEM to listen to those.
Then there’s the vocals handling. When not listening to Black Metal, I spent a lot of time listening to Alison Krauss – one of the highest vocal ranged female vocalist with her ethereal angelic Soprano her fans adored her for. In particular, especially with her song “A Living Prayer” where she will peak out with multiple chorus crescendos, the elevation of upper Mids tuning literally turned into a show of Pinna spikes. It’s just borderline sibilant and shouty. Now I appreciate her vocals, a lot – but the manner of how it presented should not be elevating the crescendos to the point of sibilance – the measure of a good audio device is the ability to regulate this. Unfortunately I must say Stellaris is just not suited for this type of singing. And yes, Mariah Carey “Emotions” (Soprano-Alto type) is not one for Stellaris to be used with, not with her pitch reaching G7.
The silver lining of all this, the pronounced elevation of upper Mids worked wondrously with lower octave singing of Diana Krall and Sinne Eeg, both of which are also very dear to my heart. Contralto vocals being low and chesty, worked quite well with Stellaris. The same can be said of Nick Cave and Morrissey of which both are Baritone-Tenor type.
Switching to Treble, for as long as keeping it to certain genres – especially Jazz, Ballad and casual Pop music, Stellaris offer clean and crisp upper frequency performances. Perhaps lacking a bit of air which is more commonly observed with dynamic drivers. The resolution of Treble in general is clean and resolving. Good balance of Macro and Micro details – on a condition that the songs are not already very energetic. Stellaris has the prowess to present the details of decently paced music. In relation to the seemingly lack of air, Treble edge decays seems to disperse a bit earlier than what I normally prefer, but then I would not pitch this as a cons because I have heard of this prompt decays as well from my venerable Etymotic ER4SR
On the lower frequency, I will admit that this would be the best part of Stellaris for me personally. Excellent control of overall Bass performances which is mature, fast and tidy. Never attempting to resonate with undue euphonic vibrancy beyond what I consider as proper. But this would also mean Stellaris is definitely not a Basshead IEM. Bass is very close to being neutral and natural. The accuracy of Stellaris Bass tones perhaps among the best I have heard so far from many planar IEMs I have heard so far – much similar to the og TIN HiFi P1 (but not as anemic as P1). It is highly organic and believable. Midbass exhibited exemplary discipline to never overwhelm lower Mids or Sub Bass, Sub Bass itself being realistically (yet moderately) generous with smooth decays. Perhaps a bit more of seismic responses and texture would make it perfect, but hey I would not complain too much about it otherwise Stellaris would have ended up being a strong Harman device and less neutral.
Technicalities
Truth be told, none of the recently released Magnetic Planar IEMs would fail with technicalities. The standards has been quite high lately and no exception for Stellaris. Maybe, just maybe I felt that the soundstage overall width could use a bit more of space – which again not uncommon it seems. At least I can sense Stellaris is still generous with good sense of separation and layering – the imaging admirably crisp with good resolution.
Speed and transparency is great too. Stellaris resolves complex composition and mixing with great agility. So it will not succumb to being caved in or outright muddy no matter how complex the songs are (just not outright pacey over 150 BPM of which the upper Mids would then overwhelm some elements).
Details handling in general is on par as per expected of this price range. Comparatively I would say that DUNU Talos remained the king for Macro and Micro details. Stellaris is on par to the likes of 7hz Timeless, LETSHUOER S12, TANGZU Zetian Wu and TIN HiFi P1 Plus.
Scalability
Rated at 32 Ohm and 117dB, one would have assumed Stellaris being easy to drive yes? Well, not exactly. I make this simple, Stellaris does not sound good running straight out of my Xiaomi or Sony phones. I have to crank the volume almost to the roof just to get proper listening loudness. Even on my 2 Vrms Cayin RU6, running in SE mode NOS, I have to crank the volume up to 50/100 range, in comparison for DUNU Talos, Tangzu Zetian Wu and LETSHUOER Z12 I only needed 35/100.
But when the loudness has been matched, Stellaris would then sounding full and rich. Much similar to the case of TIN HiFi P1+
Final Words
With the high expectations around Stellaris, I will openly admit that I am not as excited towards Stellaris anymore. Subjectively and personally from my perspective as a user and reviewer, I find the cons to be not aligned to my personal preferences. Starting with the chunky ergonomics which will not allow me to use my Stellaris beyond 1 hour mark. It is simply too heavy and the nozzle too long. Then there’s the heightened sizzling of upper Mids frequency that hinders me from using Stellaris for certain peaky female vocals and guitars heavy tracks.
That personal rant aside, I cannot assume that everyone hear as I do. We humans are meant to be different after all. Our listening abilities and sensitivity differs from one to another. While I mucked about the cons of Stellaris, I am certain the tuning will appeal to some – especially the overall cohesion of sound balance – the one thing that Stellaris seem to possess in abundance – despite the pronounced edgy upper Mids, I cannot deny the admirable spread of frequency responses which will appeal to those who prefer a presentation that is closer to being neutral. Then the very sensible and mature presentation of Bass in general.
Moondrop Stellaris is available via HiFiGo:
https://hifigo.com/collections/new-arrival/products/moondrop-stellaris
14.5mm Magnetic Planar IEM
Foreword
- At the point of this article, my Stellaris has undergone over 100 hours of burn in and approximately 40 hours of actual listening
- I don't do measurements, I just describe what I hear, from my own POV
- I don't use EQ
- The entirety of my impressions was done with stock Stellaris Foam Tips (S)
- Ultimately, my reviews are purely subjective and biased to my personal preference in sound
The Build
Bold, lavish and outlandish is the theme for Stellaris. Made entirely of metal shells, Stellaris is a big IEM any which way I look at it. There’s no mistaking Stellaris for anything else. The golden motifs of stars and sun on iridescent sparkling royal blue really stand out even at distances. Designed to impart a statement on grandeur.
However, all this lavish show, it comes at a cost. First and foremost, weighted at 28gm for both IEM shells, Stellaris is officially the HEAVIEST IEMs I have ever had. It is well 2gm heavier than the all metal construction of Etymotic EVO. To visualize some perspective, my all-time favorite of Kinera Idun Golden is just a measly 7.7gm – Stellaris being 20gm heavier.
* Comparative weight versus Kinera Idun Golden.
On top of that, Stellaris also turned out to be the one with the longest length with that exceedingly protruding nozzle which is longer than Etymotic EVO (which is designed specifically for deep insert 2.5mm nozzle). Stellaris being a 4mm nozzle type, I must say the reach and outlook of that nozzle alone is quite intimidating to say the least.
Perhaps one element that I personally felt as a letdown, the size, dimensions and ergonomics of Stellaris made it difficult for me to use it – not without imparting some sort of wear fatigue due to the weight and nozzle depth insertion. Wear it up to one hour and it hurts. I am the type of music geek who spend 5-6 hours a day listening to music. Stellaris not being wearable beyond 1 hour is a personal letdown to me. Maybe it will fare better for those with bigger ears concha and shallow enough to fully accommodate the nozzle – but not for me unfortunately.
Rants aside, Moondrop did not disappoint with great packaging. Stellaris does feel premium with the inclusion of stylishly designed cable unique to Moondrop, with circular medallion at the juncture. It is clear transparent and quite pliable (and apparently quite strong to support the Stellaris weight).
Then there’s the inclusion of highly receptive foam tips which I really like. The foam tips are the slow rebound type and for my own usage, I have to use the S sized otherwise using M will make the stellaris unable to go in deep enough for a proper seal. Of course there’s also the UC “High Liquid Permeability” silicone tips which I didn’t use at all – I have issues with silicone tips.
Equipment Used
- Xiaomi Mi 9T (3.5mm SE and USB Port)
- Sony Xperia X Compact (3.5mm SE and USB Port)
- Windows 10 with Native USB Drivers
- HiBy Audio Player USB Exclusive Mode with FLAC files
- CEntrance DACport HD
- Cayin RU6
- Ovidius B1
- VE Abigail
- NotByVE Avani
- VE Megatron
- MUSE HiFi M1
Test Audio Playlist
Sound Impressions
What I do like about Stellaris, the overall sound curve is very well balanced on the frequency spread. Not exactly neutral but close enough with very mild hint of Harman-ish tuning (which seems to be wildly popular nowadays).
Lows, Highs and Mids all getting equal focus and staging with no pronounced elevation that I regard as overly colored. Perhaps being critical, I would say that there’s also strong evidence of boosting from upper Mids onwards.
Timbral wise, Stellaris is faithful to classic Magnetic Planar sound which embodies some element of smoothened near organic output – reminded me a lot to the planar implementation of Fostex Foster T series drivers. So I am grateful for the fact that the euphony level emitted by Stellaris in general term being mature and disciplined.
Looking at Mids, the placement and staging emitted by Stellaris is just about right. No indication of being recessed or overly forward. Mids offer great transparency and depth. With instruments seemingly natural sounding for the most part. And I say “for the most part” primarily because I cannot ignore the heightened sense of boosting of upper Mids which made some instruments (especially stringed ones) overly pronounced to the point of sizzling. For any guitar sound enthusiast, this would translate into attack which is rather aggressive with very crisp edged prompt decays. This is glaringly evident when I subjected Stellaris to my playlist of Metal/Rock/Indie. The faster the guitar pace, the harder edged it is. I listen a lot to Avant Garde Metal and Black Metal on daily basis, anywhere from classics of Burzum, Darkthrone to the newer gen of Atmospheric Black Metal – these songs are guitars heavy tracks and many of them exceeding 200 BPM of pace – suffice to say Stellaris is not a fun IEM to listen to those.
Then there’s the vocals handling. When not listening to Black Metal, I spent a lot of time listening to Alison Krauss – one of the highest vocal ranged female vocalist with her ethereal angelic Soprano her fans adored her for. In particular, especially with her song “A Living Prayer” where she will peak out with multiple chorus crescendos, the elevation of upper Mids tuning literally turned into a show of Pinna spikes. It’s just borderline sibilant and shouty. Now I appreciate her vocals, a lot – but the manner of how it presented should not be elevating the crescendos to the point of sibilance – the measure of a good audio device is the ability to regulate this. Unfortunately I must say Stellaris is just not suited for this type of singing. And yes, Mariah Carey “Emotions” (Soprano-Alto type) is not one for Stellaris to be used with, not with her pitch reaching G7.
The silver lining of all this, the pronounced elevation of upper Mids worked wondrously with lower octave singing of Diana Krall and Sinne Eeg, both of which are also very dear to my heart. Contralto vocals being low and chesty, worked quite well with Stellaris. The same can be said of Nick Cave and Morrissey of which both are Baritone-Tenor type.
Switching to Treble, for as long as keeping it to certain genres – especially Jazz, Ballad and casual Pop music, Stellaris offer clean and crisp upper frequency performances. Perhaps lacking a bit of air which is more commonly observed with dynamic drivers. The resolution of Treble in general is clean and resolving. Good balance of Macro and Micro details – on a condition that the songs are not already very energetic. Stellaris has the prowess to present the details of decently paced music. In relation to the seemingly lack of air, Treble edge decays seems to disperse a bit earlier than what I normally prefer, but then I would not pitch this as a cons because I have heard of this prompt decays as well from my venerable Etymotic ER4SR
On the lower frequency, I will admit that this would be the best part of Stellaris for me personally. Excellent control of overall Bass performances which is mature, fast and tidy. Never attempting to resonate with undue euphonic vibrancy beyond what I consider as proper. But this would also mean Stellaris is definitely not a Basshead IEM. Bass is very close to being neutral and natural. The accuracy of Stellaris Bass tones perhaps among the best I have heard so far from many planar IEMs I have heard so far – much similar to the og TIN HiFi P1 (but not as anemic as P1). It is highly organic and believable. Midbass exhibited exemplary discipline to never overwhelm lower Mids or Sub Bass, Sub Bass itself being realistically (yet moderately) generous with smooth decays. Perhaps a bit more of seismic responses and texture would make it perfect, but hey I would not complain too much about it otherwise Stellaris would have ended up being a strong Harman device and less neutral.
Technicalities
Truth be told, none of the recently released Magnetic Planar IEMs would fail with technicalities. The standards has been quite high lately and no exception for Stellaris. Maybe, just maybe I felt that the soundstage overall width could use a bit more of space – which again not uncommon it seems. At least I can sense Stellaris is still generous with good sense of separation and layering – the imaging admirably crisp with good resolution.
Speed and transparency is great too. Stellaris resolves complex composition and mixing with great agility. So it will not succumb to being caved in or outright muddy no matter how complex the songs are (just not outright pacey over 150 BPM of which the upper Mids would then overwhelm some elements).
Details handling in general is on par as per expected of this price range. Comparatively I would say that DUNU Talos remained the king for Macro and Micro details. Stellaris is on par to the likes of 7hz Timeless, LETSHUOER S12, TANGZU Zetian Wu and TIN HiFi P1 Plus.
Scalability
Rated at 32 Ohm and 117dB, one would have assumed Stellaris being easy to drive yes? Well, not exactly. I make this simple, Stellaris does not sound good running straight out of my Xiaomi or Sony phones. I have to crank the volume almost to the roof just to get proper listening loudness. Even on my 2 Vrms Cayin RU6, running in SE mode NOS, I have to crank the volume up to 50/100 range, in comparison for DUNU Talos, Tangzu Zetian Wu and LETSHUOER Z12 I only needed 35/100.
But when the loudness has been matched, Stellaris would then sounding full and rich. Much similar to the case of TIN HiFi P1+
Final Words
With the high expectations around Stellaris, I will openly admit that I am not as excited towards Stellaris anymore. Subjectively and personally from my perspective as a user and reviewer, I find the cons to be not aligned to my personal preferences. Starting with the chunky ergonomics which will not allow me to use my Stellaris beyond 1 hour mark. It is simply too heavy and the nozzle too long. Then there’s the heightened sizzling of upper Mids frequency that hinders me from using Stellaris for certain peaky female vocals and guitars heavy tracks.
That personal rant aside, I cannot assume that everyone hear as I do. We humans are meant to be different after all. Our listening abilities and sensitivity differs from one to another. While I mucked about the cons of Stellaris, I am certain the tuning will appeal to some – especially the overall cohesion of sound balance – the one thing that Stellaris seem to possess in abundance – despite the pronounced edgy upper Mids, I cannot deny the admirable spread of frequency responses which will appeal to those who prefer a presentation that is closer to being neutral. Then the very sensible and mature presentation of Bass in general.
Moondrop Stellaris is available via HiFiGo:
https://hifigo.com/collections/new-arrival/products/moondrop-stellaris
Attachments
twiceboss
terbaik
