Moondrop in-ear monitors Impressions Thread

[shenzhenaudio]

The first impression.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

The first impression.

Hope we get first batch shipping out soon

 

[saldsald]

Mine should arrive tomorrow will compare it with my current favourite - the CCA CSN (modded)

This is my first ever IEM with EST drivers. It is a blind purchase as I really wanted to get a pair of Moondrop and I wanted to get a more wallet-friendly EST IEM so it can be used as a reference point for building IEMs for myself.

(Sorry about my ugly CSN with Tamiya masking tape to hold the parts in place)
So my Variations arrived. Let me begin with what I feel disappointed about it:
1. the resin shell - while it is comfortable, I am sure the sandblasted finishing will get glossy over time, depending on how much ear wax you secrete;
2. the cable - it is definitely on the cheap side - it sounds ok but definitely not enough to unleash the Variations. I am a cable believer and I find my cables better than the stock;
3. there is no nozzle lip! And the nozzle is wide!
4. The sunken 0.78 connectors! They are so tight and some may break the pins of their cables leaving the pins there. Dangerous!
5. The bass sounds a bit boosted like below and can be too much depending on the track:

Yellow is CSN.
Since it is only an open-box impression, I should keep it short and here is what I like about it:
1. Very good energetic but not piecing treble with average extension.
2. Bass is alright at the moment, good extension, not a lot of texture and can be overwhelming. Might change after burn-in.
3. Stage is about the same size as the CSN which I prefer. You feel you are more in the music rather than in a room listening to music with fake soundstage.
4. Quite natural sounding.
5. Good separation, definitely better than the CSN as the CSN has noticeably more mids.

They also come with some spare nozzle filters btw. And, it requires more power about 11dB more than the CSN.

 

[shenzhenaudio]

Hope we get first batch shipping out soon

Definitely! Thanks for your support.

 

[SteveK27]

This is my first ever IEM with EST drivers. It is a blind purchase as I really wanted to get a pair of Moondrop and I wanted to get a more wallet-friend EST IEM so it can be used as a reference point for building IEMs for myself.




(Sorry about my ugly CSN with Tamiya masking tape to hold the parts in place)
So my Variations arrived. Let me begin with what I feel disappointed about it:
1. the resin shell - while it is comfortable, I am sure the sandblasted finishing will get glossy over time, depending on how much ear wax you secrete;
2. the cable - it is definitely on the cheap side - it sounds ok but definitely not enough to unleash the Variations. I am a cable believer and I find my cables better than the stock;
3. there is no nozzle lip! And the nozzle is wide!
4. The sunken 0.78 connectors! They are so tight and some may break the pins of their cables leaving the pins there. Dangerous!
5. The bass sounds a bit boosted like below and can be too much depending on the track:

Yellow is CSN.
Since it is only an open-box impression, I should keep it short and here is what I like about it:
1. Very good energetic but not piecing treble with average extension.
2. Bass is alright at the moment, good extension, not a lot of texture and can be overwhelming. Might change after burn-in.
3. Stage is about the same size as the CSN which I prefer. You feel you are more in the music rather than in a room listening to music with fake soundstage.
4. Quite natural sounding.
5. Good separation, definitely better than the CSN as the CSN has noticeably more mids.

They also come with some spare nozzle filters btw. And, it requires more power about 11dB more than the CSN.

Thanks for the first impression! Really appreciate it

Could you let us know which source and ear tip you used?
I'm a little hesitant in Variation's technical performance as this review makes the CSN ($25 iem) comparable to the Variation ($520).

Do let us know how things change after some burn-in. I have heard the LCP dynamic driver being used in Variations requires burn-in to release its true potential.

 

[saldsald]

Thanks for the first impression! Really appreciate it

Could you let us know which source and ear tip you used?
I'm a little hesitant in Variation's technical performance as this review makes the CSN ($25 iem) comparable to the Variation ($520).

Do let us know how things change after some burn-in. I have heard the LCP dynamic driver being used in Variations requires burn-in to release its true potential.

I used a modded ZX507 (replaced internal wires with mundorf silvergold) and Fiio M11 Pro and tips are JVC spiral dots to test it.

TBH, I personally don't think the technicality of the Variations at the current state is of anything to praise here and I am looking forward to the change after burn-in. Also, After dissecting multiple cheap IEMs in the past few months, what I have learnt is, most of the time, one BA and one full range DD are what you need. I have a pair of LZ A6 with insane treble extension, aka "technicality", like beyond my hearing range and I don't feel I need it and it should sound nicer if those frequencies are gone. Maybe it is just me and I consider myself having quite good hearing so I don't need too much treble.

The highlight of the Variations IMO, for now, is that smooth and energetic treble but does it sound 520/25 = 20.8 times better than the CSN I will say no for sure but it definitely has better treble. It is not too easy to be impressed by these mid-range ($500-700?) when you get cheaper IEMs with comparable performance. Speaking of treble, I think the CCA CKX, with the right cable (I am using 24-core graphene), actually sounds equally good to my ears. From my dissecting experience, I am guessing the LCP driver contributes to full range frequencies and the BAs and EST are there to add more note weight and detail thou I can be wrong as I am never going to open up the Variations. I mean, if my guess is right, without proper burning-in, it is not fair to judge the Variations so I will definitely update my impression! It is quite good I say but again, the diminishing return is there!

 

[saldsald]

I used a modded ZX507 (replaced internal wires with mundorf silvergold) and Fiio M11 Pro and tips are JVC spiral dots to test it.

TBH, I personally don't think the technicality of the Variations at the current state is of anything to praise here and I am looking forward to the change after burn-in. Also, After dissecting multiple cheap IEMs in the past few months, what I have learnt is, most of the time, one BA and one full range DD are what you need. I have a pair of LZ A6 with insane treble extension, aka "technicality", like beyond my hearing range and I don't feel I need it and it should sound nicer if those frequencies are gone. Maybe it is just me and I consider myself having quite good hearing so I don't need too much treble.

The highlight of the Variations IMO, for now, is that smooth and energetic treble but does it sound 520/25 = 20.8 times better than the CSN I will say no for sure but it definitely has better treble. It is not too easy to be impressed by these mid-range ($500-700?) when you get cheaper IEMs with comparable performance. Speaking of treble, I think the CCA CKX, with the right cable (I am using 24-core graphene), actually sounds equally good to my ears. From my dissecting experience, I am guessing the LCP driver contributes to full range frequencies and the BAs and EST are there to add more note weight and detail thou I can be wrong as I am never going to open up the Variations. I mean, if my guess is right, without proper burning-in, it is not fair to judge the Variations so I will definitely update my impression! It is quite good I say but again, the diminishing return is there!

I would like to add one more thing: as per the seller, so it is not official, the EST drivers are actually more responsible for the mids not the treble. I can't confirm it until I get myself a pair of Sonion EST65DA01.

 

[sutosuto]

Speaking of treble, I think the CCA CKX, with the right cable (I am using 24-core graphene), actually sounds equally good to my ears

I want to buy my first EST, have variations, dunu est112 and coming isn est50 in my list. Your initial impression make me rethink if variations should be in the list, even ckx with good cable is comparable while lz a6 might hsve better high extension.
If you do not mind I ask how is the bass and soundstage of variations compare to lz a6?

TIA

 

[Ace Bee]

I want to buy my first EST, have variations, dunu est112 and coming isn est50 in my list. Your initial impression make me rethink if variations should be in the list, even ckx with good cable is comparable while lz a6 might hsve better high extension.
If you do not mind I ask how is the bass and soundstage of variations compare to lz a6?

TIA

Why not take a look at the TSMR Land? Available on Penon.

 

[saldsald]

I want to buy my first EST, have variations, dunu est112 and coming isn est50 in my list. Your initial impression make me rethink if variations should be in the list, even ckx with good cable is comparable while lz a6 might hsve better high extension.
If you do not mind I ask how is the bass and soundstage of variations compare to lz a6?

TIA

I think you should wait for more reviews first or at least my updated impression after burn-in. Treble extension is not everything, thou you can tell from the FR I measured, Variations has less extension compared to the CSN.

The bass...hmmm, it is really too overwhelming on certain tracks, for now. I always test my IEMs with James Blunt's Once Upon A Mind album for the male vocal and Bass, the bass on the Variations is obviously boosted too much there. LZ A6 doesn't have too much bass and is on the fast side and more controlled. Stage is noticeably wider, I mean much wider on the A6.

 

[kkugel]

I would like to add one more thing: as per the seller, so it is not official, the EST drivers are actually more responsible for the mids not the treble. I can't confirm it until I get myself a pair of Sonion EST65DA01.

Sonion EST can do from 4k up, not like Sonion says 7k. They are very hard to implement correctly. Developing a secret IEM now, not allowed to talk about that here, so I know some things haha. IMO it's nearly impossible to implement correctly with manually cut tubes. If you want to build something, I recommend 3D printing it!

 

[saldsald]

Sonion EST can do from 4k up, not like Sonion says 7k. They are very hard to implement correctly. Developing a secret IEM now, not allowed to talk about that here, so I know some things haha. IMO it's nearly impossible to implement correctly with manually cut tubes. If you want to build something, I recommend 3D printing it!

Do you mean you are developing an EST equpiped IEM for a company? Can you share a little more on the implementation difficulties? I actually planned to 3D print the guides ultimately but I will still need to try (fail) with tubes first. I asked Sonion for datasheet of their EST tweeters and they ignored me, lol.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

This is my first ever IEM with EST drivers. It is a blind purchase as I really wanted to get a pair of Moondrop and I wanted to get a more wallet-friendly EST IEM so it can be used as a reference point for building IEMs for myself.




(Sorry about my ugly CSN with Tamiya masking tape to hold the parts in place)
So my Variations arrived. Let me begin with what I feel disappointed about it:
1. the resin shell - while it is comfortable, I am sure the sandblasted finishing will get glossy over time, depending on how much ear wax you secrete;
2. the cable - it is definitely on the cheap side - it sounds ok but definitely not enough to unleash the Variations. I am a cable believer and I find my cables better than the stock;
3. there is no nozzle lip! And the nozzle is wide!
4. The sunken 0.78 connectors! They are so tight and some may break the pins of their cables leaving the pins there. Dangerous!
5. The bass sounds a bit boosted like below and can be too much depending on the track:

Yellow is CSN.
Since it is only an open-box impression, I should keep it short and here is what I like about it:
1. Very good energetic but not piecing treble with average extension.
2. Bass is alright at the moment, good extension, not a lot of texture and can be overwhelming. Might change after burn-in.
3. Stage is about the same size as the CSN which I prefer. You feel you are more in the music rather than in a room listening to music with fake soundstage.
4. Quite natural sounding.
5. Good separation, definitely better than the CSN as the CSN has noticeably more mids.

They also come with some spare nozzle filters btw. And, it requires more power about 11dB more than the CSN.

Great to know sound stage is par with CSN which has considerably wide diffusion field compared to average

Moondrop usually includes nozzle filters for all of their product, it’s good courtesy.

The sonion EST drivers from my experience right out of the box would sound a bit wild, and LCP drivers are out of focus, I guess if you read product guidebook it should be saying something like “100hours burn in recommended” like the one came with Moondrop Aria.

 

[holsen]

I used a modded ZX507 (replaced internal wires with mundorf silvergold) and Fiio M11 Pro and tips are JVC spiral dots to test it.

TBH, I personally don't think the technicality of the Variations at the current state is of anything to praise here and I am looking forward to the change after burn-in. Also, After dissecting multiple cheap IEMs in the past few months, what I have learnt is, most of the time, one BA and one full range DD are what you need. I have a pair of LZ A6 with insane treble extension, aka "technicality", like beyond my hearing range and I don't feel I need it and it should sound nicer if those frequencies are gone. Maybe it is just me and I consider myself having quite good hearing so I don't need too much treble.

The highlight of the Variations IMO, for now, is that smooth and energetic treble but does it sound 520/25 = 20.8 times better than the CSN I will say no for sure but it definitely has better treble. It is not too easy to be impressed by these mid-range ($500-700?) when you get cheaper IEMs with comparable performance. Speaking of treble, I think the CCA CKX, with the right cable (I am using 24-core graphene), actually sounds equally good to my ears. From my dissecting experience, I am guessing the LCP driver contributes to full range frequencies and the BAs and EST are there to add more note weight and detail thou I can be wrong as I am never going to open up the Variations. I mean, if my guess is right, without proper burning-in, it is not fair to judge the Variations so I will definitely update my impression! It is quite good I say but again, the diminishing return is there!

I'm looking forward to hearing your impressions after 100 hours of run in. I suspect that DD will get more control and following the IMR, UM, and Dunu threads, it's apparante that ESTs benefit from hours of use. My new procedure for everything except BAs is to pull them out of the box box, enjoy them and listen to them change as the hours go by.... When I'm not listening, I hooken up to a DAP or HP amp and then start tip rolling after 100 hours. I really believe that liquid carbon DD will loosen up after the requisite hours as will the EST. Anyway, enjoy the ride I'll be reading with great interest. My next will be the Variation, MEST Mkii or imr Astra

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Do you mean you are developing an EST equpiped IEM for a company? Can you share a little more on the implementation difficulties? I actually planned to 3D print the guides ultimately but I will still need to try (fail) with tubes first. I asked Sonion for datasheet of their EST tweeters and they ignored me, lol.

Some ref if anyone interested: $120 per set. knowles offers 33% discount for 100set lot for their BA, so I guess OEM could source @$80/set for lot price