[tma6]

My mini review of Moondrop Variations:

Moondrop Variations ($520)
Bass: Great - Very subbass oriented, but retains good punchiness and texture. Very good speed and detail for a dd. Can come off as a bit thin in the midbass region on some tracks, but overall has above-average density and dynamics.
Mids: Great - A bit thin in lower mids, and upper mids can verge on shouty, but vocals and mid-range instruments are very clean and exhibit really good texture. Able to present nuances in instruments better than anything I've listened to in this price range. Some snares can pop a little more than normal, but this tuning is overall very well executed.
Treble: Excellent - Definitely one of the better est implementations I've tried to date. Not necessarily the most detailed, but doesn't sound too flimsy and exhibits very good separation and clarity. There's a nice smoothness and decay on cymbals. Good extension. Big fan of this treble presentation, despite not loving est timbre generally.
Imaging: Very good - Presents with a high level of positional accuracy and separation. Has a very "live" presentation overall.
Soundstage: Good - Not very wide at all, but has above-average height and depth. Overall, gives the impression of openness.
Detail: Very good - While it does not have the best layering on particularly busy passages, the ability to render, for instance, tactile reverb on a drum, and different instrumental nuances is excellent.
Timbre: Very good - while note weight is on the thinner side, instruments and vocals sound natural and realistic.
Design and Comfort: A bit on the larger side for my ears, but it's comfortable for me, only getting fatiguing after about 3-4 hours of continuous use.
Conclusion: Great set. Might not be for those who are averse to a more forward upper-mid range and a thinner timbre, but Variations punches above its pricepoint in my opinion. Score: 8/10

 

[nicnac2212]

Hey guys can anyone compare the aria with the xelento, the fit of xelento is really bad for me if anyone has both I would really appreciate a comparison,

 

[nymz]

My mini review of Moondrop Variations:

Moondrop Variations ($520)
Bass: Great - Very subbass oriented, but retains good punchiness and texture. Very good speed and detail for a dd. Can come off as a bit thin in the midbass region on some tracks, but overall has above-average density and dynamics.
Mids: Great - A bit thin in lower mids, and upper mids can verge on shouty, but vocals and mid-range instruments are very clean and exhibit really good texture. Able to present nuances in instruments better than anything I've listened to in this price range. Some snares can pop a little more than normal, but this tuning is overall very well executed.
Treble: Excellent - Definitely one of the better est implementations I've tried to date. Not necessarily the most detailed, but doesn't sound too flimsy and exhibits very good separation and clarity. There's a nice smoothness and decay on cymbals. Good extension. Big fan of this treble presentation, despite not loving est timbre generally.
Imaging: Very good - Presents with a high level of positional accuracy and separation. Has a very "live" presentation overall.
Soundstage: Good - Not very wide at all, but has above-average height and depth. Overall, gives the impression of openness.
Detail: Very good - While it does not have the best layering on particularly busy passages, the ability to render, for instance, tactile reverb on a drum, and different instrumental nuances is excellent.
Timbre: Very good - while note weight is on the thinner side, instruments and vocals sound natural and realistic.
Design and Comfort: A bit on the larger side for my ears, but it's comfortable for me, only getting fatiguing after about 3-4 hours of continuous use.
Conclusion: Great set. Might not be for those who are averse to a more forward upper-mid range and a thinner timbre, but Variations punches above its pricepoint in my opinion. Score: 8/10

Thanks for the mini-review, very helpful! Got any tribids to compare to?

 

[tma6]

Thanks for the mini-review, very helpful! Got any tribids to compare to?

Compared with Clair: More sub bass, less midbass slam, but variations has much more texture and detail in the bass. Mids are a little thinner but more detailed, upper mids a bit more forward and clean, slightly less warm than clair, but not overly dry. Treble is much better on variations imo, clair had some grain and wispiness, variations does not and remains smooth. Stage is a bit wider on clair, variations has more height and depth. Imaging is about equal. Detail goes to variations. I prefer variations by a bit. Found clairs bass to be too lacking in texture and did not like est treble implementation on clair.

Vs MEST (mk1): Bass texture and detail wins on MEST. Variations maybe has slight edge on weight in the lower registers, but MEST wins bass. Mids, variations has more upper mids but also slightly more warmth and “naturalness” in the mid range. MEST more detailed. Treble, I’d actually take variations treble tuning over MEST mk1 by a hair. MEST is still more detailed, but variations just does it with a bit less harshness. MEST is not overly harsh by any means, but it can get on you sometimes. Staging, MEST has that 3D staging, variations also has it a little and mimics some of MESTs imaging just not to the same extent. It can feel a bit more accurate on variations sometimes, but MEST is slightly more fun in that regard. MEST wins but I think variations holds its own pretty well for more than half the price.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Compared with Clair: More sub bass, less midbass slam, but variations has much more texture and detail in the bass. Mids are a little thinner but more detailed, upper mids a bit more forward and clean, slightly less warm than clair, but not overly dry. Treble is much better on variations imo, clair had some grain and wispiness, variations does not and remains smooth. Stage is a bit wider on clair, variations has more height and depth. Imaging is about equal. Detail goes to variations. I prefer variations by a bit. Found clairs bass to be too lacking in texture and did not like est treble implementation on clair.

Vs MEST (mk1): Bass texture and detail wins on MEST. Variations maybe has slight edge on weight in the lower registers, but MEST wins bass. Mids, variations has more upper mids but also slightly more warmth and “naturalness” in the mid range. MEST more detailed. Treble, I’d actually take variations treble tuning over MEST mk1 by a hair. MEST is still more detailed, but variations just does it with a bit less harshness. MEST is not overly harsh by any means, but it can get on you sometimes. Staging, MEST has that 3D staging, variations also has it a little and mimics some of MESTs imaging just not to the same extent. It can feel a bit more accurate on variations sometimes, but MEST is slightly more fun in that regard. MEST wins but I think variations holds its own pretty well for more than half the price.

Very accurate comparison, I agree with with Comparison, general comparison vs Monarch and MEST MKII is about the same.
I was comparing among those and noticed how good MEST MKII is in terms of 3D imaging and wide diffusion field mainly from delayed bone conduction driver follow up resonance.

Most impressive one for the price was DUNU SA6, not a resolution or layering sector king but rest of technicalities are very high on SA6.

I’ve also noticed Sonion EST has one weakness, the image depth is rather flat sounding compared to SA6 and Anole VX, the full BA ones. MEST MKII has bone conduction driver to follow the image depth of high frequencies, so it overcomes the image depth issue

 

[14christ]

I can't compare but I can confirm that what you said about variations is imo 100 percent accurate.

 

[SpeedyClaxton4]

Just got my Dusk in the mail, plugged into my Qudelix 5k for first listen. Sounded okay, but something was strange. Turns out I still had an EQ curve for my ER4XR active, LMAO. Completely ruined my own first impression, what a moron.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Just got my Dusk in the mail, plugged into my Qudelix 5k for first listen. Sounded okay, but something was strange. Turns out I still had an EQ curve for my ER4XR active, LMAO. Completely ruined my own first impression, what a moron.

To think on the bright side, something starts from negative could only get better

 

[G777]

Very accurate comparison, I agree with with Comparison, general comparison vs Monarch and MEST MKII is about the same.
I was comparing among those and noticed how good MEST MKII is in terms of 3D imaging and wide diffusion field mainly from delayed bone conduction driver follow up resonance.

Most impressive one for the price was DUNU SA6, not a resolution or layering sector king but rest of technicalities are very high on SA6.

I’ve also noticed Sonion EST has one weakness, the image depth is rather flat sounding compared to SA6 and Anole VX, the full BA ones. MEST MKII has bone conduction driver to follow the image depth of high frequencies, so it overcomes the image depth issue

I think the lack of depth is more of a characteristic of the diffuse-field tuning rather than the drivers. It's generally present in IEMs that use that tuning.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

I think the lack of depth is more of a characteristic of the diffuse-field tuning rather than the drivers. It's generally present in IEMs that use that tuning.

Yea, EST driver’s diffusion field tuning sounds like the key contributor, need more samples to verify the idea. I’m interested in DUNU’s upcoming EST-BA(not EST 112).

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Been MIA for the past week, but starting the burn-in process for the Variations now.

Thinking of picking up some aftermarket cables for them. NiceHCK is having a sale right now on AE. The cables look pretty well built so I might pick up a few.

 

[voicemaster]

My second Variations just arrived today.

Old one using KBear cable + M final audio eartips, new one using stock cable + S stock eartips.

 

[14christ]

My second Variations just arrived today.

Old one using KBear cable + M final audio eartips, new one using stock cable + S stock cable.

I love my 24 core kbear

 

[voicemaster]

I love my 24 core kbear

Yea, love it. Quality is superb, it is flexible and thick, but not heavy.

 

[14christ]

Yea, love it. Quality is superb, it is flexible and thick, but not heavy.

Exactly. So soft too.