But that's something companies do all the time if they want the new product to be seen as an update/sequel to the old. Granted, in that case they should call it the Aria 2 or something.
Moondrop in-ear monitors Impressions Thread
- Thread starter FastAndClean
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unifutomaki
1000+ Head-Fier
Aria is a nice name, I don't mind them reusing it at all!
Haha yeah. I don't mind personally, it's just a bad marketing decision. It's confusing to the consumer and I don't see how it would benefit Moondrop.
There are millions of potential names, especially since Moondrop has various naming schemes from Spaceship/Starfield/Stardust to SSR/KXXS to S8/A8...
Anyway it's not a hill I want to die on or anything.
I'm down with Aria 2 as a name, though I hope it doesn't mean the graph is going to be similar to the old Aria's!
I had the unfortunate luck of finishing my review of the Moondrop Illumination the same weekend as Crinacle. I received the Moondrop Illumination from ShenzhenAudio as part of a review tour.
The Illumination has a mostly neutral tuning, with a few constructive deviations from textbook neutrality. Specifically, there is a gentle mid-bass elevation that extends into the lower midrange and a distinct upper-midrange emphasis that is most pronounced between 2–3 kHz.
The Illumination is one of the most engaging and pleasant-sounding IEMs I have ever heard. If you value neutrality and timbre over sheer detail retrieval, it is absolutely worth a look. It definitely falls short in terms of detail retrieval compared to similarly priced IEMs, including the Moondrop S8.
My full review, along with measurements, comparisons with the Moondrop S8 and Dunu Luna, and additional images, is available on my blog:
https://medium.com/bedrock-reviews/moondrop-illumination-review-8a49c0102251
Bobbetybob
Head-Fier
The Aria looks to be out of stock everywhere though, and the new one looks completely different. The only confusing thing might be reviews and content but people can just call them Aria (2021) like everyone does with Campfire products.
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I got to try the Blessing 2 recently, and it immediately became my favorite Moondrop IEM. My comments below are comparisons made to an average $1k+ IEM, as I don’t have much experience with IEMs in this price range.
Physical fit is not as comfortable for me as the KXXS or S8, but aesthetically it looks and feels amazing for the price.
As for the sound, B2’s DD driver produces bass with good presence and thump. Those used to BA bass might notice it doesn’t do sub-bass as clearly and mid-bass is a bit bloated, but I think it more than makes up for it with its effortless drive.
Its imaging is typical 3-blob, and slightly more intimate sounding than average. I think that’s completely fine, since it doesn’t have super high resolution anyway (so I stay away from busy music).
When I play female vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, mid-bass centric music, the B2 really shines and keeps me immersed in the music. In fact some acoustic guitar tracks sounded better with the B2 than the S8.
However upper-mids being thin and weird treble makes percussion and wind/upper brass sound unnatural and off-putting for me.
Personally I think it pairs well with a warmer sounding source. Puts more meat on the mids, focuses more on the bass and smooths out issues with treble.
Overall I think the B2 punches way above its price, especially if you don’t mind the above weaknesses as much.
Physical fit is not as comfortable for me as the KXXS or S8, but aesthetically it looks and feels amazing for the price.
As for the sound, B2’s DD driver produces bass with good presence and thump. Those used to BA bass might notice it doesn’t do sub-bass as clearly and mid-bass is a bit bloated, but I think it more than makes up for it with its effortless drive.
Its imaging is typical 3-blob, and slightly more intimate sounding than average. I think that’s completely fine, since it doesn’t have super high resolution anyway (so I stay away from busy music).
When I play female vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, mid-bass centric music, the B2 really shines and keeps me immersed in the music. In fact some acoustic guitar tracks sounded better with the B2 than the S8.
However upper-mids being thin and weird treble makes percussion and wind/upper brass sound unnatural and off-putting for me.
Personally I think it pairs well with a warmer sounding source. Puts more meat on the mids, focuses more on the bass and smooths out issues with treble.
Overall I think the B2 punches way above its price, especially if you don’t mind the above weaknesses as much.
C_Lindbergh
Headphoneus Supremus
Are Moondrop Blessing 3 in the works? They're prob the best IEM I've ever listened to ( my budget is usually max 350 EUR).
All I want is the same SQ but with a bit better fit/smaller size.
All I want is the same SQ but with a bit better fit/smaller size.
AmericanSpirit
Member of the Trade: Night Oblivion
Please use proprietary BA for trebles on blessing3 plz!! Yea knowles is high end, but it good, not par with the god blessing sound like moondrop/softears engineering team tweaked ones. And plz add EST, that’ll do a nice tribrid..!
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AmericanSpirit
Member of the Trade: Night Oblivion
@MOONDROP @koudairanger I preordered Moondrop sparks in early Feb, any ETAs? Hope it would be mini starfield in TWS form to compete lypertek tevi
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Unfortunately not decided yet...
It was planned between mid March and April, but time for fulfillment can vary.
AmericanSpirit
Member of the Trade: Night Oblivion
Thanks! Looking forward to try it on soon
I got to try the Blessing 2 recently, and it immediately became my favorite Moondrop IEM. My comments below are comparisons made to an average $1k+ IEM, as I don’t have much experience with IEMs in this price range.
Physical fit is not as comfortable for me as the KXXS or S8, but aesthetically it looks and feels amazing for the price.
As for the sound, B2’s DD driver produces bass with good presence and thump. Those used to BA bass might notice it doesn’t do sub-bass as clearly and mid-bass is a bit bloated, but I think it more than makes up for it with its effortless drive.
Its imaging is typical 3-blob, and slightly more intimate sounding than average. I think that’s completely fine, since it doesn’t have super high resolution anyway (so I stay away from busy music).
When I play female vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, mid-bass centric music, the B2 really shines and keeps me immersed in the music. In fact some acoustic guitar tracks sounded better with the B2 than the S8.
However upper-mids being thin and weird treble makes percussion and wind/upper brass sound unnatural and off-putting for me.
Personally I think it pairs well with a warmer sounding source. Puts more meat on the mids, focuses more on the bass and smooths out issues with treble.
Overall I think the B2 punches way above its price, especially if you don’t mind the above weaknesses as much.
I have the Dusk. It shares much of the pros and cons of the original Blessing 2.
It is a very clean sounding iem. It doesn't try to resolve as much detail as the S8, but does what it can as capable as possible. The bass sink deeps and slams hard. Even though I have higher end IEMs I come back to listen to remix / edm / DJMAX ost music with it. Almost exclusively to enjoy that gritty sub-bass.
My only gripe is the tonality isn't perfect. Namely thin mids and slightly shouty 8kHz peak. The thin mid are pronounced by hollow sounding male vocals, or females hitting the high notes. Otherwise certain string or woodwind instrument also working in those frequencies. I suspect it is the bass-vocal dip whose purpose was to avoid bass bleed. I'd suggest upping ~250hz by 2-3 dB. Giving back presence to male vocals / warmth to the mix.
As for shoutiness in the trebles, lowering that 8K peak by about 2-3 dB fixes most issues. Taking the edge off high notes.
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AmericanSpirit
Member of the Trade: Night Oblivion
DJMAX! It seems we have sizable fan base for bemani families(bms). Moondrop’s sister company, Softears, also has thier high-end single DD iem named “turii” if you happened to know zektbach aka Asaki. (turii’s track name is actually “Turii-panta rhei-“ Meze may also inspired by this track for their Rei Penta)
For tonality that male vocals sound just fine on original blessing2 as it has the chunk on bass area vs slim lines of Dusk imo.
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Yep. There's the "Superbeat XONiC OST" that just has the dirtiest bass drops ever. All around an enjoyable album even if one hasn't played the game.
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