Moondrop Kato / Blessing 2 Dusk / Variation

[hong8311]

Hi all,

While I have access to budget for all three, I am having hard time to choose one.

So far, I've tried B2, (which is great IEM except missing of bass and not so fun) and Shure Aonic 5 (I can tell it is upgrade from B2, but not sure if I wisely spent extra to upgrade. I got open box for $280 including tax and shipping thought)
I mainly use IEM while I am walking on the park with Helm bolt and Galaxy S21 via apple music.

What would you choose and why?
Thanks.

 

[surfgeorge]

I've not heard the Kato, but am familiar with the Kanas Pro which is a predecessor of the Kato, have owned the B2 (and emulated the B2 Dusk tuning with PEQ) and still have the Variations.

The Moondrop DD IEMs like the Kato are great value IMO, but I have not heard a DD yet that can compete with BA or Hybrid designs in detail and resolution.

The B2 is a really good IEM but it has 2 flaws that I personally could not accept. One is the quality of the bass and the other is the occasional grainy upper midrange/treble. It simply distracted me enough that I looked for an upgrade.

The Variations is technically a really nice upgrade to the B2. Bass is more defined and textured, midrange and treble are detailed yet smooth. Soundstage, layering and imaging are better. Comparing the Variations to my top IEM, the Sony IER-M9, shows the limitations. The Variations sounds too smooth, the M9 simply has better defined and crisper detail. Imaging and layering on the M9 is also a significant step up. And the Variations' tuning sounds thin and lean in the lower midrange in comparison to the warm M9 which gives much more body to male vocals and instruments like cello.
Using my CHORD Hugo 2, the sub-bass of the Variations can be really overpowering. The upside of the tuning is that it sounds exceptionally clean while the M9 can sound slightly veiled or muddy due to the thick midrange.

I keep using the Variations as my outdoor driver with an iPhone and Apple dongle and it's doing a good job in this situation. The Apple dongle is a good pairing because it has reduced bass impact which evens out the tuning a little and makes it sound less thin. So from that point of view the Variations is a really good pick, and as a bonus it also isolates quite well.

If you like clean and smooth sound with big sub bass and clean yet never sharp midrange and treble, the Variations is a very good pick and value. If you like a more balanced sound, based on online feedback from reviewers I trust maybe check out the Dunu SA6. Unfortunately I have not heard it yet personally.

Another option could be the Sony IER-M7 if it is available where you live. If you can get this below $500 I'd consider it a prime choice if you value detail and balance over bass impact.

 

[oknenir]

I've not heard the Kato, but am familiar with the Kanas Pro which is a predecessor of the Kato

Isn't KXXS the predecessor of Kato?

And the Variations' tuning sounds thin and lean in the lower midrange

The same impression I've got of Kato, must be a property of the moondrop "house sound"?

 

[hong8311]

If you like clean and smooth sound with big sub bass and clean yet never sharp midrange and treble, the Variations is a very good pick and value.

Hey Thanks for the detailed reply. How do you define 'smooth sound'? As per your writing, I can guess how Variation would sound like except 'Smooth sound' part. For my preference, I am looking for something like sharpness and crispiness of Sundara (though it is planar full-size headphone) plus more of punch bass without too much recession of mid/vocal. My two complains of B2 was missing of bass (I agree with you) and vocal was too recessed. It is great that I can enjoy the sound of instrument from the background, vocal is way back there for me. I think my taste is rather W than V in that sense.

And I can't really talk about source dac/amp because your hugo2 is way superior than mine. Do you hear a lot of difference from the same IEM when you play with apple dongle vs. Hugo 2? I bet there is, but is it enough to justify the price difference?

I will also look for review of Sony IER-M7. Thanks!

 

[hong8311]

Isn't KXXS the predecessor of Kato?

The same impression I've got of Kato, must be a property of the moondrop "house sound"?

Hey,

Can I translate your term of 'moondrop house sound' as 'recessed vocal/mid'? That was how I felt from B2. (not dusk)
And I'd like to see how it is changed in B2 dusk as well.

 

[zamorin]

Isn't KXXS the predecessor of Kato?

The same impression I've got of Kato, must be a property of the moondrop "house sound"?

Think Kanas is the predecessor of KXXS.