[eric65]

I bought COSMO just now through online shop, waiting for my unboxing.

Hi.

Waifu minimalism (on the outside of the COSMO packaging); maximum sound quality, on the inside?

See also :
https://www.bilibili.com/opus/919351755613929491?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0
https://www.bilibili.com/opus/919414161504468997?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0
https://space.bilibili.com/434249025/dynamic

 

[acclimatise]

Wow!

Great.

We look forward to your feedback on the COSMO planar headphones, with the greatest attention.

COSMO versus VENUS
COSMO versus your best headphones
Best amp to drive the COSMO
Best cable to use with the COSMO.

You won't be bored.

Hi.

Waifu minimalism (on the outside of the COSMO packaging); maximum sound quality, on the inside?

See also :
https://www.bilibili.com/opus/919351755613929491?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0
https://www.bilibili.com/opus/919414161504468997?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0
https://space.bilibili.com/434249025/dynamic

I will receive it on Monday or Tuesday.
what I have right now are HIFIMAN SUSVARA, HEKSE, HEK STEALTH, ARYA ORGANIC, HE6SE, and two VENUS.
I am looking forward to its position in between these headphones.

 

[eric65]

Bad news for the Dollar (US) price of the COSMO planar headphones, the new flagship from the Moondrop brand: count on US$899 instead!
However, the Chinese price of the COSMO (4999 RMB) suggested an international price of more like US$699, at the current exchange rate between the two currencies.

Be that as it may, it's still cheaper than the US$1400 of a Hifiman HEK Stealth.

The new COSMO box

SPECIFICATIONS
Model: COSMO 100mm Nanoscale (500 nm) Ultra-thin Flagship Planar Headphone
Sensitivity: 100dB/Vrms (82dB/mW) (@1kHz)
Impedance: 15Ω±15% (@1kHz)
Frequency Range: 13Hz-58kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)
Effective Frequency Range: 20Hz-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB)
Headphone Jack: 3.5mm
Cable Plug: 4.4mm
4.4mm Balanced Cable * 1
4.4mm to 6.35 Adapter * 1

COSMO / VENUS / PARA / (VDSF TARGET) FR (spoiler)

Spoiler

And where it can be purchased online, internationally.
https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/moondrop-cosmo-100mm-full-size-flagship-planar-headphone

EDIT: and the place where I've just ordered the COSMO!

 

[Sha1rholder]

check here https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/9oibVRD8sa3dkcVM-ymgAA (in Chinese) or https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/moondrop-cosmo-100mm-full-size-flagship-planar-headphone (in English) for detailed info about COSMO

 

[eric65]

check here https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/9oibVRD8sa3dkcVM-ymgAA (if u can read Chinese) for detailed info about COSMO

Thank you for the link.

You can find the English translation (for this Chinese text in images) here: https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/moondrop-cosmo-100mm-full-size-flagship-planar-headphone

As I wrote in the EDIT to my previous post, just after @acclimatise, I've just ordered (yesterday) the COSMO on this well-known site (which seems serious to me): https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/moondrop-cosmo-100mm-full-size-flagship-planar-headphone ; order dated April 12, 2024, just a few hours after the COSMO became available for sale from Moondrop Audio's authorized dealers.

I think I must be the first Frenchman to have ordered the COSMO.

Moondrop justifies the COSMO's flagship status with the following Chinese arguments:
at this link: https://www.bilibili.com/opus/919414161504468997?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0

The google translation from Chinese to English of the 3rd argument (3rd star) is ambiguous (for a non-Chinese); I understand it as follows: the COSMO is very difficult (or demanding) to drive; but once well driven (with I imagine a powerful amplifier, I think we're talking about more than a Watt, the COSMO has enormous potential (Nb: a bit like a Hifiman Susvara, I imagine).

Yet the COSMO's sensitivity is officially 100 dB/Vrms - Impedance (flat) 15 Ohm, i.e. 82 dB/mW (@1 KHz), which isn't very much indeed.
For comparison, the sensitivity of the VENUS is officially also 100 dB/Vrms - Impedance (flat) 18 Ohm, i.e. 82.5 dB/mW (@1 KHz),
So you need a powerful desktop amplifier (at least 1 Watt), refined if possible, to get the most out of these Moondrop headphones, which are rather (very?) demanding in terms of amplification.

In my experience, with the VENUS, my VIVA 2A3 amplifier (2 x 3 Watt (on 32 Ohm), and I imagine 2 x 1.5 Watt on 15-18 Ohm) does the job, rather well for what I hear from it with the VENUS (and soon the COSMO).

I mentioned the official sensitivity of the COSMO and VENUS at @1 KHz (see figures above), but the effective sensitivity of the VENUS, measured between 100 Hz and 10 KHz on the RAA measurement site, is much better: 106 dB/Vrms; nearly 89 dB/mW SPL - average impedance 17.7 Ohm.
https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/hp/moondrop-venus.php#gsc.tab=0
For comparison, the effective sensitivity of the Kennerton Thror (which I also own) is 109 dB/Vrms.
https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/hp/kennerton-thror.php#gsc.tab=0
For comparison, the effective sensitivity of the Hifiman Susvara (which I don't own) is only 95 dB/Vrms; nearly 83 dB/mW SPL - average impedance 61.8 Ohm.
https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/hp/hifiman-susvara.php#gsc.tab=0

Listening to these two headphones (Kennerton Thror and Moondrop VENUS) on my VIVA 2A3 amplifier; the VIVA 2A3 tube amp has no difficulties driving these two headphones ; the position of the amp's volume knob always remains < 12 o'clock, with the VENUS ; it's usually between 9 and 10 o'clock; there's a difference in SPL between the VENUS and the Thror of around 3 dB, in favor of the Thror.

As for the FR curve of Moondrop's new flagship, the COSMO, we compared it to the VDSF target usually used by Moondrop, which differs significantly from Harman's, both in the bass and treble ranges.

Thanks to my eldest son for superimposing (via Krita graphics software) the FR of the COSMO on that of the VENUS, in a single graph, again compared with the same Moondrop VDSF target curve (see spoiler below).

Spoiler

And what do we find?

The COSMO has much better highs than the VENUS, much softer, more regular, with less level SPL.
The VENUS retains 2 dB SPL more than the COSMO in the bass and low mids, except below 30Hz (sub-bass) where the COSMO has the most bass.

In short, I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of the ordered COSMO (yesterday), to compare it, on my VIVA 2A3 tube amp, with its direct ascendant, the VENUS ; the king for how much longer?

EDIT: Moondrop COSMO Planar photo gallery, here: https://www.bilibili.com/opus/919694008674943010?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0

 

[farits]

On a YouTube video, I discovered the talented young percussionist Sina-drums, whose name is so apt, and whose rendering of the drums (cymbals, toms and bass drum) showcased the VENUS's dynamic capacity in the bass and the quality of its timbres, particularly on this memorable drum cover of "Child In Time" (Deep Purple), which I never tire of listening to again with the VENUS, so great is the quality of restitution.

Truly an amazing studio recording, I can’t stop listening to it. Venus sounds great, sparkling a little blindingly If you find recordings with great sound, don't forget to publish them.

 

[eric65]

Truly an amazing studio recording, I can’t stop listening to it. Venus sounds great, sparkling a little blindingly If you find recordings with great sound, don't forget to publish them.

Thanks.

After this spectacular "Break on Through" (The Doors) (Drum Cover), fantastic with Sina's drums.



Here's another classic, "Born in the USA" (Bruce Springstten) (Drum Cover), which we tend to forget also features a drum kit, and what a drum kit it is!



Indeed, the VENUS is quite bright for cymbals, although at my age (born in France, not in the USA, in 1965), this is less critical; we can hope for slightly less emphasized treble with the COSMO; they should even be perfect. As for the dynamics of the VENUS on this drum kit, I never get tired of it.


EDIT: as a bonus, one last Drum Cover by Sina-drums.

Queen Sina, who may have met her "King" here ; her drumming isn't indifferent to the guy in white, yet quite ordinary in appearance ..




EDIT bis: Sina-drums' high quality sound and drumming alone, which here covers a composition by Ian Paice, the drummer of Deep Purple, is a must.

 

[farits]

VENUS is quite bright for cymbals

Venus can be bright and blinding at high frequencies. She can also be a calm goddess.
Now I’m listening to my beloved and beautiful Alizee The sound of the concert was recorded pleasantly, there are no too high frequencies. The sound stage on Venus is simply amazing, it is vast

 

[Kelvin will]

Has cosmo reached other US-reviewers yet or is it still only available overseas?

 

[acclimatise]

I got it, but I don't want to evaluate it too early yet. I need to run it for a period, and the last picture shows all my headphones.

 

[eric65]

I got it, but I don't want to evaluate it too early yet. I need to run it for a period, and the last picture shows all my headphones.

Great !

I can see in your photos an ergonomic improvement in the COSMO versus the VENUS: the cable outlet (3.5 mm connector) is offset to the front of the headphones (like an Audeze): the cable won't touch the shoulders when wearing the headphones.


EDIT: The COSMO pads are even more elaborate (acoustically) wise than I thought, not to mention that they are perforated on certain parts of their exterior.

 

[TheFritz]

Great !

I can see in your photos an ergonomic improvement in the COSMO versus the VENUS: the cable outlet (3.5 mm connector) is offset to the front of the headphones (like an Audeze): the cable won't touch the shoulders when wearing the headphones.

Yes. It looks very much like the Moondrop PARA with a different faceplate but otherwise very similar including the slightly angled connectors, the same headband and the same attachment system for the pads with the magnetic discs. So you pay about 600 USD more for the drivers… I hope that they are worth it.

 

[eric65]

Has cosmo reached other US-reviewers yet or is it still only available overseas?

Hi

The COSMO is available internationally, at least in France.
I've just ordered one from shenzhenaudio.com.
It's currently on its way to France.

 

[eric65]

Yes. It looks very much like the Moondrop PARA with a different faceplate but otherwise very similar including the slightly angled connectors, the same headband and the same attachment system for the pads with the magnetic discs. So you pay about 600 USD more for the drivers… I hope that they are worth it.

Hi.
The technology used and the acoustic settings are even more elaborate with the COSMO than with the VENUS and PARA, hence its title as the brand's new flagship. This is the most advanced planar headphones from the Moondrop brand.

 

[acclimatise]

Hi.
The technology used and the acoustic settings are even more elaborate with the COSMO than with the VENUS and PARA, hence its title as the brand's new flagship. This is the most advanced planar headphones from the Moondrop brand.

To be honest, it's not as good as I imagined. I prefer venus, but I need to run it for a longer time to make a more definitive judgment.