[eric65]

Moondrop VENUS Planar (and PARA): two surprisingly good orthodynamic headphones at a still reasonable price.
Moondrop COSMO Planar: New Flagship.

Following a friend's purchase of this Planar Moondrop VENUS headphones, which he compared to a whole list of headphones, I decided to buy one; order in progress for 600 Euros, in France, all taxes included, shipping included. I will receive it before Christmas.

My friend, a fine connoisseur of headphones, ranks the Moondrop VENUS in a very good position (headphones not equalized for this list)

See rather.

OK3D TEv5 > MOONDROP VENUS > OK3D TEv4 > STAX SR-009 > OK3D TEv3 > WARWICK SONOMA ONE > OK3D Precioso > STAX SR-007A > BEYERDYNAMIC DT1990 Pro > FOCAL CLEAR > SENNHEISER HD58X > SENNHEISER HD800S > HIFIMAN SUNDARA > FOCAL ELEGIA > AUDIOTECHNICA ATH-R70X > BEYERDYNAMIC DT900 PRO X > PHILIPS FIDELIO X2 > AKG K371 > SENNHEISER HD560S > STAX SR-404 > STAX SR-L700 > STAX SR-207 > KOSS ESP950 > STAX SR-303 > PHILIPS FIDELIO X1 > SENNHEISER HD600 > BEYERDYNAMIC DT1770 PRO > AKG K612 PRO > FOCAL ELEAR > OPPO PM-3 > BEYERDYNAMIC T1 > BEYERDYNAMIC DT880-600 > AUDEZE LCD2-F > STAX SR5 > BEYERDYNAMIC DT770 PRO > SENNHEISER HD650 > HIFIMAN HE400i 2020 > SENNHEISER HD660S > AUDIO-TECHNICA AD900X > AKG K240 Monitor > AKG K702 > BEYERDYNAMIC DT990-250 > BEYERDYNAMIC DT911 > AKG K340 > AKG K240 MKII > GRADO SR80i > BEYERDYNAMIC CUSTOM ONE PRO > KOSS PortaPro.

These headphones feature a rigorous frequency response, very close to the ideal of the target curve proposed by Crinacle, i.e. very close to that of the Hifiman Susvara headphones, but with much better sensitivity (measured).

Susvara: Sensitivity average in band from 100 Hz - 10 kHz 94.8 dB/V SPL - Measured impedance: 61.8 Ohm. (RAA source)
VENUS: Sensitivity average in band from 100 Hz - 10 kHz 106.2 dB/V SPL - Measured impedance: 17.7 Ohm (RAA source)

A 2 x 1 Watt headphone amplifier (on 16 Ohm) should drive the Moondrop VENUS very correctly, just as a Viva Egoista 845 amplifier (2 x 15 W) should correctly drive Susvara headphones, which are much more difficult to drive.
For my part, I have a Viva 2A3 amplifier (2 x 3 Watt) which seems very well suited to driving the VENUS.

The transparency and resolution of this headphone Planar VENUS seems excellent (just like its tone), at least equivalent (for resolution) to that of a Stax SR-007A, according to my friend who was able to listen to these two headphones.

The technology used seems promising.

100 mm diameter planar driver.
Diaphragm thickness 2 microns, comparable to that of electrostatic headphones high-end Stax SR-009.
18 (2 x 9) contoured neodymium magnets per earpiece.
etc ..

https://moondroplab.com/en/products/venus



Headphone reviews also.

https://headphones.com/blogs/review...ook-at-headphone-s-most-promising-new-entrant

https://unheardlab.com/2023/02/17/moondrop-venus-the-silvery-one-measurement-and-review/

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/moondrop-venus-open-back-over-ear-planar-magnetic-headphones/

https://headfonics.com/moondrop-venus-review/

https://www.headphonesty.com/2023/01/review-moondrop-venus/

https://www.mimic-audio.com/blogs/reviews/moondrop-venus-review

Good reading.

 

[Terriero]

Nice to see you again Eric I'll wait for your impressions about those Venus... Specially in the comfort area, because recently I've re-visited your posts about the Senn 400 Pro and 58X and saw the pile of books

I'll send to you a PM tomorrow about the Sennies, going to bed now...

 

[eric65]

Hi Terriero.

The volcano in the Canary Islands isn't rumbling too much this morning?

Here are my friend's comments on this Planar VENUS headphones, with the strong and weak points.

STRONG POINTS
High resolution due to a favorable mass/electromagnetic force ratio
Satisfactory wearing
Balanced frequency response
“Spacious” image linked to the large emission surface and good acoustic opening
Well held infra-bass also linked to the large membrane
Does not require large amplification
Reasonable price in the relativity of the headphones market.

WEAKNESSES
Fragility of the headband (fixing of the suspension headband)
Sustained clamping which can bother large heads
Treble can be improved on recordings loaded in this register
Sensation of slight bass withdrawal compared to other headphones (Beyerdynamic T1 or DT900 Pro X)
Expensive, in absolute terms.

To get more bass (+ 3 dB between 30 and 80 Hz), without an equalizer, there's a simple way to enhance the bass: wear thin-rimmed glasses.

For glasses wearers (uncompensated FR curve of the Moondrop Venus planar headphones).

note: this graph demonstrates how a small leakage (simulated using thin-armed glasses) can result in FR change.

Moondrop VENUS Planar FR (good seal) with the target neutral curve (dotted black line).

Source: https://unheardlab.com/2023/02/17/moondrop-venus-the-silvery-one-measurement-and-review/

 

[Terriero]

Hi Terriero.

The volcano in the Canary Islands isn't rumbling too much this morning?

Here are my friend's comments on this Planar VENUS headphones, with the strong and weak points.

STRONG POINTS
High resolution due to a favorable mass/electromagnetic force ratio
Satisfactory wearing
Balanced frequency response
“Spacious” image linked to the large emission surface and good acoustic opening
Well held infra-bass also linked to the large membrane
Does not require large amplification
Reasonable price in the relativity of the headphones market.

WEAKNESSES
Fragility of the headband (fixing of the suspension headband)
Sustained clamping which can bother large heads
Treble can be improved on recordings loaded in this register
Sensation of slight bass withdrawal compared to other headphones (Beyerdynamic T1 or DT900 Pro X)
Expensive, in absolute terms.

To get more bass (+ 3 dB between 30 and 80 Hz), without an equalizer, there's a simple way to enhance the bass: wear thin-rimmed glasses.

For glasses wearers (uncompensated FR curve of the Moondrop Venus planar headphones).

note: this graph demonstrates how a small leakage (simulated using thin-armed glasses) can result in FR change.

Moondrop VENUS Planar FR (good seal) with the target curve (dotted black line).

Source: https://unheardlab.com/2023/02/17/moondrop-venus-the-silvery-one-measurement-and-review/

Thankfully, the volcano Tajogaite activity in La Palma ceased on december 2021

There are some new planar headphones at approximately the same price as the Venus:

Audeze MM-100 = around 500 € (400 $), have it's thread in the forum and a frequency response similar to the MM -500 big brother.

Fiio FT-5 = also around 500 € and with a frequency response similar to the Meze Elites.

 

[eric65]

Hi Terriero.

I responded to your pm.

As I just told you, I have high hopes for the planar Moondrop VENUS headphones, as it perhaps combines the best of the two Sennheiser headphones (HD-560S and HD-58X), but with a much better resolution, great mid, sufficient treble, but not too much, great tonal accuracy, a sufficiently spacious soundstage, and deep, accurate bass, which can be artificially enhanced by wearing thin-rimmed glasses, slightly breaking the seal of the headphones (+ 3 dB SPL between 30 and 80 Hz) to boost Hans Zimmer's film scores and reinforce the sub-bass layers (between 30 and 50 Hz).

For classical and baroque music, according to my friend who owns this planar headphone and was able to compare it to many other headphones (not equalized), the resolution of this VENUS planar headphone is there with a form of "liquidity" which he believed was only suitable for electrostatic headphones.
In any case, it is superior with this sound beauty to the Sundara and its old LCD2 Fazor and from my friend's point of view, it is preferable to the HD800S and perhaps even to the CLEAR which he likes very much.
It's also superior to the HD58X, thanks to a larger, airier image.
It is more resolving than its headphones ATH-R70X and joins its Beyerdynamics on this criterion, while providing smoother reproduction.
After listening to baroque music in recordings with significant reverberations, its superiority became evident to him through the definition, the mastery of resonances and an excellent staging of the speakers.
The female voices are also magnificently reproduced, with this softness which had disconcerted him at first and which is ultimately a high level of resolution.

In short, to faithfully reproduce Hans Zimmer's film scores, or Symphonic Metal bands, or even Classical or Baroque music, I have very good hope that this VENUS planar headphones will behave like a very great headphone, at the top of everything I've listened to so far, or at least not very far.

 

[eric65]

Hello everyone.

While waiting for the delivery of my Moondrop VENUS headphones (before Christmas, I hope), I had to buy some accessories to fully benefit from my future headphones VENUS, for sedentary use, with my Viva Audio living room headphone amplifier 2A3 (2x3W).

For sedentary use, the Viva headphone amplifier has two 6.35 mm jack headphone outputs (unbalanced).

However, the Moondrop VENUS headphones is delivered with two cables of only 1.2 m in length (for use with a DAP as a priority?; DAP which must be powerful enough to draw all the quintescence from the headphone).

The first cable delivered with the VENUS headphones (1.2 m length) is asymmetrical with 3.5 mm terminations (headphone and amp side); it also comes with a 6.35/3.5 mm jack adapter.
The second cable supplied with the VENUS headphones (1.2 m lenght) is symmetrical with 3.5 mm (headphone side) and 4.4 mm (symmetrical) terminations on the amplifier side. It would be more qualitative than the first cable delivered, because it's a 6N copper cable silver plated Litz wires.

See photos below (spoiler).

Spoiler

For sedentary use (with my Viva 2A3 amp) and to be able to use these two cables (in asymmetrical mode, with my headphone amp and its unbalanced 6.35 mm jack outputs), I ordered the following two accessories.

1.5 m cable extension FURUTECH ADL iHP-3563 3.5 mm female Jack to 6.35 male Jack cable.

DD DJ44C MKII Jack 4.4mm Balanced Female to Jack 3.5mm Asymmetrical Male Adapter.

See photos below (spoiler).

Spoiler

Spoiler

With this 1.5 m cable extension, with or without this adapter, I could use the two cables supplied with the headphones and I'd have a total cable length of 1.2 + 1.5 = 2.7 m, much more substantial for sedentary use, in my living room, with this headphones amplifier of 2 x 3 W.

Otherwise, you will find below, as a spoiler, a whole series of comparisons of FR of the Moondrop VENUS planar headphones versus other known headphones, some of these headphones compared with FR quite close to that of the VENUS, and also close to the response of a "neutral" headphone, balanced frequency response.
Are affected (in addition to the Moondrop VENUS), by this balanced frequency response, the Focal CLEAR and the Hifiman SUSVARA headphones, but also the Hifiman SUNDARA headphones (2020).

These frequency response curves in no way predict the resolution capabilities of a headphone (for example Susvara resolution >> Sundara resolution) nor their "fineness", but they are a good prediction of the tonal fidelity of the headphone, more or less less well balanced (for the 3 registers: bass, medium, treble).
Likewise, the imaging of a headphones the width and depth of the soundstage, its precision (separation and focusing) are not predicted by these FR curves.

As already written, the finesse and resolution of the Moondrop planar VENUS seem excellent, as does its imaging.
The resolution and "fluidity" of the VENUS sound reproduction would approach and even equal some of the best electrostatic headphones on the market, with astonishing tonal fidelity.

Otherwise, don't be offended if your favorite headphones deviate significantly from the so-called balanced frequency response proposed by Crinacle and by the RAA measurement site; this just means that the headphones in question are distinctive, which is often intended by the manufacturer (and often appreciated by the buyer), giving them a certain "character".

Spoiler

 

[eric65]

Hi all.

For 50% of the price of the VENUS, you also have the Moondrop PARA, another planar headphones from the manufacturer, which has just been released; headphones small in price, but not in the size of the planar driver, gigantic (also 100 mm in diameter and 2 x 18 neodymium magnets, like the VENUS), but with a new membrane, the thickness of which is however not specified .
It is also less heavy than the VENUS.

A future bestseller planar headphones?

https://moondroplab.com/en/graph



https://boizoff.com/language/en/moondrop-para-headphones-review/

https://headfonics.com/moondrop-para-review/
https://headfonics.com/moondrop-venus-review/

https://www.headfonia.com/moondrop-para-review/

https://www.headphonesty.com/2023/11/review-moondrop-para/
https://www.headphonesty.com/2023/01/review-moondrop-venus/

https://unheardlab.com/2024/01/23/review-of-moondrop-para/
https://unheardlab.com/2023/02/17/moondrop-venus-the-silvery-one-measurement-and-review/

 

[Ginryuu]

I heard them from a sound demo here:
And I think it sounds really good.
But sound demos aren't really a good indicator because in real life it will always sound different (especially if you are using your own, different equipment).
So can someone here who owns them say how accurate or not accurate the sound demo is?

Edit: Refreshing how everyone is ignoring my question.

 

[eric65]

Hi all.

I find the FR curve of the Moondrop PARA quite similar to that of a certain ... Sennheiser HD-600 headphones, with perhaps a little more bass and treble (which the HD-600 lacks), but still the same hump in the upper midrange, at 3 KHz, which I personally don't like very much, as it makes female voices sound a little "rough" and typified towards that high-pitched accent.

The VENUS, meanwhile, has a significantly different FR curve to the PARA, lacking the Moondrop PARA's (and HD-600's) 3 kHz level hump (which must be audible) and probably with a little more sub-bass level and better treble extension than the Moondrop PARA (and even more so than the Sennheiser HD-600, which is a little behind in the area of frequency extension at both ends of the audio spectrum).

According to Headfonics review, the soundstage precision and openness of the VENUS headphones (properly powered, with a powerful power supply, not a basic DAP) would go further than that of the PARA; as for the resolution of these two headphones, it's likely that it's not the same ; and I suppose that the VENUS's is the better, especially if the VENUS uses a thinner diaphragm than the PARA's; the PARA's thickness is unspecified, whereas the VENUS's is 2 micrometers (a thickness comparable to that of the Stax SR-009's diaphragm, by the way).

 

[eric65]

Hello again.

If we can assume that the resolution (and technicality) of the Moondrop VENUS is superior to that of the Moondrop PARA (half the price of the VENUS) (see my previous post), this seems to be a given for the VENUS compared to the Hifiman ANANDA (of a price equivalent to the VENUS).

ANANDA (versus VENUS)

Quote from this review (linked below):

" If the Venus shares half its traits with the Sundara, it shares the other half with the $700 Ananda. The biggest difference between the Venus and these two headphones is their staging and layering. The HiFiMan Edition XS and Ananda are more open than the Venus. This comes hand-in-hand with a wider soundstage, better imaging, and more space for instruments to thrive in. Simply put, the Ananda is more effortless than the Venus with its sound presentation with clearer layering.

The Venus is once again more tonally correct with better midrange clarity and detail retrieval than the Ananda. Its treble is also better tuned than the Ananda’s. Despite them looking similar on a graph, the Ananda’s somehow sound rougher than the Venus’ with harder peaks. Bass dynamics on both are fairly similar though the Venus does extend further into the subbass. However because the Ananda doesn’t dip as much, it feels like it has more bass quantity. Not to mention its bass is better controlled with better definition. "

Source: https://headphones.com/blogs/review...ook-at-headphone-s-most-promising-new-entrant

Note: the frequency response of the Hifiman ANANDA seems surprisingly close to that of the Moondrop PARA, with the same characteristic level hump at 3 KHz (also shared by the Sennheiser HD-600).

 

[Terriero]

You are doing a lot of research... At the end, I hope you like them a lot I don't know why, but put in front of me something like the 400 Pros or 58Xs and those new planars (MM-100, these Moondrops or the new Fiio FT-5) and I will always get the Sennies... Maybe is because the aesthetics or that I think they are more comfortable, due to it's weight... I don't know...

I would wish to try them all, but you know I live in a small island, floating on the Atlantic ocean

 

[Terriero]

BTW, Eric. I tried briefly a modified Hifiman HE5XX (with the 650 headband and the Blutak mod for enhance the bass frequencies) and I liked them. But I found the sound very polite, with nothing spectacular to show. The HD 800 give to me a lot of incredible moments while listening to music and I had to decide between them and the HD 800 (when I can use those extremely open headphones that leakage a lot of sound)... So, at the end, I sold them... That's my only experience with planar headphones.

 

[eric65]

BTW, Eric. I tried briefly a modified Hifiman HE5XX (with the 650 headband and the Blutak mod for enhance the bass frequencies) and I liked them. But I found the sound very polite, with nothing spectacular to show. The HD 800 give to me a lot of incredible moments while listening to music and I had to decide between them and the HD 800 (when I can use those extremely open headphones that leakage a lot of sound)... So, at the end, I sold them... That's my only experience with planar headphones.

Good evening Terriero.

As I understand it, the Hifiman HE5XX is the Drop version of the Hifiman DEVA.

Its tonality is very good (frequency response very close to Crinacle's target curve), but its technicality is unremarkable see quite average (C rating, according to Crinacle).
Crinacle gives the following comments for the DEVA: "Neutral - Probably the most "mellow" of the Hifiman planars with the least resolving ability".

In comparison, the Sennheiser HD-800 (brighter in the treble), though less tonally neutral than the HE5XX/DEVA , is far better technical than the DEVA (note: HD-800 rated S by Crinacle) with the following comment: " Bright neutral - Arguably the king of soundstage and raw detail, though at the cost of its infamous treble spike (at 6 KHz). "

We can largely understand that you prefer your Sennheiser HD-800 headphones to the Hifiman HE5XX / DEVA; the HD-800 being more spectacular (and high-performance) than the HE5XX, more "mellow".

Otherwise, if we consider that the Moondrop VENUS planar headphones are better balanced for FR (tone) than the Hifiman Ananda, and that the resolution of the VENUS is superior to that of a Focal Clear, and similar to that of electrostatic headphones like the Stax SR-007, well, that's all to the good for the future rating of these headphones in relation to the other headphone models evaluated by Crinacle. I'm giving them an S/S rating, just like the Hifiman Susvara (considerably more expensive and harder to amplify, it must be said).

 

[eric65]

BTW, Eric. I tried briefly a modified Hifiman HE5XX (with the 650 headband and the Blutak mod for enhance the bass frequencies) and I liked them. But I found the sound very polite, with nothing spectacular to show. The HD 800 give to me a lot of incredible moments while listening to music and I had to decide between them and the HD 800 (when I can use those extremely open headphones that leakage a lot of sound)... So, at the end, I sold them... That's my only experience with planar headphones.

Hi Terriero.

If you love the sound of your Sennheiser HD-800, you might like the sound of the Moondrop VENUS even more, for the three reasons given in the French HCFR forum (link below), which I translate (my comments) here:

https://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/post181273133.html#p181273133

" With this in mind, for fans of the HD-800S (or the modified "moded" version of the HD-800 Stock to reduce the HD-800 Stock's "infamous treble spike" in the treble at 6 KHz, which hurt (or can hurt) some sensitive ears in the treble), well I think that if we consider, for a majority of listeners, that the HD-800S is an improved (corrected) version of the HD-800 stock (unmodified), well, we can also assume that the VENUS is itself an improved version of the Sennheiser HD-800S (and even more so of the HD-800 stock), at least in terms of frequency, by improving (partially correcting), three frequency defects of the HD-800S:

1- the frequency peak at 6 KHz, which is even less "infamous", and which impacts on the fidelity of upper vocal harmonics.
2- the frequency dip at 2 KHz (partially filled in), which also impacts vocal fidelity.
3- the HD-800S's lack of bass and sub-bass (relative to treble).

And all this while retaining the excellent resolution and rather spacious imaging of these illustrious high-end Sennheiser headphones, at least much more spacious than those of a Focal Clear or Utopia...

Enough to reconcile those who, like me, found the HD-800 Stock, as it were, perfectible... "

 

[Terriero]

Thanks very much Eric... I will wait for your impressions when you receive them