[AmericanSpirit]

Thanks a lot. Just saw that the Moondrop Variations (EST) will be announced respectively presented on May 28 https://twitter.com/MoondropLab/status/1397358085463842819

Great! thanks for sharing! I'm kinda feeling a sense of some relief because they somehow avoided "Variants" naming....

 

[GDunlop]

Here you go:
Driver composition: I may be a prophet because I mentioned exact same config right before Moondrop's response
Outlook: Blessing 2's shell, faceplate most likely final as shown in the pic
Expected release date: maybe next month
Price: My guess & hope is 2888CNY or 2999CNY, $449USD or $469USD. Because they sell 1999 for Blessing 2. Obviously, Sonion EST could be purchased for less than $120(available on aliexpress for individual purchases), so my guess for commercial lot purchases is that they will be able to source around $80. Oh and Chinese love number 888, it’s like triple 7s Chinese version.

Based on assumption for Knowles TWFK unit price for 1 TWFK is $50.36 and 100 lot’s unit price is roughly 25-30% off, $34.28.

$320+80 =400 + some margins on development / manufacturing direct cost + indirect overhead cost accounts for $50-70.

Also with $450-470 they can stay very very competitive against DUNU EST112, Thieaudio Oracle/Excalibur, TRI Starshine, and a bunch of other mid-range tribrids.
Here is my analysis about the weakness of blessing2 and Moondrop seemed to be also aware of that and trying to improve.

Interesting. Not sure if I'll go for this if the dynamic driver is the liquid crystal display one. Although I love the tonality of the Aria I seem to have an intermittent problem with it where the sound drops out of either one of the earpieces. When I looked around it looks as if condensation in the metal ear pieces can be the cause of this. They seem to work perfectly fine in the house but if it's wet outside or cold then I seem to get these issues of sound dropping out.

At first it was the right ear piece where this happened where the sound would drop out after about a couple of hours of listening to them. I did email HiFiGo about sending them back and getting a replacement or repaired and they said they would do but they said to check and make sure nothing was inside the ear piece first. So I said I would give them another go and for a while they worked fine but I think this was down to the weather being a bit warmer. I went out last Friday and it was raining outside but this time the left ear piece dropped out while the right one was working fine. The same thing happened on Saturday as well though it was just cold and not raining. When I got home they started working again after a short time of being in the house.

I was going to see if the problem would go away since the problem just transferred over to the other ear piece and perhaps maybe it was just breaking in the dynamic driver or something. Like I said when I got home they started working again. Not to mention I am using the Monarchs just now so I've not been using them the last couple of days.

 

[fast edi]

Regarding the difference between the Clairvoyance and the Monarch, if I am not wrong, because of their different driver configuration, they also had a different shape, especially in the nozzle angle. There were photos where you could see a clear difference.

 

[GDunlop]

Regarding the difference between the Clairvoyance and the Monarch, if I am not wrong, because of their different driver configuration, they also had a different shape, especially in the nozzle angle. There were photos where you could see a clear difference.

Well Here is a pic showing the comparison and pics of mine. Certainly looks like a Monarch shell to me.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Interesting. Not sure if I'll go for this if the dynamic driver is the liquid crystal display one. Although I love the tonality of the Aria I seem to have an intermittent problem with it where the sound drops out of either one of the earpieces. When I looked around it looks as if condensation in the metal ear pieces can be the cause of this. They seem to work perfectly fine in the house but if it's wet outside or cold then I seem to get these issues of sound dropping out.

At first it was the right ear piece where this happened where the sound would drop out after about a couple of hours of listening to them. I did email HiFiGo about sending them back and getting a replacement or repaired and they said they would do but they said to check and make sure nothing was inside the ear piece first. So I said I would give them another go and for a while they worked fine but I think this was down to the weather being a bit warmer. I went out last Friday and it was raining outside but this time the left ear piece dropped out while the right one was working fine. The same thing happened on Saturday as well though it was just cold and not raining. When I got home they started working again after a short time of being in the house.

I was going to see if the problem would go away since the problem just transferred over to the other ear piece and perhaps maybe it was just breaking in the dynamic driver or something. Like I said when I got home they started working again. Not to mention I am using the Monarchs just now so I've not been using them the last couple of days.

yea, I mentioned on Moondrop thread, that muffled midrange or you called "sound drops" has two sources of cause:
1: the "condensation in the metal earpiece
2: the stock cable
Here is the highlight of findings and mod instruction of Aria. If you use some toothpick-like tool to remove the hex shape dumper filter, then recabling the Aria, its bass response will be almost Pure-beryllium like elastic and organic touch.

LCP driver itself got good potential and if Moondrop used the LCP on Blessing 2's shell there is no way they can attach the "evil" hex shape iron dumper filter, as Blessing 2 only has small acoustic dumpers in the sound tunnel, not outside the nozzle.

Also as per instructed by Aria's user guide, the manufacturer mentioned LCP got problems out of the box, and it needs 100 hours of burn-in to get the kick.

 

[fast edi]

Well Here is a pic showing the comparison and pics of mine. Certainly looks like a Monarch shell to me.

Yeah, no doubt, yours is the Monarch.

That shape is much more reliable than comparing the plates.

 

[igor0203]

Hmm, My first recommendation is a mid-range DAP, then MEST MKII, since you already have a great IEM, the value-to-performance will benefit more from investing in DAP.
I looked for many DAP reviews and concluded to land on FiiO M11 Pro, as it can stream music with its upsampling DAC capability. (And of course, I was FiiO fanboy for like 13years since their cheap plastic FiiO E3 which cost less than a pack of tobacco in some US states)

I listen mostly on desktop so I don't see use for DAP. If I'm on the go, I use Qudelix 5k,otherwise it's either O2+ODAC or Hidizs S9, both with plenty of power and excellent SNR.
Thanks for the suggestion, perhaps I'll start saving up for MEST

 

[AmericanSpirit]

I listen mostly on desktop so I don't see use for DAP. If I'm on the go, I use Qudelix 5k,otherwise it's either O2+ODAC or Hidizs S9, both with plenty of power and excellent SNR.
Thanks for the suggestion, perhaps I'll start saving up for MEST

Yea the cable of MEST MKII is crazy $562 PW Audio Copper M2...Surely it matches very well with Thieaudio's and any other IEMS to play with too. I doubt and can't justify a cable cost over $100 but things exist and if it came with as an IEM companion, sure, why not. Without price tag, yes it is a very nice and great cable to play with.

 

[igor0203]

Jesus, do you also get golden bar with this cable?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Jesus, do you also get golden bar with this cable?

lmao yes, probably using the "anti-matter" thing! Although the product guide says, copper.
They even sell $5k cable I take that as 2022 early April's fool.

 

[igor0203]

Fooook.. I'm curious how many did they sell, probably a few

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Fooook.. I'm curious how many did they sell, probably a few

my bet is the same, probably less than 100 sets but they make half a million fortune out of the cable that could cost like $200 max. Good business.

 

[GDunlop]

yea, I mentioned on Moondrop thread, that muffled midrange or you called "sound drops" has two sources of cause:
1: the "condensation in the metal earpiece
2: the stock cable
Here is the highlight of findings and mod instruction of Aria. If you use some toothpick-like tool to remove the hex shape dumper filter, then recabling the Aria, its bass response will be almost Pure-beryllium like elastic and organic touch.

LCP driver itself got good potential and if Moondrop used the LCP on Blessing 2's shell there is no way they can attach the "evil" hex shape iron dumper filter, as Blessing 2 only has small acoustic dumpers in the sound tunnel, not outside the nozzle.

Also as per instructed by Aria's user guide, the manufacturer mentioned LCP got problems out of the box, and it needs 100 hours of burn-in to get the kick.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will clarify one thing. When I mean the "sound drops", I mean it either cuts out completely or is barely audible. Perhaps I just need to burn them in a bit more. The first time it happened I switched the cable first thing when I got home with the SSP one and I was still having an issue with the sound. It started working again like a half hour afterward. I guess what you are recommending above is that I take out the hex metal filter and only use the cloth filter that comes with it. Any idea what the hex filter is doing to cause this issue? Is it because it attracts moisture? Is it an electrical type thing?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Thanks for the suggestion. I will clarify one thing. When I mean the "sound drops", I mean it either cuts out completely or is barely audible. Perhaps I just need to burn them in a bit more. The first time it happened I switched the cable first thing when I got home with the SSP one and I was still having an issue with the sound. It started working again like a half hour afterward. I guess what you are recommending above is that I take out the hex metal filter and only use the cloth filter that comes with it. Any idea what the hex filter is doing to cause this issue? Is it because it attracts moisture? Is it an electrical type thing?

oh wow! not a SQ thing but QC problem it seems, I'm pretty sure if you tag @MOONDROP they will respond very quickly and may ship the replacement or something.

 

[GDunlop]

Interesting. Not sure if I'll go for this if the dynamic driver is the liquid crystal display one. Although I love the tonality of the Aria I seem to have an intermittent problem with it where the sound drops out of either one of the earpieces. When I looked around it looks as if condensation in the metal ear pieces can be the cause of this. They seem to work perfectly fine in the house but if it's wet outside or cold then I seem to get these issues of sound dropping out.

At first it was the right ear piece where this happened where the sound would drop out after about a couple of hours of listening to them. I did email HiFiGo about sending them back and getting a replacement or repaired and they said they would do but they said to check and make sure nothing was inside the ear piece first. So I said I would give them another go and for a while they worked fine but I think this was down to the weather being a bit warmer. I went out last Friday and it was raining outside but this time the left ear piece dropped out while the right one was working fine. The same thing happened on Saturday as well though it was just cold and not raining. When I got home they started working again after a short time of being in the house.

I was going to see if the problem would go away since the problem just transferred over to the other ear piece and perhaps maybe it was just breaking in the dynamic driver or something. Like I said when I got home they started working again. Not to mention I am using the Monarchs just now so I've not been using them the last couple of days.

Fair enough. I have quoted my previous post and I will tag @MOONDROP.