Time to get downvoted for my honest opinion:
The Moondrop Kadenz
Yes, single driver, but if you read reviews people compare it with the Blessing 3.
I've gone above 1000$ twice and regretted it both times. Single DD coherency cant be beat for me'
Hi guys, a few months ago I saw an interesting format in the watches sub and I decided to take inspiration from it.
I recorded the hours of my IEMs used in the last 2 months, in total I stopped at just over 400 hours, it was an interesting experiment especially to understand what I can sell and what is not used.
I'll leave you some impressions and comments:)
* Punch audio Martilo: In the end they were my most used between Work, Music, Gym and Gaming. I must say that lately I listen to a lot of phonk
* Tangzu Tianpeng: They replaced my Bajie, excellent quality and accessories for more refined listening at home or excellent for gaming
* Tanchjim Force: They are becoming my favorites, already heard at various fairs and lent by a friend, excellent aesthetic and design, sound similar to my beloved Meteor, but they are less goofy and therefore I can also wear them on trains or at work, I will definitely increase the hours
* Moondrop Kadenz: Great all-rounders, simply top, but I'm using the Forces more for a similar sound. They're perfect for work.
* Moondrop Meteor: Among my favorite flagships, but I'm more comfortable with the Tanchjim as they are more discreet, I listen to the Meteor at home in peace
* Fatfreq Deuce: They were the most used for the same reasons as the Martilo, but I prefer the Punch Audio for design and comfort. The bass is perfect in both.
What's your budget? I don't listen to these artists much, but similar-ish artists like Sheena Ringo, Hikura Utada.
My go to pair for late 90s-00s j-pop is Moondrop Kato (which is discontinued, and replaced by extremely similar Moondrop Kadenz). These are vocal forward with some bass, but not overpowering. On upcoming sale they should be available in the $150-170 range. Moondrop Aria 2 is much cheaper, but a bit more v-shaped, but should still be a good choice. Full price is around 99usd, and should be able to get a decent discount with 11.11 sale or black friday.
I would say Kadenz is a very good DD but it is bit overpriced in the current market. It's resolving and neutral but comes with the usual Moondrop 1DD criticism that that tuning is too safe and that it's not significantly different from the many other 1DDs that came before it like Kato. Really depends on how much you like Moondrop VSDF tuning to be honest. But I think most people would say it does not have the detail and wow-factor of other high-end DDs like Origin, EA1000, FD15, etc. And $200-ish dollars can buy you a hell of a hybrid these days.
Maybe try something cheaper first. I think Zenith, EA500/LM, Unicrom, 4U give the Kato a run for it's money and maybe it's wrong to judge the Kadenz by the Kato but it really is 90% the same IEM. Try the Aria 2 or better yet a used/on-sale Kato.
Don’t know if it’s a value rec, but my favourite IEM right now are the Moondrop Kadenz at $250. They have that Moondrop sound signature I absolutely fell in love with from my Original Starfields, but are somehow more detailed and come with an amazing cable and are a great deal in terms of accessories. I can’t say there is any planar iems I like better than my single dynamic driver iems.
Other honorable mentions include the Kinnera Idun 2.0, the Tanchjim Fission (though that’s the least bassy Tanchjim iem, so maybe look into the Noras), and for high quality bass at a very low cost, the Meze Albas.
If you really don’t want to spend much, Moondrop also offers the Aria 2s which you can get for $80, but I can’t say I love them nearly as much as either my old Starfields or the Kadenz.
If you really want that BASS, you really might want to look into the Meze Alba which go for $130. It is not my favourite by any means, but it’s as detailed as anyone will need them to be and are absolutely delightful. I’ve ended up pairing them with tri-clarion tips and a nice soft kbear 4.4mm cable that sits flush with the iems. They are very enjoyable for not much money.
Moondrop Kadenz.
At this point I’m sure it’s just because it’s the sound I got the most used to and grew to love above others, but they just sound like slightly more detailed and somehow a little more pleasant starfields.
Other than the amazing sound, the cable is super nice, they come with a 3.5 to 4.4mm adapter and they come with a tiny usb-c 4.4mm dac. It’s like everything about them is what I want them to be.
I have compared them to a fair bit! I like them better than any Tanchjim, Moondrop or Kinera iem I’ve tried.
They have that very distinctive Moondrop house sound that’s kinda the same sound signature you’ll get from cheaper Moondrop iems, but they’re more detailed than say my original starfields or aria 2.
I can’t compare them to kilobuck iems, but to me they are as pleasant to listen to as some of my favourite headphones (meze 109, sennheiser 660s, and Sundaras) so I really do believe it’s hard to get better for the price.
Overall, I highly recommend them.
The fit is a little weird since they fit further out on your ear so you might have to size up with your tips or try different tips. That’s still totally fine, they can still be super comfy with the right tips and come with 3 nozzles to help with the fit (long, medium, and short despite them all being a bit too short).
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7Hz
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76% positive of 493 users
Budget gaming pick, but poor cables and polarizing bass.
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