Moondrop - STELLARIS

Probably the Moondrop Stellaris. Pretty universally panned because it's super bright. In fact I bought it and returned it at launch because it was too bright. But recently, I re-bought it on sale from Amazon UK for just over £50. The price keeps dropping, presumably because all the bad reviews mean nobody is buying them. I wanted to see if I could fix it with tip rolling, and in fact, I found with Dunu Candy tips on it, it's no longer super bright. It actually sounds a lot like the Moondrop LAN tonally, but slightly warmer, with stronger bass and much, much more resolving. The fit is a bit weird and I don't think they'd be comfortable for walking around in, but they're fine for relaxing at home. /u/Bobjonez98 recently released an [April Fools review of these](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdLqjwXG7CA). Omar, I wanted to ask if you or Mrs Amigo have tried Dunu Candy tips on these? She said (and I think you've said the same before) that they are a good specialist set for classical. But I listen to basically everything on mine now. The really clean, linear bass works well for things like synthwave and psytrance, which I listen to a lot of, among other things. It's just a different presentation/emphasis to warmer or darker IEMs. What I don't know is whether that effect is unique to how those tips interact with my own ear canal, or if they help straighten out the FR for everyone. I find that, in general, the Candy tips tend to add a downward tilt to the midrange and roll off some of the very high treble, both of which are things the Stellaris needs. They get rid of that fatiguing, metallic shimmer in the air region, and they even out the 2kHz peak so they don't sound as shouty. I still get a bit of shoutiness, but it's nowhere near as bad as you'd think from the FR graph and in some ways it just adds to the unique tuning of these. It doesn't seem to create timbral issues on vocals, it just tends to push certain notes forward more. Currently, for a relaxing evening listening session, I tend to alternate between these, the Letshuoer S08 and the Ikko OH300, as they are all good, with their own unique presentation. I think at this point, with the right tips, the Stellaris and S08 are my 2 favourite planars.

I have about 50 IEMs, so it's a fairly long list. But my current favourites are: 1. Simgot EA1000 2. Letshuoer S08 -- currently tied with Ikko OH300 3. QKZ HBB 4. Moondrop Stellaris -- specifically with Dunu Candy tips^[1] 5. Moondrop Kato -- tied with Ikko OH10 (order changes if I'm inside or outside). 6. Dunu Titan S ^[1] Just because these tips work for me doesn't mean they'll work for anyone else - with other tips these are super bright and fatiguing to listen to.

At least on Amazon UK: * Simgot EM6L is at its all-time low of £83.19 * Moondrop Aria 2 is at £71.99 which I've not been following, but seems like a good deal. Both the grey & red versions are the same price. I've heard conflicting things about whether the Red has a new tuning or not. * Moondrop Stellaris is back! I think it's discontinued and there wasn't any stock for a while there. It's currently £62.99 and got down to £54 before selling out last time. This is very much "caution advised" and only consider buying it if you have a lot of tips to experiment with, or are going to EQ it. I found it sounds amazing with Dunu Candy tips, but they might not work for everyone and it's super-bright normally.

If you want something very neutral then the Truthear Hexa needs consideration. The main downside with it are that the nozzles are quite largev. It's not as massive as the Zero Red/Blue but if you have smaller ears I'd avoid it. Also t has a very narrow soundstage. Another IEM with a similarly neutral tuning but a bit more sub-bass is the Thieaudio Legacy 2. I prefer that one to the Hexa and it's a lot more comfortable. It's slightly more expensive, but not much. Also the L2 has a bit more high treble roll-off although I don't find that sacrifices any detail, it just makes them a bit smoother sounding than the Hexa. These also have much better soundstage than the Hexa. Also sprach Zarathustra sounds very good on these btw; I don't listen to a lot of classical but that's one of my test tracks. I haven't heard the Aria 2 but I do have the Kato which it supposedly sounds nearly identical to, and it's another warm-leaning, mild-v. I think this will tend to sound a bit muddy with classical, compared to some of the brighter or more neutral sets. I wouldn't recommend the S08 either, because it's very tip-sensitive and even if you get good tip match, it's quite a dark tuning. It's great for certain music, but I don't think it will do classical very well at all. The S12 is a better option. Just make sure you have a reasonably good DAC/amp as planars don't always sound at their best when under-powered. Another potential alternative to the S12 is the Moondrop Stellaris. I would advise some caution here, because as it comes out of the box it's really bright and fatiguing. I personally find it becomes less fatiguing than the S12 Pro with Dunu Candy tips, but I can't guarantee those will work the same in anyone else's ears. Still [at least one reviewer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdLqjwXG7CA) recommends them for classical specifically. They do have a much flatter tuning than the S12. At least with the right tips they are a bright-neutral rather than an intense v-shape like the S12. Another non-planar option worth considering is the Simgot EA500. The original, not the LM. The LM is quite v-shaped and also sounds quite closed-in compared to the original. The downside of the EA500 again is, like several of these options can be so bright that it gets fatiguing. In fact it's probably the most fatiguing of these. It has a certain realism though and is nearly as resolving as the planars despite being a 1DD. It has a good sense of dynamics as well the largest soundstage I've heard on an IEM, with pin-sharp imaging. A much safer option is the Moondrop LAN. It's a bright-neutral tuning but regardless of eartips used it doesn't have so much treble energy for anyone to really find it fatiguing. It's also got quite a smooth treble response, and pretty decent soundstage. Short version: Moondrop LAN probably the safest option, but slightly less resolving than some of the others; Stellaris + Dunu Candy tips is a big upgrade iff your ears react to the tips the way mine do. Thieaudio Legacy 2 is another good & safe option.

Have been eyeing the t10 for its size but got scared of planars after owning the moondrop stellaris lol. Jk. I just found the bass slam I was missing in stellaris in the fiio fd3

Perhaps slightly different rec than everyone else but. I find the Moondrop Stellaris to be a great iem for this specific case. 14.5mm Planar, bass is tight and fast, fantastic vocal presence, and sparkly highs (I have hearing loss within the 1k-15k range so they may be a little too bright for most) definitely check out a couple sound reviews and look into their measurements

Moondprop Stellaris Kiwi Ears Quartet

For the fit, but I have to say, the sound isn't my favourite, I don't know, the voices are too nasal, I tried to make up a correction with the EQ but I just don't like them. When it comes to design they are marvelous.