Moondrop - Variations

IEMs zero regret for travel and workouts. Headphones during work, gaming and bedtime. Also, at mid-fi, IEMs are better in almost every way. Moondrop Variations and EJ07, Butastur, hell even 100€ Etymotics beat any mid fi headphone I tried. At high end, headphones still win.

The more important question is: IEMs with anime boys when? OK but serious answer time: my favourite IEM anime girls have to be Moondrop Variations, followed closely by Moondrop Psyche. Variations girlie has a very pleasing striking colour palette and the outfit is very tasteful. I mean you can’t go wrong with berets! Psyche girl has more lethal face card and better hairdo but I need to see the rest of her outfit. She kinda gives me Otome Isekai girls vibe.  (Yeah both of them have pastel pink hair, I have a taste you can tell). Sharing 3rd place is Tangzu Wan’er Blue and Tangzu Wu Zetian Legend.

I have been in this hobby for more than 1 year. I live in a country where products from China are quite cheaper due to low shipping fees and taxes, which are already cheaper compared to audio products from well-known brands like Sony, Sennheiser, etc. I started looking for an IEM to begin with, and Moondrop May and Truthear Hexa caught my eyes. They are beautiful and cheap, yet got tons of good reviews and recommendations. I bought both. I still remember how impressive the first listening experience was. I was shocked by the sound. I can’t comment much about it now since it was a long time ago. Before that, I often used my AirPods Pro 1 for music. I won’t say the sound quality is better, but I think overall they are different things. It was a new breeze to my ears in a good way. Maybe because I was too familiar with the V-shape sound from mainstream audio products, while these IEMs have totally different tuning and hybrid driver sound as well. I then watched tons of review videos and of course found Crin, learned about how the audio chain works — DAC, amp, dongle, DAP, etc. I won’t mention them in this thread, but I bought and sold a lot just to experience. I found Variations, which is shilled so much by Crin and other reviewers. Luckily, there was a sale deal for a brand new Variations at $300. I bought it and sold my May and Hexa. Thought it was going to be my endgame IEM. And once again, I got shocked by its sound. Due to my limited experience and hearing skills, I won’t comment much about its sound quality, but this set sounds totally different than anything else before, considering May and Hexa already brought me a new world. I was wrong thinking it would be my end game :D though I still keep it till now. I think Crin’s IEM guide, at some point, is really helpful for beginners like me who are seeking something new and can easily get overwhelmed. I stuck with Variations for a long time. It sounds great with most music genres I often listen to, especially pop, EDM, rap, but not old-school hip-hop and R&B. At some point, I gained more knowledge about IEMs and how they are tuned. I realized no IEM or tuning style can fit all. Some shine in modern pop music, some shine in classical, jazz, etc. It’s okay, but not as good as others depending on the genre. I felt I needed an IEM that has mid-bass and lower-mid boost, something that might be good for rock. I love rock music, especially hard rock and classic rock. I decided to buy Fiio FD7, a single-driver IEM which has more mid-bass than Variations. This set has everything I need for rock. It sounds perfect. It almost made me cry when listening to Led Zeppelin albums. Page’s guitar sounds straight to my heart, tbh. BUT it has a very big flaw. It got sibilance :D. Also, this was the first time I knew what sibilance is IRL lol. Cymbals sound super harsh to my ears with metal or alternative. I love it so much, but I cannot afford a set just to listen to a few old rock bands from the 70s–80s. I had a chance to trade it for Moondrop S8. After some time listening, once again this opened my world a little bit more. This set has super, super detail, wide soundstage, like standing in a field. I didn’t care about anything else and was okay with the trade. Till now, I still feel very lucky I got this chance because it’s quite hard to find Moondrop S8 since it’s discontinued, and not many people bought it at its selling price, even though it’s a very good set. Reference sound, detail, everything sounds amazing. This shit sounds engaging while being super detailed. IDK, but it sings, not just sounds. I can hear new sounds that I’ve never heard before in familiar songs I’ve replayed like 1000 times. And yeah, Moondrop S8 is my endgame IEM for the whole year indeed. I still keep Variations for pop music though. Till lately, I decided to buy something new — idk, just something new. I desired the feeling when I got shocked again by a new set of IEMs. I searched the second-hand market for some days since getting a second-hand IEM is often cheaper and I won’t lose much money if I resell it in case it doesn’t sound good to my ears. Then I saw Dusk. At first, I thought this set would sound similar to Variations at some point since Moondrop always tunes their IEMs following the same kind of Harman target with low-mid scoop. After some research, I changed my mind and gave it a chance. There are some reasons for this decision. First, it’s from Crin, whose guide really helped me. I believe in his taste, to some extent. Secondly, Dusk has a super beautiful faceplate. I don’t like full-resin with tons of colors like rainbow IEMs. Even if they sound good, I won’t buy them. They look cheap to me. Dusk sounded meh meh to me at first. I didn’t like it initially because it had too much bass for my ears — boomy, I would say. With analog tuning, I feel everything is thrown to my face: drums, guitar, vocals, cymbals ==. It’s not a comfortable feeling compared with S8 or Variations. Even the DSP tuning sounds a little bit better, but it loses some technicality, sparkle, and treble extension. Though DSP tuning is easier to listen to, it’s not the wow factor I expected or was looking for. I was really disappointed. Really. Then I gave it some days of burn-in (burn-in my brain, not the IEM). I think my brain was too familiar with the thin and clinical sound of S8 and Variations. Now I feel much better and more positive about Dusk. I can hear the bass more clearly. I mean, I can distinguish bass texture from different instruments. The bass hits hard, but in a good way — not just “thump thump” like initially. I decided to keep it and rotate them. Looking forward to seeing how my brain processes and gets familiar with all 3 IEMs :D. I wrote this just to share my experience as a beginner in this hobby and my 1-year journey recap. Of course, I want to hear your sharing about other IEMs, other companies. Still finding wow factor but in money-saving mode haha. Maybe in the next few months I’ll try to find a new set. I really appreciate and feel lucky that I got into this hobby. It’s costly, but I don’t care. I enjoy and love music. Any means that make my music listening better are worth it.

S8 overall the best for me. Variations is the most fun. it sounds tots differently than anything else you could find that why so many people love it. Dusk is more all rounder iem. The more i listen to it, more i like especially its bass. Technically i would say and pretty sure Variations is the worst among 3. I can listen to jazz music with S8 and Dusk but not Variations. One important thing to note that Variations does't have much bass. It has a lot of sub bass boost but only sub bass. the whole tuning is super thin. Sometimes i feel the vocal like floating above my head. It is not bad or weird feeling. Magic :D.

$300? Hardly. It was $520 for years and the price recently got bumped up to $599.

It's hard to explain. When I tried the Moondrop Variations in Japan it was MAGICAL. Music sounded sooo immersive and the highs were airy and sparkly... It's hard to explain. You have to experience it to understand.

Started with the Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk as a blind buy, found it a bit sharp in the trebles at first. Took my ears months to actually get used to the sound and really hear the details coming from the vocals and some instrumental separations. At first, I didn't really enjoy it, tbh. I was craving for more bass so I bought the Moondrop Variations, and that was what I was looking for but at that time I found the sub bass a bit lacking. Why? Cause I came from the Sony XM3 headphones, that's why. It also took me months to years to actually appreciate the sounds coming from both the Dusk and Variations. To my ears, the Variations sounded like a subwoofer whereas the Dusk sounded like someone was singing right in front of me where the instruments are slightly further away. My ears actually started to ring after the listening sessions so I went and got myself a portable DAC(Qudelix 5k), and the listening sessions were more pleasurable with the right volumes. The Qudelix 5k does make them trebles a bit zingly as well. Overall, it took me months to years for my ears to actually discern the details and appreciate what sounds l actually find fun or analytical to listen. I found out that I did not like the Harman tuning as much as the others when it was well known and loved few years back. I ended up with the Thieaudio Monarch Mk4s now after taking a break at the Variations and the Timeless few years back.

But very few that will be genuinely fantastic will. If any at that sort of price point... there might be a a few that are as good & similar to existing sets, but better? Hmm. If I can't listen to something myself (firstly, I usually don't buy it), I'll tend to wait 6-9 months to see if people are still going nuts about them & they were not just some flash in the pan - exactly as I did the Canpur 622B - that's a big spend & I couldn't test them, I waited nine months & the only feedback was still that for what they do, nothing comes close & they're absolutely one of the best audio products ever made & worth every penny. Turns out they were. Certainly for me, there is nothing that has beaten the Moondrop Variations at the $500 mark since they came out & that sentiment was echoed on a poll on here a few months ago... but I don't think they'll be for this chap.

I'd look on the second hand market & get a set of UM Mext. There is a set on Head-Fi classifieds for $440 now (theyre about $1100 new). They have absolutely incredible build quality - a super strong resin that really looks & feels ultra premium, even with a few scratches. They were released a couple of years ago, but they truth is there isnt anything new under $700 that competes for the kind of sound you seem to be talking about. The Thieaudio Hype 4 are really decent & on a similar path, but not a patch on the Mext in either sound or build... and having been into audio gear since the 90s, I've really learnt how important build quality is. My personal favourites new at $500 (if you're lucky - most places are selling for $700 now a they're so difficult to find & I believe they're out of production) are the Moondrop Variations & they won a poll here a few months ago as the best in that price bracket - but I don't think they'll be your thing. Good luck! Always remember: music >>>>>>> gear.

Dita Prelude are absolutely incredible for $159. For me, they're better than Aful 5+2, Tea Pro, Dunu Davinci. The best deal I got for $300 was open box Moondrop Variations, IEMs that I believe can absolutely compete with well regarded $2000+ sets... and most of my sets are $2000-$4000 (I'm older than most of you here at 45, pretty much disabled after a serious illness in 2020 after a lengthy career in music & spend most of my life lying down on my bed working, gaming, music & films... I still make decent money so I will absolutely buy silly money gear). The Variations genuinely do compete with $2000 sets & for me they're the only set that do in the $500 and below category... even going up to $1000, I'm struggling to think of a set I prefer. I think the Prestige Ltd at $1400 are the 'cheapest' set that beats them. If you can find that sort of deal, absolutely worth checking. That said, the Moondrop Dusk (which are around 350) are perhaps better for your musical preference... according to someone I trust. Otherwise the $159 Prelude are unbelievable for the money.

All but one of my sets is less than $1k retail - and that set can trade blow for blow with many well regarded $2000 sets... and out of the hundreds I've heard, it is the only one that I can say that for. It is of course the Moondrop Variations, and they easily sound like a decent $1200 - $1300 set. The only $1k set I own that does not sound like a. $1k set is the Campfire Alien Brain. I'd say 600-700 would be a fair price for these. Fortunately I got them for $500 open box & /they are my out & about set & have the right characteristics for that. My list of others, their retail price & my thoughts as to whether they represent good value. Canpur 622b - $5500 I think this is an INSANE amount of money for a set. I lucked out & bought (technically) secondhand as an unwanted gift & unused. These are so far from my favourite typical kind of set as they have very little sub bass (not that I need to have every set be a basshead set) - BUT - that does not stop them from easily being the most impressive pair I've ever put in my ears. I savour them. I used them twice a week & really make sure I have no distractions & no one is home. For funk/rare groove/soul etc, they are unbelievable. For excellent pop/rock in eg Prince, Queen & MJ, same thing. For the Blade Runner 1982 Vangelis soundtrack - best I've ever heard it & I've heard it a lot. It's really difficult to qualify $5500 as a price for ANY IEM - but if one set does - it's these. Others - Final A8000 - $2000 - absolutely. Most clear & natural anything I've ever heard. For well recorded jazz, absolutely unbeatable. Good with lots of other stuff, too. Empire Ears Raven - $3750 - the best sub bass heavy 'basshead' set that have ever existed IMO. This is basically the dream sound I had in my head as a 'basshead' set & I've been through them all. Absolutely yes - absolutely worth it, but the build quality could certainly be better for that price. Campfire Astrolith - $2200 - the best planar set that exist IMO. Decent value. Incredible proprietary tech. Thieaudio Prestige Ltd CIEM - $1800 - my most used set of all time. All day every day for two years solid. Fatfreq Maestro SE CIEM fully custom - $3500- technically sound, bass is decent but nowhere near the Raven. Still, it's great to have a bottom heavy set that are so comfy, look stunning (my choice of around 200 aesthetic designs + additional options). FiR RN6 - $3000 - the ultimate one & done! Thieaudo Valhalla - $2000 - no idea, haven't arrived yet 😅 I have more but I gotta Run.

I really dislike the Tea Pro. Very dull sounding to me. Not enjoyable at all. I'm really surprised they're so popular - it's not like the Moondrop Variations which are immensely popular (even after five years) and are far, far superior IMO for an extra 150.

I was in exactly the same e-earphones about a month ago, ready to buy something nice. I sat down with fiio fh9, moondrop variations, letshuoer ej07m, final something or other, and something else I can’t remember the name of now, along with my trusty fiio fh5 as reference. As you get more expensive they all get very specific. They all sounded pretty different to each other, all good but different. Before trying them and just from reading reviews I was convinced I was going to be walking out with the fh9. I really didn’t like them in the end. Came home with the ej07m instead. They’re definitely a set up over my fh5. Are they twice as good? Nope. Find a sound you like, try and find what you like that matches that in your price range. And all the better if you go somewhere like e-earphones and try them out. It’s hard!

Should I return my Moondrop Variations for these?

Does good audio get dated though? Lots of other threads recommending to keep the Variations, so maybe I’ll just stick with what works for me

Fosi Audio IM4 (in black), Celest Wyvern Abyss (original, not the remaster), Celest Phoenixcall (clear not the red) , Elysian Pilgrim, Binary Acoustics EP321 in the mosaic color (zero interest in buying it though), Moondrop Blessing 3, Moondrop Blessing 2, Campfire Andromeda 2020, Binary Chopin, HiBy Yacht 10, Celest Pandamon V 2.0 (absolutely gorgeous shells), Tanchjim Soda, Simgot EW300, Softears RSV Mark I, Softears RSV Mark II, Tanchjim Fola, Juzear Defiant in emerald green, Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite in green, Letshuoer Cadenza 4, Simgot EM6L, Crinacle Dusk, Truthear Nova (beautiful shell), Mangird Tea Pro, Truthear Zero Blue 2 (gorgeous shell), Tangzu Xuan NV mainly because of the box art, Tipsy M3 (mid sound, but the shells are drop-dead gorgeous), Moondrop Meteor, Letshuoer S12 Ultra, Moondrop Chu 2, ROSESELSA Aurora Ultra in blue, Softears Volume S, Dunu Kima 2, GK Kunten (hate the shilling but the design is nice), Moondrop Variations in black, Simgot Supermix 4, HiBy Ace, Final Audio A4000, Letshuoer S08, Binary Dynaquattro, Tanchjim Force, Tanchjim Origin, 7Hz G1 in white (too bad the sound isn’t great), Moondrop Kadenz, Divinus Fuduverse Version 1 (not v2), and Tangzu Xue Tao, which I’m pretty sure is what originally sold me on it visually. Edit: Twistura Woodnote, Cadenza 2, Juzear Harrier (in the blue), Ddhifi Surface too