Moondrop Blessing 3 Review

[roog]

At least I was not the only one who was confused

You weren't the only one, I scrolled to the bottom of what looked like an article expecting to see the usual charts to follow. Such was the high polish of 'the material' I thought it was an advert that has slipped though the net!

BTW @amirm I prefer your usual and reassuringly serious looking charts! :0)

 

[RangerAudio]

How do these compare to the Softears Studio 4?

 

[Cuckoo Studio]

How do these compare to the Softears Studio 4?

I have previously published a review of Studio 4, which you can take a look at. Overall, the sound of Studio 4 is warmer.

Softears Studio 4 Review

We will be looking at the Studio 4, which was sent to us by Softears. Below are text and graph content. If you prefer video version: We have previously reviewed Softears' flagship RS10, which is priced at $2,099. The Studio 4 is their product at the $449.00 price point. The packaging comes...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Grooved]

Speaking of it, assuming the speakers/monitors at the tips of a equilateral triangle are the reference, how come the IEMs, playing at the sides of the head, have smaller L/R separation?? Doesn't make sense to me.

I'd like more details on this part too. In the video, it says "compared to flat speakers setup" or something like that, so I don't understand how the sound stage can reduced with IEMs

 

[jae]

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Welcome to Cuckoo Studio review. I'm Anzol, The following content is presented from the perspective of a mixing engineer.

If you prefer video version:

We have received the Blessing 3 sent by MOONDROP, let's take a comprehensive look at its performance. The packaging of Blessing 3 is mainly white, includes earphones, instruction manual, and a headphone bag in the same style, containing earplugs and a 3.5mm cable.

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As a product positioned in the anime style, it seems that the new waifu is also a top priority for some people. The earphone weighs 8.5g and has a solid feel. The body is silver-blue and white in color, with a silver glossy stainless steel cover on the front panel that creates a multi-mirror effect through different angles.

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The MOONDROP and BLESSING 3 logos are also engraved on it, making it look very transparent and clean overall. The body is transparent, allowing you to see the internal parts directly. The horizontally aligned dual dynamic coil, combined with a quad balanced armature structure, can be seen from the nozzles, indicating its design as a three-way frequency characteristic.

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With such an appearance, what kind of core does it have? Let's take a look at how it performs in terms of sound.
Frequency Response: Using Harman 2018 as the standard, the frequency response of Blessing 3 is almost flat in all aspects, with slight low-frequency gain between Harman 2018 and 2019v2. There is no sense of excess in reality. There are some small fluctuations between 5-8KHz, but the amplitude is only about 2dB. At 8KHz, it is around 3-4dB. From 15KHz, there is an overall sense of airiness and high-frequency gain, but this part has almost no actual musical content, and many adults are unlikely to hear this gain. The measurement data was obtained with shallow insertion, which is similar to the depth I experienced during actual wearing and listening. On a very flat basis, this is a pair of slightly airy headphones.

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Distortion: Blessing 3 maintains an excellent level of distortion. The gain of the third harmonic can be seen in many balanced armature+dividing design headphones, which is usually an inherent characteristic and has a low amplitude. Basically, it can be controlled below -50dB. The second harmonic can maintain an extremely low level whether it is at 86dB, 96dB or 104dB SPL. The distortion of the third harmonic will not increase with the increase of sound pressure level, and the playback is very clean. The distortion of the left and right ears is consistent, and there are no quality control problems.

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Now let's enter the Cuckoo Studio mixing space. The very flat frequency response makes the playback of Blessing 3 objective and neutral. All major instruments and vocals are in their correct positions without any exaggeration or reduction. The low frequency is slightly more than expected, which increases the volume of low-frequency instruments such as bass and kick, and also adds some warmth. The high frequency gain may be heared different for different people. For me, the high frequency has a just right sense of airiness without any harshness. The high consistency of the frequency response in both ears without any bias allows for a solid central image. The low distortion and no bias characteristics make the playback of Blessing 3 clear, three-dimensional, and without any coloration or smearing. Putting aside the parameters, Blessing 3 is a reference-level accuracy for me, with dynamic performance and natural low-frequency relaxation, without any sense of dragging.

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As in-ear headphones priced at about $300, Blessing 3 is like a tiger in sheep's clothing.
It has an appearance and product positioning in the anime style, but delivers extremely professional reference-level sound quality. It is also completely sufficient for mixing. These pair of earphones are worth recommending. This is Cuckoo Studio review. Please stay tuned. I will continue to explore the secrets of headphones with you.

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Nice review. Please verify for us if the factory polarity of each channel is correct, as many moondrop earphones have failed in this regard.

 

[Confused_by_tech]

Well I have two pairs of Truthear Crinacle Zero IEM's that have served me well ($50/pr). Has anyone compared them with the Blessing 3? How much am I missing in terms of sound with the Zeros? Blessing 3 sure has the bling.

 

[badspeakerdesigner]

Well I have two pairs of Truthear Crinacle Zero IEM's that have served me well ($50/pr). Has anyone compared them with the Blessing 3? How much am I missing in terms of sound with the Zeros? Blessing 3 sure has the bling.

Those things are just kinda good to the point that I don't think it's worth spending anymore.

 

[Ler0ck]

No display test step like normal?

 

[JaMaSt]

so I don't understand how the sound stage can reduced with IEMs

When you listen to a pair of speakers, some of the music from the right speaker will enter your left ear, and some of the music from the left speaker will enter your right ear. In a well set up speaker system (including a well set up room) this will give the impression that the music is coming from instruments some distance in front of you, i.e. from a "stage".

IEM's can't physically do this. Neither can headphones. Good IEMs and headphones can give you an impression that the music is 180 degrees, and a sense of instrument positioning (example: bass guitar on the right side, electric guitar on the left, drums in the middle). And a well recorded piece of music can enhance the impression of a "soundstage" that you experience with IEMs and headphones via microphone placement and mixing.

What a good set of IEMs can do - better than either speakers or headphones - is give a very sharp level of micro-details. But the music will still largely be "in your head".

Live music, speakers, headphones and IEMs all have their strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Dunring]

I've seen these on eBay in open box condition for $200 a few times. At that price it's worth a try. I have the Truthear Zero and Hexa and Letshuoer S12, so it'll be interesting to see if they're a noticeable upgrade. Keeping the Hexa for now, so comfortable, and not too much bass for gaming (also bigger soundstage than the Zero). If a pair comes up under 200 beans I'll grab it though.

 

[ClosDeLaRoche]

Moondrop S8 review coming soon?

 

[Somafunk]

Crinacle not talking about the Blessing 3

 

[Nango]

Awesome work, and phenomenal presentation - Moondrop should be paying you to use those photos!

Who knows if they do so, hahaha ........

 

[Confused_by_tech]

Yeah this a really nice review. I'd love to read more like it. As for the comment "Who knows if they do so, hahaha ........" it's not my taste in humor but to each his own.

 

[poeb]

Excellent and very well-presented review. I am awaiting the dusk version which Crinacle just confirmed to be underway.

 

[NDRQ]

"It has an appearance and product positioning in the anime style, but delivers extremely professional reference-level sound quality."

Why is that "but" there? I dont see any correlation between to two part of the sentence. The anime style/positioning(what does that even means?) doesnt really effecting the sound...

 

[PeteL]

"It has an appearance and product positioning in the anime style, but delivers extremely professional reference-level sound quality."

Why is that "but" there? I dont see any correlation between to two part of the sentence. The anime style/positioning(what does that even means?) doesnt really effecting the sound...

I think that he means that the industrial design suggest that it’s not targeted at the professionals or audiophiles.

 

[Grooved]

When you listen to a pair of speakers, some of the music from the right speaker will enter your left ear, and some of the music from the left speaker will enter your right ear. In a well set up speaker system (including a well set up room) this will give the impression that the music is coming from instruments some distance in front of you, i.e. from a "stage".

IEM's can't physically do this. Neither can headphones. Good IEMs and headphones can give you an impression that the music is 180 degrees, and a sense of instrument positioning (example: bass guitar on the right side, electric guitar on the left, drums in the middle). And a well recorded piece of music can enhance the impression of a "soundstage" that you experience with IEMs and headphones via microphone placement and mixing.

What a good set of IEMs can do - better than either speakers or headphones - is give a very sharp level of micro-details. But the music will still largely be "in your head".

Live music, speakers, headphones and IEMs all have their strengths and weaknesses.

I know all of that, but thank you for taking time to answer
I should have taken time to be clearer: I wanted more details on the graph system, not on how sound is reaching ears with speakers/headphones...

If an instrument is full panned on the left in a track, it looks more on the left if you listen on IEM/headphones than with speakers (correct setup), I think everybody have always agreed on that, and that's why some people use crossfeed to reduce this feeling that can be unnatural (and matching a bit more the left part reaching the right ear, and right part reaching the left ear).
So how is it possible that the graph shows an instrument on the left being more centered with IEMs than with speakers?
How they measure then built this graph is what I want to know

 

[asrUser]

"It has an appearance and product positioning in the anime style, but delivers extremely professional reference-level sound quality."

Why is that "but" there? I dont see any correlation between to two part of the sentence. The anime style/positioning(what does that even means?) doesnt really effecting the sound...

Anime art can help to pimp the sound.

 

[VariousArtists]

Nice review. Please verify for us if the factory polarity of each channel is correct, as many moondrop earphones have failed in this regard.

Genuine (and noob) question, is it as big a deal as some people claim?