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Moondrop Blessing 3 Review

Rottmannash

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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.
You found the B3 on ebay open box? Wasn't it just released?
 

Spocko

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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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Impressive! May be good for travel and mixing while on the road
 

oscar_dziki

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So considering those measurements, is it an upgrade or downgrade to TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero? As I understand it goes to 1% distortion at 104 db - in this regard it seems to be a downgrade
 

Jimbob54

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So considering those measurements, is it an upgrade or downgrade to TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero? As I understand it goes to 1% distortion at 104 db - in this regard it seems to be a downgrade
Well, the Blessing shell shape actually works in my ears so that's an upgrade.

Personally, if I was looking to spend sub $100 on iem I'd get the TCZ and if looking to spend $300 I'd get the b2 dusk (or wait and see what that B3 Dusk comes out like).
 

oscar_dziki

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Well, the Blessing shell shape actually works in my ears so that's an upgrade.

Personally, if I was looking to spend sub $100 on iem I'd get the TCZ and if looking to spend $300 I'd get the b2 dusk (or wait and see what that B3 Dusk comes out like).
But how is this B3 better than TCZ if TCZ shape is fine for me?
 

Jimbob54

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But how is this B3 better than TCZ if TCZ shape is fine for me?
I don't think it is. I think the b2 dusk is and the B3 dusk is an unknown at this point.

Depends if you want to EQ them. For me the Zero bass needs some tweaking, the B2 Dusk less so. Cant speak for the B3 as I havent heard but looks a bit bass lite for many

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And for my personal tastes- I like a target more like the 2020 IEF curve with a 7db bass shelf- so the B2 Dusk is clearly a better pick for my tastes..

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NDRQ

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I think that he means that the industrial design suggest that it’s not targeted at the professionals or audiophiles.
Meanwhile the usual pro/audiophile headphones are often very far from the reference target.
 

PeteL

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Meanwhile the usual pro/audiophile headphones are often very far from the reference target.
True, professional equipment and reference equipment are two different concept. Pros have different needs and different preferences too.
 

Fifoumed

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I don't think it is. I think the b2 dusk is and the B3 dusk is an unknown at this point.

Depends if you want to EQ them. For me the Zero bass needs some tweaking, the B2 Dusk less so. Cant speak for the B3 as I havent heard but looks a bit bass lite for many

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And for my personal tastes- I like a target more like the 2020 IEF curve with a 7db bass shelf- so the B2 Dusk is clearly a better pick for my tastes..

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Bass quantity seems lower indeed. But thanks to the DD push-pull setup, bass should sound more sharp, dynamic and precise. Frequency curves measured quantity but not timbre (harmonics and harmonics waterfalls, and waterfalls of each played frequency), so very importants matters are lacking. Instruments separations and layerings, etc.
That's why IMO such tests are interestesting, but not fully representative of an audio system quality.
 

oscar_dziki

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I don't think it is. I think the b2 dusk is and the B3 dusk is an unknown at this point.

Depends if you want to EQ them. For me the Zero bass needs some tweaking, the B2 Dusk less so. Cant speak for the B3 as I havent heard but looks a bit bass lite for many
And for my personal tastes- I like a target more like the 2020 IEF curve with a 7db bass shelf- so the B2 Dusk is clearly a better pick for my taste
I will wait for Dusk and buy. If there is no gain I will resell. CTZ sound great anyway:)
 

Haruko

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no tuning works for everyone... maybe in speakers because of the room... iem's are personal and so are the tastes. i for one think that Kiwi Ears Cadenza are extremely very well tuned and Truthear Hexa are unlistenable with piercing lower treble. So yeah... if the iem is following some kind of curve without exceptional peaks and dips it will sound good to everyone but the one you will truly love and feel immersed with will be always following your preferred target curve
 

phoenixdogfan

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no tuning works for everyone... maybe in speakers because of the room... iem's are personal and so are the tastes. i for one think that Kiwi Ears Cadenza are extremely very well tuned and Truthear Hexa are unlistenable with piercing lower treble. So yeah... if the iem is following some kind of curve without exceptional peaks and dips it will sound good to everyone but the one you will truly love and feel immersed with will be always following your preferred target curve
And you can always EQ something to the curve you want, provided you have that expertise, and the IEM has sufficiently low distortion to accept the correction. I have the Truthear Zeros and I've actually impremented Maiky76s EQ to bring them into even greater conformity with the Harman Curve and I like them better for it. They sound very good, but even now to my ears, they have just a tad too much upper midrange/low treble. Eventually I may bring the pinnae gain down a db or two to get to my personal Goldilocks zone.

And it is amazing how even a small adjustment can make a big difference here. Sometimes the difference between "not enough/too little" and "just right" can be one single db.
 

jae

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Genuine (and noob) question, is it as big a deal as some people claim?
It is quite possible is some situations, although most people will say it is not a big deal in many typical ones. If you want a crash course in this and don't want to sift through all the posts about it on ASR and consult peer-reviewed journals I would suggest reading Archi's blog post here: https://archimago.blogspot.com/2019/06/musings-and-listening-on-absolute.html

If fidelity is the goal on your end then it is a standard that should really be enforced in my opinion, especially when we have objective evidence that it can be audible and when all that needs to be done by the company is to ensure two wires are not crossed in their design- something that is a completely normal thing to ensure in electronics/engineering. It might be only a "1% or 2%" problem but it is completely preventable through proper design. The way I see it, is it like you own a clock or a watch that works relatively normally but it malfunctions a few days a year giving you inaccurate time. Even if you liked the watch, wouldn't you rather it simply just didn't do that? Shouldn't you be upset at the company if they knew about the issue and could have sold it without that problem but chose not to do so without any good reason? Frequency response is more or less the only thing that matters with iems for fidelity even more so than typical headphones, and seal/comfort can also be important factors that contribute to the FR and how you interact with the product respectively, but there's no reason a product can't have all those things and also the correct polarity.
 
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Comparing to the B2 these seem to have a cleaner bass response. Better balance at the upper mid. The treble seems nice. In other words, a refined Blessing 2.
 

DrIacozKnows

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Thank you for another excellent review. But as I had already said before, I don't see any reason to buy IEM more expensive than SIMGOT EA500.
 

Aynsley

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But how is this B3 better than TCZ if TCZ shape is fine for me?
I have both and will probably continue rotating B3 → Letshuoer S12 → TCZ because I enjoy the different qualities the three IEMs bring to my enjoyment of recorded music. The TCZ is a wonderful all-rounder, but I find that the B3, and to a lesser extent the S12, add a new dimension to the listening experience. I can't comment on the measured performance, but subjectively the B3 excels in clarity and definition. Listening to some of my favourite tracks, in many genres from classical to rock, I can pick up subtle nuances that I never noticed before. On tracks where I thought that, for example, three guitars were playing in the background, I can now hear four. Clearer reproduction of vocals has helped me decipher slurred lyrics that have puzzled me for decades.
 
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