• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Moondrop Chu

Jimbob54

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 25, 2019
Messages
11,066
Likes
14,697
Any tricks on how to keep wires behind your ears? Soon as I turn my head, the wire on the opposite side of where I’m looking comes off.
Tuck the shells into your ears more. Am I imagining things or did they ship with some kind of plastic mould you could use over the bend too?
 

RHO

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 20, 2020
Messages
1,182
Likes
1,087
Location
Belgium
Tuck the shells into your ears more. Am I imagining things or did they ship with some kind of plastic mould you could use over the bend too?
Yes, they ship with those rubbery molds. I've tried them and it's even worse then without them. So, unfortunately, I don't think that will help @reasons much.
 

Jimbob54

Grand Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 25, 2019
Messages
11,066
Likes
14,697
Yes, they ship with those rubbery molds. I've tried them and it's even worse then without them. So, unfortunately, I don't think that will help @reasons much.
Oh, I left them in the box too. No chance was I even trying that.

As an aside, I can actually wear the Chu upside down as they are small enough for me. Try that @reasons
 

maverickronin

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jul 19, 2018
Messages
2,527
Likes
3,308
Location
Midwest, USA
Any tricks on how to keep wires behind your ears? Soon as I turn my head, the wire on the opposite side of where I’m looking comes off.

Make a cinch above the Y split with a small zip tie. Tighten it just enough that there's a decent amount of friction, clip the excess, and lock it in place with a drop of glue in the head.
 

versus666

Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2020
Messages
8
Likes
3
I got mine last week and they lasted a grand total of a few days before the left channel crapped out on me.
Had the same experience, the left channel is noticeably quieter after a few days even if I took an extreme care handling them.
 

Walter

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Aug 25, 2020
Messages
856
Likes
1,242
I've found them to be very sensitive to insertion depth of the jack. Sometimes I have to pull it back out a bit from full insertion, or one channel is very weak--forget if it is left or right.
 

julian_hughes

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Aug 23, 2020
Messages
657
Likes
901
I bought a pair from Amazon UK. They sounded pretty good out of the box. With EQ (I used a 5 band eq based on Crinacle's but with a little less emphasis for the low shelf) they were genuinely impressive. But after a day and a half the left earpiece went quiet. I got a refund. I also have a pair of Quarks (ok but not great - I use them for wearing overnight while I nod off to an audiobook). There is a *huge* amount of hype around Moondrop. I agree they do a good job on tuning. But what does that matter if the product is so badly manufactured that it fails to work for more than a few hours? I have experience of Sennheiser headphones working for decades. I have a Sennheiser CX95 IEM I bought in 2009 that now looks like shit but sounds just like it did when new. I also have Shure and Samsung IEMs working for *many* years. I bought the Chu on a whim, thinking that if I like them then maybe I will spend real money on the Kato. But actually I won't be spending another penny on Moondrop products.
 

Walter

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Aug 25, 2020
Messages
856
Likes
1,242
Yeah, my Sennheiser CX300 that I bought in 2004 only failed because they got stuck on something under a pile on my desk and I physically pulled one of them apart last year. They were well made, but cost 3x as much 18 years ago.
 

RHO

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 20, 2020
Messages
1,182
Likes
1,087
Location
Belgium
I bought a pair from Amazon UK. They sounded pretty good out of the box. With EQ (I used a 5 band eq based on Crinacle's but with a little less emphasis for the low shelf) they were genuinely impressive. But after a day and a half the left earpiece went quiet. I got a refund. I also have a pair of Quarks (ok but not great - I use them for wearing overnight while I nod off to an audiobook). There is a *huge* amount of hype around Moondrop. I agree they do a good job on tuning. But what does that matter if the product is so badly manufactured that it fails to work for more than a few hours? I have experience of Sennheiser headphones working for decades. I have a Sennheiser CX95 IEM I bought in 2009 that now looks like shit but sounds just like it did when new. I also have Shure and Samsung IEMs working for *many* years. I bought the Chu on a whim, thinking that if I like them then maybe I will spend real money on the Kato. But actually I won't be spending another penny on Moondrop products.
Well, experiences differ. I would look at moondrop again for my next IEM purchase if I needed one. I've abused the Chu like I have no other IEM and it still looks and performs like new. It got janked out of my ears several times while VR boxing. I can sweat profusely while working out. No problem.
My B2 Dusk also still looks and performs like when it was new.
I'm awaiting delivery of the Aria.
 

edahl

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2021
Messages
398
Likes
328
I bought a pair from Amazon UK. They sounded pretty good out of the box. With EQ (I used a 5 band eq based on Crinacle's but with a little less emphasis for the low shelf) they were genuinely impressive. But after a day and a half the left earpiece went quiet. I got a refund. I also have a pair of Quarks (ok but not great - I use them for wearing overnight while I nod off to an audiobook). There is a *huge* amount of hype around Moondrop. I agree they do a good job on tuning. But what does that matter if the product is so badly manufactured that it fails to work for more than a few hours? I have experience of Sennheiser headphones working for decades. I have a Sennheiser CX95 IEM I bought in 2009 that now looks like shit but sounds just like it did when new. I also have Shure and Samsung IEMs working for *many* years. I bought the Chu on a whim, thinking that if I like them then maybe I will spend real money on the Kato. But actually I won't be spending another penny on Moondrop products.
Moondrop doesn't have a general problem with QC as far a I know. The Moondrop Variations is a well built as they come.
 
OP
Matias

Matias

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
5,031
Likes
10,800
Location
São Paulo, Brazil
Every manufacturer has problems eventually, but when you sell zillions of cheap IEMs they tend to appear more than the handful of high end IEMs sold by other brands. Sure a few customers have bad luck and a unit fails, but just get a refund, replace it or buy another model and life goes on. It is not like there are several complaints about Moondrop IEMs, in fact, most complaints are about finishing chipping off in Aria and Starfield as far as I know.
 

julian_hughes

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Aug 23, 2020
Messages
657
Likes
901
It is not like there are several complaints about Moondrop IEMs, in fact, most complaints are about finishing chipping off in Aria and Starfield as far as I know.
Those well known and widespread complaints are not complaints? The wrong kind of complaint? I'd be very annoyed if I bought IEMs sold with a fancy finish and the paint flaked off. I bought Massdrop Pinnacle IEMs and their very plain paint flaked off and they had a faulty driver. I got a replacement sent me and sold it on.
 

edahl

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2021
Messages
398
Likes
328
So I contacted the Moondrop store and told them about the broken left channel. They asked me to remove the filter. I waited for several days to try it because it sounded kinda ridiculous, but what do you know: the left channel sprung back to life.
 

julian_hughes

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Aug 23, 2020
Messages
657
Likes
901
So I contacted the Moondrop store and told them about the broken left channel. They asked me to remove the filter. I waited for several days to try it because it sounded kinda ridiculous, but what do you know: the left channel sprung back to life.
I just did the same, with the same result. The "filter" was in fact blocking almost all the sound. But the problem is that the filter is a tuning device, and there is a big difference between the sound of a filtered and an unfiltered driver

ixAWSZA.png

That's not my graph. I found it while reading about Chu's on reddit. Someone popped the filter out by mistake while cleaning their IEM. https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/vbza0z
There is no shortage of reddit threads started by people complaining that one side or the other of their Chu went quiet after just days or weeks.

edit:
Also on inspection the other "good" working driver's grill is assembled very crooked and looks like it could fall out any time. I'm not impressed with anything except the tuning.
 

edahl

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2021
Messages
398
Likes
328
I just did the same, with the same result. The "filter" was in fact blocking almost all the sound. But the problem is that the filter is a tuning device, and there is a big difference between the sound of a filtered and an unfiltered driver

ixAWSZA.png

That's not my graph. I found it while reading about Chu's on reddit. Someone popped the filter out by mistake while cleaning their IEM. https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/vbza0z
There is no shortage of reddit threads started by people complaining that one side or the other of their Chu went quiet after just days or weeks.

edit:
Also on inspection the other "good" working driver's grill is assembled very crooked and looks like it could fall out any time. I'm not impressed with anything except the tuning.
That makes sense, I tried it with just the one filter removed on a tone generator and it seemed louder and a if it was resonating longer
 

julian_hughes

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Aug 23, 2020
Messages
657
Likes
901
You can buy new filters from Moondrop, but this is a design fault so is inevitably going to happen again. This budget IEM after a year or two could cost an awful lot of extra money and time. The way the filter and grill are fitted is really poor, the filter being held in place with a tiny dab of not very effective glue, and the grill just kind of stuffed in there on top. I read of one person replacing the filter and instead of using adhesive he used a tiny amount of nail varnish which hardens nicely and doesn't let the filter move around.

Moondrop's own store on aliexpress has the filters at https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000898373412.html You'll notice they don't sell only the filters, you have to buy a bundle including foam tips. On that same page they even state:

Unlike some other IEMs on the market, MOONDROP implements acoustical damper and filter into one package in order to make precise control of frequency response. Its inner damper suffers some risk of comtamination by vapor or earwax which causes volume imbalance.(it's actually #1 cause of warranty issues.)
Their spelling, not mine! I don't have a problem with earwax (there was none on grill or filter) and this "vapor" seem not much more than an excuse for poor design, a deficiency which they see as an opportunity to sell stuff you ought not need.

You can get the same filters without being obliged to buy bundled foam tips at https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/...ssories-for-spaceship-kxxs-starfield-earphone
 

edahl

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2021
Messages
398
Likes
328
You can buy new filters from Moondrop, but this is a design fault so is inevitably going to happen again. This budget IEM after a year or two could cost an awful lot of extra money and time. The way the filter and grill are fitted is really poor, the filter being held in place with a tiny dab of not very effective glue, and the grill just kind of stuffed in there on top. I read of one person replacing the filter and instead of using adhesive he used a tiny amount of nail varnish which hardens nicely and doesn't let the filter move around.

Moondrop's own store on aliexpress has the filters at https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000898373412.html You'll notice they don't sell only the filters, you have to buy a bundle including foam tips. On that same page they even state:


Their spelling, not mine! I don't have a problem with earwax (there was none on grill or filter) and this "vapor" seem not much more than an excuse for poor design, a deficiency which they see as an opportunity to sell stuff you ought not need.

You can get the same filters without being obliged to buy bundled foam tips at https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/...ssories-for-spaceship-kxxs-starfield-earphone
They're sending some filters for free. Honestly don't get the animosity here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RHO

julian_hughes

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Aug 23, 2020
Messages
657
Likes
901
They're sending some filters for free. Honestly don't get the animosity here.
No animosity, just being frank about a really poor design. If there was less hype and more objectivity then companies wouldn't find it so easy to get a free pass when selling products with clear problems. When it comes to measurable audio quality ASR is excellent, but in the absence of similar objectivity in assessing design, build, materials quality some forum threads are as misleading as all that lame fanboy hype train stuff at head-fi.

Moondrop are selling a product with obvious design errors. That deserves description, not praise.
 

julian_hughes

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Aug 23, 2020
Messages
657
Likes
901
An update on Moondrop Chu and filters:

I bought my Chu from Amazon UK. When they failed within 2 days I was refunded but not asked to return the items. I bought, from Shenzhen Audio, a set of Chu filters with tweezers. I replaced filters on each side. It's really tricky as this model's filters are not designed to be replaceable and the adhesive sticks the filters to the tweezers just as easily as to the inside of the IEM. I had to do it a couple of times to have the left and right seem balanced. I was pretty pleased as these are a very nice sounding IEM. That was on Thursday. Today, Saturday, *both* sides went incredibly quiet! I know what it is, of course: it's those mysterious "vapors" mentioned in Moondrop's PR fluff. Those vapors are so mysterious that none of my other IEMs have ever been affected by them. Weird. I think the next step is to just jam some generic acoustic baffle in the tubes and see how they sound. If that works I guess I could end up as lead designer and QC guy for a big audio house in the Peoples Republic. Lucky me. Meanwhile here is a list of all the IEMs I've used over the last 20 or 25 years which have been more poorly designed than the Moondrop Aria:

That concludes the list.
 

julian_hughes

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Aug 23, 2020
Messages
657
Likes
901
On a more serious note: these IEMs do sound much better than average. No, not as brilliant as my Massdrop Plus Universals or JVC HA-FDX1, but still well above average. It is a real shame about the careless design and assembly. Inspired by james444 at https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...jvc-fd01-a-new-contender-for-best-dd-iem.6500 I've ordered some 2-ply swabs to use as acoustic damping and will have a go at modding these CHUs so that they work and continue to work and will update this thread accordingly. I should receive the swabs in 4 or 5 days.
 
Top Bottom