Moondrop Cosmo Planar Flagship Headphones?

[Deleted member 89070]

Hello fellow ASR members,

I was doing a bit of research online - Since I want to add a new headphone to my collection. This headphone looks like a real winner: https://moondroplab.com/en/products/cosmo

Also see this link: https://unheardlab.com/2024/09/21/review-of-moondrop-cosmo-true-flagship-yet/

As headphone technology marches on, we sometimes see better measurements. And sadly, or far too often, we are given claims of superlative performance, only to be disappointed.

Has anyone heard these headphones before / or has this topic already been discussed? Please excuse me if it is already common knowledge.

I like the way headphone reviews are written on ASR; so I'd like to see it measured one day. Subjective listening tests thereafter are also vital, since Amir tends to catch problems quickly, and in the right areas. Additionally, an EQ curve for better listening enjoyment and/or accuracy is much appreciated.


Kind regards,

Dillon K.

 

[AryaStealth]

Keep in mind that Moondrop headphones are heavy, 600gr or 21oz on your head with less than optimal weight distribution can be very uncomfortable.
Cosmo measurments seem like it is a relaxed sounding and non fatiguing headphone, so you are welcome to try it and let us know if you liked it.

 

[thewas]

The new and cheaper Para 2 measures rather more neutral (around 8:20):

 

[Misguided]

I may buy the Para 2 once the price drops and try the pad change. The original Para is now about £230 on Amazon, if the 2 drops to around that and can be made to sound as good as a Susvara with different pads it is very tempting.

 

[Deleted member 89070]

The new and cheaper Para 2 measures rather more neutral (around 8:20):

thanks for the insight!

Do you know of a headphone that measures even better? Like TOTL?

 

[thewas]

thanks for the insight!

Do you know of a headphone that measures even better? Like TOTL?

You are welcome, frequency response measurements on headphones are unfortunately not absolute due to their interaction and dependency on the ear geometry and sealing but maybe you want to see also this very recent video of theirs for some recommendations in varying price classes:

 

[tunwen]

Hi Dillon,

As an enthusiast of Moondrop’s headphones, I would like to share some crucial information that may impact your purchasing decision.

Firstly, in terms of timing: Moondrop recently unveiled two new headphones on August 15th, with the Laputa positioned as the successor to the Cosmo. This decision was made following the lukewarm reception of the Cosmo in the Chinese market. The Laputa is already available in Chinese online stores and is set to launch in European and US markets within the next 1-2 months. The Laputa reportedly offers lower distortion and an improved frequency response curve, as shown in this link:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-moondrop-darkside-and-moondrop-laputa.64930/

I also want to provide some insight into Moondrop's design philosophy for over-ear headphones: The company primarily tunes their headphones to the diffuse field target curve rather than the Harman curve. This choice is influenced by CEO Zheng Hanpeng's admiration for the Sennheiser HE-90, which he considers the ideal sound signature. Most of Moondrop's planar magnetic headphones, including the Venus, Para (First generation), and the newly released Darkside and Laputa, follow this diffuse field tuning philosophy to replicate the HE-90's sound and minimize distortion.

Fig 1. Frequency response of Sennheiser HE-90 vs Moondrop Para measured by Woodenears.

However, the Cosmo and Horizon represent a departure from this philosophy. Zheng Hanpeng mentioned in a recent interview that these models were not tuned to match a specific target curve but were designed for listening to Japanese anime music from the late 1980s to early 2010s, especially main theme songs of the animes.

The designing philosophy behind these models is intriguing: Much of the anime music from that era was mixed using Yamaha NS-10 monitors, known for a very uneven frequency response between 1kHz and 4kHz. If you compare the Cosmo's frequency response with that of the Yamaha NS-10, you'll notice they essentially cancel each other out in the 1-4kHz range - which was precisely the engineering goal.

Fig 2. The frequency response of Yamaha NS-10.

Fig 3. The frequency response of Moondrop Cosmo measured by Woodenears.

However, given the underwhelming sales performance of Cosmo in the Chinese market, Zheng Hanpeng has since acknowledged in interviews that the Cosmo and Horizon were "failures" and future Moondrop headphone designs are expected to return to the diffuse field tuning style reminiscent of the Sennheiser HE-90.

The video link of this interview is as follows. Unfortunately, it is only available in Chinese and the video publisher has prohibited any form of re-posting.
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1VNtHzqEC1/

Therefore, I recommend waiting for the Laputa if you are interested in Moondrop's latest offerings or exploring their other models that adhere to the established diffuse field tuning philosophy.

Best regards,
Tunwen

 

[Soria Moria]

Japanese anime music from the late 1980s to early 2010s, especially main theme songs of the animes.

I rarely hear anime openings/outros with good mixing, even recent ones. They very often sound quite muffled and lacking higher frequencies.

 

[tunwen]

I rarely hear anime openings/outros with good mixing, even recent ones. They very often sound quite muffled and lacking higher frequencies.

I agree with your perspective on the anime openings/outros. In fact, this issue is also addressed directly by Zheng Hanpeng in the above interview. He acknowledged that many of these songs suffer from poor mixing and muffled production. These flaws become particularly glaring when listening with headphones tuned to neutral or Harman-aligned targets, which unforgivingly expose the mix's shortcomings.

For fans who grew up with these songs, however, the music transcends technical fidelity; it is deeply intertwined with nostalgia, emotional attachment, and identity. These tracks often function as sonic time capsules, evoking memories of the anime's story and setting. Consequently, many Moondrop users, including Zheng himself, have playlists dominated by these imperfect yet sentimentally significant recordings. A particularly touching moment in the interview highlighted this personal connection. Zheng shared his own playlist, revealing that one of his favorite songs is "Courage," the opening theme from Sword Art Online. As the track played, he sang along to every word with a childlike grin. It seems that his sentiment is the essence of the Cosmo's design philosophy. It wasn't merely about correcting "bad" mixes but about preserving the emotional resonance of music that, despite its technical flaws, holds deep meaning for people like him.

Moondrop's CEO shares his playlist in the interview


In my point of view, this situation presents an interesting dilemma related to the "Circle of Confusion": Should headphones be designed to compensate for flawed recordings, or should users choose gear that best reproduces well-produced music? Zheng's creations—the Moondrop Cosmo, Edge, Horizon, and Para II—were his attempt to resolve this by tuning the frequency response to counteract common mixing flaws. The objective was to make poorly produced anime music subjectively more enjoyable, even at the cost of technical accuracy. Even though this attempt didn't succeed commercially, it was still a fascinating and specific attempt to address this issue.

 

[Somafunk]

Zheng is weird, I’d rather not give any of my ££ to someone who chooses to use sexualisation of childlike images to sell products