Moondrop Lab

[CedarX]

Wow, tower iems.

A 13mm DD driver is large for an IEM, but not unheard of. Beyond the typical marketing BS, I wonder how much credit we should give to Moondrop’s claim that the “front chamber”—the large cavity in front of the DD driver > hence the huge ‘z-dimension’ of the IEM— was devised to eliminate the 4.7 and 7.2 kHz resonance's.

Crin, in his video review, noted that Meteor is indeed a super smooth measuring IEM in the high-mids / treble area. How much of that is due to the front chamber size?

I’ll be very interested to get a version of the Meteor without the meteorite backplate (that, I think is pure aesthetics, but technical BS) at half the price: this would be a very PEQ-friendly IEM.

As is… too expensive for me!

 

[markanini]

A 13mm DD driver is large for an IEM, but not unheard of. Beyond the typical marketing BS, I wonder how much credit we should give to Moondrop’s claim that the “front chamber”—the large cavity in front of the DD driver > hence the huge ‘z-dimension’ of the IEM— was devised to eliminate the 4.7 and 7.2 kHz resonance's.

Crin, in his video review, noted that Meteor is indeed a super smooth measuring IEM in the high-mids / treble area. How much of that is due to the front chamber size?

I’ll be very interested to get a version of the Meteor without the meteorite backplate (that, I think is pure aesthetics, but technical BS) at half the price: this would be a very PEQ-friendly IEM.

As is… too expensive for me!

He said it uses a Helmholtz resonator. Maybe the 13mm DD is only part of the equation.

I'm not in the market for Meteor or +$200 IEMs. But if the R&D is legit it will trickle down to inexpensive IEMs over time and that's a net positive.

 

[CedarX]

Moondrop Echo-B
I assumed Echo-B was the dongle version of FreeDSP. I'll have to cut it open to verify if it's the same Synaptics (Conexant) CX31988 chip inside, but if it is, Moondrop has made some improvements on their FW/SW. When Echo-B is connected, the (Android) Moondrop Link app offers:

• 5x EQ presets: 'Normal', 'Bass+', 'Bass++', Sound stage+', 'Treble+'. As with Moondrop MAY IEM, the app does not show what the corresponding EQ filters are.
• 9x PEQ filters: Peak only but, unlike FreeDSP, it appears that Moondrop has lifted all the restrictions--whatever frequency, gain, Q-factor you enter, even with decimals, appears to be accepted, Link no longer protests... Now what actually happens under the hood has yet to be confirmed (measurements...).
• The preset/custom EQ "sticks": it is saved onto Echo-B chip, and will be applied to whatever you connect Echo-B to.

Moondrop Echo-A
This is the one I was the most curious about... mostly because of the advertised 32bits/384kHz, with no EQ. It did not look like any other Moondrop USB-C thingie except, perhaps Quark-2.
The Moondrop Link app completely ignores Echo-A, as in: "it doesn't exist". Nothing wrong with that, it is aligned with Moondrop description: Echo-A is a regular 3.5mm SE dongle, with mic. support (ADC). The "QR Code for APP download" in their marketing material is actually not present in the packaging (it is present on Echo-B card), so it must be an error... Or is it?

Echo-A actually has app support... 'TTGK Station' app sees it as a TTGK module, with a CB1200-AU DAC/ADC chip. So, Echo-A appears to be the dongle version of Moondrop Quark-2 IEM (same SoC) and, as with Quark-2, TTGK 'Walk Play' app gives access to:

• 8x EQ presets: PLUA (?), Pop, Rock, Vocal, Bass, Flat, Cinema, Game. Each preset can be viewed and modified in the PEQ section of the app.
• A "Custom" PEQ made of 8x Peak filters, with adjustable Freq., Q, and Gain. You can save, upload, share these customs filters from the app (saved locally or in the cloud).
• The preset/custom EQ "sticks": it is saved onto Echo-A SoC, and will be applied to whatever you connect Echo-A to.

On the other hand, TTGK Station sees Echo-B as a Moondrop product, lists all the USB interfaces, but that’s it: you can't configure anything with the 'Walk Play' app.

So, from a features stand point: Echo-A is 3.5mm dongle with mic. support and 8x PK filters configurable through TTGK 'Walk Play' app. Echo-B is a 4.4mm ("balanced", differential ) dongle with 9x PK filters configurable through Moondrop Link app.

 

[mc.god]

Moondrop Echo-B
I assumed Echo-B was the dongle version of FreeDSP. I'll have to cut it open to verify if it's the same Synaptics (Conexant) CX31988 chip inside, but if it is, Moondrop has made some improvements on their FW/SW. When Echo-B is connected, the (Android) Moondrop Link app offers:

• 5x EQ presets: 'Normal', 'Bass+', 'Bass++', Sound stage+', 'Treble+'. As with Moondrop MAY IEM, the app does not show what the corresponding EQ filters are.
• 9x PEQ filters: Peak only but, unlike FreeDSP, it appears that Moondrop has lifted all the restrictions--whatever frequency, gain, Q-factor you enter, even with decimals, appears to be accepted, Link no longer protests... Now what actually happens under the hood has yet to be confirmed (measurements...).
• The preset/custom EQ "sticks": it is saved onto Echo-B chip, and will be applied to whatever you connect Echo-B to.

Moondrop Echo-A
This is the one I was the most curious about... mostly because of the advertised 32bits/384kHz, with no EQ. It did not look like any other Moondrop USB-C thingie except, perhaps Quark-2.
The Moondrop Link app completely ignores Echo-A, as in: "it doesn't exist". Nothing wrong with that, it is aligned with Moondrop description: Echo-A is a regular 3.5mm SE dongle, with mic. support (ADC). The "QR Code for APP download" in their marketing material is actually not present in the packaging (it is present on Echo-B card), so it must be an error... Or is it?

Echo-A actually has app support... 'TTGK Station' app sees it as a TTGK module, with a CB1200-AU DAC/ADC chip. So, Echo-A appears to be the dongle version of Moondrop Quark-2 IEM (same SoC) and, as with Quark-2, TTGK 'Walk Play' app gives access to:

• 8x EQ presets: PLUA (?), Pop, Rock, Vocal, Bass, Flat, Cinema, Game. Each preset can be viewed and modified in the PEQ section of the app.
• A "Custom" PEQ made of 8x Peak filters, with adjustable Freq., Q, and Gain. You can save, upload, share these customs filters from the app (saved locally or in the cloud).
• The preset/custom EQ "sticks": it is saved onto Echo-A SoC, and will be applied to whatever you connect Echo-A to.

On the other hand, TTGK Station sees Echo-B as a Moondrop product, lists all the USB interfaces, but that’s it: you can't configure anything with the 'Walk Play' app.

So, from a features stand point: Echo-A is 3.5mm dongle with mic. support and 8x PK filters configurable through TTGK 'Walk Play' app. Echo-B is a 4.4mm ("balanced", differential ) dongle with 9x PK filters configurable through Moondrop Link app.

Very informative as always, i suggest a custom forum user status for you: "donglepedia"

 

[CedarX]

Very informative as always, i suggest a custom forum user status for you: "donglepedia"

I actually like very much the “Addicted to Fun… and (mostly!) Learning” moniker.

Dongles are cheap… Not for what they look like, but for what they can cram into a USB-C connector. I still find it amazing!

I hope one day, we’ll have a compete measurement chain & methodology allowing us to load a “true” personalized DSP profile (EQ, Dynamics…) onto a USB-C headphones or IEM (kinda of where Apple is heading?). DSP-enabled dongle & IEMs are just a very early step in that direction.
Moondrop appears to get some of that…

 

[Jeromeof]

I actually like very much the “Addicted to Fun… and (mostly!) Learning” moniker.

Dongles are cheap… Not for what they look like, but for what they can cram into a USB-C connector. I still find it amazing!

I hope one day, we’ll have a compete measurement chain & methodology allowing us to load a “true” personalized DSP profile (EQ, Dynamics…) onto a USB-C headphones or IEM (kinda of where Apple is heading?). DSP-enabled dongle & IEMs are just a very early step in that direction.
Moondrop appears to get some of that…

I agree - I bought a bunch of these and with some headphones that need EQ (and are easy enough to drive), I just have the dongle attached permanently - very handy as I switch devices during the day between my iPhone, a MacBook and a PC.

So I have an Echo B now - a little disappointed given it's a 4.4mm balanced version that it is not more powerful. I am going to look at doing some usb sniffing over the weekend and see can I add it to my little project.