Moondrop May USB-C Headphones Review

[Phenoez8]

Never experienced a godless IEM - "atheistic." I assume he meant "aesthetic."

Thanks for the correction

 

[Multicore]

The Waifu culture is a thing… One may or may not like it, but it’s only on the packaging—easy to discard.

What fascinates me is how come it is specific to boutique IEMs? We don't see this style associated with other product categories but we do with this one. How did that happen? It's just interesting.

 

[pseudoid]

The Waifu culture is a thing… One may or may not like it, but it’s only on the packaging—easy to discard.

When I first saw the post after logging in, I thought it was weird that I was facing an anime baseball card review, in the ASR homepage.
At first, I did not even notice the IEMs hanging on it.

 

[Phenoez8]

When I first saw the post after logging in, I thought it was weird that I was facing an anime baseball card review, in the ASR homepage.
At first, I did not even notice the IEMs hanging on it.

Great, I will double down on it in my next review.

 

[CedarX]

What fascinates me is how come it is specific to boutique IEMs? We don't see this style associated with other product categories but we do with this one. How did that happen? It's just interesting.

It is indeed interesting… I’m not sure if it’s due to where these Companies come from*, or because of their typical target audience.
*EDIT: I mean their original products, not their country of origin (I have only respect and admiration…).

Not sure either if I’ll call Moondrop a “Boutique”. They may not be well known on ASR, but with Tanchjim, they were the first ones to introduce these DSP-enabled USB-C IEMs. Moondrop has a respectable line of audio products of, I believe, their own design.

 

[Phenoez8]

What fascinates me is how come it is specific to boutique IEMs? We don't see this style associated with other product categories but we do with this one. How did that happen? It's just interesting.

Interesting questions. I did a quick search on Linsoul and Hifigo to get an idea on how many Chinese IEM brands use Waifu to advertise, and the result is surprising. Seems like the vast majority of brands do not use Waifu, yet the few who do leaves a strong impression. If you were the brand, what would you put on your box?

 

[Multicore]

Interesting questions. I did a quick search on Linsoul and Hifigo to get an idea on how many Chinese IEM brands use Waifu to advertise, and the result is surprising. Seems like the vast majority of brands do not use Waifu, yet the few who do leaves a strong impression. If you were the brand, what would you put on your box?
View attachment 351825

Thank you for wrangling the data for us. A very ASR approach to the problem and a service to the community.

I will shut up now.

 

[pseudoid]

The Waifu culture is a thing… One may or may not like it, but it’s only on the packaging—easy to discard.

Etymology - From Japaneseワイフ (waifu), itself from English wife; popularized by 4chan. Doublet of wife.

 

[Jave]

Could you zoom-in on the THD, please? From 0 to 0.2.

 

[mc.god]

Interesting questions. I did a quick search on Linsoul and Hifigo to get an idea on how many Chinese IEM brands use Waifu to advertise, and the result is surprising. Seems like the vast majority of brands do not use Waifu, yet the few who do leaves a strong impression. If you were the brand, what would you put on your box?
View attachment 351825

You missed SeeAudio in the Waifu group, they even went a bit further with the Rinko, probably due to whom they are made in collab with...

https://hifigo.com/collections/see-audio/products/seeaudio-x-z-review-rinko

 

[Acerun]

It is indeed interesting… I’m not sure if it’s due to where these Companies come from*, or because of their typical target audience.
*EDIT: I mean their original products, not their country of origin (I have only respect and admiration…).

Not sure either if I’ll call Moondrop a “Boutique”. They may not be well known on ASR, but with Tanchjim, they were the first ones to introduce these DSP-enabled USB-C IEMs. Moondrop has a respectable line of audio products of, I believe, their own design.

I believe the Moondrop Starfield was a smash hit and put them on the map.

 

[Acerun]

I bought them awhile back and I have to say that on standard it's pretty compelling sound. It grabbed my attention right away.

 

[oscar_dziki]

@Phenoez8 I am super grateful you measured this set. I bought it myself based on measurements of the Free DSP and the measurements posted by the manufacturer. Your review misses the fact, that this gear is generating electronic noise when there is no sound on an Android device. Do you think you can measure it? Or maybe your set isn't generating it? Mine sure does. Tested with Samsung S23.

 

[oscar_dziki]

The fit is fantastic, definitely more comfortable than most other inears I’ve used.

And the earpiece is shallow. You can put your head on a pillow and it will be comfortable. The only problem with the practicality of this set is that because of the remote control, you can't tighten the cord tightly around your neck. Therefore, these headphones are not suitable for running.

 

[Jimbob54]

@Phenoez8 I am super grateful you measured this set. I bought it myself based on measurements of the Free DSP and the measurements posted by the manufacturer. Your review misses the fact, that this gear is generating electronic noise when there is no sound on an Android device. Do you think you can measure it? Or maybe your set isn't generating it? Mine sure does. Tested with Samsung S23.

I observed the same when I got mine. Think mostly when using the Moondrop app. I use uapp for playback and once uapp takes control of the dac it's silent.

 

[capslock]

So what is the impact of the nonlinearity at -55 dB? There is no kink at all in the THD+N vs. power graph right above where I would have expected to see an effect.

 

[SHENZHENAUDIO]

Thanks for the review!

 

[Phenoez8]

You missed SeeAudio in the Waifu group, they even went a bit further with the Rinko, probably due to whom they are made in collab with...

https://hifigo.com/collections/see-audio/products/seeaudio-x-z-review-rinko

Thanks. Added to the list.

 

[Phenoez8]

@Phenoez8 I am super grateful you measured this set. I bought it myself based on measurements of the Free DSP and the measurements posted by the manufacturer. Your review misses the fact, that this gear is generating electronic noise when there is no sound on an Android device. Do you think you can measure it? Or maybe your set isn't generating it? Mine sure does. Tested with Samsung S23.

@Phenoez8 I am super grateful you measured this set. I bought it myself based on measurements of the Free DSP and the measurements posted by the manufacturer. Your review misses the fact, that this gear is generating electronic noise when there is no sound on an Android device. Do you think you can measure it? Or maybe your set isn't generating it? Mine sure does. Tested with Samsung S23.

Hello. Thank you for your comment. I primarily used the Moondrop May with my MacBook, iPad, and windows computer and did not find noise to be an issue. After reading your comment, I tracked down a Samsung galaxy phone to test and I can indeed confirm that it consistently generates noise when no sound is playing or playing silence (play audio file when volume is turned to 0). This noise is not noticeable when music is playing. Based on my experience and how it behaves on other devices, I think this can be an Android/Qualcomm specific problem. I will continue to test devices on more platforms in the future.

 

[dzerig]

The half db discontinuity ... can you hear that at all? It would seem to be at the edge of audibility if you playing steady state tones right there, you might hear it.