Moondrop Para 2 Planar Headphone Review

[A Surfer]

I think this headphone clearly qualifies as excellent when you think about the quality of engineering. A little equalization is perfectly acceptable.

 

[totti1965]

In some sense, it is an alternative to Sennheiser HD6XX. It is more expensive but I think has much better spatial effects.

Hi Amir,
When it’s time for the next visit of your son, who owns a Sennheiser Massdrop HD58X Jubilee - you will have everything for a definitive shootout:

Take the HD58X Crinacle GRASS 43AG-7 suggestions for equalization for the HD58X (it will blew your mind! Please look at the screenshot!)
Compare it with the @Maiky76 suggestions for the Moondrop Para 2
subjectively and with measurements of the equalized items!

Moondrop Para 2 EQ Flat 96000Hz
October102025-210734

Preamp: -6.9444 dB

Filter 1: ON PK Fc 24.6 Hz Gain 6.81 dB Q 0.27
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 206.1 Hz Gain -1.14 dB Q 1.62
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 1208.9 Hz Gain -6.34 dB Q 1.06
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 3065.7 Hz Gain -5.61 dB Q 2.97
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 4750.9 Hz Gain -5.67 dB Q 2.88
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 3118.2 Hz Gain 8.12 dB Q 0.46
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 7645.8 Hz Gain -2.06 dB Q 3.89
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 11897.2 Hz Gain -8.80 dB Q 5.00



Given the fact, that the HD 58X Jubilee is 2 dB more efficient than the HD 600 and the price is $ 200 (only 40% of the Moondrop Planar 2) it could be an extremely interesting review: A comparison of two nearly „must haves“!

 

[oleg87]

8 ohm impedance for a headphone is absurd. Not one to use with your altoid tin amp…

 

[Somafunk]

8 ohm impedance for a headphone is absurd. Not one to use with your altoid tin amp…

Not unless you want a single use pocket warmer

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Thanks, Amir for the great review. Looks like a very good performer with EQ. Anyone just starting out should be encouraged by the number of great sounding options available for $500 and less. Stuff like the Classic Sennheiser 600 to 660 series, the Aune AR 5000, the HiFi Man He 400se. and the Phillips SHP 9500 should all be able to deliver great sound for years without busting the bank account. Together with one of the more modestly priced Topping or SMSL Dac/amps. high end sound should now be available to anyone for the price of a middle tier 55 inch tv monitor.

Actually, it's now reaching a point in the headphone market where high end sound is becoming the mass produced default everyone shopping for a set of phones and amp will now just get whether they are seeking it out or not. Kind of reminds me of what has happened in the "videophile" market. When the entry level screen is a 4k HDR+ 55 inch monitor available for $500 or less, everyone gets the kind of high end video people used to pay literally $4-5k for in 2003. In short, the high end disappears because it becomes mainstream.

Let's hope so. I see Apple is trying to capture individual HRTF's with the I Phone for use on the I Pods. Sound like real progress if they keep at it. Someday maybe a virtual 24 channel individualized Atmos experience may be available over a set of $300 earbuds. It's a consummation devoutly to be hoped for.

 

[shuppatsu]

I voted “fine.” I’m not remotely bothered by the FR because I EQ as a matter of course. Nor do I care about the impedance. Just roll in the price of a decent HPA if necessary; they’re not all that expensive. And to my taste, they look fantastic.

I did not vote “Great” because I’ve heard too many stories (including in this thread) of planar headphones breaking when dropped. My HD6XXs have fallen from my desk six or seven times over the course of daily use the last two years. I feel the same way about dropping them as I do about dropping my phone—something I try to avoid, but no big deal if it happens. I strongly suspect planars would cause me a lot more stress before eventually succumbing to my carelessness.

 

[CedarX]

I have the OG Para and like it. I end up EQ’ing my HPs most of the times and, to me, how easy they are to EQ (no more than 3-4 filters needed) and how well they take EQ (no distortion, even with a large bass shelf for example) is more important than how far apart they are from the target in the bass area.
My Para is connected to a Qudelix 5K in Active Ground mode (I was worry about the low impedance).
Para 2 is much more expensive… Not sure I would buy it this time.

 

[solderdude]

Given the fact, that the HD 58X Jubilee is 2 dB more efficient than the HD 600

HD58X sensitivity = 110dB/V
HD600 = 104dBV
Para 2 = 107dB/V
This means that when connected to a low output resistance amplifier with the same volume control setting the HD58X will be marginally louder than the Para 2 and noticeably louder than the HD600.

One can only compare sensitivity numbers directly and not efficiency numbers as amplifiers have an output voltage and not power.

In efficiency (the ratio between acoustic output power and applied power) things differ.

HD58X = 102dB/mW
HD600 = 99dB/mW
Para 2 = 86dB/mW

Here you can see the difference between HD58X and HD600 is just 3dB (factor 2)
The difference between HD58X and Para 2 is a factor 40 (16dB)

At the same listening SPL the Para 2 draws 25x more current (due to the unusually low impedance).
As can be seen in the power output/distortion plots of amps made by Amir it is often shown that distortion rises more into lower impedance.

 

[amirm]

So saying this headphone is lacking bass is wrong IMO, there are a large cohort of people who like more sub-bass and a large cohort who like this more linear bass response (I am one of them)

I don't think anything in the research involved sub-bass. The tracks used in Harman research did not have such content. It is there that I find the enhancement most impressive. You get a ton of deep bass response without making the overall sound boomy. My sense is that vast majority of people would prefer to have this sub-bass response.

 

[respice finem]

In this aspect, nothing can beat good IEMs (IMHO). And as a bonus, some maintain very low distortion despite high SPL.

 

[solderdude]

In this aspect, nothing can beat good IEMs (IMHO). And as a bonus, some maintain very low distortion despite high SPL.

The downside of IEM's:
A: insertion depth and seal are paramount.
B: ear canals differ from the test fixture ear canals
C: the pinnae form an integral part of perception and differ per individual. They are completely bypassed by IEMs.
Arguably pinna effects with over-ear and on-ear headphones differ (individually) with the interaction with sounds coming from in front/around you in a substantial way as well.

Headphone measurements (as well as IEMs) are indicative at best.

 

[respice finem]

The downside of IEM's:
A: insertion depth and seal are paramount.
B: ear canals differ from the test fixture ear canals
C: the pinnae form an integral part of perception and differ per individual. They are completely bypassed by IEMs.
Arguably pinna effects with over-ear and on-ear headphones differ (individually) with the interaction with sounds coming from in front/around you in a substantial way as well.

Headphone measurements (as well as IEMs) are indicative at best.

Sure, we don't live in an ideal world. Everything is a compromise.

But still, "for a handful of dollars" you can have almost undistorted bass and sub bass on a level very hardly, if at all, achievable with loudspeakers at any price.
And, no bass modes and other room related problems.

Just one example:

Truthear GATE $17 IEM Review

This is a review, listening tests, EQ and detailed measurements of the Truthear GATE IEM. Money was kindly donated for me to purchase it from Amazon for US $17.59. Not much to say about them other than they fit my ears very comfortably with the largest silicone tips included. Let's see how it...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Phorize]

The main issue with claims that EQ transforms an ok sounding headphone into a superb one - it is likely not to work as well for another Para II that the end user has. At least 3 units should be measured to see if they all measure the same and can benefit that much from the same EQ profile before giving such a strong recommendation/rating.

I don't see Amir telling anyone that his EQ settings should be used in a cookie cutter fashion, and it's obvious looking at measurements that the Para can be eq'd to get closer to Harman OE which by definition means towards user preference bounds. Agree that unit variation is of interest, however that means Amir needs more units to be sent in and time away from other testing. Others are measuring these so comparison across units is still possible. I personally think a recommendation is reasonable with these implied caveats.

 

[PenguinMusic]

It's pretty normal to be charged for repairs of damages that were not caused by a manufacturing defect. If I dropped and damaged my hd800S I wouldn't blame Sennheiser for not repairing them for free.

Hi,

Hum...
I think either I did not express myself good enough or you haven't read the post correctly.
I am not complaining about being charged for a replacement for the left "earcuff".
I am willling to pay of course.

What I am complaining about are 2 things :
- the complexity of the replacement process (send us the entire headphone to China, we will see what happened and repair the phone)
- the fact that they can not tell how much the repair will cost (wer will give you a quote upon receiving the headphone).

The earcuff can be replaced in litterally 12 seconds.
It is totally independent from the headphones structure.

So I hoped they would have said something like :
"Send us picture of broken part and proof of purchase and we will send you the replacement for the amount of XX€/dollars includiong shipping".
With that I would have been able to decide if I go for it or not...

Hope that this makes my complain more "understandable"...

PS : by the way, my Sennheiser HD800 fell more than a couple of times... Nothing ever broke in that headphone

 

[Alexander Gödde]

The downside of IEM's:
A: insertion depth and seal are paramount.
B: ear canals differ from the test fixture ear canals
C: the pinnae form an integral part of perception and differ per individual. They are completely bypassed by IEMs.
Arguably pinna effects with over-ear and on-ear headphones differ (individually) with the interaction with sounds coming from in front/around you in a substantial way as well.

Headphone measurements (as well as IEMs) are indicative at best.

As an illustration of this: With headphones I am fine with the Harman over ear target, possibly with a little less bass. With IEMs I need the ear-gain at 3 kHz to extend at around the same level up to about 5 kHz in order for things to fall into place, as apparently that corresponds better to my HRTF than plain Harman.

 

[respice finem]

No one has to adhere to any preference curve, but it's a good starting point to EQ it to own preference.

 

[Flushing]

Hi @amirm
Thanks for the review.
The only eq band visible is band 4.
Is it possible to post the other eq bands?
Thanks for your help.
Cheers

 

[Tell]

Voted poor.
Parametric equalization does not come in the pack.

And I find it unacceptable for a product to be rated 'excellent' when it is fundamentally deficient and requires external, complex adjustments (like PEQ) to perform well. It's akin to calling a speaker 'excellent' and then immediately saying: '...but you must sit 30cm away, as the built-in amps are too weak.' The dependence on user correction makes the rating misleading.

I wouldn't call PEQ complex, instead it's more or less an essential tool for anyone interested in audio, especially at the level of audio interest when you spend this much money on a pair of headphones.
Having that said I wouldn't rate this exceplent either since I like bass, but some people seem to be fine without it so for them they might be excellent? But looking at how overallt clean and flat the frequency response is and vanishing low distortion even at very loud levels their are easily EQable to whatever you want using a simple EQ that all decent devices have access to (which excludes nonaudiophiles devices like iPhones), so looking at that I see why you would place it at the excellent category.

 

[Carlo2AC]

I'm the same. I can't be bothered with EQ anymore, I just want to plug in and listen.

Is it really such a hassle to have Peace APO starting with Windows, consuming less than 20mb of memory? less than 5 minutes to type the EQ values on it, a lot of times i even forget its there

 

[Timbo2]

Is it really such a hassle to have Peace APO starting with Windows, consuming less than 20mb of memory? less than 5 minutes to type the EQ values on it, a lot of times i even forget its there

I recognize I'm a distinct minority, but my source is an Nvidia Shield TV away from my PC. It doesn't support systemwide EQ of any kind. I'd much prefer to "plug and go". Not everyone uses headphones with sources that support PEQ.

It's one of the reasons why I purchased a headphone amp that has built in PEQ. However, it's a nontrivial task to update the PEQ in it.