Moondrop Releases Two New Headphones: Moondrop Darkside and Moondrop Laputa

[chi2]

Could you just print screen the graph?

Right driver:

Left driver:

 

[Human Bass]

Right driver:
View attachment 503664

Left driver:
View attachment 503665

The right driver clearly has some QC issues.

 

[Zekbone]

The right driver clearly has some QC issues.

The Para 2 also has QC issues apparently.

Moondrop Para II review: where’s the upgrade?

Intro: Despite feeling a bit too bright for my taste, I still enjoyed the original Moondrop Para when I reviewed it. It offered excellent value for money with its technical performance and flexibil…

unheardlab.com

 

[Henreid]

The Para 2 also has QC issues apparently.

Moondrop Para II review: where’s the upgrade?

Intro: Despite feeling a bit too bright for my taste, I still enjoyed the original Moondrop Para when I reviewed it. It offered excellent value for money with its technical performance and flexibil…

unheardlab.com

Thanks for that link. Perhaps I'm making this out to be a bigger problem than it really is, but it's a bit concerning that two different labs have measured distortion discrepancies between the right and left drivers of two different planar headphone models from Moondrop (especially since the increased distortion is occurring at frequencies where the ear is most sensitive).

 

[Jiraya369]

Look, we get it. It's the book and the anime film. Still, it feels like the time when Moondrop published the "waifu" with the semen-looking embellishments and called it yoghurt all over again. I might be wrong, but it seems like a deliberate name choice to stir controversy. Moondrop marketing and their obsession with the drawings of anime teenage girls is embarrassing and creepy. Also, their QC is trash.

do you buy headphones to look at marketing or to listen to em?

 

[chi2]

View attachment 503706
The Para 2 also has QC issues apparently.

Moondrop Para II review: where’s the upgrade?

Intro: Despite feeling a bit too bright for my taste, I still enjoyed the original Moondrop Para when I reviewed it. It offered excellent value for money with its technical performance and flexibil…

unheardlab.com

Distortion issues also with a Para 2 — this is not good, and for two reasons. First, Moondrop does not seem to have its planar driver technology fully under control. Second, their quality control leaves much to be desired.

I experienced the latter firsthand when I purchased the Dusk in-ear monitors and noticed disturbing distortion on the right channel in the mid-frequency range. Measurements confirmed the issue, and I returned them to the retailer. The distortion problem was independently verified there through their own measurements, and I received a refund (I did not want a replacement).

I had originally planned to buy the Skyland and fine-tune it optimally using the parametric EQ of my Qudelix T71. For the time being, I am refraining from doing so. The risk of ending up with a lemon seems too high to me at this point.

 

[Georgrig]

do you buy headphones to look at marketing or to listen to em?

There are better options overall.

 

[Jiraya369]

There are better options overall.

how much better are we talking about and at what price points?

and even then, your criticism was still placed at the marketing instead of the performance there, dunno how that relates to your previous message.

 

[Georgrig]

how much better are we talking about and at what price points?

and even then, your criticism was still placed at the marketing instead of the performance there, dunno how that relates to your previous message.

Sennheiser, FiiO, HiFiMAN. Meze, Shanling, Sivga, Audeze, Fosi all have options in the price range. All with better QC, and very decent performance. You like questionable anime bs and/or are a dweeb? You do you

 

[Jiraya369]

Sennheiser, FiiO, HiFiMAN. Meze, Shanling, Sivga, Audeze, Fosi all have options in the price range. All with better QC, and very decent performance. You like questionable anime bs and/or are a dweeb? You do you

Lmao you consider em all to have better qc

hey man i dont need to learn about you any more to see what you value.

 

[Henreid]

Two reviews of the Moondrop Skyland by The Headphone Show on YouTube.
3-minute video clip of first impressions: MoonDrop Skyland Unboxing
20-minute full review: Moondrop Skyland Review

 

[Billy Budapest]

I agree with your view on their marketing strategy, which is indeed a bit cutesy and lackluster. However, it's worth understanding that the emergence of Moondrop coincided with the rise of China's Z generation consumers, who grew up immersed in digital culture and Japanese anime. Moondrop's marketing strategy, while certainly controversial internationally, resonated with this domestic demographic shift. This approach helped transform a family workshop into a high-tech enterprise within a decade.

Regarding quality control, you're correct that certain quality issues exist, particularly in their digital products. As a relatively new enterprise competing against traditional giants, Moondrop struggles to recruit experienced digital circuit designers, leading to issues with some of their Bluetooth implementations and portable DACs. Their acoustic design generally fares better, and the consistency of Left and Right unit of their wired IEMs is especially good.

Thank you for your perspective. It makes perfect sense and is enlightening to me about Moondrop’s marketing.