Anyone who wants AMAZING sounding in-ears/headphones for $16... read this!

[SwirlyMaple]

EDIT 11/22: a new contender has entered the ring for the same price (thanks @James Freeman !) See the post here with my thoughts on both: https://thegearforum.com/threads/an...rs-headphones-for-16-read-this.771/post-24903

Hey friends, I have no affiliation to this company or their sellers. Just had to share this with the fine folks here because it's so great it's unbelievable.

Moondrop is a company that makes highly-regarded, extremely-well-tuned in-ear headphones. They have a set of in-ears called Moondrop Chu that are only $16, and I kid you not, they might be the best-sounding headphones or in-ears that I've ever heard. And I'm someone who has used Sennheiser HD600 as my daily drivers for the last 15+ years.

In the AutoEQ headphone database ranking, out of hundreds of IEMs, these are ranked #4 for accuracy to the Harman reference curve. The next up on the list is $1000 retail. But frequency response isn't the whole story. These things have the most detailed treble I have EVER heard, without exaggeration, and also incredibly tight and articulated bass. The soundstage is huge and transparent and sounds nothing like in-ear headphones that I've ever heard.

Anyway, I really suggest anyone who needs GOOD in-ears or just some really nice-sounding corded headphones give them a try. Moondrop Chu. Amazon has them, but they can be found from other sellers too.

PS: as with any in-ear, a good seal is critical to good sound and bass response. These come with 3 sizes of high quality "spring tip" eartips, but if you have large ears like me, you might not get a good enough seal with them, as they don't include XL size. I use SpinFit CP145 Large eartips instead, which seal great in my ears and give solid bass response. The right size eartip will create a good seal without discomfort.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

These don't wrap around the ear?

 

[SwirlyMaple]

These don't wrap around the ear?

They come with some removable silicone over-ear hooks that you can fit the wires into. They work alright, but I find them a bit fiddly.

What I do is this. They come with a Velcro wrap that I turned into a slider/cinch, and I just loop the wires over my ears and snug up the slack in the back. Works well. (They had to save costs somewhere -- the cable isn't detachable on these. But the sound quality more than makes up for it. Also the bodies are nice, solid, metal enclosures. They feel quality--certainly moreso than my crummy Shure SE215 that were $170 retail and sound awful by comparison!)

 

[Hush]

But... but... wired? My phone don't have an output. Better than the HD600s? Cause I like you, use those everyday while sitting at my desk.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

But... but... wired? My phone don't have an output. Better than the HD600s? Cause I like you, use those everyday while sitting at my desk.

If you have an iPhone, you can get a lighting-to-headphone adapter for $6 or so.

I hesitate to say if they're better overall than the HD600, because that's such a high bar, but to my ears they do have better treble clarity/detail, and tighter bass response. And that's not from them being "hyped" in those frequencies, because they measure very neutral (that's what their #4 ranking in that AutoEQ database reflects.) IMO, all things considered, I would say they are at least equal. For applications where you need zero-latency and no audio bleed (e.g. vocal monitoring with a mic, or playing with headphones through a modeler!), these are hard to top.

Double-kick bass drums and fast sub-bass in EDM sounds amazing through them. There's no lag in the bass frequencies and they are so clearly separated. It's like an ear massage

I'm hearing details in music that I've been listening to for years that I never heard before. They also make the noise floor of my laptop's crappy headphone jack glaringly obvious. because every frequency comes through with such detailed articulation.

 

[Holden Afart]

Awesome, thanks for posting.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Awesome, thanks for posting.

Sure thing! If you get a set, let us know your thoughts.

I already bought pair for a friend, and another friend bought them on my recommendation, and they both agree that they sound amazing. For $16 I think they’re a must-buy once you hear them :)

 

[JimF]

Tempted to order some to leave at work and not worry about the cleaner vacuuming them up! Would I be right to presume that folks are listening to rock and metal on them?

 

[Hush]

Ordered.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Tempted to order some to leave at work and not worry about the cleaner vacuuming them up! Would I be right to presume that folks are listening to rock and metal on them?

They’re good for any music IMO. They’re just great-sounding headphones with a neutral but detailed sound signature.

I was A/B’ing them with my Sennheiser HD600 last night and they definitely held their own, which is remarkable for a passive in-ear without any active eq’ing.

Just want to emphasize the need for a good seal on the eartips, though. If you find the bass lacking punch, those Spinfit eartips I mentioned in the first post should take care of it.

 

[texhex]

I tried them. Used all the included silicon tips, could not get these to produce any bass unless I was pushing them hard into my ears. iPhone had absolutely zero bass, so much so that I though they were broken.

Ran them through a Schiit Magni to try a headphone amp and while it was better, I really had to EQ the crap out of these to get them to sound good. For reference I generally use ATH-M40X, Klipsch R6 or Bose QC35II.

Could just be the shape of my ears but I did not enjoy these. Back they go.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

I tried them. Used all the included silicon tips, could not get these to produce any bass unless I was pushing them hard into my ears. iPhone had absolutely zero bass, so much so that I though they were broken.

Ran them through a Schiit Magni to try a headphone amp and while it was better, I really had to EQ the crap out of these to get them to sound good. For reference I generally use ATH-M40X, Klipsch R6 or Bose QC35II.

Could just be the shape of my ears but I did not enjoy these. Back they go.

Hmm, darn... that sounds like you're not getting a good seal. That's why I'm using those Spinfit CP145 Large eartips I mentioned in the first post. The included eartips are very good, but the largest size can still be a bit small for some ears. Jamming them deeper likely won't help and will just cause discomfort.

In-ears can vary a bit from person to person based the shape of their ear canal, but for me they are just as punchy all the way into the sub-bass as my HD600.

Here's the measured freq response from two different sources, Crinacle and Oratory1990, who are both well-regarded and trusted. The green line is the EQ you would need to apply to make them match almost exactly with the Harman reference target, which is a standardized "neutral" response for headphones based on how our ears perceive sound. This is about as good as it gets--very few headphones or IEMs get closer to that neutral reference without equalization. A response deviation of 1-2dBr is barely audible.

FWIW. most consumer headphones are hyped in the bass freqs, well above this curve. So for those who are accustomed to that and like it, you will find the bass lacking in neutral headphones or IEMs.

Edit: for reference and comparison, here is the measured response of the highly-regarded Sennheiser HD600:

Double-edit: here's the ATH-M40x and Bose QC35 II. Both are somewhat hyped in the lows. (Notice that the green line, which is the corrective EQ curve, is scooping out the lows and low-mids for both to hit the neutral target):

 

[Lopp]

Ordered. Hell, worth a shot for that price.

I mainly use B&W P7 Wireless and Meze 99 Classics, but do have some FiiO FH3 earbuds I like (gotta love the Knowles BA drivers). It will be fun to compare them to the FH3's. If they are decent enough, I'll keep them at my parents where I can use them with a guitar and iRig I keep there for practicing.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Ordered. Hell, worth a shot for that price.

I mainly use B&W P7 Wireless and Meze 99 Classics, but do have some FiiO FH3 earbuds I like (gotta love the Knowles BA drivers). It will be fun to compare them to the FH3's. If they are decent enough, I'll keep them at my parents where I can use them with a guitar and iRig I keep there for practicing.

Cool! I just looked at the measurements for your Meze 99 and FiiO FH3, and I will say: expect less bass with the Moondrops.

I should've emphasized more in the original post that these are very neutral in response, which I prefer for listening and as a mixing reference, but other people may not like that. Most headphones and many IEMs are tuned with a significant bass boost, so people have come to expect it as "normal."

Here are the measurements for the Meze 99 Classics and FiiO FH3. For simplicity, just ignore everything except the red line. That red line represents how far away the measured response is from neutral, where neutral is the "ideal" Harman tuning curve (more info on it here if you're bored). If the red line is above 0, it means that frequency is boosted above the neutral response. If the red line is below zero, that frequency is less than neutral. So, for both the Meze and FiiO, the bass response is roughly 5dBr greater than neutral response until about 300 Hz. The Meze 99 has a significant boost from about 100 to 200 Hz -- almost 10 dB above the reference level.

Lastly, I just want to emphasize that the eartip seal is critical for bass response. The Moondrops include S/M/L eartips, but I have to use a different set of larger eartips with them because the large isn't quite big enough for me. I think this might be why texhex wasn't getting a pleasing sound out of his, unfortunately.

 

[texhex]

Thanks for the data, very informative. I think these just don't fit my ears correctly or I'm not using them right (totally possible), or both.

 

[Hush]

I tried them. Used all the included silicon tips, could not get these to produce any bass unless I was pushing them hard into my ears. iPhone had absolutely zero bass, so much so that I though they were broken.

Ran them through a Schiit Magni to try a headphone amp and while it was better, I really had to EQ the crap out of these to get them to sound good. For reference I generally use ATH-M40X, Klipsch R6 or Bose QC35II.

Could just be the shape of my ears but I did not enjoy these. Back they go.

So far my experience too. But I haven't tried all the tips yet. Jamming them in my ears got a little more bass, but still not a great sound.

 

[texhex]

I finally got it, and... WOW!

I'm not one to give up easily, especially when I can see how these are supposed to sound. Used the large tips and figured out what I was doing wrong. I just needed to make sure I had these positioned properly and loosely fit and by loosely fit I mean not totally jammed into my ears, just letting the silicon sit inside and around my inner ear canal. I also watched a review video and saw how they are supposed to be positioned which helped drastically, night and day now. No EQ and I can get the full spectrum of sound. Pretty amazing really.

Dude these sound really, really good and for $18! LOL

@SwirlyMaple Thanks for the posts!

 

[jellodog]

Truthfully, no sarcasm here:

We are super lucky to have a resident headphone obsessive at TGF. Thanks for obsessing caring @SwirlyMaple

 

[texhex]

Holy Fuk man, these are so detailed. I've just spent the last hour listening to different stuff and I'm amazed. I've never used these types of headphones before but now I'm addicted. Maybe it's because they are so close to the eardrum but sh!t, it's crazy! I find myself literally holding my breath listening in a quiet room with no distractions. Played guitar through these and my patches are so hyper detailed, super crisp and juicy.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

I finally got it, and... WOW!

I'm not one to give up easily, especially when I can see how these are supposed to sound. Used the large tips and figured out what I was doing wrong. I just needed to make sure I had these positioned properly and loosely fit and by loosely fit I mean not totally jammed into my ears, just letting the silicon sit inside and around my inner ear canal. I also watched a review video and saw how they are supposed to be positioned which helped drastically, night and day now. No EQ and I can get the full spectrum of sound. Pretty amazing really.

Dude these sound really, really good and for $18! LOL

@SwirlyMaple Thanks for the posts!

Awesome! Really glad you got it sorted out! Yep, with the right fit, the eartip should be doing all the sealing without having to bury them in your ears.

It’s a bit counterintuitive, but if you’re using a slightly too small eartip and getting them to seal by inserting too far, sound quality and comfort will improve with a larger eartip.