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

[SwirlyMaple]

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.

Yeah!!! Now that’s what I’m talking about!

They are so crisp and detailed that I wondered if they were boosting certain frequencies to achieve it. But with headphones that do that, it usually leads to ear fatigue pretty quickly. Multiple measurements from different sources show that they are just remarkably neutral.

With these, I can listen for hours and that same wow-factor remains without fatigue. That’s the benefit of a very neutral response combined with very low distortion… all the details pop out without masking others to achieve it :)

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Truthfully, no sarcasm here:

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

Haha, thanks man, my pleasure :) I live in an apartment so I have to use headphones almost always.

I try to only use ones with a fairly neutral response so my ears stay familiar with how that sounds, which is helpful for mixing or even just building guitar patches.

Sooooo many of the headphones on the market nowadays are tuned for consumer wow-factor, which usually means a ton of bass (creating bloated and muddy resonance when you hear how it actually should sound). Many also have attenuated treble in the 7kHz+ frequencies, particularly the wireless noise-canceling ones like AirPods Pro. All those sparkly/detail frequencies… missing.

When you first listen to something like these Moondrops, it can sound really weird if you’re used to bass-hyped, treble-attenuated headphones. It’s like seeing colors you haven’t seen before and you’re not sure if you like it

But give it an hour or so, and then go back to the consumer-tuned headphones… suddenly they are the ones that sound lacking!

 

[creative360]

Any notable sonic compromise with the “with mic” version?

 

[littlebadboy]

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.

Same here. I hate it that the newer phones nowadays don't have an output for wired earbuds. Boo!

I have a Google Pixel 7 Pro.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Any notable sonic compromise with the “with mic” version?

I can't say from my own experience (I bought the ones without the mic), but others online claim the audio quality is the same. Also my two friends who have a set both got the ones with the mic and said they sound great, so I don't think it changes anything, other than sharing a common ground.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Same here. I hate it that the newer phones nowadays don't have an output for wired earbuds. Boo!

I have a Google Pixel 7 Pro.

For almost the same price as these headphones, you can get a USB-C to headphone adapter I agree -- it is sad that wired jacks are gone, but that's just the way it be.

I mainly use AirPods Pro for listening with my phone, but there are times that wired headphones are still essential for their zero-latency (monitoring for guitar or vocals, video editing, mixing, etc.), which is where these Moondrop IEMs really fit the bill for me. They do sound better than the AirPods though -- in my opinion, at least. :)

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Received my set yesterday. The anime packaging is cringe. The "case" that comes with it is useless.

The ear guides are laughable and these are fiddly without wire form guides but the velcro hack from @SwirlyMaple works well enough to keep the wires in place, it's just a little awkward.

Initial listening tests are very promising.

I like the earbud construction and the wire. I can't stand those braided wires, they get tangled so easily. This wire doesn't have that annoying tack to it and is just long enough to reach a belt pack with no extra dangle.

My ear canals are funny, one slightly larger than the other so one large and one medium stock tip each work fine for me.

They cost me $19 from Amazon, I guess price is going up because the secret is out? Idk. My old Skullcandy buds have shit the bed so if anything these will be some good replacements

 

[Piing]

I've ordered one. $7.24 USD ($8.5 with shipping) here in Thailand

 

[SwirlyMaple]

Received my set yesterday. The anime packaging is cringe. The "case" that comes with it is useless.

The ear guides are laughable and these are fiddly without wire form guides but the velcro hack from @SwirlyMaple works well enough to keep the wires in place, it's just a little awkward.

Initial listening tests are very promising.

I like the earbud construction and the wire. I can't stand those braided wires, they get tangled so easily. This wire doesn't have that annoying tack to it and is just long enough to reach a belt pack with no extra dangle.

My ear canals are funny, one slightly larger than the other so one large and one medium stock tip each work fine for me.

They cost me $19 from Amazon, I guess price is going up because the secret is out? Idk. My old Skullcandy buds have s**t the bed so if anything these will be some good replacements

Yep, it’s definitely their budget-friendly model :) They sell others that are $300 and up, with removable cables and all the other gravy.

But the sound quality isn’t compromised at all for the lower price, and a cheeseburger meal at a fast food joint costs almost as much. I can’t think of anything in this price range that sounds as good as these do, for an accurate and neutral set of listening devices.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

I thought I'd be clever and mod these by adding a thick wire in-line with the audio wires. Couldn't fit my shrinktubing into the mix so I used electrical tape to stick the two together.

It isn't pretty by any means but works and feels fine. I used a paperclip for the left and some thin covered wire on the right to compare stiffness and think I'll redo the right with another paperclip.

 

[SwirlyMaple]

I thought I'd be clever and mod these by adding a thick wire in-line with the audio wires. Couldn't fit my shrinktubing into the mix so I used electrical tape to stick the two together.

It isn't pretty by any means but works and feels fine. I used a paperclip for the left and some thin covered wire on the right to compare stiffness and think I'll redo the right with another paperclip.

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Nice! I was going to do the same with heat-shrink tubing, but you’d need too large of a size to get it over the earbuds for it to shrink tightly around the cables. I try to avoid electrical tape because of the adhesive that gets gummy after a while, but I can’t think of a better way to do it in this case.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Nice! I was going to do the same with heat-shrink tubing, but you’d need too large of a size to get it over the earbuds for it to shrink tightly around the cables. I try to avoid electrical tape because of the adhesive that gets gummy after a while, but I can’t think of a better way to do it in this case.

Yeh, it isn't optimal, but it works well for tracking drums so far!

 

[dk_ace]

Thanks for the heads up on these. I’ve been gigging a pair of the m-audio IEMs that I think were just rebranded ultimate ears (the pair that I used for years before these). I had a close call recently where mine failed at a gig, then mysteriously came back to life a week later. During that week, I started looking for replacements and realized that I might be looking at $500-1000 to get equivalent ears today, ouch….

They came back to life and I’ve continued using them, but I’ve been looking around for something good that doesn’t cost so much as a backup because mine will eventually die. I had never heard of this brand. I think the Aria that they make is a better fit for me than the Chu since it has a replaceable cable with the wire retainer built in. Will probably order a pair to compare to mine and see if I can get along with them.

When mine went down I had to use a pair of Shures we had laying around, OMG those were awful.

D

 

[James Freeman]

Thanks @SwirlyMaple, I've been wanting to buy in-ears for quite some time.
I grabbed the Moondrop Chu and also the 7Hz Salnotes Zero, should arrive soon.

The 20$ ChiFi in-ear market is amazing today when it comes to compliance with the Harman curve, but until very recently the in-ear market was lead by the big companies and big prices but not necessarily good sound, today there is absolutely no reason to spend over 50$ on IEMs if not less.
I also have HiFiMan Sundara, AKG K371, ATH-M50x and M40x, so I'm well set with good sounding over-ear headphone.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Where is @Baba in this conversation?

 

[Baba]

Where is @Baba in this conversation?

Lol, I use my $1,200.00 custom molded IEMs, I'm not sure I want to realize that using something so cheap would shatter my opinion of them

 

[dk_ace]

Lol, I use my $1,200.00 custom molded IEMs, I'm not sure I want to realize that using something so cheap would shatter my opinion of them

If they break/die, you’ll be happy to find you don’t need to spend $1200 on new ones next time…

I had whiplash from the sticker shock when I thought I was going to have to replace mine. Never dreamed good ones cost what they do today. I have high hopes for the ones mentioned in this thread.

D

 

[dk_ace]

Thanks @SwirlyMaple, I've been wanting to buy in-ears for quite some time.
I grabbed the Moondrop Chu and also the 7Hz Salnotes Zero, should arrive soon.

The 20$ ChiFi in-ear market is amazing today when it comes to compliance with the Harman curve, but until very recently the in-ear market was lead by the big companies and big prices but not necessarily good sound, today there is absolutely no reason to spend over 50$ on IEMs if not less.
I also have HiFiMan Sundara, AKG K371, ATH-M50x and M40x, so I'm well set with good sounding over-ear headphone.

What great IEMs under $50 have a replaceable cable and a stock cable that includes wires and a retainer? Those are table stakes features for live use IMO.

D

 

[James Freeman]

Top 20$ IEMs on the market, they are the most compliant with the Harman curve in that price range and some say x100 their price range.

7Hz Salnotes Zero (most neutral, removable 2pin cable)
Moondrop Chu (slightly brighter than 7Hz, non removable cable)
Tangzu Wan'er (slightly warmer than 7Hz, removable 2pin cable)

A few months ago the Chu dominated the 20$ range, until the 7Hz Zero was released 3 months ago, Wan'er was released this November.
Once they found the trick to make great sounding Harman compliant IEMs everyone started to make one, it all occurred in the last 6 months or so.

 

[dk_ace]

Top 20$ IEMs on the market, they are the most compliant with the Harman curve in that price range and some say x100 their price range.

7Hz Salnotes Zero (most neutral, removable 2pin cable)
Moondrop Chu (slightly brighter than 7Hz, non removable cable)
Tangzu Wan'er (slightly warmer than 7Hz, removable 2pin cable)

A few months ago the Chu dominated the 20$ range, until the 7Hz Zero was released 3 months ago, Wan'er was released this November.
Once they found the trick to make great sounding Harman compliant IEMs everyone started to make one, it all occurred in the last 6 months or so.


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Wow that’s cool, thanks!

I generally ignore the cheap, no-name, knockoff, etc brands when looking for gear. Looks like I might have been really missing the boat on this particular item.

D