I was recently able to A-B test the Moondrop Kato against the 7Hz Timeless and well, I was surprised.
I think the Kato (I use spring tips and default nozzle) is a bit superior for me. More organic, more natural, less bass but I find it a bit better. Maybe, just maybe, it has a little less resolution than the Timeless but I’m not a measuring machine.
The problem came when I tested them against the Spring 2. I don’t know which one is better and it frustrates me. The kato was supposed to be an upgrade/improvement of the Timeless which in turn was an attempt to improve on the Mangird Tea which in turn was an improvement on the Spring 2.
I notice that the Spring 2 also has that organic timbre, with better bass than the kato…
Can you give me a recommendation that really improves on the Kato? Or rather. A recommendation that improves the Spring 2.
Thanks for answering but that “price range” thing I don’t know.
I honestly think the kato is better in every way than the Timeless. In resolution maybe it can be above it but I have doubts.
The Timeless is compared against headphones of 500€ or more…
The kato is a more natural version and a bit cleaner than the Spring 2. Maybe also less fun.
If you do want an upgrade while having the same natural sounds that you have loved from the Katos, the Blessing 2 seems to be a possible upgrade, since my friend has been telling me a lot of times that I should get the Blessing 2 and in his opinion, it’s an upgrade from the Katos that I have, even though I am currently fine with my set of Katos.
Its definitely not. They are quite different tonally (thinner note-weight and brighter) and the B2 has very unnatural timbre and incoherency that the Kato does not have.
Spring 2’s mid-range and timbre is very hard to beat…
I love the Autumn, but I think it is quite different than the Spring series.
I have been enjoying the TinHiFI P2+, and the latest release from TinHiFi — the P1 Max (Big Panda) appears to be using a similar driver setup. I cannot give a direct recommendation yet, as though I haven’t listened to the P1 Max yet.
It seems that you like regular Dynamic Driver Timbre (who doesn’t)? I can’t really give you any recommendations in your price range (as I am still in the value/budget waters). If you are hesitant on the Kato, then you might as well pick up a Chu for the time being to give yourself some variety. You might also like the Olina with the Dual Dampener Mod.
The kato was supposed to be an upgrade/improvement of the Timeless which in turn was an attempt to improve on the Mangird Tea which in turn was an improvement on the Spring 2.
None of this makes sense.
If you are already into BQEYZ, you could give the BQEYZ Autumn a try, but the elevated 4.5 KHz scares me as much as the filters intrigue.
many reviewers has rated Olina higher than kato and its also cheaper. so you might like this one as well. i haven’t tried kato but I really love Olina. I love its natural mid range and 3D stage.
Yep, to be honest when I heard it from him, it’s like too good to be true. Looks like the skepticism that I got when I he said that to me is justified. Thanks for the correction.
Tastes are different and I haven’t heared the Katos, but I prefer Aria over Blessing 2. Without EQ the Blessing 2 was missing the upper half of the audible frequency spectrum.
Ah yes a fellow Kato enjoyer, good choice along with the Olinas right there. A fair warning to you though, the stock cable of the Kato can get stiff, especially when you are living in a humid place such as mine, for that happened to my cable.
Also, since you got the Mirror-Silver version of the Kato, expect a lot of scratches eventually after a long use, for mine right now has a lot of scratches when you are seeing it near, but not as noticeable when being seen far.
Hoping the Spring tips fits your ear holes well enough, for it can be a 50-50 for people who bought the Kato, luckily with me, the tips just fits me perfectly and it is one of the best tips out there in my opinion.
The Katos are an upgrade from the Arias, and after a long use of the Arias I have, they are pretty much alright to me at this point, but not to a degree when I first had the Starfields which today I still love and it’s better than the Arias.
Even the Moondrop Chus are better than the Aria in my opinion, for the tuning is much better from the Chu.
Why?
Well, I have to say that I haven’t considered the price difference. I bought that Kato for 240€ and the Olina cost me less than half the price. I have not considered the price difference because I only want the highest sound quality within certain limits.
I have used the Olina with all stock and the Kato with the spring tips and the factory filter.
FIT: Both fit me well. The Kato I feel fits me similar to the Timeless. I would say the Olina fits me a little better than the Kato. I have to say that I haven’t tried anything like the Mangid Tea in this.
Comfort/Look: I’m fine with both. I don’t have any problems. The Kato is a little heavier when you pick them up but once you put them on you don’t feel the difference. The diamond style design of the Kato is very cool but a bit bland. The olina is cool because of the marble style but a little bland too. I like designs like the ZSX, SA6, TEA, OH10, A8…different.
Qualities: I feel the Kato has a better cable by far. The iem feels more solid. It has more accessories (mostly useless) like holsters, cards or the nozzle . The holster that comes with it is small. It doesn’t fit this iem. Absurd…
Really the only difference is the cable. I will put a TRIPOWIN C8 8 on the Olina. Should I look for something better?
Sound: Actually the fun of all this is that thanks to search and search I found a table of fellow @nymz. I tried the Olina out of pure curiosity but I consider it would be a great iem if it was worth 250€ or more. I was looking for something better for me than Timeless.
The Kato for me is a little better than the Timeless. I can understand that the Timeless has more bass and better. That’s just the way it is. I can understand that they say it has more resolution (I don’t appreciate it well enough to say that). The Kato also has a lot of cleanliness. The problem with the Timeless is that I feel it lacks stage. I don’t feel a great soundstage. I hate that. One of the things I value most about an iem is the feeling of a surround sound The kato I think is somewhat better at this.
KATO VS OLINA
Both are very very natural. It is a joy to listen with them. It sounds very organic and real. You could say they are all-rounders.
Actually they are quite similar. For me where the Olina wins is in instrumental/sound stage separation. I don’t know if it has more separation and that’s why it gives the sensation of a bigger soundstage or vice versa but I feel like the Kato tends to compact everything more. EYE: The Kato doesn’t sound congested. The olina makes practically all music sound more enveloping.
In texture I also notice a slight difference. It seems like the olina gives you extra sharpness/resolution on most songs. I feel a clean sound with both but a little more on the Olina.
Finally, I find the slam/bass of the Olina curious. It’s chameleonic. Sometimes it gives you more than the kato depending on the song, sometimes it gives you less but with more definition. When there is punch he gives it to you.
My question is, what now?
I would have liked to try the EJM07M/lava but paying 540€ seems like a lot of price difference. I would like to A/B test the Olina against the S12, Raptgo Hook or even the Yanyinn Cannon.
If you like stuff closer to what I do, I would say Tea2 or Kinda Lava, depends on your budget. Kinda Lava will give you better results in techs, although I love Tea2 stage presentation.
