šŸ”¶ Moondrop Aria

IEMs / Other [Official] IEMs / Other
104

Finallyā€¦ And thanks for doing a side by side comparison with MEST ($1000) and Xenns UP ($700) which I donā€™t have the budget to experience! It really shows what different price brackets do to the IEMs. The MEST and Xenns UP definitely performed better in separation and resolution whereas the Aria has a bit of the ā€œsournessā€ (veil?) albeit the relaxed signature. In terms of the Starfields, I canā€™t hear much difference tbh. However, after hearing the Aria, I really recommend comparing it with the Tin HIFI T4 and see how the resolution and tuning are different. No doubt the Aria is tuned beautifully, but with Tin T4 going for $70 on Drop sometimes, I wonder if the T4 will beat the Aria by a slight margin.

Thanks for this comparison!! This review is a full-blown experience, and perhaps itā€™s just because I personally prefer a better resolution, I figured that I might be content with the IEMs I have atm. I tested your tracks with BLON BL-05s (foam tips), Tin T2 (silicon tips), Tin T4 (foam tips), and Koss KPH30i Clear (Yaxi pads). The results across these headphones are consistent across what Iā€™ve said in the previous paragraph. What an experience!

*Sidenote: I think the BLON BL-05s are overly underestimated 'cos people tend to think that it should be similar to the original BL-05. NO, BIG NO. BL-05s are better tuned in every way, massive upgrade from the originals.

2 Likes
105

Agree with the others! Very informative and your passion shows through.

1 Like
106

Speaking of cables, I might want to get the Nicehck black cable for the Aria since atm, it matches it fairly well. Not to mention the look the 16 core cable can make it look much better than it already is. Wish the stock cable of mine didnā€™t get too freaking tangled now it looks funny.

107

Have any of you paired your Arias with FiiO UTWS3? My left one falls out very easily!

(I posed this question along with a bit of a rant in its own thread but think I might get more traction here)

109

I canā€™t speak to those genres. I am mostly a progressive rock guy,
with some classic rock and a tiny bit of heavy metal thrown in.

That said, I do find it does a nice job with everything I throw at it. I was accidentally listening to some classical guitar two days ago, and I could tell the positional arrangement of the people on stage, which isnā€™t something you would have expected on $80 earbuds a few years ago.

1 Like
110

What DAC/AMP combos do you guys recommend for Aria? Iā€™m tempting to buy Qudelix 5K for my newfound favorite IEM!

111

Qudelix 5K is what I have. Iā€™ve owned a few others and I found it to be the best sounding for me.

Though in the last few months Iā€™ve ditched portable DAC/amps in favor of a small dongle. Easier to pack it all up in a pocketable* travel case and itā€™s one less thing to set up to get started with my music.

Oddly enough, I tried plugging in my IEMs into my desktop rig (THX amp, Bifrost DAC), comparing it to the dongle, and I could hardly bother to notice a difference unless I was really looking for something.

The Qudelix, however, seemed to sound more noticeably different. Maybe brighter a bit. And the BTR5 warmed everything up.

So, for me, the portables change the signature - for better or worse depending on taste. Meanwhile, the cheap $9 apple dongle, or the more expensive ddhifi adapters, had a similar signature as my $1000+ desktop rig!

It could be with more critical listening I would come to hear and appreciate more readily the desktopā€™s improvements. Butā€¦it says a lot to me that the main idea of what Iā€™m hearing is so close on an enjoyment level. It seriously made me look at my desktop stuff and think ā€œwhat am I doing with this stuff?ā€

Well the answer to that was ā€œohā€¦yeaā€¦.some headphones just need more power to be loud enough.ā€ Lol

Anywayā€¦yeaā€¦Iā€™ve been fine with dongles. But you may like the changes made by the portable DAC/amps. I wouldnā€™t say itā€™s better, but different and that difference may be better to your taste.

I might get roasted for this but that was my honest experience!

EDIT:
My current adapter for 2.5mm IEMā€™sā€¦

My current lightning to 3.5mmā€¦
Letā€™s shop together on AliExpress with new user coupons
Your US $1.00 in coupons are here!

3 Likes
112

Thanks for your honest thoughts. I was initially going for btr5, but after reading some loves and hates from many users I decided to not waste my time on faulty product and bugging app from Fiio.

3 Likes
113

I was on vacation, so I missed this discussion. I have never had issues with the app from Fiio, and from what I can tell this seems to be a platform issue. If you are on Apple phones, the Fiio app seems to be horrible, but if you are on a somewhat recent Android device, it runs great. You only run the app to change the settings for the device. It stores them, and from there you never run it, it just connects like any other Bluetooth device. I think I ran the Fiio app twice in the first month I owned it.

I have run my Aria IEMs over a couple cheap USB-C to 3.5mm dac, both under $10, they were both fine, and I canā€™t really tell any difference.

The BTR5 is the only amplifier I own, and I use it all the time, but more for the wireless features than anything else. There are lots of good options, I have been happy with it.

1 Like
114

The BTR5 still kicks ass to this day, maybe some day that will be next target to get but for now I have to get stuff that needs attending other than this hobby of mine. Bad habits once you get into something that you like so much.

1 Like
115

What to get after Ariaā€™s? They my only pair of IEM

1 Like
116

Hello and welcome to hfgf :slight_smile:

To better help you, can you give us more information? Like whats your prefered sound signature, library, what source you using, etc?

117

Thanks for the warm welcome friend!

I really enjoy clear details in the mids not too harsh on the highs but still fun and some bass . I enjoy listening to rock, alt rock, hip/hop and rap all from amazon music and spotify.
I find that the Arias have this weird unpleasing thin or tinny sound in some songs with the high treble or something i donā€™t know if Iā€™m even saying this right.

118

Your library sounds awfully close to BGGARā€™s, so that might be an easy rec.

What is your budget? :slight_smile:

119

i could do somewhere in the 200 or less range

120

You can check this video, I donā€™t own any of them and my recā€™s would be 300usd+.

Iā€™ll leave @hawaiibadboy rankings here.

Altho, if youā€™re not in a hurry, my personal opinion is to wait for some reviews on Tripowin x HBB ā€˜Meleā€™, since that if itā€™s that good as its claimed, youā€™re prolly getting an Hana 2021 for 50bucks and save some. You can check his video on Mele in that channel as well.

Thereā€™s one model that is not in the video, that is Fiio FH3. I own it, donā€™t really like it with my library - Iā€™ll sell it, but itā€™s praised a lot by a lot of people, altho personally Iā€™d go Hana/Mele if I was going to get anything under 200 with that library. The bass in FH3 itā€™s his selling point, for sure, and itā€™s a great set, just not for my library.

121

Thanks for all the help :slight_smile: Iā€™m not in a hurry so in the meantime ill binge watch some videos lol

1 Like
122

My rec will be Mangird Tea or Oxygen if you can save up a little bit more. Teas are warm balanced and Oxygen are harman tuned like the Arias.

Still, do some research and wait for some Mele impressions, they are coming out this week. Also, theres a 14 day queue now on Mele, just so you know.

123

Yeah speaking about the Teas, I have been seeing a lot of high praise towards them, therefore as of the moment I am curious and want to hear it on what they say about it is true. So far, my Arias are so far so good with me, probably itā€™s because they do sound similar to the Starfields and I love my Starfields. (I am going to miss mineā€™s old painting though, for it chipped and I had to respray it :frowning: )

2 Likes
124

The Mangird Tea omg looks amazingā€¦the Mele looks great so will just keep saving up for now. Iā€™m loving Ariaā€™s rn too.

1 Like