They are the color of whatever they are reflecting. They are the most difficult IEM I have to actually get the faceplate in focus.
I figured it was something like that, I also was not sure if the design on the faceplate was just drawn on or slightly etched… somI was not sure if that was contributing to the weirdness in the color.
I believe it is laser-etched.
Mini review of Moondrop’s variations
This is an early review, so I will concentrate on things other then sound
Unboxing and presentation
This was kinda marred by the shipping, but honestly it is not a bad looking package and if everything had not been shaken up in shipping I can see this being a very nice presentation upon first opening the box. The box itself is a bit too big for what is inside so if you are someone who likes to keep the boxes of products you buy this is either a really nice show piece or oversized waste of space.
Accessories
Tips
Okay this may sound like a backhanded insult, but honestly these tips are one of the few OEM tips that I don’t hate. Honestly for most IEMs that don’t pack in things like spinfits, final type E, or other good tips instead of their own versions I just don’t bother. I actually skipped the packed in tips initially until @Resolution mentioned that he was using the packed in tips, so i gave them a chance and they are good. They also use a nice small plastic case to store the tips which is just a far nice way then the little plastic drug baggies you usually get.
Cable
I am not quite sure if I like, hate, or am just confused by the cable. The multi connector end is both bulky and fiddly at the same time and that is a negative, but it does give useful options. The wire is a good (if not great) weight and the earhooks are the right amount of soft and formed that they work just about perfectly. There is a nice medium braid up until the split and then just two smooth coated wires after the split that feel nice on the face and neck. I will leave measurements and metal composition of the cable to people who care more then me, for me comfort is the most important thing a cable does after just plain working.
Case
The case is a bit big to be truly pocketable and the design is kinda silly for the extra bulk since it really is not good for carrying anything besides the IEMs (no pockets and it is vertical). It does seem sturdy and unlike Moondrop’s Aria case actually fits the IEM with the cables without feeling like it is crushing things. So not perfect, but it does the bare necessities.
Others
It comes with extra filters, the moondrop tweezers thingies (to help change the filters if your ears are disgusting) and some cards and even an instruction booklet. The instructions are kinda odd, because I really hope someone’s first IEMs are not in the $500+ price range… but hey to each their own. There is also a postcard and various other paperwork things with plenty of anime girls… again to each their own.
Fit
They are not small, but honestly they fit beautifully. They almost feel like they float, but if you have really small ears then I could see it being an issue. If you have any of the KZ IEMs like the DQ6, KS10 pro, or EDX they are no bigger then those and better designed, at least in my ears. With a good set of tips they can easily be multi hour comfortable… but again everyone is a bit different so my fit may not be the same for you.
Short of going into sound and that will take a while longer before I have my full thoughts sorted this is my initial impressions.
So far I do not regret the price at all and they defiantly feel premium enough to justify the price.
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Lol about the tips…. I was just simply shocked stock tips sealed at all. They usually never do for me.
I still wouldn’t say they are good or great for comfort, just that they worked.
Most tips seal for me, but a lot of OEM one start to bug me after some time. The silicone ones were nice, not quite type E for me but good. What surprised me is that I tried the foams and I didn’t hate them immediately. I dislike almost all foams (OEM and aftermarket ones). I am still probably never going to use the foams again, but I was still pleasantly surprised.
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I can make this comparison now between Moondrop’s…
Blessing 2
Blessing 2 Dusk
Variations
The Blessing 2 is one of the best all around neutral IEMs you can purchase today period.
The Dusk takes all the Blessing 2 hardware and re-tunes it to sound more enjoyable with a large sub bass emphasis and overall smoother treble.
The Variations is made up of what I’m guessing to be the proper driver configuration to actually pull off the Dusk’s tuning. It sounds almost identical to the Dusk with slightly better slam and better technicalities and is more efficient.
Not sure if it was this thread or not but I was being asked a lot of questions regarding the Dusk and I couldn’t speak from experience because I did not own it. I can now say easily that there is VERY little difference between the Variations and the Dusk. Anyone wanting to save some money but wanting to hear the enjoyable tuning of the Variations can rest assured, they aren’t missing out on much what so ever by skipping the Variations and just going with the Dusk. They sound very similar, but I will not deny that the Variations has a touch better slam than the Dusk and the stage felt more spacious. Not $200.00 better though.
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Moondrop seems to do this quite a bit. This is pretty much how I feel about the Starfield and Aria. They are really close and honestly you can save money buying the Aria and not lose much at all.
Plus I think the Aria looks much nicer.
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Agreed. I think the Aria might even be superior from everything I’ve heard(I don’t have one so I can’t say personally).
I’m guessing that Crin taught Moondrop how to tune an IEM using the Blessing 2 hardware and then Moondrop designed a new IEM from the ground up with Crin’s tuning in mind.
All three are great IEMs. I love them all. Not much need for the Dusk now or the Variations. How ever you want to look at it. Same thing with the KXXS, KXXX, Starfield and now Aria. Pretty much, all the same harman-tuned IEM with highly varying price points with hardly any perceived difference in tonality.
The advantage the Aria had was time. I kinda alway put down how close/maybe better it is to the Starfield as being the advantage of the most up to date driver that Moondrop has.
My guess is that down the line Moondrop might just eventually release another tribrid with a similar configuration to the Variations at a slightly lower price since all the growing pains/costs of a new tech will be gone.
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Nothing wrong with that. That’s what progress is all about. Better product at lower and lower cost.
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I have the mangird tea, do you think it would be redundant to buy the blessing 2 dusk? or buy something really better like some tribid.
I heard they both have good subbass.
The Mangird Tea could be anyone’s endgame. I prefer it to the Blessing 2 because of its sub bass emphasis and smoother/more relaxed treble.
I’d be looking at a tribrid if I were you. I’d completely skip the B2 & Dusk if you already own the Mangird Tea.
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A nice one:
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Just a heads up for anyone considering buying the variations, the faceplate came loose and the 2 pin plug started falling out of my right earpiece after only a month. The warranty card that comes in the package says they do not cover “deformed shells” or “damaged plugs” so looks like I may be fucked. $520 down the drain. For what it’s worth they sound amazing, probably my favorite out of any I’ve tried before they fell apart lol
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Is the faceplate completely off? I’d try a little superglue. Where are you storing it? I have the Blessing 2, Blessing 2 Dusk and the Variations and I have no issues with any of them, but all my IEMs are stored in a controlled environment. The 2 pin connectors were extremely tight just like any other 2 pin IEM I’ve owned. Maybe even tighter. I am using after market cables on all of my Moondrops.
Sorry to hear you’re having issues. If you purchased from Apos, they usually have warranty’s past the manufacturer. Might be worth a shot asking them if they could help if you can’t resolve the issues yourself?
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The face plate was starting to come off a little in normal use. The 2 pin connector popped out and the faceplate came almost all the way off when I tried to unplug the stock cable to switch to a kbear cable. I actually got the connector back in place and the faceplate back on but the connector is really loose and wiggles around like crazy. Probably just gonna get worse now.
I had blessing 2 og, dusk, and s8 and didn’t have problems with any of them, switched cables on all of them too. I store the variations in the case they came with. Just bad luck I guess. I bought them from headphones.com, and their policy seems to be “contact the manufacturer” while moondrop’s policy says “contact the seller” lol. Guess I’m just waiting to contact both on Monday now
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I can take the face plate off pretty easily now and i think I can tell what went wrong. There’s a faint rectangle on the back of the faceplate right above the connector, and I think there must have been some kind of glue/adhesive holding both in place. And maybe there wasn’t enough. Think I might try to glue it myself, but I don’t know what type of superglue to use and I don’t want to fuck it up even worse lol. It still sounds fine though
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I thought you meant just the 2 pin connector being loose and the cable sliding out of it. Not the entire internal 2 pin housing inside the IEM coming loose. I’d return that immediately. Sorry bro.
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I ended up using just a tiny bit of super glue to secure the 2 pin housing and the faceplate and that did the trick. I’ll stop hogging the thread now haha
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