Is there any over ear headphones that you could recommend under $500? I jus5 put on my nari ultimate and now that ive heard the dusks for a few weeks i refuse to deal with the distortion that razers headphones have lmao
I canât really recommend anything, because I havenât heard that much. However I am surprised when you say that airpods and samsung buds have better bass than dusk. Why donât you use those then?
Maybe we mean different things when we use the word âbassâ. Around 150-300hz for example the dusk has less mid bass than the original blessing 2.
Also what I forgot to mention: I never heard of a virtual tube amp, but those kind of dsp stuff (and bad equalizing) can make things a lot worse contrary to the intention. If you eq in the first place, there shouldnât be a reason to use stuff like that. And eqing is easy to fuck up, so you may want to revisit your âaudio enhancment strategyâ. Also pretty every comparison between iems/headphones is useless, if you put on eq settings, that (hopefully at least) only you know.
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Good to know thanks for the info also i thats a good point i was referring more to subbass and since you mentioned that i just did a test ( one that i thought i have already done but i guess not) as it turns out the dusk actually sounds perfect the issue is my bluetooth dac/amp headband ive been using with the bluetooth one the lowest response i can get is kIck drums with a wired connection they sound like everyone else says they should so are there any wireless options for dac/amps that anyone here knows about that are completely lossless
I donât know about loseless, but checkout the qudelix 5k. I think itâs considered the best bluetooth dongle. can also be used via usb as a smartphone/desktop dac+amp.
I tried it out and I didnât miss anything in terms of soundquality when connected via bluetooth. Thinking about buying one for myselfâŠ
Hey guys! Iâm gonna share my impressions about The Variations after using it for about 2 weeks! I wonât be sharing my usual Kpop tracks in this post, cause I wanna put the variations to the test with some of my other favourite korean tracks. Will be focusing more on the Korean Hip Hop, Rap, RnB, and 90s Disco genre side of it.
Tips: Spinfit CP145 (M)
Audio Source: M1 Macbook Air (Volume Bar 5) via Apple Music & Sony NW-A55 (MrWalkman DMP-A50 FEv2 Plus) (Volume 70/120)
I donât have an IEM thatâs in a similar price range to the Variations so Iâll compare it to my FD5 instead. Overall, itâs obviously a better IEM for me, especially for KPOP. In terms of soundstage, I felt it to be kinda same-y to the FD5 which caught me by surprised how lucky I am to be able to experience the FD5 first to understand what Soundstage and Imaging are all about. The big improvement comes in the Imaging. While the Soundstage is the same, Imaging is such a huge improvement and I am able to listen to vocal placement and instrumental separation clear as day.
The Mids and Vocals are just exactly what I want in my music library. It just slays in all of my favourite korean tracks, especially with female vocals. Treble was also tamed which is exactly to my liking. It may not be for Treble heads but this fits just right for me. The Sub-bass of the variations is just perfect for my korean music library. The rumble it gives is heavenly. The mid bass, guitar, and drums took a bit of a back seat in a few songs (for ex. Final Fantasy 14 Shadowbringers Theme) but I wonât be focusing on that in this post right now.
I do want to note that I am not that good in explaining the technicalities of it, but I left some timestamps in the songs that I am showcasing in this post, so you can try give it a listen with your own IEMs!
EPIK HIGH âBORN HATER ft. Beenzino, Verbal Jint, B.I, MINO, BOBBYâ is a korean hip hop/ rap track. Itâs very much a sub-bass and vocal focus song. I donât listen to a lot of male vocal tracks but this one really got me on a groove as the vocal dubbing and background vocals are just damn clear. Itâs very hard to find a highlight in this track due to how fun it is to listen to from start till finish.
At the 0:12 - 0:52 mark just showcase how the male vocal and the instrumental backing doesnât overlapped with one another and his vocals just sound crystal clear compared to FD5âs recessed mids. At the 1:32 - 2:10 mark is also another highlight of the maleâs fast rap. While his rap is pretty quick, Iâm able to pinpoint the details in his rap and it doesnât distract me from the sub-bassy instrumentals.
Lee Jin Ah âRUN (With GRAY) is another sub-bass focus song. It is also a duet track. I used to find in the FD5, the male vocals took a back seat but with the variations, he sounded much more clear here. The sub-bass rumble throughout the entire song is quite a joy to listen to and doesnât sound dirty. At the 0:41 - 0:53 is a good example of making both male and female vocals mixed real great together.
At the 0:56 - 1:11 mark shows how good the sub-bass rumble can be in the variations. At the 2:06 - 2:34 mark is just me wanting to highlight that keyboard solo. It just sounds so good lol. At the 3:16 mark onwards until the end of the song, while FD5 has this detail of having able to hear the keyboard solo keys on the right channel, The Variations is able to have a more pronounced detail it, making it easier to listen to.
EXID âLADYâ is a 90s disco-like track. Overall, listening to the FD5 with this track gave me a bit of trouble listening to the vocals as the instrumentals just overlapped it a lil bit even though it sounded good. That is probably due to the recessed mids of the FD5, but The Variations is able to remedy that to bring the vocals in a forward manner and made it more fun for me to listen to this song.
There isnât much to highlight here, but at the 0:00 - 0:22 mark just instantly greets you to their backing vocals in both left and right channels in a very clear manner. One last highlight at the 0:41 - 0:58 just shows that not only is imaging quite important in the background vocals side of it, but also accompanying the vocals in the mids which makes it more fun to listen to.
And finally we arrived to Wonder Girls âLike thisâ. This is just one fun song to listen to. While this track has a lot of sub-bass element, this is very much a vocal focus song. The background vocals in both the left and right channel kinda played a big role throughout the entire track, especially during the chorus.
At the 0:18 - 0:38 just shows how detailed the vocals in both left and right channels with the sub-bass being very clean in the mids before transitioning the vocals into the mids at the 0:39 mark onwards. The vocals in their respective verses are just crystal clear throughout the entire track and this is one of the songs thatâs been in my constant repeat ever since getting the variations. Itâs just so fun to listen to again.
Thatâs pretty much it for now! I may have accidentally left out some key details in their respective tracks but you can give the songs that I have shared a listen! I might be going back to kpop songs in my next impressions but itâs been fun listening to all of my music library so far and thatâs already a wonderful thing for me! Thank you so much for reading!
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(This is the initial version of my âreviewâ. Iâll expand on it in the future with more song references and a list of attributes.)
So, Iâve had the Moondrop Variations for about a month now and had a lot of time to listen to them as well as gather my thoughts. tl;dr: These are one of the best IEMs you can find and a benchmark below 1000$.
For those who donât know, the Moondrop Variations is a lot Tribrid IEM with a current price tag of 520$. They incorporate a single 10mm LCP Diaphragm Dynamic Driver (DD), two Sonion Electrostatic Drivers (EST) and two Softears Customised Balanced Armature Drivers (BA).
I found the cube shaped Packaging to be quite nice. The included cable with interchangeable termination is good although can get a bit tangly at times. You get the usual Moondrop silicon ear tips as well as Foam ear tips. I did not use either though because I have SpinFit CP155. These were already a perfect fit for the Blessing 2 and the same can be said for the Variations. They just fit on the nozzle and make the IEM both easy to insert into my ears as well as super comfy to wear for me.
The IEM itself are very well built. The resin body with smoked look and metal faceplate looks great and has a nice weight to it without being heavy. The IEMs weight 9g per side, so 16g in total.
The first thing I noticed when putting them on and listening to music was how crystal clear and transparent these sound. The Variations are the definition of a neutral with bass boost tuning. The Bass is elevated primarily into the sub bass and extends all the way to 20hz. This is one of the reasons why the Variations sound so clean to me: there is zero Bass bleed into the mids, which leads to vocals just sounding extraordinary. The Bass is impactful, tight and well controlled. When the music calls for it the DD will produce rumbling, detailed bass thatâs just so much fun to listen to. The âHardwiredâ EP by mitch murder for example is a bliss to listen on with these. Especially âHardwiredâ and âReconnaissanceâ show what the Dynamic Driver of the Variations is capable of. Bass hits deep, sharp and has a textured body to it while always sounding controlled and never overwhelming anything else. âWe Could Get More Machinegun Psystyle! - And More Genre Switchesâ by Camellia shows the Variations handling vastly different subgenres of Electronic music flawlessly. Especially the Speed and Decay of the DD is made apparent by the Speedcore kicks or DnB parts.
The Mids continue where the Bass left of: Excellency. Both male and female vocals sound crystal clear and fill the room, being brought into the centre of attention when a song wants them to. This is where I need to mention the Variations imaging capabilities which are simply impressive. The Variations provides a Deep and Wide Stage thatâs above average in height and knows how to put it to good use. Different instruments are easy to distinct and pinpoint in space. Within those aspects the Variations puts Vocals on a podium and makes them the centre of the song, almost as if the real vocalist is there. I can best describe this podium as then being moved to where the vocalist is in relation to the other instruments as well as more in front or far back given how prominent they are supposed to be.
With the separation and imaging comes great resolution. Macrodetails are resolved beautifully and make the Variations sound very natural and organic. Within all of these qualities the Variations retains coherency between the different parts of the frequency spectrum, which solves one of the biggest gripes I had with the Blessing 2, be it OG or Dusk. The MTV live performance of âHotel Californiaâ by the Eagles lets the Variations demonstrate all of itâs mentioned qualities and makes for an immersive listening experience.
Now while the mids and vocals in general are close to perfection on the Variations, male vocals sometimes lack the slightest bit of body and weight, making them just a hair less full sounding than they should be. This is nitpicking on a high level, mind you. Female Vocals however take all of the mentioned qualities and crank them up to 11. I cannot make this clear enough: Female vocals are a bliss to listen to on the Variations. Crystal clear, airy, detailed and with a resolution very few IEMs could ever hope to achieve. Going even further I need to talk about an entirely different kind of headphone: the open back Sennheiser HD600. Even 24 years after their initial release they are still a benchmark in open back headphones and widely beloved. It speaks for itself that they are still being manufactured and sold to this day. Their biggest quality by far is their incredible midrange, with slight rolled off bass and smooth, but not any less detailed treble resulting in a very musical and enjoyable, non fatiguing listening experience. I have heard a lot of headphones, many much more expensive than the HD600, and almost none of them made vocals sound as great and beautiful like the HD600.
Which leads me back to the Variations. They sound to me as if Moondrop was able to fit the HD600 inside of a small IEM shell, swap the rolled off bass for one of the cleanest and best executed bass responses I have ever heard, and improve on the Treble, giving it much more energy, air and sparkle while still not being fatiguing. Or: the Variations are IEM HD600 on steroids. The HD600 are one of my favourite headphones that I own, and I could not be any more happy how much the Variations remind me of them and improve on their shortcomings. On âNEUROMANCERâ by RIM the female vocalist absolutely shines in an experimental-induced track.
I have already touched on it, but at this point you should not be surprised: the Treble on the Variations is excellent as well. It sounds quite airy and energetic with a sparkle that I would almost describe as âbrillianceâ. The two EST Drivers are implemented very well and round off the Variations into one tonally and technically coherent package.
The Variations improves on the Blessing 2 (OG or Dusk) in pretty much every single aspect. It is the technical and tonally superior IEM in my opinion. More detailed and resolving, with a bigger stage, even better separation and most importantly much, much better coherency. The Blessing 2 sometimes sounded a bit âsmearedâ over, especially on busy tracks where the Variations just keeps on going and retains a much clearer sound image. The lack of mid bass elevation also leads to the Variations being the much more reference-like IEM compared to the Dusk.
Compared to the Aria it shouldnât come as a surprise that the Variations outperforms it by a significant margin. Still, the Aria is one of my daily drivers when I go out and want to listen to music, and itâs warmer tonality is a great complement to the Variations neutral tuning. The Variations truly is an excellently tuned neutral reference that is never boring thanks to itâs bass boost, stellar mids and sparkly treble.
Iâm just really happy with the Variations. It gets my highest recommendation and has set the bar in the sub 1000$ price range incredibly high. Iâd say itâs the benchmark for anything near itâs price point, both in tonality and technicalities.
(This was my first real âreviewâ, so input and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!)
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Congratz on your first 
Well done, keep it up
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Also, thanks for remind me I left my Variations review half-done >_>
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Kinda itching to grab variations.
I really should wait for the S8 update. Jeez.
I can hook you up with my set after iâm done with the review Itâs pretty mint, used for comparitions only
Itâs pretty good! I can never write up a review. Just various impressions if I can. I know the basic stuff of what I want to point out but I donât know how to go into detail with it.
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ty! It was a lot of fun to write and honestly on impulse. I just sat down after making myself some tea and felt the urge to write. None was thought out in advance or pre-structured; I just improvised and wrote down my impressions as they came :3
Your Impressions were a pleasure to read and quite honestly are a kind of review. Also, you listing song examples and describing what you liked at different points is both impressive and very effective!
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Thank you so much! That really means a lot! I always try to make it not seem long but ended up being a very long one every time. Yeah, I do like to present them through listing songs that I listen to. Itâs a good exercise to pinpoint highlights of an IEMs strengths or weaknesses.
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Hey everyone, Iâve been using the Moondrop Variations for around a week and Iâm very satisfied with the sound, particularly with AutoEQâs preset. The only issue I had, however, is the comfort, so I stumbled upon this thread and saw people vouching for the SpinFit CP155. I just got them today and indeed, they are more comfortable and now I can wear them for longer periods of time, but the CP155 killed the bass for me with the Variations and it sounds way too bassy for me on stock. Thankfully, AutoEQâs preset tames down the overblown bass, but itâs still a bit too high, so now Iâd like to change the EQ parameters in a way that makes the Variations + CP155 sound closer to the stock tips + AutoEQâs preset. For the time being, I just toned down the bass to -6.5 dB/62 Hz and -4.5 dB/125 Hz. Any other suggestions for improving the sound through EQ would be greatly appreciated.
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What preset settings ?! Make your equalizer to your liking and enjoy the good IEMs!
Yeah, I get your point. Itâs just that I wasnât 100% sure of what exact range of the frequency frequency was boosted/changed with the CP155s, and thus I asked for more information on the matter in other to make further EQ modifications by myself. I like my tight, fast and well-textured bass, but only when itâs balanced relative to the rest of the response, so I wasnât 100% on board with the Variationsâ stock sub-bass boost and much prefered the more neutral, brighter sound of the AutoEQ preset. Iâve been ABing with the stock tips and I think itâs about the same right now after doing what I described in my previous post.
And thanks! These IEMs are damn good, been having a really good time with them! 
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PM sent! Take a look~
Ok, sorry, havenât looked into PMs yet, gimme a sec!
Hi ! (Iâm new here)
Iâm currently waiting for my Variations to arrive but I was looking for a replacement cable (already)
I know itâs 2-pin 0.78, which is new for me. From the photos, I see the plug holes on the Variations arenât flush with the IEMâs housing.
Some 2-pin connectors have more or less deep plastic part holding the pins. Some are quite short, but itâs hard to tell from photos and I canât seem to find measurementsâŠ
Is there something to look for that Iâve missed ?