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Xduoo XD-05 Balance Unboxing and First impressions
First Impressions
- Size is better than expected by me, but also heavier than I thought;
- Volume control is well thought - very precise and hard to accidentaly rotate;
- Clean but not lifeless sound signature (stock Opamps);
- Amazing stage;
- Very powerfull - 1w @ 32ohm is no joke for IEMS;
- No hish - detected a VERY minor background noise only with Tanya, almost unoticeable;
- Bluetooth works amazing - paired in 2 secs and range is very ok;
- Very user friendly controls;
- Great build quality;
- Great quantity and quality of accessories;
- Batery seems to hold for more than 9 hours on USB;
- Boost switch seems like a gimmick;
- Doesn’t charge while using data slot - a pro and a con;
- Leather case (sold separately) is very good and protects very well from scretches;
- Device gets warm but never hot.
Full review to follow soon and comparitions vs M3X and Luxury & Precision W2.
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Ahahah what a troll 🤦
I was expecting more of “I recommended it, of course it’s good” kind of thing 
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Moondrop Variations: The sub-bass prince
Disclaimer: The unit used for this review was paid full price with my own money on HifiGo. No incentives were given to say anything else but the truth in my own words. English is not my native language so I apologize upfront for any kind of miswording. Head-fi link of the review
Ranking: 4.5/5
+Sub-bass
+Treble
+Detail
+Price
-Mid-bass lacking
-Mids can get thin
-Fit
-Stock Cable
1. Introduction
Moondrop needs no introduction - any audiophile that has looked in the IEM world has come across with the brand. Variations it’s one the brand’s newest releases and their first tribrid, using:
- For bass: 10mm liquid crystal diaphragm composite copper inner-cavity dynamic driver;
- For midrange: Softears-D-Mid-B (Customized mid-frequency composite balanced armature driver);
- For treble treble: SONION high-power electrostatic driver.
Moondrop Variations enters the market with a 520$ MSRP, placing it within one of the most competitive brackets of the hobby currently (tribrids), while still being one of the cheapest competitors.
2. Inside the box
- Standard 2 pin copper cable with a modular termination (not a good one to be honest - spaguetti);
- 3 termination modules: 3.5mm single-ended, 2.5mm balanced and 4.4mm balanced;
- Carrying fake leather box;
- 3 Sets of Moondrop Silicone tips (S to L);
- 3 Sets of Foam tips (S to L);
- A tweezer and replacement filters;
- Anime cards;
- Warranty card.
3. Sources, accessories and fit
To get my impressions only flac files were used only. Both Shanling M3X and Luxury & Precision W2 were used, but in the end the final thoughts were used only with the set connected to L&P W2 on 4.4mm balanced using the stock cable. As for tips, all the review was done using Spinfit CP155 medium size.
Variations shell uses the same size and format as its predecessor Blessing 2. It’s a pseudo custom shell, on the bigger side, with a long and large nozzle. Any people that fits one of them, will probably fit the other. To my ears, they strike as the maximum size I can hold, so anything above this won’t fit. As for comfort, they aren’t the best to me after some hours, but as always, YMMV. Isolation is average to my ears.
A quick word about the filters: They don’t change the sound in any way. Mine came already off and I didn’t bother to replace them at all. also they don’t look any good when applied,
4. Sound Signature and Technicalities
Variations comes across as a sub-bass focused monitor, with a sterile sound signature and a sparkly treble. Its neutral with sub-bass boost clearly has some Thieaudio Monarch pedigree resemblance on it, which most will find appealing since it’s generally considered the most resolving IEM under 750 USD.
The strongest point of this tuning is its bass. It’s without a doubt one of the best sub-bass texture, extension and elevation I’ve ever heard. When a track goes low, it comes alive, shows it’s claws and rumbles like it should. My favourite trait of this set, by a margin - I consider it best in class so far.
Now that we’ve seen all the pretty, what about the ugly? To achieve such tuning, the mid-bass shelf is somewhat abrupt, forming a small dip, starting around 200hz, recessing this frequency. This means that anything that hits this frequency zone will be somewhat recessed, even more noticeable on busy tracks due to other parts’ elevation. In short, bass guitars, kick drums, male vocals and others will not be as forward or even come along as somewhat muted, which makes a frontal collision with my personal library. This detail will also make it sound somewhat thinner and more analytical, leaving me wishing for some more warmth sometimes.
Mids follow the same pattern, sometimes lacking note weight or warmth for my preferences, but still present and not recessed - just less of an “in your face” presentation that can be found on more mid focused IEMs. As expected, female vocals will sound more present than the male’s counterpart.
Despite all of that, the detail on it is top notch and well textured. Upper mids are very well done, a little more elevated than my personal taste but I liked it as they never came out as shouty or intense.
The treble comes out as a close second to its sub-bass. Detailed, energetic while not piercing, airy, detailed and very well extended. Clearly a good implementation of EST drivers for that sweet smoothness, that will make sparkle lovers happy. Instruments like cymbal strikes and electric guitars might sound a bit emphasized, but with good decay while retaining some naturalness to it.
Soundstage is wide and outside your head. It has good depth and some height. When paired with its great imaging, any presentation comes alive, as if you’re on the first row. Lastly but not least, the level of detail of this set is outstanding, benchmarking and the one to beat at its price.
5. Sample tracks
- London Grammar - Metal and Dust
Female vocals will come out as a bit thin and lacking some warmth, but with good details. Sparkles all over.
- John Legend - All of Me
John’s vocals sound a bit thin and recessed, giving a somewhat lack of naturalness to the replay. Sparkles and reverb effects were pretty good.
- Jay Cosmic - The Tunnel (0:58 - 1:15)
Variation’s bread and butter - it’s speciality. Sub-bass extension and texture are best in class, which makes it a great replay.
- RHCP - Throw Away your television (0:00 - 0:15)
During the first 15 seconds of the intro, Variations mid-bass dip comes into play, muting the bass guitar and pushing it behind the rest of the band, showing its weakness. Any drummer or bass guitarist won’t like this set due to this particular reason.
- Laurent Garnier - Crispy Bacon
I use this techno classic to look into the tuning balance. Variations showed some lack of mid-bass thumb and slam, while displaying
- Hans Zimmer - Wallace
One of a kind replay. The bread and butter. If I had to choose a single track to listen to on Variations, it would be this one.
- Snarky Puppy - What about me?
The lack of mid-bass will be very present on this kind of Jazz tracks and I can’t recommend Variations for the genre. Percussion instruments will get lost in the way.
- Massive attack - Angel (0:00 - 0:20)
Everyone knows this track and it’s characteristics. Variations is no exception. Impressive, as expected.
- Ariana Grande - Touch it (0:52)
Sub-bass pad drop with an amazing texture. Brings bass and treble upfront compared to vocals. Might not be ideal for vocal heads, but it’s a very fun and different replay.
6. Comparisons
I’ll now compare Moondrop Variations to another two IEMs in a Tribrid Deathmatch. Every set will be using 4.4mm balanced and stock cable. All of them are running from Luxury & Precision W2 (Low gain, Tune 02, no EQ) with flac files. I listened to a lot of tracks on all the IEMs, but I used the following three to bring the divine judgment on:
- Billie Eilish - Oxytocin
- Agnes Obel - Curse
- Daft Punk - Aerodynamic
EJ07m (Spinfit CP145, Tanchjim Tanya filters)
Variations has better sub-bass texture, extension and rumble, while EJ07m compensates for it with more mid-bass elevation, speed and slam. On busier and more dynamic genres like metal, Variations mid-bass will hit like a spoon while EJ07m will slam.
Mids presentation is more forward and detailed on EJ07m, making it a better suit for vocals as well.
Treble is fully on the Variations side. EJ has great presentation and detail for a darker treble, but Variations is just top of the class.
Technically, Variations gives the feel of being more resolving, but on micro details they are very close or 07m even surpasses it. Stage is deeper on Variations, but EJ07m has better imaging and sense of holographic acoustics.
Verdict: In my opinion, EJ07m is a superior IEM and for people that are more treble sensitive, it’s a no brain. Its tuning makes it very easy to most libraries and be used as an all arounder, while Variations comes out more as a fun set to have on the side. For sparkle lovers, Variations is the pick.
Xenns UP (Spinfit CP100)
Sub-bass is a no contest in favor of Variations best-in-class texture and presentation. But what about mid-bass? Mid-bass is one of my personal nitpicks with this set. This is where Xenns UP will win since mid-bass on Variations sometimes feels non-existent.
Regarding mids, I prefer Xenns UP presentation, even if they are elevated. The vocals on Variations feel pushed more in the background that I like (YMMV).
Treble rolls the exact same way as sub-bass in favour of Variations. Variations treble is less on my preferences, I usually prefer darker trebles, but credit where it’s due - Variations treble is awesome with some nice implementation of those EST drivers.
Technically, Variations turn the arena into a bloodbath. With some Monarch pedigree on its ADN, Variations is a tough bone to chew on.
Verdict: Variations as a sterile presentation of the sound, while Xenns makes you feel you’re at a beach party by comparison. Although Variations’ sub-bass and treble are best in class, I prefer mids presentation from UP. To put it briefly, to my library, Variations is to find detail and stains on records while UP is to enjoy a sound. Both are great at what they do, but they do completely different things - if Xenns put a warm instagram filter on, Variations reduce the saturation and increase detail.
7. Conclusions
Despite not fitting my library or preferences, it’s hard to not give credit where it’s deserved: Variations holds the flag for one of the most, if not the most, resolving IEM up to its price point. People looking for a very neutral IEM with a bass boost almost exclusive on the sub-bass region, should look no further. With the right library, it can be anyone’s end-game. I see it as a fun side IEM to have for specific tracks or genres and not as an all-rounder, but as always, ymmv.
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Finally!! Love the detailed comparison section and the very FINE layout. I eventually EQed the 150-400hz scoop a bit, not by much, just 1-2db. Doesn’t seem to change much but it does make the coherency of all frequencies a tad smoother.
Yes it is, for me.
Still love them to death… Along with the king: TEA. 
(If Variations was the prince)
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Thanks brother 
means a lot. Im shifting a bit torwards a more simple layout while keeping all the information. It should help me speed the process and empty the pipeline.
The cult lives on
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I agree, consistent layout for your reviews spell out your style and make it easier for you to do the write up. Nice job and I sincerely appreciate the effort! 100% agree to what you said here.
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Finally a meaningful review, not just Head-Fi paid publications. It’s worth paying attention to Mооndrop, they’re good! Cheers. 
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Just wanted to add my $0.02 based on my library and the 2 tribids I own:
Variations for Techno, Trance, House, etc…
Dunu EST 112 for everything else.
Thanks for the review.
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It sounds like the best compliment IEM pair to go along with Meles (bassy, funny) + Teas (Mid-forward) that should basically cover 100% of musical library.
But 500$ for a complementary IEMs? Any other similar IEMs with that kind of resolving power (or rather 80% of that) but below 250$? I have proper full 8x BA set (Audiosense T800), but weirdly enough it is not know for resolving power, so even though I love general tuning I think it would end up in the in-between zone between Mele and Tea, so almost no usage at all.
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When you got teas, sheer resolving power around 250$ will be a pain to achieve…
In my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt, I’d save the money (or invest in a source if you don’t have a nice one) and enjoy the music 
Mele + Teas will take you places.
You can take a look into planars like Timeless or P1 Plus. I have none with me yet (thanks customs) so I can’t give an opinion on that. Seems the easiest way to get a “different” signature around that price!
If you wanna step it up, I’d say go to tribids, as ESTs will bring up the resolution while playing with the tuning, and for that, I’d recommend EJ07m with Tanya filters (you can get them for around 470$ on some ali stores).
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I have Shanling Q1 as my DAP on the go and in bed where I listen to music the most. My stationary setup is also simple laptop + ifi hip dac. Honestly I don’t feel I need anything more sophisticated as my little daughter takes every minute of my life and when I have free time it is also time to go to bed most often than not.
The only important thing in source I am looking for is battery life (both play and standby) and this Q1 is almost unbeatable apart from something like Cowon Plenue D3 (with crappy limit on storage being 128GB + known problems) or Sony A55 (with stupid proprietary connector). Some streaming capability would be nice as well (but rather spotify and apple music than tidal), but it is not necessary, as the freedom of choice is often bigger problem, than having only limited amount of albums on my DAP. No dongles for me, as my phone battery sucks.
TLDR: probably you are right, I should wait up and save money. I have seen mint used MEST MK 1 on headfi for 750 Euros, so that may be the next step…
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One just sold on UK Ebay for £550 or best offer so they’re getting ‘cheap’ 
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Keep saving those bucks. Time is always on our side. Chifi gets cheaper and cheaper for the same tech of years ago.
Question: what’s the batery life of q1?
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I never get it fully discharged, so I don’t know exact timing 100%->0%. Based on some extrapolation it is something between 16-18h playback time and I do play it on high gain mostly with T800 (they are very insensitive and I hear some potential clipping in low gain) or even for some hours on line out (which is basically 100% volume, where normally I have 25%).
I have it turned on constantly on standby with Wi-fi an BT off most of the time and it holds for me for about 2 weeks of the way I use it (turning DAP off is no-go if it is to serve any purpose for me). In that period from time to time I transfer files via wifi transfer (which is really cool thing to have in my opinion).
Generally it was one of my YOLO type of buy used from local polish forum (and the unit is one from the first batch sold on kickstarted so also not quite new battery), because it was looking nice and was very cheap (like 75$).
I did not know much about DAPs at that point, but battery in my phone with spotify on was killing me, but it was really, really lucky shot. From time to time I try to convince myself to buy something better, but I cannot find anything which would be worthy upgrade (Hiby R3 Pro and R5 being probably the closest) as all good sounding mid-level DAPs like Cayin N3Pro, iBasso DX160 or Fiio M11 are having shitty battery. And the sound of mine is very satisfacting for me since I haven’t heard anything better.
On side note I want to have N3Pro in my setup anyways for the “lampy” sound and balanced out at some point.
And one thing extra - Q1 is small - when I see those bricks like DX300 I cannot believe someone is using them on-the-go apart from this guy
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Damn I make those posts always way too long 
That was simple question and the simple answer is 16-18h playback in period of 2 weeks in standby.
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Ahah, I get that. I need ultra long bateries since I use them all day during work. That’s the reason I bought M3X - 19h batery with android. I wanna try non android daps tho, and I’m not in love with Shanling sound signature. But Q1 seems good to transport with a DAC/AMP
19h with android? How could I miss out on that DAP? That is super strange value, as M2X is like 9h tops. How is the standby time in yours?
So that is my next step apparently not Cayin - if you would be willing to get rid of that let me know 
For me DAP needing extra DAC/AMP does not work, phone + DAP + IEMs are enough for my pockets 
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