Moondrop Golden Age: Taking Steps Backward

[@thefinkie6459]

Where's Jay with his "TIMMY'S A PAID MOONDROP SHILL" comments now? 😂

[@calvinchann1996]

Mine arrived a few days ago. I didn’t buy them for the features but because they were planars with LDAC. They sound OK to me, maybe better than the Space Travel.

[@jub8891]

the box with the anime girl is worth $50 alone

[@alberk77]

I love we all hear different. My impressions are far from yours. I own both and to me the golden ages sounds clearer, punchier and much better than the space travel. Even transparency and NC feel better to me on golden ages

[@FroySan33]

I agree with you, I don't get why the GAs gets so many bad reviews and the Space Travels gets so many good reviews, if the GAs are way better than the Space Travels in every aspect.

[@mudpuddle7527]

I think it has to do with the price, where I'm from Space travel costs 3 times cheaper than golden age. Maybe it's better but is it 3 times better in every aspect?

[@prinzatago]

Agree! The GA definitely sounds clearer, and the bass has more impact as well. It's not the usual heart thumping bass, but rather a clean, precise and pleasant sounding one. Really good for long listening sessions.

[@MML66]

Frankly, I think this is just nonsense. This type of headphones is often used for transportation and to be kept in the pocket, so this size and shape are bad. The 80s does not mean making something impractical.

[@cfilorvyls457]

The size is not that bad. I'm still using sony wf 1000xm3 and from what I can tell the cases size are similar. Biggest problem is just really that this thing sounds like trash.

[@REALOsmiumm]

@@cfilorvyls457 doubling this. I don't think size means much of anything if the quality is there. Obviously I am choosing TWS/IEMS over headphones for the convenience factor so there's absolutely such a thing as too big. But yeah, I've been a long time lover of the xm3's from Sony and that is one monstrous case.

[@kan8155]

it's still small and fairly light imo

[@prinzatago]

The GA's bass cannot be described as "bad" or "weak" - I can clearly feel the bass impact, just not the usual head-thumping way. Rather, the bass feels clear, "sharp" and "precise", while being quite "pleasant" to my ears. It is a clear upgrade from the Space Travel. I actually like the bass that way, as listening to the GA for an extended period of time is a lot more comfortable and pleasing than for example, Fiio's TWS. Furthermore, I can pick up lots of details in the bass and mid that would otherwise be lost to the usual kicking thumps. The ANC works fine. While it does not remove all external noises, the flat frequency strategy employed by the GA means that sound quality is relatively consistent between all modes. Other budget TWS that I tested did not have the same level of consistency (although none was unlistenable). Personally I'm happy with the amount of noise reduction the GA can put out: on a crowded square it lets me enjoy music without losing clarity and details. Mid is crystal clear to me, with lots of details on both vocal and instrument part. Sounds really "cool" (not warm). Sound quality is about 80% of the Aria2 - the improvements are there on the Aria2 but not that much. I'm quite amazed that GA can sound that good while being wireless. The GA can also be a lot louder than the ST thanks to drivers and stuffs. I had to up the volume on ST to 100% and still felt quite unsatisfactory. On the other hand I was quite happy with GA's 60-80% volume level. Battery could be better, build quality could be better. Just drop LDAC, iPhone cannot run that codec anyway. And most people cannot discern the quality of 256/320 AAC and almost lossless LDAC either. Anyway, for 80$ I think the GA is a good choice, especially if you like female vocal, a variety of musical instruments, clean and pleasant bass, and crystal clear sounds. Look elsewhere if you are a basshead, or if you value other functions (calls, mic, ANC) more than sound quality (maybe because you use TWS when commuting and have dedicated IEM for music).

[@clipso9061]

did you try swapping the stock eartips? i had these problems with every moon drop tws untill i put after mark tips on it

[@DCer0]

I genuinely think you got a faulty unit

[@ticoss]

I don't completely agree with this test, even if the description of the type of sound is quite well transcribed. I tested then and for me, these TWS are a bit like the new Lypertek Tevi. They are made for music, not quite for other aspects. It's a choice. They sound very good: they are clean, neutral, kind of natural sounding. It's not the typical bass from tws. I compared them to my wf1000-XM4, it's really the opposite (even if I equalized them to reduce bass). Kind of lean bass but with impact. LDAC connection is stable, even in the subway. ANC is a nice little extra. Tip provided are not bad but don't contribute for the isolation. I used the symbio W on them, i think it was a good addition. I think it's really not bad, I like them. The little thing is that they are a little expensive ($15 less and the purchase will be easier 🙂). PS: for the extra cover for the case, it's real that it hide the design a little. But the drawing recall the location of the cassette player that we had at the time. There were always patterns or bars allowing you to see what was left of magnetic tape. Timmy can't remember that, it didn't exist in his time 😇. He must not have often seen a HiFi system with an audio cassette player. After that, I understand the rating because these are not typical TWS.

[@prinzatago]

Thanks for your review! Your experience is very similar to mine. The GA's bass cannot be described as "bad" or "weak" - I can clearly feel the bass impact, just not the usual head-thumping way. Rather, the bass feels clear, "sharp" and "precise", while being quite "pleasant" to my mind. I actually like it that way, as listening to the GA for an extended period of time is a lot more comfortable and pleasing than for example, Fiio's TWS. Furthermore, I can pick up lots of details in the bass and mid that would otherwise be lost to the usual thumps. In my opinion, for three times the price of the Space Travel, I get way better bass (that I can actually vibe to without feeling fatigued), higher maximum sound volume, crystal clear sounds and 6 hours of battery (which is just enough for me, while ST's 4h is a bit lacking). Recommended for folks who love to listen to female vocal, musical instruments, and just crystal clear sounds in general. Not suitable for basshead people, but perfect for those who just want to vibe to some pleasant drums and stuffs.

[@jjcornelio7741]

I'd love to see you make a tws recommendations vid 😊

[@micgalovic]

Wasnt some codec weirdness going on with the mic? Moondrop states that they support lc3, which works well with compatible devices. Only the newest smartphones have those bluetooth chips though, so your smartphone might have been the issue

[@makunohatsu]

Nice vid, as always. Will you review Dusk? And most importantly: will you Duy Busk?

[@aidencraft32]

he doesn't need to duy busk

[@raffiarsenal]

If you don't duy the busk I don't know what you're doing with your life

[@marumaru5480]

Sound wise i didn't find them bad, in fact i kinda enjoy them. TWS wise anc and transparency are decent, i usually don't take TWS outside when i travel, i'm too used to my little white + IEM combo.

[@realgrilledsushi]

For 80 nah might as well get iem

[@sussei]

For TWS around $80 you might want to look at the Soundcore Liberty 4NC. It may have the "consumer" tuning which is to say quite pleasing outdoors, but the noise cancelling is way above its league and it has all the tws gimmicks like LDAC, wear detection, wireless charging case and dual connection. Battery lasts way longer too.

[@AmmarAbotouk]

LDAC is a gimmick ? Hard disagree

[@ash_knight9029]

@@AmmarAbotouk yeah LDAC on cheap headphones/TWS is just a gimmick.

[@prinzatago]

Can't even run LDAC on iPhone. I'd rather Moondrop remove LDAC support and use the licensing money to upgrade other parts of the Golden Ages. Better build quality, better battery time, etc

[@MiGujack3]

@@AmmarAbotouk It is, especially on TWS. You will use these on the street/gym most of the time anyway, or at least, most people will.

[@kkazakov]

​@@prinzatagothat's because Apple. You either live without it or change to a real device 😅

[@jonathansmith4737]

I find its really hit and miss with the Moondrop TWS as ive owned the limited edition "Ash Arms" Neko cakes and they sounded fantastic, there was a specific Sennheiser EQ tuning curve that made them sound exact like my Sennheiser Momentums 2s and I was laughing at how great a price it was. They lasted for maybe 6 months when the case battery died as well as the earbud batteries as well. Fast forward to the space Travel coming out I thought they were great minus the battery life and not being as loud as the Neko cake but i understood due to the price, those lasted maybe 3 months and I ordered another pair and currently they are still holding strong however not as loud as the Neko cakes.

[@rizki4883]

Bro, i have Nekocake Ash Arms Edition too, it's been more than a year it still fine, btw which EQ tuning you talking about? I don't really know TBH

[@Rorensuwl8]

I've just saved 80 dollars for dusk Looking forward to your review

[@MrBlackJava]

I loved the sound at reference setting, female vocal sounded so good, wery easy to listen to and detail was pinpoint as a clock, think i Will use my as gaming monitor at my Computer. Yee as a tws it not worthy, but for sound and gamingmode i think its good. As tws and all the way you use one at same price i would recomende soundcore Liberty 4 over this anyday.

[@knuttz86]

Is it just me, or are his mannerisms and delivery becoming more Crin-like?

[@NJ-wb1cz]

It's called encrinification. Soon we will all become Crinacle

[@knuttz86]

@@NJ-wb1cz slowly but steadily indocrinated

[@gurabirierosanopara620]

Crin would NEVER fix his hair in-between cuts

[@Karasellers-jg3bp]

This aged in a way that makes you look like a prophet.

[@podio_km4g532]

I was really hoping for a s12-like tws

[@captainpicard3016]

Me too, I ordered it as my wireless S12, cause I'm not satisfied with my AirPods Pro 2 and Sony WF-1000XM4. I really don't want to get one of those TWS receivers for IEMs that look like hearing aids. Some reviews I read online are still positive though so, I think I'll wait for mine to arrive and validate myself and I'll share my experience too

[@podio_km4g532]

@@captainpicard3016 thanks

[@moonabhinav]

Crin sent you Dusk yet ?

[@ronnieraptor]

I'm ok with the MoonDrop Block. I use the JetAudio and switch from Bongiovi DPS settings ( Motorola s11-flex HD, LG MUSICFLOw5, LADY GAGA earbuds etc. ) plus a little crystalizer and adjust voice 1k and piano 2.4k and little bass160 to 240 on the EQ settings... Don't need expensive MoonDrops at all. Much better to listen to FLAC songs avoid MP3.

[@taryarwinhtet7653]

i dont get this review why is the entire audio section just based on bass, there are a lot v shaped tws in the market like what about other thing. This isnt even a review . 1 min of audio and half of it is on how it isnt bassy

[@thomasdanny7717]

So it's better to buy 3 Space Travel to replace each other when the battery runs out. The remaining $20 is for pizza.. 😄

[@pedrosk445]

moondrop dusk review when??

[@LSDScreen]

That's too bad, I already ordered mine as as Space Travel upgrade. 😅

[@ChrischlyM]

Got you by their claws huh 😬😬

[@datdudeinred]

Cancel it. Or return it. Almost every review is negative. This is really that bad.

[@MartinitraM]

I suppose it depends on what you wanted in terms of upgrade, but you might actually enjoy them despite the reviews.

[@LSDScreen]

@@MartinitraM What I wanted was more resolution. The Space Travel is well tuned and all, but that's like looking at a really well color-graded picture at like 300 by 300 pixels. Sure, the colors look nice, but they're still hard to appreciate at potato resolution.

[@MartinitraM]

@LSDScreen in that case it looks like you're not getting what you hoped. If you're chasing better resolution then wired options are a lot better for the money. You can get Bluetooth adaptors for wired IEMs, which is probably cheaper than similar performing TWS.

[@kazefw3834]

So basically a reshell space travel but more expensive 😂

[@fahen857]

Ip rating?

[@lukeItsAmeMArio]

nothing can beat the big 3 in tws

[@mrdrwdry]

gonna get the Space Travel from this video. hahaha thanks for the info.

[@andrewlawrence3308]

This vs nekocake tho?

[@AntonioHernandez-xo2su]

It be good if you make a video of Bluetooth Headphones (TWS) with all of your recommendations

[@giiieeexd]

Welp, think I just made the right decision to order the Galaxy Buds 2 for just 45USD here.

[@CrustaceousB]

You, and your wife, are correct. 💯

[@imzelone]

I think its better to compare it to the sparks, no? since theyre in the same price range, well literally the same price. Are they better than sparks?

[@alexandervenus6464]

Is this with LDAC? Or no?

[@calvinchann1996]

It says on their web site. Perhaps you could look.

[@alexandervenus6464]

​@@calvinchann1996 i mean this review not the product itself. I'm asking if timmy reviewed the Golden Ages with LDAC on

[@rene837]

Love the design, unfortunate that performance and quality seem to be lacking...

[@MiGujack3]

The fact these somehow get matched to their cheapest "throwaway" headphones, it's impressively bad. I wish they just made Space Travel 2 with better ergonomics. They already have the sound, even the ANC is very usable. Just give them a proper sealed case with less hard edges. Maybe better mic performance. I also wish they had a way to delete the transparency mode, I just want ANC. I hate to hop to normal > transparency > ANC. It's just terrible. The switching voices are also bad and useless.

[@layinboo2924]

Sahooorr

[@realgrilledsushi]

Shutup!

[@alvianfajar9570]

Wes Imsak

[@dividead100]

Call quality on my space travel is absolute trash so if Golden Ages is worse, which I doubt it is and I imagine it's more of the same, it's still the same/unusable.

[@patrickhamning1734]

Moondrop finna blacklist you timmy

[@randomrandom7724]

Lets see for how long the moondrop app supports this tws, since it doesn't recognize space travel since some time...

[@Omar_ZX]

I do like the space travel but the golden ages you say has better vocals, I may get it someday purely as a hd600 fanboy lol

[@iwantthatone6522]

I've never known you get something so wrong

[@TutalTutul]

planar need amplifier

[@elliottsalt]

shame. some of the critiques (like bad noise isolation) makes me wonder if it's because of a bad seal. doesn't matter though, with everything else mentioned I am still very disappointed in moondrop :/

[@Ksn228]

Moondrop Sparks (Wennebostel preset) is the only good sounding product moondorp ever made.

[@heyking8583]

I honestly prefer space travel, the bass on this is so dry and unnatural