Moondrop Illumination Review - The HD650 of IEMs?

[@proProcrastinatooor]

Number 1 drawback of these IEMs: your wife will immediately know these are expensive.

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

hah! I hadn't thought of that. Good point.

[@MrB10N1CLE]

Ah, the highly coveted WAF (Wife acceptance factor)

[@Nonx47]

Just grow some balls and have your own spending limit, each side. Doesn't matter what you buy with your own money as long as you don't dip into the bills, food or family money. You need a better balance and individuality respect in your relationship obviously

[@thefatiguedpalate]

You seemed a little more snarky in this video. Made the review a little more humorous. Loving it!

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

Not snarky, just more concise

[@HiFiGOAudio]

The Illumination looks astonishing!! Excellent review :)

[@terryRBNF]

I love the fact that you're doing Chi-Fi products because I recently discovered them as well and I find the value for money/performance to be excellent. I think a very well respected reviewer such as yourself will go a long way to getting that message out there.

[@Vamp898]

Actually ChiFi products aren't cheaper than the competition. They produce cheap In-Ear and market them like they are more expensive than they really are. Some companies market their 20€ In-Ear as Flagships. But you can get cheaper+better Made in Japan In-Ear compared to the illumination and the 2000€ RS10 is one of the worst IEM I've ever heard at all. So ChiFi isn't cheaper and often doesn't have good cost/performance. People just think so for whatever reason most people outside the ChiFi world people don't understand. But I think KZbinrs play a big role in that

[@terryRBNF]

@@Vamp898 I'm going to vehemently disagree with you there. Companies like Moondrop, Thieaudio, Fiio and Dunu bring massive sonic performance plus price and value as compared to their western counterparts. You seem to be zeroing in on a few bad eggs and condemning the chi-fi industry as whole which is pretty ridiculous and extremely short sighted considering there are dozens of brands out there. If you think youtubers play a big role in that well why the hell are you lurking around in the comments section taking potshots? LOL

[@Vamp898]

@@terryRBNF Lets take FiiO for example, yes. Their current Flagship the FiiO FH9 which sells for 599€ You can get the (Made in Japan, with self developed technology, nothing off the shelfe) XBA-Z5 from Sony and it beats the living shit out of the FH9 in every single aspect. The same is true for the Moondrop Variations (which sells a bit cheaper than the FH9 though). So the XBA-Z5 is not just better value for money (Made with higher labor cost and using self-developed technology), it also has the better sound for the lower price. No BA Timbre, no hard crossover that changes the characteristics of sounds when they change their frequency, no Soundpipes, better sound stage and imaging, more authentic/realistic reproduction, detail retrievel and so on. Its better in every single aspect except maybe fit. The FH9 fits more comfortable due to the use of sound pipes. There is not a single thing in that the FH9 or Variations succeed compared to the XBA-Z5 and this one sells for 450-600, depending on deal/country. So where is the insane value for money of ChiFi? The XBA-Z5 is from 2014. Its 8 years old, why is the best, most expensive flagship from FiiO using 7 drivers not able to beat it? Another Example the Moondrop KATO. The Final E4000 costs 50€ less(!) so its cheaper and is better in every single aspect. I have the KATO right here, i bought it because i believed the hype and it is so much worse than the E4000, its insane. They are almost in different leagues. Its not just the lack of Soundstage and the uncontrolled bass that annoys in the KATO, its harsh reproduction of Percussions (which is its most common critic point in reviews by the way) is just hell of annoying. I tried the brass nozzle, I tried the Foam Tips, everything. The KATO is worse than the E4000, and its more expensive. It has the much fancier packaging, I’ll give it that, but beside that its just the worse IEM. Based on sound you would expect the E4000 to be much more expensive. Then there is the A4000 which is tuned completely different, so hard to compare in reality, but based on sonic performance purely, the A4000 (which i got for 144€) is also significantly better than the KATO. Why are there so many western (Does Japan really count as western) IEM that sell for less and are better? The Final E500 is on par or better than the Moondrop CHU and they sell for the same price. And for 10€ more you get the E1000 which is, again, significantly better. So please tell me where are this magical price/performance is in ChiFi. Often Japanese earphone are more expensive, that is true. Like the IER-M7 that costs 200€ more than the FiiO FA9. But its significantly better than the FA9 so how does that compare? Yes, you get more for more but does that make the FA9 the better deal? So if you’re saying ChiFi has insane price/performance value, then please name a few examples of ChiFi that is better than their counterparts from Sony/Final/Acoustune/Audio-Technica. And this is just headphones/earphones. I own the M11 Plus ESS (and owned the LTD Version before it). The Sony NW-ZX507 sells for the same price. the M11 Plus is the better device in terms of handlings and features. It feels almost like a smartphone and it has a ton of output power (the reason why i own it). But in terms of pure sonic performance, not considering the useability/output power, the ZX507 is way above the M11 Plus. So i'd say its more complicated with DAPs, its more of a mixed bag. You get some sonic performance in the ZX507, but you'll loose quite a lot of useability in speed, battery performance, no USB-DAC/Bluetooth Receiver (which sucks on the M11 Plus anyway, but well) and so on. But there is the WM1AM2 which costs more, yes, i agree, than the M11 Plus (at least in germany) but again (except for output power) is better in every single aspect. So with DAPs i can understand your statement better. Especially for people who want that insane output power to driver their Hifiman Sundara on the go or just love to listen at 120db volume, there is no alternative to ChiFi. But based on sonic performance purely, there are better alternatives.

[@terryRBNF]

@@Vamp898 Oh good lord, first off your saying the XBA25 sounds better, pls remember that this is just your opinion, same with Final Audio. And just because you feel the Sony sounds better doesn’t mean that chi fi is trash or poor value as you’ve put it. News flash for you some people prefer the sound of Fiio products over Sony, who are you to tell them that they’re wrong?

[@terryRBNF]

@@Vamp898 fact of the matter is many people believe that Chi Fi produces products that hit waaay above their price. Variations could easily sell for double the price and competes well against 64 Audio u6t which is multiples it’s price, the Thieaudio Monarch can easily go up against 2 to3k iems and it’s priced at 1k, the Anole xv is 1.8k and can be in the same league as the EE Odin. The Mest i can take on the EE Legend and z1r just as few examples. I’ve heard some japanese iems and the At offerings were a bit meh although i love the headphones, the Final a8000 is fantastic but that’s 2k. As for Sony well i love Sony on that we can both agree, and i think it’s better than Chi Fi, but just because it’s better than chi fi doesn’t mean all chi fi is trash or a poor value, remember some people actually don’t like the Sony sound

[@bombadt-yt9818]

these would compete really well in the 500usd range, asking for straight out 800 feels like they're following the "I guess we can put any price tag on it and they'll buy!" bandwagon that is quite popular in the mid-high end Chi-Fi realm as of late.

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

well, also keep in mind that this is one of the best tuned single DD IEMs, so if someone is specifically looking for that, they might be more willing to spend more on it.

[@bombadt-yt9818]

@@TheHEADPHONEShow fair enough, I do hope they perform quite well for the 'courageous' price they ask.

[@anonymousleopard4517]

You mean it's better than Dunu Luna and final A8000?

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

@@anonymousleopard4517 Tuning, yes... technical performance, no.

[@SHENZHENAUDIO]

Excellent review, really appreciates.

[@josuad6890]

seriously, get someone who can speak english properly for your PR head.

[@mfkato]

Looking forward to the Clairvoyance review!

[@fab7999]

Dunu SA6 is looking pretty promising!

[@B8THOV3N]

I have a pair of Sennheiser IE 500 Pro. They also remind me of the HD600 / 650 sound signature.

[@duckgod7370]

How do these stack up against the blessing 2?

[@wcg66]

I gotta say that at $800 they can't be the HD650 of anything. At the price of the HD6xx then we're talkin'.

[@Orteth]

Sir, are you going to review the LZ A7??

[@patrickmccrank8414]

Good review. I have the starfield and wondered how much of an upgrade these are. I also have been considering the Monarch Mk2's. I'm rely stuck on the Kinera Nana 2.0.

[@levansaginashviliskidney8726]

Monarch Mk2 punches way above its price

[@quantran4394]

I see the Sonoma M1 there! Review coming soon?

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

yes

[@halimj7]

@@TheHEADPHONEShow Bismillah I’m looking forward to that! Great review once again. Thanks.

[@vasimqurbanzade9469]

Waiting for Fiio FH3 review. There is big hype about it

[@iplaydrunk9979]

just sold my campfire polaris v2 my fh3 easily replaced them

[@balldrips]

Nice. I just picked up the FH5 on r/AVexchange on Reddit. It's freaking awasome!

[@iplaydrunk9979]

Id rather get some andros at that price tag My Drop JVC compliment my HD650 tbh Except of Moondrop and Fiio, most of the chifi company are all BS

[@futoenjoyer]

thieaudio

[@recode8453]

tanchjim

[@64Gianfar]

I listened to the Illumination some weeks back with the intention of buying a single DD IEM, left the shop with Dunu Studio SA6. illumination is many things however an $800 set it is not...

[@xtianva5250]

Hope you can get your hands on Acoustune IEMs.

[@OliviaRosalesVlogs]

Hope you can review moondrop S8.

[@WheezyTech]

Looks like they are a bit smaller vs the Starfield / KXXS a good thing IMO. Looking at my Starfield seems like the Illumination has a slightly more shaped step to its body as well as those cuts at the base of the nozzle? Maybe these would fit my ears better. Not that I'm about to drop $800 on a pair of earphones tho. Still, nice to hear they are light weight as my biggest complaint with the Starfield was the big chungus weight, they never wanted to stay in my ears very well.

[@WheezyTech]

@Jacob Dawson Thanks for the suggestion. I haven't heard of those before, gonna pick up a set to try out.

[@mclement052164]

When can we expect to see a DUNU ZEN and FIIO FD5 review/comparison?

[@dirty_dan75158]

Why is it that dynamic drivers have the natural timbre whereas balanced armatures don't? Or are you only talking about the bass department. Or is it because BAs are much more detailed thus unnatural sounding?

[@ResolveReviews]

Multi-BA IEMs often have an artificial smearing effect that can even obscure detail in the worst of cases. I suspect this has something to do with the consistently measured elevated 3rd harmonic distortion characteristics of BA IEMs (and certain other weird distortion characteristics). I'm not 100% confident this is why, but there's certainly a strong correlation, given that it shows up in every measurement I've taken of multi-BA IEMs. You can even see where it starts and stops in hybrid configurations. But beyond that, DDs are often just larger, and can therefore push more air, and I typically find higher excursive capabilities lead to a better sense of physicality to everything. Again, not in all cases, but often.

[@dirty_dan75158]

@@ResolveReviews Most of the top end IEMs are multi BAs or hybrids with BAs. The BAs are still there for mids and/or highs. Cant avoid them actually. How do you feel on how they do in the mids and highs? To me, DD only IEMs or even IEM hybrids with DD high frequency tweeters just don't reach the same level of resolution and smoothness as BAs.

[@ResolveReviews]

@@dirty_dan75158 yeah for overall detail capability only the a8000 and Luna are close, and even then I think the Odin has better detail. So we're not at the point where that kind of performance is doable yet. But each driver type has strengths and weaknesses.

[@screwb1882]

@ $500 would be a instant buy but @ $800 its a bit of an ask

[@Tripokaridos22]

Your opinion about cable upgrades ? Does a rhodium or gold or pure silver make any worth paying difference ?

[@ResolveReviews]

Not in my experience.

[@Tripokaridos22]

@@ResolveReviews thanks for that u saved me money.

[@Tripokaridos22]

@Jacob Dawson thanks for answering. Truth is that i have bought FAW 160 euro cable for HD660s and Meze silver 120 euro for Sundara. And i love how they look but i couldnt listen any differences in sound. Test them on ifi micro ifi nano lg v30 fiio k5 pro nothing they sound the same , i was getting crazy... And all these time i keep asking if anyone does hear a difference. I am old 40 years so maybe thats why i cant. So i reas some headfi posts and most of them said no difference and some others say a small difference. Anyways i spent 300 for 2 cables ...i have to accept that and look them ... The one is copper braided and gold 3.5 and the other silver with rhodium 3.5 jack.

[@Enhanz]

Any chance of you reviewing the JVC FDX1?

[@InvisibleIink]

Cane we EQ the bass successfully by add a lower shelf?

[@shadowroxas2086]

How does it compare to blessing 2?

[@darrellross8609]

I kept my money in pocket, knowing something 'great' would come along. I now have my KATO's. Patience 'is' a virtue. Best, D. p.s. Up grade cable doubled the cost; worth it.

[@divinecurrent9053]

I was really interested in these, but I already have a JVC HA-FDX1 which uses a similar carbon based dynamic driver and actually has measurably more sub bass than the Illumination and more relaxed upper mids. But I think these would be a better recommendation if they dropped it to $500 or so.

[@albertxion513]

Very different tunings.

[@recode8453]

my friend have both. he prefers fdx1. technically better than illu

[@divinecurrent9053]

​@@recode8453 Good to know my ears are not lying to me, because I like the FDX1 more than even some over ear headphones!

[@recode8453]

@@divinecurrent9053 it's a very capable set tbh

[@albertxion513]

@@recode8453 it's only this low priced today because of drop, but JVC makes some great IEMs

[@WasuFCA]

I think they need some goods cables for Dynamic response and some nice good damping factor amplifier for handle the bass.

[@burns0100]

I want them! but my wallet said no we have Moondrop at home... I mean I already have the Starfield and they compare closely but it's still a huge gap in tuning and overall package. I want to push my way into that end game world somehow, between these, S8 and Blessing 3 I think I'll get one eventually. Maybe I can throw my tax check at the wall and see what sticks.

[@KittySneeze]

Have you heard the Sony EX1000? I have yet to find a better single dynamic IEM by far.

[@goodgos1844]

Conclusion the fair price is 300dolar max

[@mirzarazwan07]

❤👌

[@DaKerim58]

what mic are you using ?

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

Audio Technica AT2020

[@jaroslavfricek7772]

As for tuning… you should really spend some time with Oxygen…. I know older IEM and much cheaper but ohh man…

[@kylerclarke2689]

Man, the consistently terrible accessories that Moondrop ships are unforgivable imo. Their cases and cables are just nasty. To recolour the same case that comes with the B2 and S8 for the Illumination, and ship with yet another junk cable. Pretty disppointing.

[@loborojo777]

Just a little bit of EQ.

[@VladimirBostob]

i cant watch this. too excited.

[@ronnyguerrero1228]

These or the B2?

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

Good question. If you're treble sensitive, these. If you're okay with BA timbre and other shortcomings, B2.

[@dagohoyting2417]

Kz zs10 pro is a wife aprroved iem

[@malek8736]

They have to cheap on something, even at $800. Chi-fi!

[@HarryUnchained]

Cheap on what? Cables? Moondrop cables usually are light and very comfortable to use. I don't understand why people replacing them with after market cables which are usually heavy due to extra cores. Extra cores are just cosmetic.

[@ezvkm77]

Couldn't get rid of the vailed and mushy HD650's fast enough!

[@hal9xxx321]

I do understand the veiled part but mushy? Are you using a marshmallow as amp or what? And I actually kinda liked the smoothness of the treble, my ears aren't old and damage enough to require a Beyerdynamic in my collection.

[@feelsboyyyy]

Your profile picture: HD650's Also if you think they're mushy you're probably using a potato for amplification

[@feelsboyyyy]

@Jacob Dawson I think you need to get a grip dude. What do you use?

[@feelsboyyyy]

@Jacob Dawson Actually I forgot I was on an IEM video, lol. I still like over ear much better than IEMs because I don't like stuffing earwax into my ears and I haven't heard any good IEMs in person yet.

[@feelsboyyyy]

@Jacob Dawson I've been considering a good pair of IEMs but Ive dropped so much money on audio already, and I always preferred open sound to closed sound. But If you have any pairs of IEMs to recommend, I'll give them a look. I probably won't be spending >$100 on anything for a while though

[@allen0088]

Overpriced