Moondrop S8

I love these but they're good enough to hear what you got wrong or right. I'm accustomed to Hi End home kit, silly priced electronics, top source kit and both electrostatic and dynamic speakers with well integrated ribbon tweeters etc. I have an associate who is a recording engineer that also teaches and get to hear some of those sessions both live and recorded. Rarely with overdubs so have a good references.

I'm not getting into a long point by point review here with pics etc but just wanted to add my take on these and tuning.

Lets do the scalpel part 1st. They sound like they're made for someone trying to mix and successful at that but not what I bought them for so a bit of voicing is required to get the most out of them (like every IEM I've owned). It's just that the reward is TOTLish when you get it right. They have remarkable timing, single driver type cohesiveness but the pinna gain/upper mids can be a bit prominent plus the midbass a bit held back until association of cable and tips is corrected. Don't get me wrong, they're still really good but become particularly special with the right tips and cable. I can understand why they get both awesome and meh reviews online depending on how they managed association, their reviews are done or simply preference. The thing I'm conveying here is that you can have your scalpel but use it to cut your cheesecake here. Like most things revealing, you can hear both your successes and failures.

Stock, these sound really good with great timing but the the upper mid forwardness slightly masks what are proper high frequencies and adds to leaner midrange with the midbass sounding a bit recessed. Minor but there. This is where Comply tips become a perfect paring. The upper mids fall right into place and the bass more integrated to the mids. The highs are more in line but could now use a hair more sparkle. I was using an 8 core silver litz cable. It was in the wheelhouse by snapping up the treble and having enough warmth, likely due to overall higher gauge. I then bough a Penon Mix cable for another IEM based on a review and it worked well for that IEM. When I put that one on the S8 with tweaked amp3, it was instant nirvana for my personal tastes. I'm used to good things but I think I'd miss the correctness of what I'm currently hearing with another megabuck IEM. Highs have the correct sparkle and extension, mids the correct weight and position with bass warmth and weight with delineation that sums up to a very cohesive whole. I probably shouldn't say this here but my thinking is that there are limits to IEM goodness vs free air sound. That said I love the medium but think I've reached diminishing returns regardless of what I spend after this for my expectations and requirements. To add, That 8wire silver litz still mates well with a tweaked amp8 mk2. Voicing with IEMs is real.

I suspect that I'm sensitive to phase/timing and I haven't heard better from a multi driver IEM. Sounds like a single driver with better speed and articulation. 1st time I got that from a multi driver IEM was the jh13fp I had way back. Image is correct with remarkable solidity. It's my contention that IEMs that image well outside the head space are likely sacrificing phase/timing to achieve that extra openness. Here the image is extremely focused with depth, presence and openness where you don't think about how expansive it is. It's more or less limited to a large headspace sort of thing but in a very nonconfining manner. Obviously sound effects that have phase anomalies to expand that in source material also do that here and in a vey cool way but natural acoustic stereo recordings sound as described. Solid focus.

Basically, what I'm getting at here is that with a bit of moderately priced effort of association(and if you can deal with the need to replace Comply tips every month or so) this is a poor mans TOTL if you're looking for an accurate yet musical device that gets out of the way of the music yet still accommodate a high goose bump factor.

Associated kit I use.

Portable:
iBasso DX240 with Ampmod3 that I further modded.

* also dig out into a Mojo with tweaked supply and selected dig cable is surprisingly good.

Home:
Questyle CMA15 or same into a dedicated Naim headphone amp. Naim Uniti Core via DC1 cable as source.

Naim Uniti Atom headphone Edition

Files are mostly 24/192 WAV master dubs, vinyl transfer via a top LP12/Aro dubed into a Nagra 6 as A2D and downloads with some Qobuz for new music etc.

For home speakers, I like Quad ESL and ProAc.

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The underrated gem - moondrop S8 review

Build quality and packaging
Build quality is amazing. Crystal clear resin and with a metal faceplate hidden inside the resin. But the packaging is somewhat underwhelming for a 700 buck iem. Would have expected a better cable and accessories.

sound quality
Bass is too quick for me, would have liked a slightly slower bass for more enjoyment. The bass shelf is exactly for my tastes. lower mids are thin, but upper midrange is energetic and wonderful. So female vocals are a standout here. Treble is energetic, not sparkly, but well extended so that it still sounds energetic and not boring and dull.
For technical performance tho, I don’t know if it is a defect of my unit or what, but I feel like the 7Hz timeless outperforms the moondrop s8 in detail. Orchestra music like holst’s Jupiter sounded somewhat slightly blurry compared to timeless. I don’t know if it is because of the different sound signature between the both iems, but I think that is something worth talking about.

conclusion
moondrop has made a wonderful iem that unfortunately was being underrated and not being recommended by too many reviewers. I know there are lots of good iems at this price range, like monarch, or SA6, but I believe that the moondrop s8 deserved to be on the spotlight, regardless of time.

Lets start off with the good. These are among the most beautiful IEMs I've come across. The faceplate is simple and embedded in resin for a seamless and elegant look. The resin is as clear as glass, and it is obvious great attention to detail was made during assembly. If you want a flagship look, this has it in spades. The only negatives I have about the design are: there is no vent (more on this later), also the end of the nozzle does not have a lip to retain eartips or a filter to block debris.

The accessories: In short, they are lackluster. The case, eartips and cable are identical to what comes with the Blessing 2, which at under half the MSRP is also underwhelming. That being said, all accessories are perfectly functional.

The fit: The shell is pseudo-custom, which in theory allows for all day comfort. While many companies attempt this style, the only other IEM I have with comparable ergonomics is the DUNU SA6. The nozzles are a little wider and longer than typical IEMs. This could be good or bad depending on your ear canal shape. The real Achilles Heel for fit is the lack of venting. The result of this design choice is that Moondrop effectively created acyclic earplugs. This makes it very difficult to prevent pressure build up during insertion and removal. As a result, I often feel the urge to pop my ears while I have these in. On the positive side, isolation is well above average.

The sound: The bass is primarily sub-bass focused. This creates a satisfying rumble. In contrast, the upper bass and lower mids are both relatively recessed. While there is some sense of punch, lower register instruments tend to sound anemic. The pinna gain is substantial on the S8. This results in very clear and forward upper register instruments, but some may find it boarders on being shouty. On the top end, the treble is balanced and energetic. There is a good sense of detail in these upper frequencies. Personally I love this amount of detail, but some again may find it fatiguing over time. Lastly macro dynamics is not a strength for this set. This is the ability of an IEM to replicate the tactility instruments. I find the sound as a whole keeps a relatively constant volume, which leads to a less lifelike more machine-like presentation.

If the pressure build up doesn't bother you, I'd recommend these to someone looking for that extra level of treble detail who's library is mainly focused on acoustic and female centric vocals.

If I were to make a short list of improvements, they would be:
- Add a vent to prevent pressure build up
- Add a lip and filter to the end of the nozzle
- Increase the lower mids and upper bass energy to better replicate lower register instruments