Moondrop Spaceship review: great-sounding earphones that won’t break the bank

TWS earbuds have taken the market by storm, but audio enthusiasts still swear by wired earphones, and for good reason. After all, you can get a pair of high-performance, tonally accurate IEMs for the fraction of a price of a TWS headset. That’s not to say that all TWS earbuds sound bad, but rather, the barrier to entry for a good-sounding wired headset is much lower.

Case in point, the Moondrop Spaceship, microdriver Chi-fi IEMs that punch way above their weight and put more expensive offerings to shame with their acoustics. In fact, the IEMs have earned its place as my de facto recommendation for anyone looking for a wired headset under Rs 2K. Here’s why.

Design and Comfort

The Moondrop Spaceship does justice to its fancy moniker and is easily the most premium in-ear headset I’ve reviewed under Rs 2K. In fact, despite its modest price, the Spaceship features metal accents on the earpieces, the headphone jack as well as the Y-splitter that don’t just contribute to the unit’s stylish aesthetics but also add to the pair’s durability. Furthermore, the brand has employed a rather chunky cable which will surely stand the test of time too.

I like the earphones’ aesthetics just as much and the unit’s outer casing is quite unique – in fact, with the eartips removed, the pair resembles a tiny hair-dryer. What’s more, as prefaced previously, the Moondrop Spaceship is of the microdriver variety and consequently, features super tiny earpieces. While the pair still protrudes outwards ever so slightly, you can rest your head against a pillow and not have the buds bite your ear. Furthermore, despite using metal in their construction, the earpieces don’t weigh a considerable chunk, thereby ensuring the Spaceship doesn’t weigh your ears down.

I was quite satisfied with the in-ear seal offered by the earbuds too and the Spaceship managed to drown out a considerable chunk of environmental noise as well. And, you don’t have to worry about anyone else listening to your playlist either as the earphones manage to keep a lid on sound leakage too.

Sound Quality

The Moondrop Spaceship makes use of a pair of 6mm dynamic drivers. The earphones can operate across a frequency spectrum of 20Hz-40KHz and carry an impedance of 16 ohms. Consequently, you can drive the earbuds with pretty much any piece of tech you have on hand, be it a laptop, or a mobile phone with a 3.5mm connector. That being said, you can better the audio output by using a DAC as a relay between the source and the earbuds.

Coming to the sound quality, the Moondrop Spaceship managed to impress me with its excellent tonality. Unlike most Chi-Fi IEMs, the Spaceships don’t sound flat or neutral and instead offer a warm sound signature with punchy bass and minimal decay. More importantly, the low-end doesn’t bloat and the beats don’t linger on forever, thereby ensuring the bass output isn’t muddying the rest of the frequency spectrum. I was pleasantly surprised by the tight slam of the beats in Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode, Yaeji’s PAC-TIVE and Skrillix’s Make It Bun Dem. Bear in mind that all three songs offer a cacophony of beats but despite that, the Moondrop Spaceship managed to resolve every note properly. I will admit, the 6mm drivers don’t offer the biggest slam but, I will gladly trade off a thunderous punch in favour of a more detail-laden sound signature.

The midrange sounds stellar too, and the Moondrop Spaceship relays luscious vocals that don’t sound lean or tepid. Moreover, while the highs don’t offer the same bite as you’d get with say, the KZ ZSN Pro X, the earbuds are more fun and less fatiguing to listen to as well. In essence, unlike most Chi-fi IEMs, the Spaceship prefaces clean, enjoyable highs over a more analytical sound. My only qualm with the headset is that the buds don’t offer a wide soundstage and the audio output might feel a tad congested at times.

Verdict

The Moondrop Spaceship usually costs Rs 2,199, albeit can be bought for just Rs 1,699 from Headphone Zone’s website. For the price, the earphones sound exceptional and will undoubtedly elevate your music listening experience. Coupled with the earphones’ premium design, the Moondrop Spaceship are a no-brainer for anyone looking to get more out of their audio setup without breaking the bank.

Editor’s rating: 4 / 5

Pros:

• Premium design
• Fun, detailed sound signature
• Inexpensive

Cons:

• Doesn’t have the widest sound stage