mmry404 OP t1_j9td024 wrote on February 24, 2023 at 12:38 PM

I upgraded from KZ and NiceHCK to Moondrop S8 and here are my impressions. (TL;DR: great bass)

I've been in this hobby for a year, my first IEM being NiceHCK nx7 pro. I never upgraded until recently, except for getting some KZs for beating at the gym. I used Wavelet to eq them to Harmann, so getting a Moondrop was a logical step. I was worried that the b2 dusk would be not enough of a step up because of diminishing returns, so I decided to go straight for the S8. Didn't have the opportinuty to check them out before purchase, so I only relied on reviews. Finally they have arrived, and here are my impressions:

The first thing to catch my attention was, surprisingly, the bass. Not its quantity, rather quality. I wasn't expecting anything, as the reviewers warned about the S8's BA bass lacking punch and weight, but that was not my experience at all. This bass extends DEEP, like I never heard before. It's like having a subwoofer in my head. This bass never gets in the way of other frequencies, but makes every track sound really fat and substantial. The transients are fast, and this combination makes listening to drums simply amazing. I am not a basshead, but I just love the S8's bass.

Then, other aspects of the sound grew on me. The soundstage is wide, and the resolving ability is excellent across the board (this I expected, but still, wow). The highs are never sharp, and I found mself turning the volume way up because the highs are much more tame then on the KZs etc. The usual stuff about hearing new nuances in my fav tracks, yada-yada... They are also immensely beautiful. My only issue, apart from trash stock cable, is the fit. i will have to find the right tips, as my ears get a bit tired after a while.

I was afraid to set my expectations too high, but I got so much more then I expected. The diminishing returns thing was holding me back from upgrading, but I'm glad I did. It's a shame that Moondrop IEMs are hard to come across to try them, so the purchase kinda requires a leap of faith. They are worth every penny. If the b2 dusk are even remotely comparable to the S8 for half the price, then you should probably get them right now.

m3ga_p1xel t1_j9tqetp wrote on February 24, 2023 at 2:28 PM

I was also blown away with the S8's when I demo'ed them. They're honestly tuned so well but are hardly discussed these days because of the bias towards new products. Definitely agree with you on the treble quality and extension since it's almost impossibly good compared to even my B2:Dusks, which lean sibilant in some areas. In a sense they are closer to the Kato than Dusk. These are the IEMs I will pick for my favorite under $1k. Glad you liked them- definitely a leap of faith but very much worth it!

thatcarolguy t1_j9trmkr wrote on February 24, 2023 at 2:37 PM

I wouldn't say it's so much a bias towards new products but moreso the current state of the market including newer products. Today we have our pick between Dusk , Variations and the OG B2. I guess a lot of people don't see a reason to pay more than those for what can be achieved with a simple EQ tweak (if they prefer less bass on variations for example or less treble on B2). Personally, I would never consider the S8.

mmry404 OP t1_j9tti76 wrote on February 24, 2023 at 2:50 PM

Yeah, I dismissed the Variations based on looks mostly (kinda cringey to admit lol), but I was also worried that they have too much bass. Also I already have a tribrid (insert a joke about fake drivers), so I wanted a pure BA set to try something new. And on the contrary, I was concerned about b2's treble not extending enough and decided to skip them, not being able to demo. But now I will shill b2 dusk to all my friends as a cheaper alternative to my holy grail s8

mmry404 OP t1_j9trwn0 wrote on February 24, 2023 at 2:39 PM

Thank you! That's an interesting take on the Kato, I never even considered them as they are single driver. You mean they have smoother treble response then the dusk? Did you demo them too? How well do they resolve compared to dusk?

I thought of myself as a treble lover cause my NiceHCK nx7 pro's have the sharpest treble imaginable, which I endured stoically. I kinda mistook their sharpness for good resolve, only now do I realise my mistake. Still, pretty good iems for the first one, I guess

m3ga_p1xel t1_j9tslbr wrote on February 24, 2023 at 2:44 PM

I own the Kato and Dusk. I personally prefer the Kato despite the shortcomings with their resolution. A bit more muffled in comparison since the Dusks are more detailed. But the treble response is much more smooth and the bass is controlled. Likely more to do with BA bass vs 1DD bass.

mmry404 OP t1_j9tv1z9 wrote on February 24, 2023 at 3:01 PM

I'm pretty sure the dusk's bass is also dynamic, it has 1DD+3BA setup. I doubt that the DD is dedicated to some other frequency band other then the bass. On the other hand, I'm not sure I believe the stereotypes about the driver types anymore, such as BAs being thin, DDs not resolving as good etc.

anuress t1_j9wjn5g wrote on February 25, 2023 at 1:48 AM

Sometimes we overestimate the bass amount that we need

mmry404 OP t1_j9xfbx3 wrote on February 25, 2023 at 6:38 AM

Yeah, I was playing around with wavelet on my old iems, EQing them to Harman and IEF target, and came to a conclusion that the Harman has just enough bass to sound substantial, but not overly bassy. IEF neutral tune sounds pretty brittle. OFC there are limitations to EQ, I understand that, but otherwise I had no opportunity to fiddle with different targets, so.. I was shocked by the sheer extention of the S8's bass, like, all the music just has an extra sub bass layer now that I never heard before. That's crazy to me. Maybe that's cause of its unvented fit, I dunno