Moondrop is a brand we know for maybe decades thus finding a chifi brand with more experience is hard (but not impossible anyway). And it’s other iems are reviewed often in our website.
PROS
High clarity
Buttery smooth
Great tonality and 3d imaging
No sibilance
CONS
The cable
Earhook
Recessed Treble
Amp dependency
Box, Box Contents, Specs, Moondrop Aria2021 And Cable
An elegant looking black box with sufficient content and leatherette carrying case.
Aria2021 is somewhat tiny in size. Metal case has 2 venting holes and 2 pinned female pin sockets. Design looks nice and its backplate has some golden contours on the black background. Supporting it’s boxes design touches.
Cable is fabric covered and easy to mess up yet braided in two cores. The elegance is not in it’s cable details as it’s first connector is so rough and ordinary. The Y split + chinguard aren’t forgotten and bear Moondrop name on.
Sound
Timbre is dark as its color but not e1k-like pitch black. Clarity is high even when unamped. Smooth and airy for a closed back. But not the widest staged. Body in sound is good. OK considering 2 venting holes and dynamic structure. Detailed. Separation is more than good. Tonality is great. So it’s 3d imaging. Stage width is fairly large.
Bass is with authority even unamped (it likes to be amped)
Mids serve you a musical and buttery experience with wonderful transitions.
Treble is plenty when called. But amping is needed here too as they are somewhat recessed when unamped. The bass is not preventing treble. No sibilance. Vocals almost singing to you.
Amping Moondrop Aria2021
I had mentioned amping many times. So used q5k and 1v low gain. Overall the dark timbre turned brighter. Extensions and other countless technical details got a notch or two better. The bass didn’t lose control. Mids along the treble enriched further. Separation and 3d imaging got better. Treble instruments gained more body. Decays of instruments became more hearable.
And furthermore, it is scaling with the amp you are using. Dethonray ha-2 is fantastic in the case of Aria2021.
Moondrop Aria2021 Review Conclusions
An iem which feels premium starting from it’s box. But that elegant looks come with a price. No questions asked, it has to be amped or you completely miss a great chance to witness it.