A very long time ago(actually only a couple of years:))…I knew there was one more Moondrop IEM out there that I needed to try but never really got around to it. That IEM was the Moondrop Variations! Moondrop has always remained a very used brand for me. In fact, the most used. I’ve brought more of their IEM than any other brand IEM in my life. I’ve had them all from Starfield, blessing 2, blessing 3, and two Kato’s silver and blue.
The Variations were absolutely beautiful to me. The driver system, especially at that time, was so unique and fantasy-like with the EST driver tribrid system. It was something I just dreamed of having but wasn’t ready to throw that money down for it. As time went by, I skipped the $500 tribrid in favor of the Theiaudio brand, which became my second most purchased brand in my life. I got the Oracles 2, the Hype, and the Monarch 2.
I learned a lot of things during this period of trial and error. But one of the biggest things I learned is that I didn’t need to spend $1000 on an IEM again in my life. The law of diminishing returns just didn’t work for that cost in my experience. I found things like the Kato competing with Oracles 2, or I found $2000 IEMs for $800 and $1000 IEMs for $700 eventually. But the biggest thing I noticed was that I could take a $200 IEM and use it only and I would forget about why I needed a $1000 or $2000 IEM in the first place and found myself selling them off. Yes, they were better than the $200-$400 IEMS, but you never got $1500 worth of sound over anything when you compared them, not even close. At the very most, I found those $1000-$2000 IEMs to be maybe worth $200 in price vs. “sound difference” at best.
Enter the realm of the $350-$500 IEM kingdom and comfort focus. The easier IEMs fit in my ears…it left me more room to enjoy them and allow them to speak to my ears without distractions. And one of main distractions I always fell into was looking for reasons to justify the money I spent. With the “Variations,” I get hifi sound, scratch that, amazing endgame level sound on par with my u12t, comfort, and a price tag at $350-$440. The trifactor, tribrid Mona Lisa of Moondrop, was in my sights. From its unboxing experience to its presentation, it is truly class personified.
Yes, after years of denying this choice or putting on the back , I got it, and it’s absolutely amazing. It dynamics, bass, sub bass, treble from the EST drivers, and the mids are so well put together. I’m getting every single thing I enjoyed about every single IEM I’ve ever owned into one IEM. I got perfect comfort(don’t actual feel them), love my golden cable and it’s flexibility, love the timbre,imaging, matching the best overall ever had, soundstage, and finally the vocals richness. Everything is exactly what it needs to be while having just enough addition in key areas to make it special and exciting. So what do I give such a product? A perfect gold and diamond 💎 ranking. It is now my choice moving forward for my IEM. It has even replaced my U12T’s, to my shame, because I truly like those, but I can no longer justify the cost and will be selling those.
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