Moondrop Aria : An All-rounder!!

Moondrop was once a small studio by several hobbyist engineers in China, later in 2014 emerged as a brand for designing earbuds and in ear monitors.

The first thing you will notice when you see Aria is a well ergonomic and elegant design and accessories. The shells are made of metal in black matter colour with two vents. A proportion of an abstract geometric design has been painted on the faceplate with the word "Aria" written on the back side of the shells in a beautiful font. The form factor is quite small but overall the shells feel bit heavy as of all metal housing. 

Aria has been featured with 10mm Dual-Cavity Magnetic Dynamic Driver with LCP diaphragm material having a sensitivity of 122db/vrms and Impedance of 32 Ohm at 1kHz. The stock cable is bit interesting, it's sleeve is nylon braided with a universal 0.78 2-pin interface and a single ended TRS termination and looks quite rugged. Apart from that it comes with an attractive carry case and a bunch of eartips.

Sources:

For this review the unit has been paired Shanling M6 (AK4495EQ) without any other amplification on portable setup. And, it has also been paired to Schiit Vali2+Mutibit Stack in terms of desktop setup

Disclaimer: 

I have received  as part of review circle sent from HifiGo in exchange of honest reviews. All impressions of sound are subjective to my own listening and my sources and is based on my experience with IEMs of similar hardware configurations and price range. One can purchase it from the following link.

Pros:

• Balanced all-purpose tuning 
• Smooth sound with textured bass response
• Decent soundstage width
• Very Good Price to Performance ratio
• Comfortable fit despite of bit heavy

Cons:

• Cable attracts microphonics
• Depth and resolution are average

Highs:

The treble I would say is bit of highlight of Moondrop Aria. It is slightly elevated but not at all harsh sounding. The overall resolution is above average and has quite good texture and air. There is a hint of brightness in the lower treble notes with good energy and timber. The upper treble is slightly rolled off. Instruments like electric guitars, cymbals and high notes of flutes and violins has quite good timber in them. Not at any point of time it becomes fatiguing and neither felt like lack of energy. This airy and non-harsh presentation of Aria is worth appreciation.

Mids: 

The mids on the other hand sound slight warmish to neutral. There are good levels of transparency in the sound of all the instruments and vocals with crisp clarity. The overall resolution is average. Mids are somewhat recessed but lower mids has bit body in them and has adequate body in the notes. The upper mids has ample texture with good levels of transparency and clarity. The overall mids representation is smooth with slight loss at detail retrieval.  Both male and female vocals sounds full bodied and quite emotional. 

Lows: 

The bass has good amount of impact with good sub bass rumble. There is more presence of sub bass extension as compared to mid bass. Overall the bass has adequate levels of speed and control. In terms of quantity the bass may feel sufficient and sounds fun in this perspective. 

Technicalities:

The soundstage width and overall depth of Monndrop Aria is above average as per price point of view. The IEM has an average micro dynamics. The imaging and directionality is average I would say.  The overall tonality and harmonics are balanced and the natural timber is worth mentioning at this price point. 

Final Verdict: 

Moondrop Aria is a very ergonomically designed IEM with good accessories and a decent price bracket. The overall signature is mild V-shaped with bit emphasis on bass giving a warmish character. The soundstage and depth are above average. It’s a very easy recommendation for any beginner audiophile because of the general all-purpose tuning.