Moondrop S8 Quick Review: 8 Balanced Armature Flagship ... - HiFiGo

Moondrop is a well-known name in the Chi-fi audio market, especially for their tuning style and exquisite craftsmanship of the shells, they make lovely mids in their In-ear monitors. Their IEM’s like the Starfield, KXXS are widely famous among the audiophiles all around the world. Quite recently they released a new flagship pair of in-ear monitors, The Moondrop S8.

The Moondrop S8 is an eight balanced armature drivers hybrid pair of IEM’s from the brand which takes their amazing tuning style to a whole new level, the eight balanced armature drivers each side work flawlessly, providing the users with a soul-soothing natural sound output with crisp clarity and a wider sound stage. The earpieces are said to be handmade with exquisite looking transparent shells.

Today we have brought you a unit of Moondrop S8, we are going to do unboxing for the same and will be sharing our initial impressions for it.

Before we begin if you like to buy a pair of Moondrop S8, You can buy one from our online store here.

About Moondrop:-

Moondrop is a recognized name in the Chi-fi audio industry, they manufacture amazing quality earphones ranging from beginner level and goes up to the higher levels. Some famous products being Moondrop Nameless earbud, Moondrop Kanas Pro, Moondrop KXXS, Moondrop Starfield. Out of these I have previously owned a pair of Kanas Pro myself. Moondrop tunes their products with utmost precision, they create delicious melodious mids with their tuning style, I loved their amazing tuning style since the days of Kanas Pro and really excited to try out the Moondrop S8.

Unboxing Impressions:-

The Moondrop S8 has got a simple-looking thin white-colored upper packaging with a vector girl printed on the front, It just has S8 written on the top with its driver configuration description, Solution 8-BA in-ear monitor along with it. On the backside it has depicted its driver configuration with the help of images, a Sonion 37Series Dual BA unit for handling the bass section, Two Sifters Dual-Mid-B Dual-BA units for handling the mids and upper mids, and a Knowles SWFK Dual-BA unit for handling the treble section. As I pull out the main packaging box from this thin cardboard sheet we get a plain grey colored box with Moondrop Chinese logo printed on the center. As I open this box I see a grey colored carry case with a black box. The grey carry case is carrying our beautiful pair of Moondrop S8 along with a 6N OFC cable, while the black box carries other accessories like different pairs of silicone tips, an airplane adapter, and a user guide.

The overall packaging style is beautiful, with a designer outer packing sheet and a simple-looking cardboard box and an elegant representation of the contents in the packaging box. The package contents are as follows:-

>One pair of Moondrop S8 in-ear monitors

>One 6N OFC cable with 3.5mm termination >One carry case

>Six pairs of silicone tips

>One airplane adapter

>User guide

Build Quality:-

The entire product range from Moondrop has an exquisite and beautiful earpieces craftsmanship, like the aluminum shells in the Kanas Pro, KXXS, or glittery designed shells in the Moondrop Starfield. The Moondrop S8 here is also not an exception, I personally feel that they have taken their craftsmanship to a whole new level with the S8, the entire earpiece of Moondrop S8 is said to be completely handmade, from the housing, soldering PCB's, wirings, assembling, and everything else is done by trained

craftsman's with utmost perfection and precision. The earpieces look ultimate, they look beautiful, they have got medical-grade acrylic transparent shells with S8 Moondrop written on a grey colored faceplate while the entire remaining shell remains transparent. I can see the insides of the earpieces through these transparent shells, the neat and clean placement of drivers by the craftsman’s looks really precise, the earpieces are a gem to look at. They have got an ergonomic design and lightweight to them, they provide a very comfortable fit to me, and doesn’t even feel in-ear even after longer listening session.

The wire included in the package is of a great quality too, it is a 6N OFC(oxygen-free copper) cable with a 3.5mm termination, it has 0.78mm two-pin connectors which provide a strong and sturdy connection between the earpieces and the wire. A pure OFC cable provides very low internal resistance, the wire looks and feels quite premium, though it looks it might get tangled easily.

The carry case is of very good quality it is grey colored matching the faceplate of the earpieces, it has ample space for carrying around our pair of earphones with a few pairs of ear tips safely without any issues.

Fit:-

The earphones have an ergonomic design and very lightweight shells, they sit firmly into my ears. The ear nozzle doesn’t go too deep which might hurt or might be uncomfortable for many, they provide a proper seal and isolate me properly from the environmental noise. The noise isolation is pretty good, my music never got interrupted by outdoor noises at all.

Sound Impressions:-

I have previously used multiple IEM’s from Moondrop, like my own Kanas Pro, or Starfield which I unboxed a few days back, so I kinda knew the tuning style of Moondrop. I was expecting similar performance here, but to my amazement the S8 sound way better, obviously I know there is a huge price difference between these but the sound quality is just extraordinary here in the Moondrop S8, you will notice that when you put these beautiful babies into your ears for the first time.  They have got a smooth, detailed U shaped sound signature with a wider sound staging.

The sound is much more clear than anything I have experienced before, the voices are crisp, I could feel the vibrations in the voice of Yao Si Ting in Speak Softly Love song by her, the clarity has got a new definition for me with the S8, the bass has got that deep and thumps feel to it, it doesn’t roll off quickly it has that rich feeling to it, it doesn’t feel bloated at all. I listened to Billie Jean by Michael Jackson and man the clarity among different instruments being played was just outstanding.  I have personally always loved the mids tuning by Moondrop, the delicious melodious mids section touch they give to their IEM’s is just outstanding, and it's here in S8 too, the mids are so melodious, so alive, listening to vocal-based artists like, Damien Rice, John Mayer is just mesmerizing experience. Acoustic details are retrieved properly, guitars in Hotel California by Eagles feels rich and has great instrumental details. The treble section is rich with details, there is no sibilance at all, not even at louder volumes.

The Moondrop S8 has got a wider sound staging, it really feels like a live orchestra is booming right personally for me right into my ears, I could simply close my eyes and experience the wider staging from one corner of my mind stage to the other, and with ultimate clarity in details, the instrument separation is just brilliant.

Final Impressions:-

I loved the Moondrop S8 firs time I put the earpieces into my ears, I loved the crisp vocals, the deep, full-bodied bass response, balanced sub-bass rumble, and a smooth detailed treble section. The sound is reproduced on a wider soundstage with very good instrument details. The pair has got an exquisite looking premium handmade design, the Moondrop S8 is a must-have for the audio enthusiasts from all around the globe. The pair is currently priced at a price of 700$ and you can buy a pair for yourself at our online store here.