Moondrop Starfield Review
To say that Moondrop has had a meteoric rise over the past two years would be quite an understatement.
From having less recognition than KZ/TRN to being one of the premiere Chinese manufacturers — it’s been quite a journey for them. My first encounter with them was with the Moondrop Crescent which is still one of the best in its price bracket and better tuned than many higher-tier stuff (reviewed here).
For a while Moondrop had quite a gap between the ultra-budget Moondrop Spaceship ($20) and Moondrop KXXX ($200). The Moondrop Starfield, at $109, aims to fill that gap.
The price is right, they look the part, and Moondrop didn’t make many blunders apart from the ill-fated Solis. The Moondrop Starfield is set up for super-stardom. Can it handle the pressure?
Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. I bought the Moondrop Starfield with my own funds, still, Disclaimer.
Sources used: Questyle QP1R, Cayin N6 II+E01, LG G7
Price, while reviewed: 104 euros. I got it from Amazon DE.
Build: The build is excellent for the most part, apart from the gorgeous finish that is prone to scratching/peeling off. The IEMs feel positively dense in hand and the machining is impeccable. These are the same shells as the KXXX so you’re practically getting the build of a $200 IEM here. Not bad.
There are two vents on the inner ridges, one just past the stem of the nozzle and another on the outer ridge. The backplate has a unique arrangement of triangular shapes that reflects light as it hits them. The color also shift from blue to a darker shade of purple depending on the angle. Very neat indeed.
The nozzle doesn’t have any lip for catching onto the eartips but most tips fit just fine. Only with very grippy tips (e.g. Azla Xelastec) did the tips tend to slide out if you had a deep seal. Something to notice.
The 2-pin connectors are slightly recessed from the housing, but I’d prefer further recession. Nonetheless, it’s better than those raised connectors.
Overall — solid build, with the only caveat of paint chipping off (too many such cases to chalk it up as happenstance).
4.5/5
Accessories: The accessory set looks pretty fleshed upon first inspection. You get 6 pairs of eartips of S/M/L sizes, a glitzy cable that apparently has SPC Litz structure, a clamshell carry-case, some spare dust-filters and a tweezer (surprise!) to help you install them. The latter two are practically bonus at this price point so kudos to Moondrop.
However, the stock cable is bad. It has an overall poor in-hand feel and I just never found it comfortable once worn. The overall fit and finish of the cable is also subpar, and this is one of the worse cables I’ve seen bundled with IEMs in this price range.
Then there is the carrying case which is a bit too small for the Moondrop Starfields. The eartips are also mediocre.
3.5/5
Comfort and Isolation: The Moondrop Starfield is heavier than your typical IEM but is mostly comfortable for long listening sessions. The weight can be a bit of a bother if you smaller ear-canals but for most people I think it’ll be fine. With the right eartips and a better cable the fit is seamless with above-average isolation. In stock form — not so much.
4/5
Now, onto the sound.
The Moondrop Starfield is a single Dynamic Driver design with a 10mm diameter Carbon Nanotube (CNT) diaphragm. Moondrop also employs a dual-cavity design here where the driver magnet, voice coil and driver diaphragm are concentrically arranged between two cavities, which basically looks like two end-caps.
CNT drivers have become sort of a popular thing lately, with both the BLON BL-03 and Tin T4 using them (albeit at different price points).
The general sound signature can be described as balanced with rolled-off treble. The Moondrop Starfield mostly follows the Harman curve, so you get a somewhat boosted low-end (though nowhere near basshead level), a nicely balanced midrange with the signature 3KHz peak and then it slowly tapers off in the treble region to avoid any harshness or treble fatigue/sibilance. All nice on paper, but reality can be… strange.
The following impressions were made with the Azla Xelastec eartips, though I did try with Spinfit CP-100 and Final E-type (Black) tips as well. The general signature remained similar, however.
Bass: The lows on the Moondrop Starfield are rather balanced sounding upon first-listen. There’s a slight mid-bass boost to give a sense of warmth and the sub-bass is decently extended with good enough rumble up to 30Hz and slight rumble until 26Hz (after which it rolls off). All fine and dandy in terms of quantity.
And then we get into the quality of the bass response.
The bass has slow decay, which won’t be too much of an issue had it not been the general lack of texture in the bass response. Especially everything between 60–30Hz sounds monotonous. Bass punch is there, but it’s more of a hollow thump and lacks density. Bass notes lose their definition during fast flowing bass sections. Some may call it polite bass but the lack of texture in the bass makes the whole low-end sound lifeless. Snare hits and bass pedals lack their usual authority in many songs, e.g. Billy Talent’s Surrender.
The bass is boring despite not being anemic. It’s a strange sensation, almost as if the bass is muffled at certain frequencies (no, it’s not a sealing or eartip issue, I’ve confirmed with multiple tips).
3/5
Mids: Definitely the best aspect of the Moondrop Starfield and their calling-card. The midrange is really well-tuned, with the vocals being the highlight (both female and male vocals). Lower mids are full enough to give baritone vocals their signature heft without making them sound boxy (check out Ben Howard’s Cloud Nine). Female vocals meanwhile never got shouty and has a particular smoothness to them that is hardly found in the chi-fi land. Vocal articulation is also well portrayed as you can pick up breathing patterns etc. though they are not as evident as certain vocal specialist IEMs (e.g. Final E4000).
The issue with the midrange lies in its general lack of “attack”. Everything sounds dull and blunted. String instruments lack bite as notes are rounded off, as can be heard on The Paper Kite’s Nothing More Than That (the guitar squeaks for example). It’s not evident initially but the more you use them you notice the missing pieces.
There’s no snap, that is.
Tonally and in terms of timbre the midrange is pretty flawless, it’s the other technical aspects where the Moondrop Starfield falls short.
4/5
Treble: And lastly, the treble response aka the highs. The Moondrop Starfield has a rolled off lower treble which helps in avoiding listening fatigue/harshness/sibilance but then you also lose a lot of definition in the upper registers. The downturn from 3KHz onwards is too steep in my opinion. Ironically, it’s not a dark sounding set, rather the abrupt roll-off results in cymbal hits abruptly disappearing into the void. It can give rise to a sensation of “fast transient response” but that’s misleading I’d say.
The lack of air in treble is also another issue. And of course — the overall resolution is poor. It can’t hold a candle to many lower-priced IEMs when it comes to detail retrieval, even at 1/4th the price. I’m not a detail junkie but the Moondrop Starfield is technically outdone by a number of its competition and that’s a shame.
In short: mediocre treble response, nothing to write home about. At least it’s not harsh or sibilant.
3/5
Soundstage: Due to the elevated midrange the soundstage is mostly intimate in terms of width. However, soundstage depth and height is also subpar.
2.5/5
Imaging: Imaging is mostly left-right and while the spatial cues are alright, the instrument placement, separation and layering leaves a lot to be desired. Ordinal imaging (placement of instruments at corner positions) is also non-existent for the most part.
3/5
Bang-for-buck: This is one criteria which confuses me about the Moondrop Starfield. It doesn’t really do anything better than any of its competition, not to my ears. The imaging/soundstage is strictly average, the midrange is great but there are others with similar/better midrange performance, it’s not a detail-retrieval monster, it’s not even especially cheap.
What it does is hit a specific target curve to some degree and that’s that. It’s got the tonality right but everything else is a big question mark.
2.5/5
Source and Amplification: At around 110dB/mW sensitivity and 32 ohms impedance the Moondrop Starfield is fairly easy to drive. My LG G7 ran it just fine and moving to higher tier amps/DAPs didn’t make much change.
Select Comparisons
vs Tin T4 ($100): The Tin T4 used to be favorite of many but seem to be falling by the wayside thanks to the introduction of Tin T2 Plus. I digress. The accessories of the Tin T4 are of higher quality than that of the Moondrop Starfield, but the QC issues are too prevalent on the Tin IEM and something you must note before making this particular purchase. Both of them uses a CNT diaphragm driver.
The bass is punchier and much better defined on the Tin T4 despite having lower quantity. The midrange meanwhile is thin and very detailed vs the full, elevated and warm midrange of the Moondrop Starfield. I prefer the vocals on the Moondrop Starfield but if it’s micro-details you want Tin T4 is the way to go. Treble is too boosted on the Tin T4 with distracting peaks in lower treble while the Moondrop Starfield goes the opposite way and opts for an early roll-off. Ideal would be something in between — not the case here.
Imaging and soundstage is poor on both. Comfort/Build is better on the Moondrop Starfields. Personally, I don’t recommend either.
vs KBEar Diamond ($68–70): The Diamond has a DLC diaphragm dynamic driver and has even better build and accessories than the Moondrop Starfield. It’s also priced quite a bit lower.
In terms of sound, the sub-bass on the Diamond is boosted and gives it a bass-heavy tone. The recessed midrange and the subdued lower treble turns it into a dark-sounding IEM although it does the treble better than the Moondrop Starfield if you listen closely (treble notes don’t decay abruptly). The midrange has good timbre but is a bit too recessed for my liking. Soundstage/imaging is slightly better on the Diamond. Comfort-wise, I’d put Moondrop Starfield ahead.
If you need a bassier version of the Moondrop Starfields you can give the Diamond a try. It also has a more enjoyable presentation in many tracks unlike the dull sounding Starfield.
vs Final E3000 ($50–60): The E3000 lacks a detachable cable so many might discard it right there. Fair enough. It does have much better stock tips but lacks any other niceties in the package.
In terms of sound though the E3000 lays bare to all the issues that the Moondrop Starfield has. Firstly, the bass has a punch to them that the Moondrop Starfield can’t match. Sub-bass rolls of earlier on the E3000 but the mid-bass performance makes up for that somewhat. There is no bleeding into the lower-mids, and vocals are even better portrayed on the E3000 esp the growling vocals. The grittiness of such vocals are not well reproduced by the Moondrop Starfield. String instruments are also supreme on the E3000 vs the bland delivery of the Starfield.
Treble is a bit subdued on the E3000 and can sound a bit splashy in certain tracks (in case of cymbals). Despite that, overall airiness of the treble is better on the E3000. Upper-mids are more upfront on the Moondrop Starfield so if you prefer intimate vocals the E3000 will sound recessed in the midrange. However, the soundstage is much wider on Final E3000, and imaging is polar opposite on the Final IEM with precise positioning of instruments and instrument separation that rivals many higher-priced IEMs.
The Final IEM, despite their lack of hype (outside of the #finalmasterrace circle, that is) and their relative “old age” can trounce the Moondrop Starfield at its own game: smooth signature with a warm-ish tonality and balanced presentation. If you don’t mind the fixed cable and want the kind of presentation Moondrop Starfield offers, the Final E3000 will be a much better choice (at almost half the price), in my humble opinion.
Conclusion
You know those earphones that you can listen to all day without ever getting tired or bored or fed up of it and the longer you use them the more they pull you in?
Yeah, the Moondrop Starfield is not one of those IEMs. Not for me.
I find that the flavor-of-the-month factor is a bit too strong with this one. It’s inoffensive, but it plays it too safe and becomes average in the process. It’ll likely to be one of those IEMs you fall out of love in the long run. Despite that if you’re sure that this is what you want — go right ahead. The midrange is great in terms of tonality and the vocal performance is mostly excellent (unless you are fan of growling metal vocals). However, the bass is not very high quality, neither is the treble, and instruments in general sound below par. Lastly, the intimate soundstage coupled with subpar imaging renders this too… generic.
As for me: it’s boring. It’s lifeless. It’s bland. It’s the English breakfast without salt and pepper. It’s the sandwich that got cold overnight. It’s overhype incarnate, and it’s just not worth it.
Overall Rating: 3.25/5
I cannot recommend this.
P.S. since my review/impressions of the Moondrop Starfield is in stark contrast to many well-known/popular/heavyweight reviewers, I just have to reiterate: I bought them at my own expense, so maybe I expected a bit too much, but I can only say what I hear. I tried every “good” eartip under the sun and got great seal. I also tried a different unit of Moondrop Starfield and it sounded the same so perhaps no unit variance. Lastly, I used them for a whole month before writing this review, this is not a “gotta review this in one-week” kinda impression/review post.
