Moondrop Aria 2 Unboxing & Quick Review

Moondrop doesn’t really need any introduction. They are well-known among the audiophiles as a highly-reputed HiFi IEMs manufacturers based in China. Moondrop has some of the best in class IEMs in the market such as Moondrop Blessing 2, Moondrop S8, and more. They not only focus on flagships in fact they cover all the different price segments with their well-tuned and finely crafted in-ear monitors such as SSR/SSP, KXXS, and more. Back in 2018, Moondrop released their budget single DD pair, the Moondrop Aria. It was discontinued just after a few months of run for unknown reasons. Now coming to 2021, Moondrop has re-released the Aria, but it has nothing similar to the previous model other than the Name and a single driver configuration(which also got updated in technology). I being an avid fan of Moondrop’s lineup(Yeah B2, S8 are some of my favorites IEMs from the brand) grabbed the Aria in an instant. Today I am going to share the unboxing and initial impressions for this beautiful pair of single DD IEMs. So let’s begin.

Moondrop Aria:-

The Aria is the latest addition to the growing lineup of HiFi IEMs from Moondrop. It is a single dynamic driver IEM featuring a powerful 10mm dynamic driver unit with LCP(Liquid Crystal Polymer) Diaphragm material. The pair just shares the name of a previous model from Moondrop, it is said to feature an all-new ergonomic design with beautiful matte-finished CNC machined metallic earpieces. Moondrop has priced Aria in a very competitive segment of under 100$. The pair has a price tag of just 80$, let’s find out whether it's worth it or not.

Unboxing & Accessories:-

Aria comes in an Anime style designer packaging. The front has a beautiful Anime girl and the Aria branding logo, on the back some key features along with the frequency graph of the pair are printed but this is just the top cover. Below is the main black cardboard package that holds all the contents. The front of this box has similar golden line patterns as on the earpieces of Aria. Opening this lid we get both the earpieces sitting firmly into their foam cutouts on the top portion. The lower portion has a thin cardboard cover again with the same Aria branding with designer lines. Here lies the carry case with other accessories such as silicone tips and connector cable. There are some replacement grills and also a grill replacement tool in the packaging. Overall, the packaging looks spectacular, comes with all the accessories. To be honest, it feels quite rich and premium by no means looks like an 80$ IEM package. Check out my unboxing video on the HiFiGo YouTube channel below.

Package Contents:-

>Moondrop Aria earphones.

>2-Pin sleeved cable with 3.5mm L-type plug.

>Six pairs of silicone tips.

>Replaceable filters and grills.

>Filter replacing tool.

>Zipper carry case.

>User guide.

>Warranty card.

Design, Build Quality, & Fit:-

If you have ever used any product from Moondrop you will know what to expect here. Similar to other designer pairs from Moondrop, the Aria features exquisite-looking matte-finished metallic earpieces. One might find them similar to KXXX or KXXS cavities, Though the faceplate here is flat instead of curvy as that on the KXXS model. Being completely metallic the pair does carry some weight when compared to Resin material shells but with a custom-style universal fit, they provide a comfy fit. Aria looks different from other IEMs in Moondrop’s lineup with its unique designer line pattern on the faceplates. The earpieces look simply fantastic with the robust build quality.

Despite being slightly heavy the earpieces sit firmly and provide a comfy fit for my medium-sized ears. They cover the entire ear canal and provide me good isolation from surrounding noises.

Driving The Moondrop Aria:-

Aria is fairly easy to drive with a low impedance of 32 ohms and high sensitivity of 122dB/Vrms. I did all my critical listening with the pair using my FiiO M11 Pro digital audio player and Hidizs S9 USB DAC/AMP connected to my smartphone. The best synergy among both these combos of Aria is with the M11 Pro, engaging and lively. The clarity is superb with a clean pitch dark background thanks to the THX amps in the M11 Pro. It’s not like the combination is bad with S9 in any way, it sounds fantastic too just synergizes well with the M11 Pro here.

At one point I also tried the Aria with my smartphone Huawei Mate 40 RS with a generic Type-C to 3.5mm adapter. This combination was also very good, with proper dynamics, about 60% volume for adequate listening levels. I am pretty sure users can enjoy Aria with smartphones too. But as always I recommend using Hi-res USB dongle DAC’s or Hi-res audio players for the best listening experience.

Sound Impressions:-

From my initial impressions with the Aria(about 10-15 hours), the pair has a lively, engaging sound output with good clarity and a wide soundstage. The pair has a punchy bass that complements the music well while not making it boomy at all. Bass is equally good in both quality and quantity, looks like Moondrop has tuned the DD for a punchy performance. There is a slight bass bleed into the lower mids but that doesn’t affect the clarity as lower mids are slightly recessed. Upper mids show slight forwardness bringing vocals in the front. Both male and female vocals have good clarity and detailing. Acoustic instruments such as guitars sound very good with decent airiness. High-frequencies have good sparkle and extensions allowing the pair to produce a lively and engaging signature. The response is quite smooth and non-fatiguing, there is no harshness even at loud volumes.

Soundstage is another attraction with the Aria, it has good width with average depth and height. Instrument separation with Aria is decent, it presents instruments with good clarity for most of my music though in complex tracks the pair lacks some performance. Moondrop Aria in my opinion complements different genres well, but I personally liked it most for its pleasant vocals complementing Pop, Rock, and other similar genres the best. 

A Few More Words:-

Moondrop has an experience with successful single DD IEMs such as the Kanas Pro, KXXS, KXXX, SSP, SSR, and more. The latest Aria is a pretty solid addition to their brilliant product range. It has an outstanding build with CNC machined metallic shells, pretty decent sound performance with punchy lower end, crisp vocals, and sparkly high-frequency response. I am pretty sure it will soon be one of the best pair of Hi-res IEMs around its price segment. You can check out more details on the HiFiGo store here.