Today we will take a look at the Moondrop Stellaris planar magnetic IEM. This unit was kindly provided by Shenzhen Audio in exchange for my honest review. As always I’m not paid to say anything in particular about the products and all thoughts and opinions in today’s episode are my own.
Stellaris is a new IEM from Moondrop and it features a 14.5 mm planar magnetic driver with a sub-nanometer diaphragm and high-precision miniature-grade magnetic array. The IEMs arrived in a large carton box. On the front of the box there is anime illustration, on the back of the box there is illustration of the expanded IEMs, the list of technical specifications and frequency response graph.
In the box:
- Moondrop Stellaris planar-magnetic IEMs
- A de-attachable cable
- 3 pairs of silicone ear tips
- 3 pairs of foam ear tips
- A carrying case with a magnetic lid
- QC Certificate
- User manual
- And anime post card
Impedance of Moondrop Stellaris is 36 Ohm and the sensitivity is 117 dB/mW
Design & build
The IEM shells are large and surprisingly robust and they are made out of two parts. Moondrop mentioned that the the IEMs have acoustic cavities inside, which explains the emphasis on the front cavity and bigger shell size. The iridescent finish of the shells changes the color varying on viewing angle and light conditions. The faceplate design reminds me of the Moondrop Starfields, the shell has a glossy iridescent color, with moon and stars in gold color accents
There is one vent located on the inside part of the IEM. The nozzles are on a longer side and there is a small lip in the end of the nozzle that helps with ear tips retainment. The IEMs 2-pin connectors are also located conveniently
Moondrop Stellaris are not very comfortable and it took me some time to experiment with the fit and the seal. Each IEM weighs 14 grams but luckily it has a great weight distribution, so you won’t feel its weight in your ears. But the nozzles are long and they go deep in your ear canals, which combined with a massive shells gives you an unusual fit which might be a deal breaker for some peopleI personally started to feel a slight discomfort after 1 hour of wearing it, and I had to take short breaks during long listening sessions.
Cable
The cables that comes with this IEMs is good. It’s 1.2 meters, silver plated cable with an angled 3.5 mm connector on one end, and two 0.78 2-pin connectors on the other ends. The wire colors resemble the color scheme of the IEM
If I’m not mistaken the same cable comes with Moondrop SSR, just in a different color. The cable also features a splitter with a Moondrop logo, and a metal chin slider. Overall the cable quality is good and it’s low in microphonics.
Moondrop Stellaris sound overview
Being a planar magnetic IEM Moondrop Stellaris requires a powerful source. My Galaxy S10 for example didn’t have enough power to get this pair to my preferred levels of volume and make this pair shine. Moondrop Dawn DAC on the other hand provided more than enough power and the synergy was great too.
Please note that all sound impressions I’m sharing on my channel are completely subjective so please take them with a grain of salt.
The Moondrop Stellaris closely follows VDSF Target Response which is Moondrop’s in-house tuning which I’m familiar with, but Stellaris sounds to me very bright as mids and treble are upfront on this pair.
The bass on this IEM has a good body, texture and feel. Sub bass is well extended and mid bass has a good impact. The bass is also fast and you can distinguish individual notes in busy passages. Overall the bass performance on this pair is solid and quite detailed, but I personally expected a bit more ruble from a planar magnetic driver when paired with a powerful source.
Midrange is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Lower mids lack some authority, while upper mids are frequently shouty and harsh. I wouldn’t call upper mids 100% sibilant, but they are really upfront and full of energy. With such focus, there is a lot of detail in midrange, but is it good and necessary? Well that’s a different story. Female vocals are sometimes harsh and borderline sibilant. But other than that vocals mostly sound forward and are quite transparent. Instruments in the midrange will have a strong presence, with a lot of details, they are quite saturated and textured.
Found this review useful? Read more IEM reviews here
The treble on Moondrop Stellaris is well extended, energetic and crisp. Crisp almost to the point when the treble easily becomes sibilant on some recordings. There is a lot of air and sparkle in the treble, but on some recordings the treble sounds a bit artificial. Detail retrieval on the other hand is amazing, and depending on the type of the recording, the pair either reveals all the important micro details of the recording, or its flaws. Overall the treble is crisp and detailed, but as I already mentioned, on some recordings it’s just too upfront.
Soundstage width and depth is good for IEMs price point. The Stellaris also have good instrument separation, imaging, and layering. The sound clarity of Moondrop Stellaris is great and detail retrieval is the main technical advantage of this pair as it reveals all the extra stuff in the recordings, making well recorded and mastered material sound superb.
Conclusions
Moondrop Stellaris is definitely a very interesting pair of IEMs from a well known manufacturer, but it’s tuning is not for everyone. The bright sound signature with upfront and energetic mids and treble might be too much for some listeners.
Pros:
- Beautiful shells design
- Excellent detail retrieval
- Good dynamics and instrument separation
- IEMs are crips and transparent
- Good imaging
- Incredible texture
- Tight, fast and textured bass
- Good stock cable
Cons:
- Long nozzles go deep into ear canal making the fit a bit uncomfortable
- Big and slightly heavy shells
- Mids & treble are too energetic and upfront for my taste
- Vocals sometimes can sound harsh
- And the treble can be hot if you are a treble-sensitive person
Despite a few cons, technicalities wise Moondrop Stellaris is a very solid performer that provides great instrument separation, detail retrieval and clarity in its price range. Tuning wise – it really depends. If you are looking for a warm sounding laid-back IEM, you need to look elsewhere. But those who like neutral bright tuning with forward mids and extra energy in the treble will like this pair.
And that concludes my review for today. If you want to see more content like this consider subscribing to my YouTube channel for future updates. Thank you for joining me, and until next time, goodbye!
** As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the links in my reviews are affiliate links, which means at no extra cost to you, I will make a small commission if you click them and make a qualifying purchase.
