Intro
Moondrop is no stranger when it comes to the audio community. Most of their releases are hits rather than misses, being priced affordably, does not mean they skimp on the sound quality. Let’s take a look and see if it’s holding up against other similarly priced TWS.
Packaging
The packaging is pretty straight forward, nothing to expect at this price point.
A box consists of the IEM, eartips. Pretty straight forward no BS, not to mention the usual anime art.
Build and Comfort
The whole earbud is made out of plastic and there are no sharp edges or any protrusion that causes discomfort. Despite it’s fully plastic,it doesn’t look cheap and it’s light, i’ve worn them for several hours during my meeting and there’s no discomfort throughout the period.
Specifications
Bluetooth version: 5.0
Protocol supported: A2DP/AVRCP/HFP/HSP/SBC/AAC
Charging port: Type-c
Impedance: 32±15%Ω@1kHz
Working distance: 10m (barrier-free open environment)
Support system: All Bluetooth devices and smartphones
Charging time: About 1 hour
Charging time of charging case: About 1.5 hours
Battery capacity: 3.7V/ 37mAh
Battery capacity of charging case: 3.7V/ 380mAh
Battery life: About 4 hours
Battery life with charging case: About 12 hours
Sadly, there’s no fast charging available when the device is in the case, but this is just nitpicking especially at this price point.
Connection Test and Latency
Placing my phone on my dining table in my living room, i walked to my balcony with a thick wall in between and there’s no disconnection nor any distortion, connection remained rock solid stable
As for gaming, the delay is very noticeable, but then again, this TWS is not meant/marketed for gamers in mind.
Watching Netflix with it on my iPad, there isn’t any delay as well,the audio and video is pretty much in sync. No noticeable delay
Audio Quality
Nekocake’s default tuning is more on the “fun” side of spectrum. Slightly elevated low and high without recessing the vocal. You can change the tuning of Nekocake by downloading the LINK app from Apple’s app store if you are using iOS or Google Playstore if you’re using Android. Sort of like an EQ
*This evaluation is done using the Classic Moondrop Preset via the Moondrop LINK App
Bass
Sub bass rumble can be felt and heard during EDM track such as Ping Pong by Armin
Bass quantity and quality is good enough (You can always change to a different preset if you feel like having more “Boom”)
Bass response is neither fast nor slow to a point where it got too boomy
Typical Harman kind of bass response when using the Classic Moondrop Preset
Mids
Vocal is forward and slight intimate to my ears
Good enough detail at this spectrum of frequency
At time it feels a little lean
Treble
Treble is smooth and non sibilant nor fatiguing
Good enough detail retrieval
Average resolution
Soundstage and Imaging
Soundstage is pretty much in your head, not too narrow or wide
Imaging is alright as the instruments can be pinpointed correctly
Battery Life Test
I would say the battery life is not bad nor exceptional, good enough to last you through the day if you are a heavy user, as the case hold an additional of 12 hours approximately
Single usage is more or less the same as claimed by Moondrop which is 4 hours +- depending on your volume level, during the time of testing, i am playing it at about 40% of volume level which is loud enough to me
ANC Test
If i were to rate the ANC performance, In comparison with AirPod Pro, i’m giving the AirPod Pro a 8/10 and Nekocake at 5/10. This is to be expected as the ANC performance for Nekocake is definitely not on par with the high tiered TWS that offers a better ANC performance.
This is to be expected and I am not nitpicking especially at this asking price. The ANC does work, however it doesn’t cancel out most of the noise, EG, my mechanical keyboard typing sound, Keys jingling sound. It does cancel out the road noise when i am driving. When I'm out about in a busy restaurant, it’s not dead silent, but it does cancel out some noise in order for me to listen to the music at average listening volume without having to crank up the volume.
Final Thoughts
Throughout the week that i’ve been using Nekocake, i find them to be very comfortable over all and soundwise, they offers a good price performance ratio, the stock eartips offers good enough seal for me, it’s kinda hard for me to change the eartips as it won’t fit into the charging case. I find myself going for Nekocake instead of my wired setup throughout this test period because it offers good enough performance and the convenience that TWS offers
Overall I find them to offer a balanced performance with a good price performance ratio considering the specifications of the earbuds. At this asking price, It is very easy to recommend it to anyone who is looking for a budget TWS right now. I see no reason why I shouldn't recommend it.
An easy 4.5/5 judging from the value and performance it offers.
*I received the unit in exchange for my honest opinion by Cloris from ShenZhen Audio. The link attached is not affiliated and i don’t earn a single cent even if you decide to purchase it
