Introduction

MOONDROP is an audio brand that I have come to respect enough to be interested in any of their releases—especially after the brand has impressed consistently over the year+ that I have been reviewing IEMs here. In fact, I would put the MOONDROP KATO as my personal go-to in the $200 price range, and there’s an argument to be made about the Sparks being the best tuned TWS set and the Aria (2021) being a benchmark in the sub-$100 range at that. Clearly others agreed with this sentiment, given the likes of DUNU having made competing sets to directly go up against the Aria. MOONDROP also put out a few special editions of the Aria last year, but those were all simply different colorways but using the exact same internals.

It’s been over an year since the Aria (2021) was released and that is an eternity in the IEM world. I expected to see a new $80 MOONDROP IEM sooner than later but was still surprised when the Aria Snow Edition came out instead. This new product is not another take on the older formula but rather a whole new entity that now exists alongside the other Aria. MOONDROP also says there is a new dynamic driver used inside and the tuning is different, to appeal to those who wanted something different. The packaging and accessories are also updated, so clearly there is a lot to see. Thanks to HIFIGO for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp as we go about with this quick look article, beginning with a look at the product specs in the table below.

Packaging and Accessories

Anyone remotely familiar with MOONDROP products knows to expect a so-called “waifu” on the product box, and a new one at that. HIFIGO customers looking forward to this might want to know there will be a store sticker interrupting your view here, but you can always head over to the product page for more—I don’t understand this, but also won’t judge! On the back is useful information about the product, including a factory frequency response curve that’s always desirable. There is an inner box which slides out of the sleeve and it features a shiny finish to it to better match the ongoing snowflake theme, complete with a render of the same above the product name. Open the box to see the IEMs placed snugly inside a cardboard layer and the other accessories are placed in the compartment towards the bottom. These include paperwork in the form of a contact card, a QC verification card, and a quick start guide going over how best to use IEMs if you are not familiar with them.

The carry case is the exact same as what shipped with the Aria (2021) except in white and with a different design on either side. It’s still not the best such design even in the price range the Aria Snow Edition operates in, and I’d say the new gold and white colorway even comes off as tacky, owing to the mediocre printing quality. A gold-colored zipper slider keeps the case closed. Inside, we see the included ear tips in a plastic pouch enclosed in a separate compartment at the top and the IEM cable coiled in the bottom. There is enough room to add the IEM shells with the tips of your choosing, but coiling everything up and pushing it all in takes more effort than usual, especially compared to the larger case typically seen with more expensive IEMs. The IEMs come with two types of silicone ear tips in sizes S/M/L each. In addition to the generic black tips we see above, MOONDROP also includes its excellent Spring Tips, these work well in providing a secure fit while taming ear canal resonances and upper treble peaks. I suspect most buyers of the Aria Snow Edition will pair it with these Spring Tips as MOONDROP itself suggests, but do try them all out to ensure the best possible fit in your ears.

Closer Look

Even with the limited experience with IEMs I had at the time I tested the MOONDROP Aria (2021), I knew that particular cable wasn’t the best. I had issues with the cheap fabric sleeve mostly, and was sad to see a version of the same used on the upcoming MOONDROP Void over-ear headphones too. Thankfully the cable that ships with the Aria Snow Edition is an improvement in both function and form. There is still room for improvement, but at least it is easier to reshape and the sleeving isn’t as microphonic here. It begins with a right-angled 3.5 mm TRS single-ended plug headed to your source and then we get to all white aesthetics to match the IEMs. MOONDROP is using high-purity 6N (99.9999%) oxygen-free copper as the conductor, that in turn gets silver-plating, for those who are concerned about cable material composition. The splitter is the exact same circular plastic bead that was used on the cheaper Chu cable and there is no cable cinch here either. Furthermore, there is a highly curved set of pre-formed ear hooks which then lead to two 0.78 mm 2-pin connectors that have L/R markings on the see-through housings, in addition to a red ring on the right side for channel identification. The metal plugs are gold-plated for oxidation resistance.

As with the MOONDROP Aria (2021), these new Aria Snow Edition IEMs have metal shells that are first cast and then CNC machined to give you an exact physical replica of the previous version. The overall design is based off simulations and experience MOONDROP has accumulated over the years. Unfortunately, another thing common here to the previous Aria is that the textured snowflake design is still a paint coating, susceptible to chipping when exposed to more humid and hot conditions. There are already images from customers showing this issue in practice, although I can’t speak for it given the less trying climate here. I wish MOONDROP had laser engraved the design on to the bare metal but that might have also increased the cost and lowered the yield. Either way we see the use of a two-piece shell glued together, with a cutout on the side to accommodate recessed 2-pin ports the cable plugs into. Two vents are on the inner side contacting the ear concha for both airflow to the drivers and pressure relief, and a 5.5 mm diameter nozzle is machined out of the same shells at a slight angle. There is a metal mesh on the end to prevent contaminants from entering the acoustic chamber.

Seen above are both types of included ear tips installed on the right shell. The Spring Tips run slightly smaller so I have the size L tip with the black bore used alongside the size M of the more generic silicone tips. As mentioned previously, do try them all out and see what works best for you. Note that you may also end up having different sizes for the two ears depending on the size of your ear canal, given these biological features won’t necessarily be the same for everyone. The Spring Tips are tackier in grip and mold better to the inside of the ear canal in my opinion. They also have a larger bore opening compared to the other tip, to where I chose them to be paired with the Aria Snow Edition. There is no retaining lip on the nozzle although you have to spread the tip bore slightly to fit over the nozzle anyway, thus retaining them in place via pressure. Installing the cable is simple enough, with the pre-molded ear hooks that go over the ears and L/R indicators helping identify what goes where, even in the absence of the same indicators on the IEMs. Push the 0.78 mm 2-pin plugs into the IEM connectors as seen above, and friction will do the rest in keeping them in place.

Fit and Audio Performance

Seen above is the right side of the MOONDROP Aria Snow Edition installed in an anthropomorphic pinna that does well in showing my own experience with these. I have average-sized ears, and found the size L Spring Tips to work best. The relatively small shell size means those with smaller ear conchas will find these to be a good fit. This is why getting the correct tips to seal well is paramount for everyone else. The pre-formed ear hooks can be hit or miss too, but thankfully there is enough wiggle room in the orientation of the IEMs in the concha to where it is generally a non-isssue and should not require re-molding via a hairdryer. If it works well, then the cable will further support the IEMs despite the absence of a cinch for further securement. These are also denser than you would expect, at nearly 9 g each, although physical fatigue is a non-issue with the other factors accounted for. Isolation depends on the seal achieved and the two vents helps overcome pressure build-up inside.

MOONDROP has a new dynamic driver used here that goes with a dual cavity and a 10 mm DLC (diamond-like carbon) diaphragm. This is a departure from the previous Aria’s 10 mm LCP (liquid crystalline polymer) diaphragm driver, and is instead the same driver tech used in the older MOONDROP Kanas Pro that slotted in at $180 when it launched. Call it tech-cycling if you wish, and note that the diaphragm is paired with an imported Daifoku CCAW (copper clad aluminium wire) voice coil, a brass inner cavity, a high-frequency waveguide structure and presumably also the same neodymium N52 magnets as before. These come together to make the new Aria Snow Edition slightly more demanding than the average set of IEMs, including the Aria (2021), with a rated impedance of 32 Ω and sensitivity of 119 dB/Vrms (104 dB/mW). A decent dongle will still be plenty, and I paired it with the Qudelix-5K for most of my listening experience.

Testing was done similar to all other IEMs, such as the recently reviewed MOONDROP Chu. Seen above is the measured frequency response for both channels of the Aria Snow Edition, which can be inspected further here if interested. I would classify this sound signature as fairly balanced, leaning towards being slightly bright, and it’s one case of measurements not telling the whole story. See, despite that ~5 dB SPL hike in the bass region compared to the lowest point in the mids at 600 Hz, the bass response with the Aria Snow Edition doesn’t come off as elevated in person. It’s not a slammy set and the sub-bass dip further hurts those who want to headbang to EDM here. The driver itself is technically competent though with good resolution most of the way, this can be handy for music monitoring more than for enjoying music. The overall tonality also follows my own target quite well to where you would have body to male vocals without being affected by bass bloat and there is still room for instruments to shine. Instrument separation isn’t great though and this hurts imaging when listening to more complex pieces with several different instrument classes. Soundstage is about average as well and middling is an appropriate term here for how the Aria Snow Edition ends up faring. I do appreciate the excellent pinna gain on hand and will continue to credit MOONDROP there, but not so much for how dark these IEMs get right after the ear resonance that I had closer to 7.5 kHz in my ears. Unfortunately the poor treble extension means the Aria Snow Edition has limited scope in the genres it works well with.

For context, I have above the new Aria Snow Edition compared against the previous MOONDROP Aria, the DUNU Titan S, and the new planar on the block courtesy the 7Hz x Crinacle: Salnotes Dioko that will soon get a similar quick look article. There are plenty of other competing IEMs in the $75-100 range too, including the Tripowin x HBB Olina, the FiiO FD3, and ThieAudio Legacy 2. I am struggling to think of where the Aria Snow Edition makes a mark for itself here, especially considering it’s mostly a side-grade to the previous Aria that offers more bass—not better bass, mind you—and certainly more treble room. The two Arias are very close to each other in everything but detail, where the newer one picks up a few points, but then the DUNU TITAN S executes the same tuning formula as the Aria Snow Edition in a better manner! The Dioko is even more resolving and arguably better tuned too, although it is also much more subjective to fit. Given also the potential for the paint finish to chip here I’d say overall the MOONDROP Aria Snow Edition is more miss than hit. If you are still interested in it for the specific things it does well, and live in a country with a tamer/drier climate then you can find the Aria Snow Edition for $79.99 from HiFiGo as of the date of this article.