Moondrop Blessing 2 Review: To Be Truly Blessed

Updated: Mar 29 2021

Pros: Great technicalities especially layering and soundstage, detail retrieval, build and fit. Price to performance ratio

Cons: Upper-mid range glare, slightly large for smaller ears

Driver Setup: 10mm Dynamic Driver + 4 Balanced Armatures (Knowles SWFK + Softears Custom)

Price: US$319.99

Intro

Disclaimer: This review set is a demo set graciously lent to me by Daniel at Oardio and the review is written of my own accord and all thoughts are my own. The Tanchjim Oxygen is available for purchase from Oardio through their website should you find yourself interested in a pair.

The Blessing 2 is Moondrop’s hybrid lineup and it took the audiophile community by storm with the release of its predecessor, the Moondrop Blessing. Although highly praised by the community, The Blessing 2 is also criticised for several issues such as its notorious over-emphasized upper-midrange. In this review, we will take a closer at this matter and how The Blessing 2 fares in my opinion.

Accessories and Build Quality (Score: 7.5/10)

The Blessing 2 comes in a typical Moondrop Audio marketing philosophy, its Moondrop trademark and a cover of an anime character. In the box, it contains a set of ear tips, a pretty nice looking copper cable, a leather zip case and the Blessing 2 itself. It is pretty much the basics but I kind of expected more at this price point but I would like to point out that the zip case and the cable seems and feels to be really well built in my hands.

The Blessing 2 itself is well built as well, made out of a 3D resin shell that does not have any rough edges or neither easily scratched. I do want to point out that there reports that people experienced the printing on the metal back on the IEM tends to fade away after some time. In summary, well-supplemented package but nothing too out-of-this-world.

Fit (Score: 9/10)

The Blessing 2 fits my ear really well! I do have slightly larger ears as compared to my peers and I figured that the Blessing 2 might be “too much” for smaller ears. My experience with the Blessing 2 is just awesome! No rough edges, it fills up my ear and isolates really well from the outside world. Kudos to Moondrop and their 3D printing design!

Sound (Score: 9.0/10)

I would describe the Blessing 2 to be slightly brighter than neutral with a slightly emphasized bass to keep things balanced.

Frequency Response of the Blessing 2

Sources Used

  • iBasso DX120
  • JDS Atom Stack

Albums and Tracks tested with

  • Halo Saga OST
  • Bleach OST
  • André Rieu & The Johann Strauss Orchestra – The Blue Danube
  • Aladdin OST – Friend Like Me
  • Cigarettes After Sex – K
  • Keane – Hopes and Dreams
  • BØRNS – Sweet Dreams
  • ARTY – Rain
  • Penny Tai – 你要的愛
  • Rebecca Pigeon – Spanish Harlem

Bass (Score: 9/10)

Really nice sub-bass, pretty good rumble with an adequate punch in the mid-bass. Definitely not lacking presence but I would not call it strong either. There isn’t any mid-bass bleed detected. Really good separation and detail in this region. Slightly emphasised but only at its sub-bass region. Sounds really good, rounded and full (Aladdin’s OST “Friend in Me”, bass drum kicks and low ends aren’t overpowering other parts but it gives that solid presence that makes the track sound full and complete).

There isn’t much to say about it anymore, It is just very well-tuned topping it off with good technical capability.

Mids (Score: 9/10)

Male voices feel relatively weaker as compared to female voices, I do find that some other parts of the tracks I listen to compete for the centre stage of the male lead. It has a significant boost in its upper mid-range but it is still acceptable in my books but could appreciate it if it cuts that back by like 3-4 dB, good detail! Tonality and timbre of instruments still maintain that realism and not boosted to the ends of the world. Female vocals definitely shine through Rebecca’s “Spanish Harlem” crystal clear playback although its pretty much a 2 line track but that boost to upper midrange just made it more addictive and energetic.

Do not be mistaken, it is definitely not neutral on the blessing, it has that pinna gain but it presents tracks with more energy and energy that appeals to me sometimes depending on my mood. I do agree that this “glare” affected me negatively sometimes as well so it boils down to preference and the type of IEM you are looking for.

The Blessing 2 does excel in certain things that I really do appreciate and love, its layering, separation, detail retrieval and soundstage. Especially in this context, The Blessing 2 is able to provide superb details and vocal/instrumental layering to the extent that it sets itself apart from the rest of its competition in this price range.

Treble (Score: 8.5/10)

Great thing is that there isn’t any sibilance to my ears I really liked listening to Keane’s hopes and fears on this as the ornaments (percussive instruments) just shines through and the detail is just impeccable to my ears. Of course, it doesn’t have the best treble of all the other offerings but I do appreciate it retaining a lot of detail despite being rolled off at higher frequencies. I would appreciate more treble extension but with that upper mid-range boost, it might just be too much. In short, The Blessing 2 provides an airy treble with no sibilance, it doesn’t sound splashy or unrefined, and also, its attention to detail.

Overall

I do notice that the Blessing 2 received quite a lot of hype but I am giving credit where credit is due. The Blessing 2 does sound pretty stacked in terms of technicalities as well as a pretty decent frequency response which I enjoyed. On the other hand, I have some gripes regarding that overly-enhanced upper mid-range which many picked up, but, it is still a very very solid pick in this price range. With great soundstage, good sense of space and width, great layering and separation, good tonality and timbre, it is a technical giant in this price bracket that will hold its ground against other promising offerings even above its league.

Conclusion

Given the Blessing 2’s value proposition, it is tough to deny its accomplishments in this price bracket. It allows people to have a glimpse of what TOTL offerings can be like at a mid-fi price bracket and between them, a humongous price gap up to thousands. I do accept the flaws of the Blessing 2 but at the end of the day, it beats many in terms of absolute performance and for experienced listeners, its fatal flaw can be fixed with EQ on your DAP or software. I stay true to my findings and experience, The Blessing 2 is a competent performer with superb sonic capabilities.

Overall Grade: A+

90%
Sound
85%
Value
85%
Design

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