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forthelol OP t1_j64v85e wrote

Setup: Moondrop Blessing 2 with my old Pixel 2 XL running a (completely) neutered LineageOS just for PowerAmp and Wavelet to emulate a DAP.

Disclaimer: I'm an audio noob so I can only go as in-depth as my very limited knowledge goes (but I'm still learning). Coming from budget IEMs like the Moondrop Chu, TinHifi T2 (and several KZ IEMs in the past), I've finally caved and gotten my first IEM over $50 after eyeing them for 2 years.

The Chu and T2 have been my daily driver for the past 6-ish months and 3 years respectively, and have served me well. But recently I've delved back into my collection of Cpop and Kpop after adding some newer additions to it, and found something missing that I couldn't put my finger on. Originally I was leaning towards the Aria but they didn't seem like a true upgrade from the Chu's, so I bit the bullet on the Blessing 2's. Right off the bat, I notice the difference in soundstage (I believe that's the term), where I could separate the different instruments in the background, and the vocals were more 'forward' as opposed to blending in with everything. Mind you I've never really used full on headphones before unless you count the Sony WH-1000XM2 which was waaayyyyy to bass heavy. I'm still listening and learning the terminology and the Blessing 2's themselves and what they're capable of, but the below are some of the stark differences I've noticed.

  • IU's My Sea at 3:54, the high note did not sound harsh and leave my ears ringing like with the Chu, the strings could be differentiated and came off less muffled, and IU's voice was more 'forward'.

  • IU's famous E5,F5,F#5 in Good Day at 3:25 - the Blessing 2's did not comes off a little harsh and ringing again with like the Chu and the T2, the strings and brass could be differentiated more clearly throughout the entire song,

  • IU's Love Poem at her higher notes would come off a little muffled and ringing on the Chu and T2, but on the Blessing 2's, it sounds less muffled and doesn't leave my ears ringing a little towards the middle/end of the song.

  • Taeyeon's 11;11 come off warm (I believe that's the term) compared to both the Chu and T2 for me without EQ (and slightly warmer when EQ'd), and the instruments and bass are a little more defined and fun.

  • Sondia's Grown Ups/Adult - the Blessing 2's soundstage is very apparent in this song with all of the instruments being very well defined and not blending together, from the 3:00 mark where the song comes off more energetic and impactful, it's not fatiguing to the ears on the Blessing versus the Chu and T2.

  • Polyphia's Playing God comes off more fun, and I could practically feel the guitar strings vibrating in my ears. The song sounds good on the Chu, okay on the T2, but much more enjoyable on the Blessing 2.

Overall, the Blessing 2's sound very pleasant and correct(?) with the music I primary listen to, and I've noticed I've been listening more than I usually do. I was originally afraid of whether or not the nozzles were too big, but they're actually more comfortable and sit in my ears better than the Airpod Pros do with the stock medium sized tips. If I can manage to somehow get the spring tips on the nozzle, I've read that it does play around a bit with the sound so I'm interested to hear how they sound. I'm no longer left wanting 'more' out of my music with the Blessing 2.

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SaulR26 t1_j653oic wrote

Definitely recommend listening to Polyphia's Ego Death. Have fun with the Blessing 2's I really like my pair.

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forthelol OP t1_j65goh7 wrote

For sure! I actually listened to on Spotify (I know) and it didn't come off any different to me vs the Chu. I'll see if I can borrow my friend's Tidal account to experience it in higher res.

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blorg t1_j68jmrp wrote

There's nothing particularly wrong with Spotify. Unlikely to notice a difference with Tidal unless you have some configuration in Spotify/Windows wrong that is making it sound bad. I subscribe to both, currently back on Spotify as Tidal is having one of its frequent... buffering... buffering...

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forthelol OP t1_j69yooe wrote

For when I'm just putting music on to sleep, I'd just use Spotify for that. I love Spotify don't get me wrong, I frequent podcasts on Spotify since it's easier to access there from different devices just for convenience. But when I'm looking for that detail in dedicated listening, off to the FLACs!!

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givemeyournews t1_j6c8i13 wrote

I second this. I just got the Blessing 2 Dusk in last week and it’s the first IEM that I can clearly hear each individual guitar part. Blessing 2 / dusk are pretty amazing.

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spltnalityof t1_j65w4sz wrote

Soundstage describes how wide or spacious the sound feels. Imaging describes the level of clarity/instrument separation an audio device has. Good read nonetheless!

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forthelol OP t1_j66cy1u wrote

Thank you, thank you! Will read more into it and hopefully down the road when I dive deeper, I'll be more accurate with my words.

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smalg2 t1_j66ac6z wrote

Surprised nobody said anything about the Google dongle yet 😁 It does the job, but it's honestly nothing to write home about in terms of sound quality. Considering you just got yourself a nice pair of premium IEMs, you might want to consider upgrading to a better dongle / DAC/amp in the future to unleash the "true potential" of the Blessing 2s. Even something as cheap as the $9 Apple dongle was enough for me to hear a noticeable improvement in sound quality (everything sounds tighter and more detailed, soundstage is wider, etc.) Btw I don't mean to spoil your fun, I just thought I'd mention it since the Blessing 2s are apparently great IEMs but the Google dongle is just "meh". Thanks for the review, have fun with the B2s!

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forthelol OP t1_j66eou7 wrote

I've notice the difference in the stock Pixel 2 dongle vs a Razer dongle I have. I'm not sure if it's because it can drive it a little better, but it does sound a little different in a good way. I remember reading that the THX DAC in the Razer dongle is 'gimmicky', but I've been alternating between the two to see if I can spot the difference in the two. You do bring up a point with the Apple USB-C dongle, which (knock on wood) would be something I would grab if my current dongles fail.

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candroid_man t1_j664cfn wrote

Just out of curiosity, why don't you use GrapheneOS?

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forthelol OP t1_j66e258 wrote

GrapheneOS was an option, but either ways I was going to neuter it to remove stock apps/services/etc just to push the battery life a bit more. Outside of initial setup of Poweramp for the license, I don't use it for anything web-based, so I don't need a hardened OS if it's not being used outside of storing about 60GB of FLAC. Plus I'd have to dig around for the source and build it, and I was honestly lazy haha.

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candroid_man t1_j66lmio wrote

I get what you're saying, but just so you know GrapheneOS has its own web installer and you can install it from Linux terminal. You don't have to build it yourself

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forthelol OP t1_j66mb1l wrote

I think that feature's new no? I remember looking into it when I had the 2 XL, but when I gave up on pursuing 4 and on, I haven't caught up on Graphene. Good to know, maybe down the line if I head back to the Pixel line it'll be an option.

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candroid_man t1_j66nmhq wrote

Not sure how new it is, but it's been around since the 5 series at least

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J-son11 t1_j67h0v3 wrote

I would definitely recommend, quite easy to do the flash with the web browser now a days.

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