Hey everyone! Welcome back to the Neighborhood! Your Friendly Neighborhood Reviewer here with a review of the fabled Moondrop Blessing 2 thanks to APOS Audio. I have an affiliate link with APOS, while I’ll place in the description below. So, if you’re going to pick up a Blessing 2 or any other product that they sell, it really helps the channel out if you use my link, and purchase from them. But as always, no pressure, but its there if you’d like to make use of it.
But, let’s get back to the Blessing 2. This IEM has kind of built a reputation of being the gold standard of IEMs at its price range. But, what do I think of it? It may not be what you think. Let’s get InToit!
So, beginning with the build. Initially, I wasn’t going to cover the build, as there are a ton of other reviews out there on this thing. But honestly, I think the build may actually determine if you’ll want to pick one of these up or not. It is a solid build, but its not without its quirks and considerations. Also, we’re going to take a bit of a different stance on this one, and also consider how the build affects the sound.
So, the package here is decently nice. Some have criticized the accessories for not being appropriate for this IEM’s price, but I’m not going to do that. I find the case these comes with to be relatively nice. If it is not leather, it’s a nice grey, leather-like material, and its soft to the touch. The size of the case is about the size of a deck of cards, and it’s about two decks thick. So, it’s nice, but a little on the large size, but these are also somewhat large IEMs. 2 pairs of silicone tips, in large, medium, and small also came with my set, although the medium was on the large size, and the small was on the small size. Medium fit me best, but I preferred KZ Starline tips for this set as it limited its somewhat harsh character, and enhanced its low-end a bit- two outcomes that were necessary for me. But we’ll talk more about these things more later on when we get into the sound. When I first received the Blessing 2, everyone said that I needed use a smaller, wider bored tip for maximum insertion to get it to sound right, but honestly this just made the Blessing 2 colder, and harsher to my ears.
Many have also criticized the cable, say that it is cheap, and kinks easily, but this was not my experience with it. It was soft, and easy to work with for me, and it was pretty much the same cable that I tested with the Moondrop Starfield- just a copper color variant rather than a navy blue one. The connectors could have been better, as they were plastic, but I liked that it used lightweight 2-pin connections, and a smaller sized, right-angled 3.5 mm termination.
The shell itself is rugged and composed a thick, clear, resign material, with an affixed metal faceplate. The drivers encased within consist of dual SoftEars balanced armatures for the mid frequencies, dual Knowles balance armatures for the high frequencies, and a 10mm paper cone diaphragm for the bass. Each cluster of drivers by frequency has its own individualized sound tube that deliver the sound through distinct holes in the otherwise solid nozzle. I should also mention that there seems to be a vent hole that releases through the bottom front of the faceplate as well.
And I suspect that, this is where the Blessing 2’s difficulties will arise for some- with its tube array and vented design. The first issue with the tubes, is that they are sized differently, which normally wouldn’t be an issue, as I’m assuming this was done for tuning purposes; but, in this case in particular, the sizes of these tubes do come across somewhat awkwardly in the sound- resulting in a unfortunate tuning to my ears. For example, the treble tube is smaller than the mids tube, and the bass tube is the smallest of them all. Furthermore, the bass tube is vented (as the others may be as well [it’s hard to tell]), but this restricts the bass driver’s dynamics and seems to result in a somewhat limited bass reproduction.
What I am trying to say, is that the Blessing 2’s sound profile, isn’t my favorite, as it has some flaws to my ears (insert blasphemer gif), and further, these flaws seem to be a direct result of its design. For example, the smallest tube utilized by the treble focused balanced armatures results in a somewhat overly crispy and somewhat artificial sounding treble that lacks air. Air quantity is limited, and air quality is somewhat impoverished. I can’t help but think: “Perhaps if they would have opened this tube up a bit more, things could have sounded much more natural.” Further, the largest tubing, utilized by the mid-range drivers, resulted in the Blessing 2’s somewhat mid-centric presentation. But this presentation could be somewhat harsh at times in the top end of the mid-range. Furthermore, this harshness could extend into low-end of the treble- resulting in the mids displaying a slightly overly pushed forward character. Vocals were also weighted thinner than I would like as well.
Additionally, because of the restricted dynamics, which we’ve already touched on, the lower portions of the mid-range appear to be somewhat thin to my ears. Yet others have said that the Dusk, which is supposed to have additional low-end presence, but not necessarily dynamics, is even leaner in this area! So, I’m not entirely sure what is going on here? And it may sound like I’m being overly unsympathetic with the Blessing 2, but honestly, after others have trumped up this set as the “go to,” “defacto” recommendation in the price range, I was a bit disappointed, to say the least, and honestly, I expected more. and was let down by some areas of its performance.
Tonality here was cold; just slightly, overly bright leaning to my ears, and stark in its character. As already alluded too, note thickness is somewhat lean in general. There’s also some mild sibilance at times on certain tracks. In my eyes, the Blessing 2 lacks musicality, dynamics, and emotional impact. This may sound kind of out of left field, but they’re kind of like listening to music while camping out in a cold cave on the way to see the Night King from Game of Thrones. I don’t find them fun to listen to, but let’s try and have fun with the review, right?
Having said that, resolution, detail, and clarity are better than expected for the price-range. Imaging competences of the Blessing 2 are also top notch, and decay capabilities were great. Tracking was on point from right to left, and instrument placement within the stage was very natural. If anything suffered with regard to imaging, it was instrument distinction, as tonal properties made it difficult distinguish instruments on occasion; although instruments were distinctive within its space. Speaking of the stage, although people have criticized the Blessing 2’s stage at times, I actually found this component of its sound profile to be rather natural, and “wide enough,” without any stretching or smearing of sonics. While not the most 3D presentation in terms of its depth, depth of the audio field was above average as well, and I’d say that the Blessing 2 was more than competent for its price in this regard too.
So, for me, the Blessing 2 is a bit of a mixed bag. It is built well from a durability perspective, but its package may be viewed by some as not being up to snuff for an IEM of this price. And I didn’t really talk about the fit too much, because these surprisingly fit me fine. From other reviews, I was concerned (and they are a bit on the chunky side), but they fit in my ears better than I expected, and were comfortable too. Nevertheless, I also did not enjoy its sound profile, even though I did find it to be technically competent. Unlike other reviewers, I don’t really recommend smaller, wider, open-bored tips, and instead liked the stocks or KZ Starline Ear Tips the best, as deeper insertion exacerbated its already harsh, cold, and slightly artificial tonality. In general, I found the Blessing 2 to be a bit too lean, sterile, overly crispy, lacking in musicality, and comparatively underwhelming in its dynamics. Is it a bad IEM? No, but its not going to be a defacto recommendation from this reviewer; as it simply was not an enjoyable experience for me to listen to. But, hey, a lot of other reviewers seem to like these... so your mileage may vary?
But thanks again to Apos for sending in the Blessing 2 for an honest review. I’ll post my affiliate link in the description below, incase you are still interested in the Blessing 2, or perhaps you may want to pick up something else like the Tanchjim Hana instead. I find the Hana to be much more musical, and I will have a review out on that one in the upcoming weeks. And don’t forget to like and subscribe here on YouTube, and follow the channel on Instagram, Twitter, and the Blog at www.intoitreviews.com. Reviews also hit the Patreon first in written format with pictures, so if you’re interested in the hot takes, first, make sure to become a Patreon for the low, low price of $1.50 a month. It really helps the channel with its expenses, and shows your support for all that I do! And with that, I’m out… for now.
*Thanks to Apos Audio for sending in the Moondrop Blessing 2 for review (affiliate link): https://apos.audio/?sca_ref=654128.h9mNwPZr9M
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