Distribution Profile: A2DP/AVRCP/HFP/HSP
Codec: SBC/AAC/LDAC™/LC3
Charging Port: USB-C
Working Distance: 10m (Unobstructed Open Environment)
Earphone Charging Time: About 1 Hour
Charging Time of Charging Case: About 1.5 Hours
Earphone Battery Capacity: 3.7V/37mAh
Battery Capacity of Charging Case: 3.7V/380mAh
Battery Life of Earphone: About 6 Hours(AAC)
Battery Life of Charging Case: About 18 Hours(AAC)
Total Score
Introduction
Moondrop Golden Ages is a very good tws for the price with its colorful design, high-resolution sound and features. The 13mm planar driver Moondrop used in this product has done a very good job. The fit may not be suitable for everyone, but the sound appeals to many people.
Design and Build
Golden Ages comes with 4 oval-shaped tips, cable and a transparent sleeve. A very saturated box content. There is a slight yellowing of the transparent case over time, but it’s quite nice to have such a case. The material quality is quite ordinary, but it looks sturdy because it is well made.
The look of Golden Ages’ case and buds might not appeal to everyone, but if you’re not a fan of “plain” (I’m not), I think this look is actually quite nice. The design is inspired by the old Sony Walkman. You can clearly see this if you type “1979 Walkman” in the search engine. We already see 1979 on the device and on the box.
The transparent protective case that comes with it has a hole added so we can hang it somewhere.
Fit
I have to warn you about the fit, it doesn’t quite reach the bottom of the ear, it has a short nozzle length. It is debatable how accurate the oval tips are, but the fit may not suit everyone. It took me a while to get used to it at first, but after that I had no problems. It doesn’t fall out of the ear and I think I can give it roughly an 8 out of 10 for comfort.
Technology
Bt 5.3, Ldac, low latency, anc, transparent sound (ambient mode) and tunable eq via app. Moondrop Golden Ages manages to meet the industry standard with its technologies. It has a pretty good battery life, the buds can play music for 6 hours on a full charge, while the case offers 18 hours of battery life. These numbers are very good for 25mW of power per driver.
Golden Ages has the voice of an anime girl who says “hey” and “shh” when switching between modes and “du dudu” when you first put on the buds. I love it!
Anc and Transparent Sound
Golden Ages actually has a pretty standard ANC and transparent mode. While it’s generally adequate for everyday use, it can be inadequate in some scenarios. The good thing is that this “standard” ANC and transparent mode is the kind you find in devices over $100. So Mooondrop Golden Ages offers great ANC and transparent mode for the price. The only thing I have to say about it is that it’s not very good at blocking wind noise (imagine cycling at speed) and some high-pitched noises. Other than that, it’s pretty good at blocking out the hum of public transportation and general ambient noise. When it comes to the Transparant mode, it’s pretty average, letting outside noise in in a rough way.
Moondrop Link
App support is simple but effective. Of the different eq settings, reference and 5128 Target were my favorites. Apart from that, all other settings such as touch control can be done quite simply and quickly. You can also switch between 3 different gain modes on the app.
Mics
In my phone call tests, I got pretty good results in quiet, low-noise and medium-noise environments, but not in very noisy and buzzing environments. This is normal and frankly what I expected. Overall the microphones are good, they transmit the sound directly without adding any color.
Sound
I will review the sound of Moondrop Golden Ages on 2 of the 5 different characters it offers. I think the other 3 characters are not usable and have no function. On the other hand, the default reference mode and 5128 Target are quite successful. I only listened in Ldac mode throughout the review.
Before that, I should mention that the sound overall is quite good for the price. Especially in reference mode the resolution is excellent. Also in both modes the tonality is quite reasonable and without hissing trebles.
Reference Mode
Technically, the resolution and detail reproduction are quite good. Accuracy, separation, layering are average. The scene is a bit foregrounded but the positioning is not bad. The instruments are very clean and impressive for the price. The lower frequencies are almost at the same level as the rest of the spectrum and are enough to convey emotion. The midrange is quite transparent. Treble is fast and has good extension and average detail.
In terms of tonality, it’s a bit warm and female vocals are a bit in the foreground. It’s a bit hard to make sense of this naming, considering that the word reference means to reflect the source sound as it is (this does not mean flat!).
In general, we can say that there is a natural instrument timbre in this mode. It’s not 100%, but for a tws at this price it’s quite valid.
5128 Target
It’s very different from Reference mode. It’s warmer and more bodied, but the Mid frequencies are not so clean anymore. Subbass, Midbass and air frequencies are more prominent. There’s a more emotional and deeper presentation. Obviously the 5128 is better at electronics but when listening to progressive metal or anything instrumental, the reference mode is overwhelmingly superior.
In 5128 Target mode, the bass is very deep and heavy. And it has a wonderful extension. Pretty close to being a basshead on a tws basis.
Last Words
Moondrop Golden Ages deserves every penny of its price for everything, but especially for its sound. As long as you don’t mind the fit, it’s an optimal choice at this price. If you want a better ANC or ambient mode, you’ll have to spend at least twice as much.
