10mm Bio-diaphragm dynamic + 3 Knowles independent balanced armature + 1 Sonion balanced armatures+ 4 Sonion electrostatic units
Impedance: 27Ω
Sensitivity: 112dB
FR Range: 20Hz – 40kHz
Features: 4-way Crossover + Tuning Switches
Socket: 0.78mm – 2Pin
Cable: 1.2m Graphene Silver Plated Copper Litz
Total Score
Introduction
With 9 well-configured drivers, the Yanyin Moonlight Ultra offers a homogeneous and assertive technical achievement, as well as a great and natural tone. At this price, I don’t think things should be open to criticism anymore. I mean, a high end iem that you pay a lot of money for should be worth it. At this point, Yanyin Moonlight Ultra is an iem where I can listen to the music rather than the equipment. In this way, I think it more than justifies its price. Before I get into the details, I have listened to the Moonlight Ultra for more than 500 hours, both from a reviewer’s perspective and on a daily basis. I personally purchased the product for $1,289.00 through Linsoul, Yanyin’s official reseller.
Another part I should mention is that some of the photos you will see throughout the review are indoor and some are outdoor shots. The reason for this is to get the best results.
Design And Build
Moonlight Ultra comes in a pretty big box, and out of the box comes a great case, which is huge and looks like leather (I don’t know if it’s real leather). This case is covered in velvet. Apart from these, the box includes a 6.3mm converter, an in-flight converter and papers, it’s a simple package. The tips inside are really terrible, only 3 pairs and they’re not very good quality, they’re ordinary (the 3 pairs of tips are the same as on the Binary Chopin)
When we look at the shells, we see a fantastic appearance. Colored glitter shining on black resembles a galaxy. Other than that, the shape and fit of the shells are very good. The insulation could be better but I’m not going to sit and complain about that. There are 2 switches on the shells, I will talk about their function in the sound section. The nozzle length is just right. Yanyin makes the distinction between left and right by coloring the vents on the shells blue and red.
Cable
The cable material is 6n single crystal copper and 5n pure silver, and all these cores are protected by an oxygen-free copper layer. The result is impressive.
I want to take the cable in especially because it’s a great cable. In order to come to this conclusion, I have compared the cable many times using other iems and other cables. The Yanyin cable seems to have got it right. The only complaint I have with this cable is that it’s a bit heavy, it’s a bit uncomfortable when walking. There is very little microphonics. Other than that, the material quality (especially the fabric covering) and the sound are excellent. The cable balances the tone perfectly and transmits the technique very well, and the timbre is great.
Synergy
With an impedance of 27 ohms and a sensitivity of 112dB, the Moonlight Ultra is as easy to drive as you would expect from an iem. For all those drivers and crossovers to work properly, you need good signal quality of course. In my tests with Chord Hugo2, DX320 amp14/amp13, AK Se100, Hiby FC6, Cayin N3pro and one of the cheap dongles from China (cx31993) that you all know, I couldn’t see any tonal problems. I can say that the best match was Moonlight Ultra (stock cable) and Hiby FC6 (OS mode, filter: Darwin Ultra and HDR on), which came first in price/performance ratio. If you have a lot of money, of course prefer Hugo2 🙂 Because it is predictably better. For synergy, I would say the better the source the better the sound, and Moonlight Ultra has a lot of potential in this regard.
Other than that, the frequency response is the same at low and high volumes, and the Moonlight Ultra is able to consistently reflect the effect of the source on the sound. This shows Yanyin’s seriousness in R&D compared to other Chinese companies.
Sound
Let’s talk about the sound. As I mentioned in the introduction, with great technique, good tone and a natural timbre, the Moonlight Ultra delivers everything you would expect from a high end iem. Looking at some of the other high end iems I compared (Campfire Audio Ara/Andromeda2020, Sony IER-Z1R, Meze Rai Penta, Sennheiser ie900, FAudio Mezzo LE) I would say that the Moonlight Ultra is very competitive and in some ways above its price. Of course, there is also the timeliness factor.
Switches
Before we start, let’s talk about the function of the switches. When switch 1 is turned up, it provides an increase of about 2.5dB between 20-300hz, which drops to almost 1dB as you approach 300hz. In this way the sub bass increases more than the midbass.
When switch 2 is turned down, it provides an average 4dB decrease between 6khz-12khz and an average 6dB decrease between 12khz-20khz.
When talking about switch 1 I said “when turned up” and when talking about switch 2 I said “when turned down” because by default the switches are number 1 down and number 2 up. The listening for the review was done in the default positions. So the comments on the sound are valid with switch 1 in the up position and switch 2 in the down position.
Let’s move on to how the position of the switches affects the sound
1down 2down position: The sound is very relaxed and soft, you can listen for a very long time in this position. There is a loss of excitement in the treble and even a little bit of resolution, but the sound remains natural.
1up 2down position: The sound is warm, more intimate and still soft. The bass is stronger in this position, but there’s not much difference. However, since the treble is more muted, you can turn up the volume a little more and try to hear more bass. The mids lose a little texture in this position.
1up 2up position: Makes the sound slightly V-shaped (the treble is slightly higher when both are turned up together), but not too much. This position is ideal for listening to hip-hop and pop, although there is not as much bass boost as the previous one. No loss of mids makes this position usable.
1down 2up (default) position: This is the position where technique, extension, emotion and everything else is at its best. You get the best result in terms of the tone to which the sound is adapted, and it’s suitable for any genre of music. (Bass is still strong, just tighter, and treble is as it should be.) In this position you hear the entire spectrum perfectly.
Tune
…a high end iem with versatile tonality…
Yanyin Moonlight Ultra is a very talented iem that plays dynamically and naturally at the same time and can do this in all genres of music, and owes this to its great tone. It’s not a reference, it has its own distinctive timbre, although it reproduces the timbre of the source very well. And yes, it’s a great timbre. One extra tonal detail I’d like to mention is that the recess around 6khz perfectly restrains the rising vocal and thin string tones. Even though it pushes the limits at such a good control, it’s never uncomfortable.
The best word he can use to describe tonality: balanced. Because everything is built on balance. The sub bass is a little more forward than the mid bass, in the mid part all the vocals from sporano to baritone share a similar level with the instruments, and the interesting part is that they have great separation. The treble is very natural, both in terms of extension and texture. The trebles themselves are beautifully balanced and the air frequencies are impressively accurate. Treble female vocals and thin violin tones do not overpower other treble frequencies and are not overshadowed by the upper treble.
Bass
The lower frequencies are very controlled and reflect the emphasis of the track. Although it fulfills its duty in electronic genres, it is not ideal for bassheads. Yes, it can be made suitable with eq, but if you buy this iem just for bass, you will waste both your money and iem. When it comes to instruments, the lower frequencies remind you that the Moonlight Ultra is high end. Other than that, there’s nothing very dramatic in the low frequencies. it’s value for money, and that’s as it should be.
All the vibrations of the contrabass and bass sound very natural to your ear, while you feel the tension in the drums and all the percussion.
Musica Nuda – La Voce Del Silenzio: Throughout the whole track you hear the thick strings of the double bass as they are. The same is true for Winterplay – Hey Bob.
Tool – Chocolate Chip Trip: From 1.20 until the end of the track, the tension and feel of the drums is great.
Mid
Lively, transparent, and perfectly balanced. Sometimes some vocals stand front and center, but this is a result of 99.9% mix-mastering. Overall the vocal-instrument is in balance. Mid is tonally realistic with high accuracy and consistency. The instruments have a very realistic timbre. This is also based on great staging and resolution. Mids are perfectly separated, layering is great. This part is so good that I would even say it’s a bit out of the price band. All that aside, the mids are very detailed and don’t miss any microdetails on good recordings.
Ne Obliviscaris – Equus: You’ll hear plenty of instruments throughout the track and I’m sure you’ll be happy with how well they are separated. (Also, the fast drums are heard, showing the high response speed of the lower frequencies)
Haggard – Eppur Si Muove: You’ll hear tenor, soprano and baritone, sometimes one after the other and sometimes at the same time, accompanied by guitar, drums, strings and piano, and Moonlight Ultra will let you hear them all individually. Isn’t it a great track to hear everything? You can do a similar listening with Haggard‘s In a Pale Moon’s Shadow.
Treble
The lower highs are a bit softer than the other parts. I can say that this softness was a very good choice. It’s clearly a well thought out move.
When the price is $1000 and above, treble is usually the clearest variable. It’s hard to do the treble very well. The treble can be perfect until you get to this band, but it has to be perfect in this band. Yanyin Moonlight Ultra has done this part very well with 4 Sonion EST drivers per shell. The treble is very natural and tuned in a way that is unexpected from a Chinese company. The positioning of the cymbals is accurate and well spaced, which adds a lot to the imaging. Even the smallest details are clearly audible throughout the treble.
Shelby Lynne – Just A little Lovin‘: Put on Moonlight Ultra, turn on the track, close your eyes and listen to the bells. You will be mesmerized.
Technics
When it comes to technical achievement, homogeneity of resolution is very important. Moonlight Ultra offers the same high resolution across all frequencies and no rool-off.
As you can see in the bass, mid and treble headings, Moonlight Ultra has a very good technical performance. There’s nothing that doesn’t deserve its price in this department, but there’s nothing that exceeds its price too much either, of course there are times when it works similar to more expensive headphones, but in the end it’s worth its price. It’s also a very good iem. Apart from all this, if we consider the soundstage, I would have preferred a slightly more far soundstage, but this is a personal opinion. I can say that the staging is very successful both in terms of depth-width and positioning. Detail reproduction and nuances are also marvelous. As expected from a product in this price range, there is not a single point open to criticism. This is what makes the Yanyin Moonlight Ultra successful.
Last Words
Yanyin Moonlight Ultra is an iem that will heat up the competition in the high end market. This is an iem that makes you listen to the music, not the equipment. It lives up to its price tag, the price is fair and not inflated.
