Today we will be taking a look at Moondrop's cheapest offering which is the Moondrop Quarks. It is a single dynamic driver from Moondrop
So as usual, if you are reading this, you probably know a thing or 2 about Moondrop already. For the sake of those, basically Moondrop is a chinese brand that has gained lots of attention for their close to prefect IEM. They have gained quite reputation for their dynamic driver series consisting of the KXXS, Starfield and Aria and their most popular model being the Blessing 2 and the newly released Blessing:2 Dusk.
Today, we are reviewing their cheapest model to date(I recall them selling earbuds quite cheap as well but I don't recall the price so please excuse me if I am wrong.) which is the Quarks.
The Quarks uses a 6mm Dynamic Driver with external N52 magnetic architecture and has a closed cavity to improve isolation. The technology is quite interesting and there are a number of things in the Quarks to be noted of.
The 2 points below are what I found rather interesting.
Moondrop's Patented Sound Damping Structure With Double-Damping:
Moondrop Quarks adopts their self-patented sound damping structure in order to maintain high-resolution performance with the pair. It also helps in improving the durability of the pair and reducing the blockage caused due to ear wax build-up. They have designed a double-damping structure using two different materials with completely different acoustic resistance to filter different frequencies.
Readjusted By Experts For Desired Tuning Profile:
Experts at Moondrop have readjusted the tuning of Quarks over and over again for the past two years. They did this in order to achieve their preferred signature, a neutral, natural sound tuning following the HRTF(Head Related Transfer Function).
Seems like Moondrop put in a lot of effort into the Quarks. 2 years of tuning? for something thats $13USD? That's crazy! But I must say their efforts paid off. Now they just need to focus on the marketing and their sales.
Packaging:
Ok to be honest, given Moondrop reputation of having anime themed packaging, this was quite a surprise. Just a plain box. And it's super tiny. Literally big enough just to store the Quarks, Ear-Tips and a small pouch.
Oh hold on, I was wrong. They didn't scrap the anime theme. It's just inside.
I do wished they could have packed it nicer though. It looks like some really cheap earphones.(even though it is cheap, I expected more from a brand like Moondrop.)It looks like they literally threw it in. They didn't even fold the pouch nicely to put it in. I know Moondrop is definitely more than capable of packing it professionally like with their other IEMs. But oh well. This is just me nit picking.(you pay for what you get...or maybe not)
Nice of them to put in a wearing guide. The Quarks tend to create a vacuum because its a closed design so following the guide will give you better comfort.
The Above is just the Instruction manual, Ear-Tips and pouch. You get nothing else besides those.
Comfort:
Do I really need to say anything? It's so small. Comfort is top notch!
Now it's time to answer everybody's burning question. How does the Quarks sound?
Sound:
Now calm down everybody. Please keep reading. I am here to address everyone's number 1 concern. Is the Quarks shouty? ( I wrote all this based on what I hear after about 100 hours of burn in.)
In my opinion, it's about to cross the line of being shouty but it hasn't really reached there yet. A little bit of my listening conditions, I used this as I went about my daily life in all sorts of environments and ran it of my smartphone most of the time and some USB DACs that I have. Let's be realistic, who will buy a Chord Mojo to drive this?
Bass:
As you can see in the graph, the Quarks has a somewhat elevated bass and dips around 200hz. The Quarks has no problems handling low notes and is tight and punchy. It has got good rumble and great texture(for its price). It is well controlled and doesn't bleed into the mids. It doesn't satisfy basshead's but it retains that fun factor preventing it from becoming another SSR.
Mids:
Finally. The burning question. Ok honestly, I feel the 3k peak is necessary. Without it, the vocals just sound weird. I tried cutting the 3k peak by 10db and it sounded so weird. So the 3k peak was a good call. I don't find this very fatiguing but some people might. But it can be easily solved with foam tips. Other than that, vocals sound great, it has great clarity. I even like it more than the MH750 mids.
Treble:
I wouldn't say the extension here was fantastic but it was sufficient and good. Cymbals were crisp. Not sibilant or harsh at all. I think it would be just the right amount for most people.(I like a well extended treble so do take my description with a pinch of salt.) It is tastefully done and compliments the rest of the frequency spectrum.
Technicalities:
The soundstage is more on the intimate side but its got great depth and decent width. Nothing exactly mindblowing. It has got quite good detailing and clarity and that is where the 3k peak comes in. I think the 3k peak contributes to why there there is more clarity.(Or maybe it is just what I perceive because of the peak.)
Conclusion:
In my opinion, this is really a very good IEM especially for its price. I would consider this a good upgrade over the Sony MH750. Vocals are more forward and its more balanced while the MH750 is more V shaped. It also has better vocals in my opinion and no more harsh treble from Sony MH750. If you maybe pick up a $10 from the floor, this is surely an IEM to get.
Disclaimer:
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