Moondrop Sparks

disclaimer: The Moondrop sparks were provided by HiFiGo for the purpose of review.  I like to thank HiFiGo for providing the Sparks and suggest if you wish to purchase your own pair you visit their website.   I have no financial interest in HiFiGo or Moondrop and have received no guidance or compensation beyond the product itself for this review.  For more information on Moondrop products, see their website at  MoondropLab.com

 

Unboxing / Packaging:

The packaging is pure Moondrop from the artwork to the fonts used.  The Manga and star themes are carried through most of the Moondrop line as are the colors used.    The rear of the slip cover has the specs and frequency response curve in addition to a smaller version of the character that graces the front.   Removing the slip-cover reveals a white inner box with Moondrop in Chinese and English and is much more understated.   Opening the box reveals the case and earpieces cradled in a velvet covered foam surround beneath which the tips, manual, and charging cable hide.  My kit came with a case cover as well in a denim blue material.    The kit is fairly standard for wireless models and the one thing I would have liked to see is a bit longer charging cable as the ones that ship with TWS models seem to always be too short to be very useful.

 

Build/Fit:

When these first come out of the case, the first thought is likely to be something like ‘That thing will go half way to my brain”.   The nozzles are stepped, as is the shell and have a forward rake that is deceptive.   Look at the picture on the left below and then look at the one on the right with a more standard iem configuration next to the Spark.   The nozzle really isnt much longer than standard, but it sure does look it at first glance.

Shells are ABS plastic material and feel a bit softer than some of the acrylic materials with a 2 piece design.  The faceplate is fairly thick at just over 3mm and is roughly the same thickness as the full sized portion of the inner shell.  As mentioned previously the inner shell is stepped so the point of the teardrop below the nozzle is thinner than the top section that houses the driver.   There are 3 vents one on the tip of the tear, another on the faceplate next to the LED indicator, and a third on the nozzle itself to prevent driver flex during insertion.    Each earpiece also has 3 connectors for power on the under side of the units.  One thing to note I did find that if large tips are used, they can prevent the earpieces from sitting flush in the case and charging doesn’t occur.  if using large tips either remove them before putting in the case, or make sure the earpieces are firmly seated and the indicator LEDs are lit.     I did find the sparks light weight and comfortable for long term wear once I got the tip size sorted out.

 

Internals:

The heart of the Sparks is a 6mm Dynamic driver with a Beryllium coated diaphragm, a Daikoku CCAW coil, and N52 high flux Neodymium magnets.  The driver while similar to those used in the Aria and Starfield was built specifically for the sparks so while it shares some design features, it is a new driver and is easier to drive than the previous models to help conserve battery life.   Bluetooth functions are handled by the Qualcomm 3040 chip which supports AptX adaptive and AAC protocols as well as offering extremely low power consumption.   The battery in the sparks are 50mAh Lithium cells in the earpieces that offer up to 8 hours of battery life per charge and a 700mAh battery in the case that offers five recharges before needing a USB type-C charger to recharge the case.

 

Controls:

The Sparks for now have to be controlled via the touch panels on the earpieces.   Moondrop has announced an app to control the Sparks with their ad copy reading “Moondrop has developed an all-new application for the Sparks TWS (International Version), Moondrop Link. It can be used for online OTA firmware updates, sound quality expansion (switching different sound profiles), and function expansions through OTA updates.”  but to date, the application is not available in either the Apple or Google Play stores.   I have delayed this review twice hoping to have the app to use during the review process.   Some have reported using the Hiby Blue app to connect sparks but in my testing it no longer works.  I have seen screenshots of the hiby blue app showing an EQ and other functions for the Sparks, but when I downloaded the most recent version from the google play store, it lists the sparks as “unknown device” and offers no functionality.   I even uninstalled the app and reinstalled it a couple of times over the span of two weeks on two different phones (Samsung and LG) and never was able to get past the unrecognized device.    The Blue app shows that something is attached but beyond that offers none of the features to configure the Sparks, update, or tune the Sparks that were promised in the original ad copy.   I even asked the rep who provided the sparks for review and his efforts to find any additional information regarding the app have so far been unsuccessful (another 2 week wait).   Hopefully the app will be released soon, but until it is, these over-promise and under-deliver in that respect.

Touch pad controls are as follows:

Phone – answer/hang up  by double tap either earpiece,  reject call by long press of either earpiece

Music – play/pause = double tap earpiece,  previous/ next  = triple tap earpiece (left for back, right for forward)

On apple devices a long press while music is not playing will engage Siri.

 

Connectivity:

The sparks support AptX adaptive and AAC in addition to base SBC.   Pairing is straight forward as the Sparks go into pairing mode when removed from the case and will re-pair with the last source device they were connected to if available on subsequent removals.  I found connectivity good within about a 10 meter distance and a single interior wall often did not defeat the signal.  Multiple interior walls or a single exterior wall did defeat connection with predictable regularity.   AptX adaptive connections had low enough latency that phone calls and movie watching didn’t show noteworthy lag or delay.     AAC connections to I-Phone and I-pad were equally good with little discernible lag and good solid connections.

 

Case:

The charging case is made of translucent plastic with three LEDs on front, a magnetic closure, and a USB type-c port on the rear.  The case stands roughly 1¾ inches tall, 3 inches long, and an inch deep making it rather large to carry  in a pants pocket.  The provided protective case adds about ½ inch to those dimensions which doesn’t help make it any more comfortable to carry and unfortunately, the protective case has no attachment points of  a carabiner or key-ring  that would make it more useful.   The battery in the case is listed as having a 700 mAh capacity and the ability to charge the earpieces fully 4 times before needing to recharge the case.   In my testing, I was able to get three full charges and a partial charge pretty consistently so I have no reason to doubt those numbers.   The USB connector is on the rear of the case allowing the case to stand during charging which is a nice feature as too many now have the connector on bottom and LEDs on the inner surface where you have to move the case to see charging progress after plugging it in.

 

Sound:

Call Quality: 

While not the first thing we think of when discussing sound quality, the call quality was worth discussing as even without any ANC tech in the sparks they did a good job of clear audio both for the incoming voice and the outgoing.   The mic does have some tendency to pick up wind so may not be as usable when outdoors but was quite capable when used inside as noises in the background were not elevated in the earpiece.

 

Bass:

Sub-bass is mildly elevated with a center around 50Hz and a slow drop from that center until it levels out as it moves into mid-bass.  Mid-bass stays linear throughout its range and there is no perceptible bleed into the mids which stay on the same plateau for most of their range as well.   The Sparks have good rumble when called upon but lack a little bit of speed that can cause them to thicken slightly at times which gives them a smoothed tone rather than a nice crisp edge to bass guitar attack.    Overall, good bass presentation with a nice natural tonality but lacking a little detail that would push it into an even better place.

 

Mids:

The lower mids flow linearly from the mid-bass with no bleed or blurring.   Male vocals have good weight and do cut through the mix enough to not get lost in the other instruments.  Guitar growl is good as well if a little blunted.  Here again I think the tuners went for a smoothed non-fatiguing sound rather than squeezing out the next level of detail at the risk of becoming harsh.  There is an emphasis introduced as we move up the mids which pushes female vocals a bit forward of their male counterparts and gives strings the energy they need to sound natural.    Acoustic guitar is to my ear a bit better tonally than its electric counterpart which follows the smoothing as acoustic is not usually played as aggressively as electric.

 

Treble:

Lower treble continues the climb of the upper-mids and gives the vocals and strings a touch of needed energy before dropping back rather rapidly as we move into the true treble.   Lower treble has good clarity and detail but stops short of fully natural.  Snare rattle is good and crisp but cymbal crashes are a bit blunted and hi-hat lacks a little energy as well and comes off clicky.   This is another tuning decision as if they had given the Sparks the extra energy we would be talking about it being splashy or having a bit of sizzle.   Overall, the treble comes off as entirely polite with a fairly early roll-off that does limit air some and sparkle is traded for better manners.    This would be a good iem for those who are treble shy.

 

Soundstage / Imaging:

Soundstage is better than anticipated but still a bit wider than deep and limited height.  It is a bit odd in this respect as at times I hear a really nice stage like in Runnin too Deep (Keith Richards), but then I switch to another track like “So lonesome” (Cowboy Junkies) and it does not have that same size.   Imaging is aided by good instrument separation and seating the orchestra is straight forward.  Spatial cues are good but not quite as tight as something like the KXXs.    Layering is good with orchestral pieces showing minimal crowding or compresesion.

 

Thoughts / Conclusion:

This is a split decision.  On sound alone, the Sparks are quite good and well worth the asking price.  On build, maybe not as much.  It is a lot of plastic and while the earpieces feel solid, the case is less sturdy and may not take a daily beating in a purse or backpack and survive for very long.   The external cover, (the case for the case?) improves that situation some but the added weight causes the case to fall closed rather than stay open and with no attachment point on it, it makes it too large for a pocket and provides no way to carry it in an alternative fashion.    The other major drawback that I see is the promised app that was going to offer tuning options and firmware updates and the like doesn’t seem to exist and even the Hiby blue app that some had success with has since removed the Sparks so we are left with the somewhat cryptic touch mechanisms only.     For a first foray into the TWS market, the Sparks show promise as they have that typical moondrop tonality that so many like.   I do think if they can come out with the app and offer a better outer case these can make a big impact as one of the best sounding options below the price point of the Sony and M&D offerings.    As it is, its a mixed bag with some great features and a few let downs.