Moondrop Lan Review (1) – Lean Cuts

INTRO

The next entry level IEM Moondrop LAN has landed at a price of $39. There are several brands that tend to do well with almost every product they release and Moondrop is on my list of favorite brands. However, not everything resonates with me. The Moondrop LAN is a bass lean neutral sounding midrange focused IEM, that will not be as popular as their older siblings.

Disclaimer: These are my own words not created by ChatGPT for an IEM sent free of charge from Shenzhen Audio. The robots are coming for our jobs.

The Moondrop LAN is our 400th earphone review.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

Moondrop insists on larger than normal packaging for their products including even the budget oriented Moondrop LAN. It can be rather frustrating to get the box open, but it’s what is inside that matters, so cliche.

The powder coated stainless steel metal shell is petite and has a nice unassuming presence. The detachable 0.78mm 2 pin connector cable is a single transparent sheath with a twisted silver black wire inner core.

Pretty and coils nicely. Unfortunately, it suffers the same problem the Kiwi Ears Cadenza presented to me, it does not accommodate cases very well due to no bump out on the 3.5mm jack.. Alas I will test it with the Hidizs AP80-Pro X.

The Moondrop LAN does come with a foldable leather case that secures with just a hole to a button rivet. Seems rather hipster inspired instead of an actual usable zipper case. I understand companies want to differentiate, but if you are going to include an accessory make sure it isn’t a nuisance please. With no reinforcement around the attachment hole, longevity could be called into question.

Moondrop skipped using their Spring tips on the Moondrop LAN, cost decision or maybe the Spring tips are a love hate design due to their oddball sizing, who knows. Instead you get a rather firm classic eartip set, that differentiates them apart from the classic flimsy generic tips of other budgets. They are not amazing, but they are a good choice.

COMFORT / ISOLATION

The Moondrop LAN shell is compact and solid with good heft. Due to these combinations I find isolation higher than average. It is nice to find something on the smaller size that blocks out noise without having an unholy sized universal custom. The nozzle length and size does not bother me, I think it sized appropriately.

Tested with HIDIZS AP80 Pro-X, SMSL DO100/HO100.

SOUND

Here is where I am less than thrilled with the Moondrop LAN. I normally expect Moondrop to deliver a balanced signature since they do not deviate too far from their VSDF house sound. Bass is super lean on these, tuned towards the sub-bass region. It’s hardly elevated so it sounds extremely flat and not much umph, a little constrained, similar to a  bookshelf speaker with no extension. Oddly though every now and then the sub-bass comes through.

I wish the bass tuning was pushed higher in frequency to give us a little more meat where it counts. To me the problem seems too low of tuning frequency, as not enough punch comes through on drums, instead sounding soft and mushy. Classic and jazz lovers will probably like these, those that listen to rock, pop and electronica are going to want to avoid. 

Midrange is front and center on the Moondrop LAN, because it doesn’t have the bass to offset the pinna rise. Tool’s Forty Six and 2 is hard and overly aggressive with a lot of the instruments fighting each other for attention even though Tool is not exactly calm audiophile music. I like this track since it has a lot going on.

The Moondrop LAN has a polite top end that makes it easy to listen too without a ton of excess air. It is well damped and avoids shrillness. It portrays good articulation for something in this price range, but does not ave the resolution of the upper brethren models like the Kato or Dusk 2. 

Timbre is done well, with nothing majorly wrong sounding. Stage width is more prominent than depth, with the boosted upper midrange it is very forward.

COMPARISONS

If we compare the Moondrop LAN to another popular good budget offering Kiwi Ears Cadenza ($35), I notice better 3 dimensional qualities of the Cadenza giving more depth. The Moondrop LAN flattens the staging instead.

They both have a light midbass, however the Cadenza is smidge punchier adding a little more detail to the upper bass. I prefer the fitment of the Moondrop LAN for sealing purposes since it is more forgiving, my right ear can be tricky with the wrong nozzle length or angle.

Another issue has developed with the Cadenza, one of the eartips does not like to stay on due a combination of oils, short nozzle, big lip, and too small of a nozzle stem on the eartip mated to a larger nozzle diameter. The Moondrop LAN has a longer stem and a smaller lip so the eartip does not slip off. Point for the Moondrop.

With the Moondrop LAN up against the Tinhifi C3 ($49), the Tinhifi treats you to more bass, and a less defined treble. The treble is softer and hazy on the C3, the Moondrop LAN has more brilliance. The Moondrop LAN sounds wider but flatter, the C3 is pushed further out but with less width.

EXIT

The Moondrop LAN is suitable for more intimate music types such as Jazz, Classical could use more three dimensional capabilities, and I would love to have more midbass punch for Rock, and electronic based music. No big faults, but it does not leave a lasting impression. I give the Moondrop LAN an honorable mention mostly based on their consistent VSDF tuning and the clean and solid build quality.

SPECIFICATIONS

GRAPHS

• Left vs Right
• Moondrop LAN vs Kiwi Cadenza vs Tinhifi C3

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DISCLAIMER

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.