To mark the 1 year anniversary of the launch of Moonriver 2, Moondrop has launched a special version of this DAC/AMP. Its full name is Moondrop Moonriver 2 Ti. Still retaining many of the same equipment as its predecessor, Moonriver 2 Ti has been completely transformed in terms of design and is integrated with dual DAC chips instead of a single chip.
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Packaging and accessories
Compared to its predecessor, Moondrop Moonriver 2 Ti has a much more eye-catching packaging design. Instead of using white tones with technological motifs like before, Moondrop has now returned to the familiar anime style. Featured on the front is the image of a pink-haired waifu using the Moonriver 2 Ti DAC/AMP combo and silver Kato headphones. As usual, all detailed technical specifications about the DAC/AMP will be clearly printed on the back.
The accessory set that comes with Moondrop Moonriver 2 Ti will include:
1 USB Type-C to Type-C cable
1 USB Type-A to Type-C adapter
Detailed user manual
Guarantee card
QC certificate
Design
No longer possessing the rough and rugged appearance like its predecessor, Moondrop Moonriver 2 Ti has been given a new outfit that looks more beautiful and sexy. The entire outer shell of the DAC/AMP will be made from sturdy and sturdy TC4 titanium alloy. The carefully polished surface makes the appearance of Moonriver 2 Ti more shiny and luxurious.
The stepped surface on the front has been replaced with soft, curving lines. Thanks to this detail, the appearance of Moonriver 2 Ti has become more elegant. However, the most notable point comes from the back with a unique exposed circuit design that allows users to more clearly see the internal circuit board of the DAC/AMP. Right on the surface of the circuit board there will be a signal light to help notify the operating status of Moonriver 2 Ti.
Regarding connectivity, the DAC/AMP uses Type-C input, 3.5mm Single-Ended and 4.4mm Balanced output. As for the Bal input, the contact points will be gold-plated to increase connection sensitivity. The side of Moonriver 2 Ti will have 2 integrated buttons used to increase or decrease the volume. Pressing both buttons simultaneously will activate the Gain adjustment feature. The product name will be embossed on the remaining side.
Outstanding technology
Like its predecessor, the decoding task on Moondrop Moonriver 2 Ti continues to be assigned to the pair of CS431981 DAC chips produced by Cirrus Logic. With this equipment, the dongle can easily handle high quality music files such as DSD512 or PCM with a maximum resolution of 32bit/384kHz.
In addition to the pair of CS43198 chips, Moonriver 2 Ti is also integrated with a USB digital interface chip, 2 independent crystal oscillators and 5 independent power supply chips. These components create a high-quality circuit architecture that supports signal processing with extremely low distortion (only 0.00014% when using the Bal output) and an SNR index of up to 123dB.
The amplifier circuit inside Moondrop Moonriver 2 Ti is designed as full-balanced to minimize the production of crosstalk. The dual opamp amplifier chip allows the Moonriver 2 Ti to achieve a maximum power of 280mW@32Ohm when using the Bal output. When at 300Ohm impedance, the output power of the DAC/AMP will reach 50mW. With such power, Moonriver 2 Ti is completely strong enough to pull most IEM models and earbuds on the market.
With the use of a volume circuit of up to 100 steps, volume control on Moonriver 2 Ti will become more accurate.
Sound quality
In terms of design, Moondrop Moonriver 2 Ti is an improved version compared to its predecessor. But in terms of sound quality, both are as similar as twins. Moonriver 2 Ti is a DAC/AMP with a bright neutral sound quality and does not over-color the audio signal.
The treble range with good detail and decay along with a relatively wide aperture makes the sound stage more realistic. To bring more interesting music listening experiences, we recommend that you pair it with the KATO IEM. This pair will make the sound stage more open in both depth and width without losing the detail in each note and verse.
The bright upper mid section helps add emphasis to the female vocal. Meanwhile, the low mid part has just the right amount, without feeling too thick or too thin. The timbre provides high clarity and accuracy without losing the naturalness and clarity of the original music. This allows the singer’s voice to be expressed more honestly and fully conveys the singer’s emotions hidden in each verse.
The bass range on Moonriver 2 Ti has good texture and fast response speed but is still tightly controlled. There is no dominance over the other two sound ranges, the transition between the bass range and the mid range is quite smooth and flexible.
Thanks to the high dynamic range plus very low noise levels, the details in the music are exploited very clearly by Moonriver 2 Ti. The background sound is extremely quiet even when combined with any IEM model. The soundstage still has good expansion, accompanied by sharp sound imaging, very detailed instrument separation and extremely accurate positioning.
Still retaining the same detailed and clear sound quality as its predecessor, but with a new design language, Moondrop Moonriver 2 Ti deserves to be on the list of the most beautiful dongles on the market.
MOONDROP MOONRIVER 2:TI Portable DAC/AMP DSD512 DSD Decoding Dual CS43198 Interchangeable Type-C Port Decoder: Buy it now