Moondrop Sparks

amazon Moondrop Sparks reviews

Moondrop is currently an audio brand from China that has resonated in the international market; its goal is to focus on in-ear headphones. In 2015, they released their first IEM, the Moondrop VX, which is still being marketed.

Because Moondrop has created a new wave in the IEM headset market, especially with the widely popular Blessing line and then Blessing 2 and Starfield, KXXS, Aria have all attracted and brought positive user feedback.

With its popularity and reputation, Moondrop immediately expanded the market to wireless headphones. Their first foray into this burgeoning wireless audio market was the launch of the TWS Moondrop Sparks, which sells for around $90.

BOXING AND ACCESSORIES

Moondrop Sparks comes in a fairly simple white box with the company’s logo printed in Chinese. The headset will have a total of 3 colors for you to choose from: purple, pink, and black.

When you open the box, you will immediately see a layer of foam on the top responsible for keeping the headset and charging box safe. Underneath the foam pads, you have manuals and other papers. A small box in the bottom compartment contains a short charging cable and three pairs of a small, medium, and large ear tips.

DESIGN

The charging case cover is made of plastic material that shows some of the insides of the charging case. On the box, there will be 3 LEDs on the front to indicate the available battery level in the sac; Moondrop Sparks is equipped with a USB-C charging port on the rear of the device, integrated with Magnetic Charging fast charging technology.

The hinge on the charging case has a very solid magnetic opening, and closing mechanism that will keep the charging box cover closed when moving.

When opening the box’s lid, the two headphones that fit inside are sucked down by the magnet. The plastic part on the housing has a rough surface and seems sturdier than the plastic part on the charging case. Each headset has a multi-colored LED that indicates the status of the headset.

The sound pipe on Sparks has a standard size and length, so being able to use the ear tips that are reserved for traditional IEM ears is considered a plus point for Moondrop Sparks in the optimization process and use.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

Bluetooth connection V5.2 Kết

AptX high-quality Bluetooth transmission.

Adjust VDSF (Virtual Diffuse Sound Field).

TWS+ dual drive.

Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz.

Diaphragm: Beryllium with PU. ring diaphragm

Battery capacity (headphones): 65mAh.

Battery capacity (charging box): 700mAh.

Battery life (headphones): 8 hours on a single charge, 48 hours with the charging case.

Bluetooth range: up to 10 meters

Touch + Microphone conversation

Moondrop Sparks is equipped with the new Bluetooth 5.2 standard and can run aptX, SBC, and AAC codec. So running Sparks on an Android device will allow the highest resolution transmission using the aptX codec, while iOS devices will still be ACC compatible.

Sparks’ chip from Qualcomm is programmed to integrate with the Hiby Blue application. This Hiby Blue application promises to allow users to access a lot of additional options for customization.

The software that Moondrop Sparks integrates is the Hiby Blue application, and this application will display the status and a lot of other customizations.

The app has options for equalizer settings ( EQ ), reassignment of functions for double and triple tap, TWS+, and firmware upgrades. The moondrop is already tuned to Moondrop’s technology, but customizing the tone with the 5-band equalizer is a diverse option for users.

The double and triple tap functions can be changed to play/pause, previous/next track, volume up/down, voice call, or this function can also be completely disabled. Connecting software to Sparks is quite easy and does not require any action as long as your phone is connected to Sparks via Bluetooth.

Speaking of battery life, Moondrop promises that the Sparks will have up to 8 hours of on-ear single-player battery life and another 48 hours inside the charging case, which means a total of 56 hours. An impressive number for the TWS line of headphones.

I can use about 7 hours per charge in my real test and about 5.5 full charges from the charging case. While this doesn’t exactly match the numbers on the box, factors like volume or the Bluetooth protocol can affect battery life. That is completely acceptable. After listening is exhausted, it will take us just over 30 minutes to fully charge the headset, while to fully charge the case will take more than an hour.

Controls: Sparks features a touch-sensitive surface like most TWS headsets currently on the market. With Sparks, however, single taps don’t assign a function, while a long tap activates Google Assistant or Siri.

Double-tapping either headset will toggle play/pause, while triple-tapping will trigger the next or previous track. Double tapping will also answer or end the call, while a long press will reject the call.

Touch controls are responsive for the most part, but in general, if you want accurate double- or triple-tap operations, you should tap firmly and slowly to make sure you don’t trigger the wrong thing any other function. Honestly, I’d like to see a more reliable touch function with a simple tap.

USE EXPERIENCE

Feeling of wearing

Moondrop Sparks, at first glance, seem a little too large to be worn completely comfortably. Fortunately, however, the design part was calculated correctly. The conduit section and the shape of the ear contact are molded to an ergonomic shape, perfect for a snug fit that best fits my ears.

Although Sparks is not equipped with active noise cancellation, the discreet fit on Sparks still ensures that it has enough noise isolation. When wearing them on the ears, the noise can not be heard much even when there is no music playing.

Call quality

Using Moondrop Sparks during phone calls is quite pleasant with good clarity. The person on the other end of the line said that, in general, his voice came out clear, but the mic would not filter out all the noise in the case of a lot of background noise.

The stability

Connecting to Moondrop Sparks is very simple; my Bluetooth devices can easily find Sparks as long as the led on Sparks is flashing white and red. Once the initial pairing is complete, subsequent reconnections are made automatically by the phone and Sparks. You need to lift the ears out and turn on BT so that they connect.

It says that Sparks can connect to the source within a maximum range of up to 10 meters on the box. I can walk more than 10 meters away from my phone even though there is a 25cm wall between me and the phone. So I believe the BT 5.2 connection on Sparks can maintain stability, especially in most cases where the phone connected to Sparks will fit in your pocket without any connection loss.

Talking about latency, when I tried watching videos with Sparks, it was nearly impossible to detect any lag issues, and most of the audio was in sync with the speaker’s mouth in the videos.

When I tried the latency test, there was only a maximum delay of about 10mS, and that’s when I started to move away from the phone. But for the case where the phone is always right near Sparks, there will be no noticeable delay, even if it is specifically tested.

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Moondrop Sparks TWS True Wireless Stereo Bluetooth 5.2 APTX Sport Dynamic in-Ear Earphone (Black): Buy it now

SOUND QUALITY

Moondrop Sparks is equipped with a high-performance magnetic circuit using N52 magnets, ensuring a high flux density in the magnetic circuit.

Each 6mm dynamic driver is Beryllium coated and supported by a PU ring. These features ensure that Sparks can deliver vibrant sound while maintaining clarity with Moondrop’s acclaimed VDSF (Virtual Diffuse Sound Field) Beryllium-coated drivers.

Most of my audio experience was done with the default VDSF EQ settings and using the default ear tips on the headphones when taken out of the box.

Moondrop Sparks has a warm tone, with a good bass response for the TWS IEM with a relatively small 6mm diameter dynamic driver and shows more intensity in the midbass. On the other hand, the midrange is quite spacious with a clear feel thanks to the height of the upper mid. The treble area is smooth and has a medium extension with the focus in the low treble area.

Bass sound

The sub-bass feels a bit lacking; this is not a turning headset for bass heads. The deep bass is still present, but in terms of quality, not so much. You can feel every low note that the song wants to express

Sparks’ mid-bass is quite substantial but never becomes too overwhelming. Each beat of the drums is crisp and clear, but the decay after the beats seems to be a bit slow. The bass notes from the bass guitar are round, flexible, and natural.

Although the bass range on the Sparks can be a bit faster to hit, the bass on the Sparks generally has a natural look when the bass notes start to resound.

Midtones

In the midrange, male vocals like James Blunt’s Monsters have good texture and detail. On the other hand, the female vocal performance seems a bit more advanced. Even so, the timbre for both male and female voices is quite good.

The guitar’s sound quality is very natural, the guitar sound is very clear, and you can even hear every movement of the artist’s hand on the strings. With the piano, the piano notes are heard clearly and distinctly, the beats of the piano hammers seem to happen instantaneously. Both the guitar and the piano were presented with a slightly more natural harmony than usual.

High voice

With Sparks, treble is provided with good quality and clarity. However, it’s generally better to be a bit safe than to be too bright. The cymbals are crisp and clear; however, each cymbals stroke can be accentuated a little more to feel more natural.

Like the one in Owl City Fireflies, the synthesizer trebles end up sounding slightly thinner than usual.

While the treble on Sparks is clear and controlled, a little more highlight and a slight increase in the treble range would probably make the treble a little more interesting.

Soundstage

The MOONDROP Sparks offer pretty decent performance in terms of separation and arrangement of instruments and vocals, especially for a TWS IEM in this price range.

Sparks’ soundstage can be said to be relatively wide. The visual placement in the sound stage is quite vivid, where each sound element can be precisely positioned towards, as well as depth in the soundstage. The stage has just the right amount of air and gives a slightly better sense of depth than wide.

Compare with LYPERTEK Tevi

MOONDROP Sparks presents a fuller and slightly warmer timbre than the LYPERTEK Tevi. Sparks’ sub-bass shows a bit more depth and intensity.

The midrange of MOONDROP Sparks has a warmer timbre and provides a better musical feel than LYPERTEK Tevi. Male and female voices were both reproduced more naturally and emotionally when I listened to Sparks. Tevi’s sound is clearer and more balanced.

The treble range of both Sparks and Tevi is smooth and not too bright. MOONDROP Sparks has a slight edge in scalability and granularity, while both succeed in terms of control.

Both Sparks and Tevi have pretty good performances in terms of separation and arrangement of instruments and vocals. The main difference is that Sparks offers a slightly wider soundstage, while the Tevi has the upper hand in depth.

COMMENT

Moondrop has created waves in the field of traditional IEM recently. Sparks aims as a solid first foray into TWS in-ear headphones with a box with a stable connection, a charging case with long battery life, and inherently VDSF-tuned sound quality has a reputation from homegrown.

While the touch interface is somewhat limited and can be a bit imprecise, integrating with the HiBy Blue app is a great companion feature. Sparks makes up for these shortcomings with a range of touch interface customization options and EQ options to make it a very versatile, handy pair of TWS headphones. It can be said that in the price range of $90, Moondrop Sparks deserves to be a worthy choice for you to consider.