Some time ago, Moondrop released several new products, including the successor model of Moondrop KATO – Kadenz. So what is the difference in the sound of Moondrop Kadenz compared to KATO? Are they worth buying for less than 200 dollars?
- $190 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon US, Amazon Germany or other Amazon countries
Appearance Design & Comfort Fit
The color and surface treatment of Moondrop Kadenz is currently only this one, which is very close to the matte gray edtion of Moondrop KATO. Unlike most of the past K series, it is more angular. The design language is inherited, but the curved surface that adapts to the auricle structure is redesigned as a polyhedron.
The earphone cavity is made of stainless steel MIM powder metallurgy process – it is heavy and there is a slight sense of falling when wearing it. The surface of the earphone is frosted and there is no need to worry about scratches. The connection between the front and rear cavities is relatively stable.
The cavity size is similar to the Moondrop KATO, which is suitable for most non-small auricles, and the mold has been optimized to improve the fit. Plus, there is no obvious air pressure balance problem in the cavity.
Moondrop Kadenz uses a gold-plated 0.78 2-pin design with a sunken femal socket, protecting the pins form strain and fracture, and ensuring excellent compatibility. The firmness of the pin and female socket can be said to be the best among the K series earphones.
Headphone Cable & Accessories
Moondrop Kadenz is equipped a single-crystal copper silver-plated litz cable, and comes with 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced replaceable plugs.
Accessories in the package include: 6 pairs of eartips, 4.4mm to 3.5mm adapter, leather case, 3 pairs of interchangeable nozzles and Echo-B decoding cable. The decoding cable supports up to 32Bit/384kHz, and can share DSP tuning schemes uploaded by different users online.
The three pairs of interchangeable nozzles change the high-frequency hearing, and you can see that the nozzle lengths are different. I like the shortest set of A nozzles the most, and the high-frequency are sharper and more direct. As the length increases, the energy and distance sense of the high-frequency of the B and C sets change step by step (the former is weakened, and the latter is strengthened).
Acoustic Configuration & Power Demand
Moondrop Kadenz has a built-in TAC diamond-coated dome composite diaphragm + second generation patented ultra-linear dynamic driver. This ULT-Gen2 unit is designed based on FEA finite element simulation fitting and optimizes the air pressure balance channel.
The Kadenz’s nonlinear distortion is close to the limit of what can be measured in the laboratory. Even-order harmonic distortion and odd-order harmonic distortion are around 0.007% and 0.003% respectively, and the full frequency band is also lower than 0.2%. Although distortion cannot measure whether the sound is good or not, it still represents the acoustic performance to a certain extent.
The impedance is 35Ω, the sensitivity is 122dB/Vrms, and the driving requirement is about 18mW, which is relatively easy to drive.
Sound Description of Moondrop Kadenz
Moondrop Kadenz has greatly improved its soundstage performance with the help of the TAC diamond-coated dome composite diaphragm, which has excellent rigidity, and has a higher sound density and large dynamic level than Moondrop KATO – in my opinion, it has re-established its benchmark position among single-dynamic IEMs of the same price.
Bass: The bass quantity is moderate, and the atmosphere is more abundant than KATO, which makes it very suitable for listening to various types of pop music. However, it should be noted that the bass performance is still more susceptible to the control of the front end. The thickness and fullness are properly controlled, and the extension is more significantly improved than KATO. The elasticity and ultra-low frequency details are good.
Mids: The mids vocals have been greatly improved compared to KATO, and the imaging contour is clearer and sharper. The thickness of the vocals is moderate, the distance is slightly closer, and the sibilance is smoother. The graininess is sufficient and emphasizes the texture and atmosphere of the sound. The mids density is higher than KATO. The adaptability to male and female voices is also similar – without affecting Moondrop’s iconic female voice style, the magnetism and throat sound processing of male voices are more appropriate.
Highs: The brightness is moderate, and it still sounds quite smooth, without a particularly prominent sense of energy density. The accuracy and airiness are very good, and it is a more natural and pleasant expression than KATO. The ultra-highs extension and information volume are sufficient, and the texture of the entire mid-highs is very smooth. The ultra-highs extension ability has been significantly improved, and the roll-off will not be too early or too fast. The highs resolution and ultra-highs extension have been greatly improved compared to KATO.
Soundstage: The soundstage is moderately sized, with similar horizontal and vertical distances, and the overall imaging is more like a spherical soundstage. This time, it is no longer just about regularity and not about openness. The soundstage is more open, and it performs better for large-scale classical track. The separation between vocals and instruments is high. The resolution is excellent, and the amount of information is very sufficient. The dynamics are moderate, and the transients are excellent.
Instruments: The performance of most instruments can take into account both texture and line depiction. The thickness of the sound of violin, viola, and guitar is not high, and the details are rich enough. The body sense of the cello is relatively solid. The naturalness of woodwind instruments has been significantly improved, and the airiness is also sufficient. The overtones of the instruments are not very prominent, and the fullness is moderate. The presence of the kick is quite satisfactory, and the snare is closed quickly. The cymbals sound bright enough but not irritating.
Conclusion & Specs
Moondrop Kadenz is not only highly adaptable to music type, but also equipped with a very practical decoding cable. Kadenz can perfectly replace Moondrop KATO and become the new benchmark for single-dynamic IEMs under 200 dollars.
Moondrop Kadenz specs and features:
- TAC diamond-coated dome composite diaphragm
- Second generation patented ultra-linear dynamic driver
- Replaceable nozzle design & Replaceable plug design
- 2-pin single-crystal copper silver-plated litz cable
- Graphical online interactive DSP
- $190 – Check latest price on AliExpress, Amazon US, Amazon Germany or other Amazon countries