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Moondrop Joker Review (1) – Remarkable Accuracy

The Moondrop Joker is an articulate and accurate sounding closed-back dynamic-driver headphone for monitoring — a well executed production tool, but it may receive mixed reviews from recreational listeners.

PROS

  • Accurate sound for monitoring/production purposes
  • Very good spatial reconstruction
  • Good wearing comfort for me
  • Versatile and serviceable

CONS

  • Analytical (monitoring) signature not for everybody; can sound harsh
  • Requires amplification for best results
  • Bulky and a bit rickety; not the best build
  • No storage bag included

The $80 Moondrop Joker headphone was kindly provided by SHENZHENZAUDIO for my review – and I thank them for that. You can get them here.

Introduction

Moondrop, the ever rising Chengdu company have earned their stripes mainly with earphones since 2015, some of which are remarkable. They lately expanded their catalogue into TWS and portable DACs. Their most recently addition were headphones, one in the premium segment, and the other in the mid tier category. Their $200 Moondrop Void received rather unfavourable reviews, mainly because of its poor build and mushy sound.

The current $80 Moondrop Joker appears to be exactly the opposite of the Moondrop Void: an articulate, analytical sounding headphone tuned for monitoring. It is distinctly different from most of their competitor’s warmer tonalities. The Joker has been designed for its technicalities.

Specifications Moondrop Joker

Type: Over ear
Diaphragm: 50 mm Partially Rigid Composite Diaphragm
Frequency Response Range: 15Hz-22kHz
Effective Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20kHzn(IEC60318-4,3dB)
Sensitivity: 106dB/Vrms(@1kHz)
Impedance: 68Ω±15%(@1kHz)
Cable Jack: 3.5mm
Plug: 3.5mm stereo jack plug
Tested at: $80
Product Page: moondroplab.com
Purchase Link: SHENZHENAUDIO

Physical Things and Usability

In the box are the headphones with detachable cable, one 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm adapter, and the usual paperwork. The fabric-coated cable uses standard 3.5 mm connectors on all three ends and can be easily replaced – though there is no need to do so.

The headphone itself appears a bit rickety, as the earpieces tend to bang against the frame, though both are separated by a rubber pad. The design is plastic and rather light. The headband padding is soft but the fabric appears somewhat cheap. The around-ear pads are spacious even for my monster flabbers and offer good comfort. They can just be pulled off and replaced if needed. Clamp pressure is comfortable for my large head. Overall fit and wearing comfort is very good for me.

The Joker can be driven by a phone but benefits from amplification.

Moondrop Joker
In the box…
Moondrop Joker
The Joker’s geometry…
Moondrop Joker
The Joker sports a 50 mm driver. The earpads clip on and can be pulled off easily.

Tonality and Technicalities

Equipment used: MacBook Air with TempoTec Serenade X or Questyle M15 | TempoTec V6 DAP | iPhone SE (1st gen.) with AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt.

The Moondrop Joker was designed for monitoring – as a production tool: it therefore has an analytical tilt with an elevated brilliance region, far away from the warmish sounding Sennheiser or Koss-Porta-Pro-type models. It offers excellent note definition and great spatial reconstruction but can sound a bit lean and “cool” with some sources.

The Joker excels in his technicalities: separation, layering, and note definition are very good, staging is three-dimensional. Imaging is also one of the strong points. Note weight (above sub bass) is on the lean side, probably somewhat sacrificed for the technicalities. The degree of richness varies with source with analog players and warm digital DAPs delivering the thickest sound. Note decay is actually quite realistic: the Joker passes the “cello test” and aligns itself well for even monitoring acoustic sets.

In summary, I’d characterize the sonic presentation as AAA: analytical, accurate, and articulate. Don’t forget, the Joker’s purpose is not casual recreational listening.

The prominent bass really benefits from the technicalities: it is impactful and as tight as my wallet with some sources and thicker/rubbery with others. But there is always a good rumble down there, which can ad warmth. The low-end focus is clearly on the sub bass. A solid foundation.

The mids are rather lean, but very nuanced and well sculptured. Midrange has decent clarity. Accuracy rules! With some sources and tracks, there can be a degree of harshness in the upper midrange.

Treble has a good presence and is well resolving. Let’s call it “sweet” as there is no graininess above the upper mids.

As you see, the Joker is a bit of a chameleon in that its signature varies a lot with source, which makes its sonic characterization difficult.

In comparison, the Koss Porta Pro is warmer with a mushier bass but has inferior technicalities, particularly its spatial reconstruction lags far behind. Different purpose, though. The Teufel Massive is a bass bomb in comparison, and the discontinued Sennheiser HD471 is warmer but also lags in terms of note definition. The Moondrop Joker appears to be lonely in its own class – and hard to compare.

Concluding Remarks

The Joker is Moondrop’s third headphone model, and the first below $100. It has been designed as a monitoring tool for DJs and studio engineers placing tonal accuracy and articulation over richness and “musicality”. It is not meant to be someone’ primary playback device. And it performs its job very well. The price is certainly right.

Comparing the Joker to $80 iem models, it probably beats most.

Goal achieved!

Until next time…keep on listening!

Jurgen Kraus

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Disclaimer

Get the Moondrop Joker from SHENZHENAUDIO.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

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Author

  • Jürgen Kraus

    Head-Fier since 2016. He has been known as “Otto Motor” to Head-Fiers, as “Dr. Schweinsgruber” to audiobudget.com users and Youtubers, and as “Brause” to Super Best Audio Friends and the Headphone Community. - For the purpose of confusion, he decided to pose under his real name Jürgen Kraus (“JK”) from now on. - This is a hobby. In “real” life, Jürgen is a professional geologist operating his own petroleum-exploration consulting company Franconia Geoscience Ltd. based in Calgary, Canada. He holds German and Canadian passports. Jürgen had a classical music education from childhood through high school in Germany and he has been following popular music developments since the late 1970s. His understanding of arts and crafts was influenced by Bauhaus pragmatism: “less is more” and “form follows function”.

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Jürgen Kraus (Calgary, Canada)

Head-Fier since 2016. He has been known as “Otto Motor” to Head-Fiers, as “Dr. Schweinsgruber” to audiobudget.com users and Youtubers, and as “Brause” to Super Best Audio Friends and the Headphone Community. - For the purpose of confusion, he decided to pose under his real name Jürgen Kraus (“JK”) from now on. - This is a hobby. In “real” life, Jürgen is a professional geologist operating his own petroleum-exploration consulting company Franconia Geoscience Ltd. based in Calgary, Canada. He holds German and Canadian passports. Jürgen had a classical music education from childhood through high school in Germany and he has been following popular music developments since the late 1970s. His understanding of arts and crafts was influenced by Bauhaus pragmatism: “less is more” and “form follows function”.

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