Moondrop Old Fashioned

Sources split: a majority hear one of the best-balanced on-ear tunings at any price — natural and mid-focused; a sizeable minority hear a thin, bright, bass-light sound and prefer Koss. The split tracks taste in bass and upper mids more than any disagreement about the graph.

Sources split, mostly in its favour: most call the midrange and vocals the highlight — natural, forward and clear; a minority find the upper mids crowd out everything else and sound constrained, nasal or shouty.

Light by near-universal agreement: sub-bass rolls off steeply, as on Koss's KSC75, leaving a clean but polite mid-bass punch. Several owners EQ it up, and it takes EQ well.

“fans of weighted low-end will find the Old Fashioned notably polite in this region.”

Headfonics

“The bass texture is kind of non-existent.”

Super* Review

“bass roll off? oooooook. more like bass delete.”

StupidBetaTester (r/kossmods)

Sources split three ways: most hear smooth, safe, non-fatiguing treble with the odd peak; a smaller camp hears it as brighter or uneven; one reviewer finds it rolls off early. Fit matters here — owners report the treble darkens when the cups sit further forward on the ear.

Mostly praised as open and surprisingly wide for a small on-ear, though depth is limited; one critic finds it narrow and focused next to a KSC75.

“The open nature of the design allows for a surprisingly wide soundstage.”

Pragmatic Audio

“Depth and layering are limited.”

Headfonics

“the Old Fashioned take a different approach, with a more narrow and focused presentation.”

Kinemoss Tech

Good for the price: stable, well-centred left–right placement, though fine background detail blurs in busy mixes.

“Another thing I like are the stereo imaging, open sound and the left-right balance and contrast.”

Headfonia

“Imaging is also quite good for the price, allowing you to place instruments with reasonable accuracy within that stage.”

Pragmatic Audio

Modest — fine for $25 but not resolving. Most reviewers say it isn't the last word in detail or layering; a few find it surprisingly decent for the money.

“The Old Fashioned isn’t the most revealing, layered or extended, and that goes for both sound stage as well as note extension and decay.”

Headfonia

“resolution and layering are surprisingly decent.”

Fc-Construct (The Headphone Show)

Soft rather than punchy: the two reviewers who address it find little slam or micro-dynamic contrast.

“Micro-dynamics, the subtle gradations in volume within individual notes, are present but not a strength.”

Headfonics

“The low frequencies lack physical slam and deep extension.”

requiemreview (r/headphones)

A strength for most: very light, with a gentle clamp that suits long sessions. The minority complaints are specific — the bare steel headband can press on the top of the head, foam pads warm the ears, larger heads may run out of adjustment, and the light clamp lets it shift when you move.

“Comfort is one of the Old Fashioned’s genuine standout attributes, particularly given its price tier.”

Headfonics

“the flat metal headband absolutely digs into the top of my head which is super uncomfortable”

IrishBreakfast (r/headphones)

“if your head is bigger than mine, there's a good chance this headphone might not fit you very well.”

Super* Review

Budget plastic around a steel band, but generally judged well made for $25 and more serviceable than Koss thanks to the detachable 2-pin cable and pop-off cups. Opinions on the stock cable range from 'amazing' to 'terrible', and the cups don't fold. Owners report a few faults: an intermittent stock cable, pads dented in transit, and 2-pin sockets wired with opposite polarity on each side, which puts the drivers out of phase with some aftermarket cables.

“Great build quality, this really is a step up (or two!) from the Koss’ subpar builds.”

Kukikokikokuko (r/headphones)

“Build quality across the unit is transparently budget, the bare metal headband and clear plastic housings do not attempt to disguise cost-cutting.”

Headfonics

“It’s the other way round – ground is on the inner pin, positive is on the outer/front pin.”

Perfect_Opinion7909 (r/MoondropLab)

None, by design: it's an open-back on-ear that lets outside noise in and leaks enough to bother people nearby.

“The Old Fashioned of course is an on-ear more open headphone, so sound will leak out and noise will come in.”

Headfonia

“there is quite a bit of sound leakage with these.”

Fc-Construct (The Headphone Show)

Sources split, mostly in its favour: most call it a steal and one of the best on-ears at its price, especially with the detachable cable; a minority of Koss owners say a KSC75 or KPH40 still sounds better for similar money.