Moondrop's first tribrid (1DD+2BA+2EST), tuned close to a sub-bass-boosted Harman/VDSF target and sold as the step above the Blessing 2. Reviewers broadly agree on the shape: a big, clean sub-bass shelf with a mid-bass/lower-mid tuck, a lean-neutral midrange, exceptionally linear and non-fatiguing electrostatic treble, and imaging and separation that rank among its strengths. They split on the verdict: whether the midrange is natural or too thin, whether the smooth treble is a best-in-class estat implementation or simply too safe, and whether $520 is well spent over the cheaper Blessing 2 Dusk it refines. Well-built with an excellent modular cable, but a large shell with a wide nozzle — small ears and tip-rollers should check fit first.
About this product
$520 tribrid: a 10 mm LCP dynamic for bass, two Softears-customized 'D-Mid-B' balanced armatures for the mids and two Sonion electrostatic tweeters for the highs, tuned to Moondrop's VDSF (Harman-derived) target. Moondrop's first tribrid — a re-driven, sub-bass-boosted evolution of the Blessing 2 / Blessing 2 Dusk shell, sitting between the $320 Blessing 2 and the $700 S8. Not the planar-hybrid Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk that came later.
The Moondrop Variations arrived in mid-2021 as the Chengdu brand's first tribrid — a 10 mm dynamic woofer, two balanced-armature mids and two Sonion electrostatic tweeters in the familiar Blessing 2 shell, tuned close to a sub-bass-boosted Harman/VDSF target for $520. It helped define the '$500 estat tribrid' era and became, for a stretch, the default recommendation at the price.
Reviewers broadly agree on what it is: a clean, U-shaped, sub-bass-forward reference with unusually smooth, linear electrostatic treble and standout imaging. Where they part ways is on what that adds up to — whether the lean midrange reads as natural or thin, whether the polite treble is refined or dull, and whether a $520 refinement of the cheaper Blessing 2 Dusk is a bargain or an overpay. Plenty of opinion to average; plenty of disagreement to map.
