Headphones — Moondrop MOCA

The MOCA is a true wireless in-ear headphone from Moondrop that replaces Moondrop's earlier NEKOCAKE earbuds. Moondrop says the design follows the classic ten principles of good design, with practicality, simplicity and comfort as the aims. It pairs a driver developed by Moondrop's own R&D team with active noise cancelling and features usually found in more expensive models.

Key specs that matter

Moondrop fits a 10mm dynamic driver in each earpiece, with a titanium nitride (TiN) ceramic composite dome. Bluetooth 5.4 handles the SBC, AAC and LC3 codecs and the A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP profiles, with a range of around 10 metres. Hybrid noise cancelling is rated at up to 40dB, and there is a transparency mode. The earpieces run for about 6 hours, and about 15 hours in total are available with the case. Charging the case takes about 2 hours over USB-C or a wireless pad, while the earpieces recharge in about 1.5 hours. Game mode cuts latency to around 55 to 60ms.

Engineering and use context

The TiN ceramic coating stiffens the dome, and the compact driver leaves space in the shell for a photo-sensor. Moondrop chose optical wear detection over the more common capacitive type because it is more reliable, and it pauses playback when an earpiece comes out and resumes it when the earpiece goes back in. Noise cancelling uses feedforward and feedback microphones, and the duct leading to the external microphone is shaped with fluid-mechanics modelling to cut wind noise, a physical fix rather than a purely software one. Taking one earpiece out while noise cancelling is on switches the other to transparency mode automatically. LC3 is the low-power, low-latency codec of Bluetooth LE Audio and gives stable, efficient transmission on compatible phones. The frequency response is tuned to Moondrop's VDSF target. Touch controls are customisable, the earbuds reconnect automatically to the last device, and the box includes silicone ear tips in three sizes.

Pairing

The MOCA works with any iOS or Android phone, tablet or computer over Bluetooth. On devices with LE Audio, the LC3 codec is switched on in the MOONDROP Link 2.0 app, which also sets the order of the noise cancelling and transparency modes and installs firmware updates. Game mode is meant for video and gaming on phones and tablets.

Alternatives

The Moondrop ULTRASONIC is another closed true wireless model from the same range, with longer total battery life from its case.