Headphones — Moondrop SSP

The SSP, or Super Spaceship Pulse, is the sister model of Moondrop's SSR. Released later in 2020 at the same price of around 40 dollars, it keeps the SSR's shell, driver and cable but changes the acoustic damping to shift the tuning. Where the SSR followed the diffuse-field reference closely, the SSP lifts the low-frequency region relative to that reference, giving buyers a second tuning option on an identical hardware platform.

Key specs that matter

The driver has a beryllium-coated dome on a polyurethane suspension ring, powered by a 0.035mm Daikoku CCAW coil and an N52 external magnet circuit. Impedance is 16 ohms, sensitivity is 112dB/Vrms at 1kHz (about 94dB/mW) and THD is 1% or below. Frequency response is 20Hz to 20kHz under IEC 60318-4 and 20Hz to 40kHz with a quarter-inch free-field microphone. It ships with the same silver-plated Litz OFC cable as its sibling, terminated in 0.78mm two-pin connectors and a 3.5mm plug. Three pairs of ear tips and a carrying pouch are included.

Engineering and use context

The difference from the SSR is created entirely by acoustics rather than electronics. The earphone contains four dampers, and Moondrop changed the density of the damping materials to raise the bass region while keeping the upper frequency balance tied to the diffuse-field head-related transfer function, so the change does not alter the driver or shell. Combining a hard beryllium coating with a compliant polyurethane ring gives a diaphragm that is stiff at the centre yet well damped at the edge. The housing is cast in one piece from an amorphous metal alloy, sometimes called liquid metal, for high tensile strength and stability, with a powder-coated finish and machined left and right markings. Its compact size gives good passive isolation, although the nozzle is relatively long, so users with narrow ear canals should choose ear tips carefully. The patented anti-clogging filter protects the nozzle opening.

Pairing

The SSP has lower sensitivity than typical budget in-ears at about 94dB/mW, so a phone's headphone output may leave limited volume headroom. A USB-C dongle DAC or portable player with extra output voltage is the better match, and its low 16-ohm impedance favours sources with a low output impedance. The standard two-pin sockets accept upgrade cables and two-pin Bluetooth modules.

Alternatives

Moondrop's own SSR uses the identical platform with the original diffuse-field tuning for listeners who want the reference curve.