Наушники — Moondrop KADENZ

Moondrop builds the KADENZ around one dynamic driver per side and packs it with two cables - a conventional analogue lead and a USB-C decoding cable - so the earphone can run from a portable player or plug straight into the USB-C port of a phone or laptop. The housing is made of stainless steel rather than resin, and the model uses the second generation of the company's patented ULT driver.

Key specs that matter

The 10 mm ULT-Gen2 dynamic driver uses a composite diaphragm whose liquid crystal polymer base carries a diamond-coated dome that Moondrop calls TAC. Sensitivity is 122 dB per Vrms at 1 kHz and impedance is 35 ohm at 1 kHz with a 15 percent tolerance. The frequency range is quoted as 8 Hz to 21 kHz under IEC 61094 free field conditions, with an effective range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz at minus 3 dB on an IEC 60318-4 coupler. Moondrop lists THD of 0.03 percent or lower at 1 kHz and 94 dB. The cable connects through 0.78 mm two-pin sockets.

Engineering and use context

Magnetic drive comes from high-energy N55 magnets in an internal and external composite arrangement, with an irregular circuit shape worked out through finite element simulation. The driver is mounted in a brass internal cavity fitted with an external waveguide, and a dome-shaped vent suppresses standing waves in the treble. Shells are formed by MIM powder metallurgy in stainless steel, then polished by hand and given a sandblasted matte finish. Three interchangeable nozzles, labelled A, B and C, have different physical dimensions to match the acoustic coupling of different ear canal shapes, and each uses a third-generation anti-blocking filter to keep earwax out.

Pairing

The standard lead is a silver-plated single-crystal copper Litz cable for use with analogue outputs. The second cable is the ECHO-B, which puts a USB-C decoder into the lead itself, accepts PCM up to 32 bit and 384 kHz, and drives the earphones through a 4.4 mm balanced connection with a 120 dB signal to noise ratio and 0.003 percent distortion. Because the sensitivity is high, the drive voltage required is small, so the modest output stage of a phone or small dongle reaches normal listening levels, while the moderate load keeps current demand low as well. The box also contains silicone tips in S, M and L, spring tips in three sizes, an adapter and a leather case.

Alternatives

Another wired in-ear design in the current catalogue is the Moondrop ARIA2.