Closer Examination

Not much is known about the cable that ships with the MOONDROP Blessing 3, which is a bit of a shame given it sure looks similar to the KATO cable that had a paragraph about it. Once again I was reminded about how the competition now offers modular connectors on IEMs that cost the same, if not less, as the Blessing 3 whereas here we are stuck with a 3.5 mm TRS single-ended plug headed to your source. It's not a deal breaker by any means but I know people would at least appreciate the option to choose a cable that uses a 4.4 mm balanced connector instead. The connector housing gets a brushed silver finish to the metal although I am not sure what those numbers refer to. The cable appears to use two strands of silver-plated copper conductor and we see the rest of the cable hardware match the all-silver color scheme going on here. The splitter has the MOONDROP logo etched in an artistic manner which does match the Blessing 3 design and product packaging itself. The cable is fairly pliable and not microphonic in use to where it's plenty usable, although it does seem to occasionally kink up if you try to rotate it in a manner it does not like. On the plus side, the cable cinch does the job well and holds the split two channels in place as needed. We then get a transparent sheath over the individual strands leading to pre-formed ear hooks. The cable terminates in 0.78 mm 2-pin plugs that get L/R markings on the housing to help identify the left and right channels, although here too it's more of a chore with the clear-on-clear markings than it should have been. The various metal plugs are gold-plated for oxidation resistance.

[Update: MOONDROP has confirmed the Blessing 3 cable uses a co-axial arrangement of OCC copper enclosed by a layer of silver-plated copper.]


The MOONDROP Blessing2 went with resin shells and a metal face plate and we see the same trend continues on the new Blessing 3 as well. The shells are made by Heygears, a 3D printing design and manufacturing company that has worked with other brands including FiiO and Truthear when it comes to resin shell IEMs. Indeed, Heygears uses DLP (digital light processing) 3D printing of various different resins to get the same detailed prints that SLA printing offers but at a much faster rate, enabling true mass volume production. The Blessing 3 gets a transparent resin that is then polished to allow for a decent look at the components inside, which I am always a sucker for. The face plate is comprised of a CNC-machined steel plate insert that is glued in place and then hand polished.


A closer look at the face plates reveals a deliberately faceted design that results in a light and shadow theme going on, I had to carefully position these for the photo so you could better appreciate the design as well as the engraving done. We no longer have a single flat surface that allowed for some customers to go with custom engravings on the Blessing2, so perhaps MOONDROP is looking to keep things simple this time round with the company and product names on the two IEM face plates here. Notice also the relatively large vent to help with airflow for the dynamic drivers inside—there is a metal grill underneath to help prevent contaminants from going in. A look from the side shows how the steel insert wraps around the sides of the resin shells and is then glued in place. There isn't any glue residue visible from the naked eye although we still get telltale signs of the resin print that could have done with a better polish job. My attention was drawn to those drivers and the fairly neat assembly/solder job done though, including with the 2-pin cable connector piece that is flush with the shell. The blue enclosure used for the dual dynamic drivers adds a nice splash of color to where I feel the Blessing 3 is one of the best looking IEMs on the market, just that this will need more maintenance than usual since the resin shells and the steel plate can be susceptible to finger prints and oils alike. The Blessing 3 is also using a typical nozzle jutting at the bottom which is "only" 5.8 mm in size compared to the monstrous 6.4-6.5 mm short and barely-angled nozzles on the predecessor which accounted for the poor fit and comfort issues there. This change alone makes the Blessing 3 a good update, and knowing that the nozzle can easily accept the provided ear tips further cements that. The nozzle itself has three openings, one of which has a Knowles damper over it suggesting the use of Knowles BA drivers. The other two are fed directly by acoustic tubes as seen above.


Do try the various sizes of the stock ear tips provided and note that your ears are unlikely to be symmetrical. As such, the same size ear tips may not always work out for both ear canals. Tip-rolling is also recommended in case you do not get a decent seal with the stock tips. Regardless of which tips you pick, the next step is to connect the cable by carefully identifying the matching channels and orienting the ear hooks around your ear when connecting the IEMs. Doing so is simple, as you just push the 2-pin connectors in place and they remain there via a friction fit. The 3.5 mm connection then goes to a source with the equivalent single-ended output and I found myself using this set on the go mostly paired with the excellent Questyle M15 or the Qudelix-5K in addition to simply plugging it into the integrated MoonRiver 2 DAC/amp on the side of the MOONDROP DASH75 keyboard.