Fit and Comfort

Seen above is the right channel of the MOONDROP Blessing 3 placed into an artificial ear mold with the included size M silicone ear tip installed. I have average-sized ears, and the ear mold above represents my own experiences well enough as a proxy. Size M silicone tips are my go-to for testing, since foam tips are not included by some brands as was the case here. This photo also illustrates the light and shadow aspect of the faceted stainless steel face plate I mentioned on the previous page, which in turn makes the Blessing 3 a stealthier set than you might first think. The face plate also can make people think these are large IEMs but in practice the actual shells going into the concha are plenty manageable to my ears and, I dare say, those with small ears too. The nozzle might still be an issue for those with small ear canals, but there's no doubt this is a big improvement over the Blessing2 given it also fits in at a more comfortable angle while being long enough to help obtain a deep fit. Indeed, I had an excellent fit and seal here to where a CIEM almost makes no practical sense for me if that was going to be an option! The resin shells also help keep the mass low at ~6.5 g each side to where the Blessing 3 is not physically fatiguing either. Add to this the overall ergonomic shell design and the cable looping around the ears well enough to add more support points and we have a set of IEMs that the average consumer should not have to worry about for fit and comfort.

Audio Performance

Audio Hardware

The MOONDROP Blessing 3 employs a hybrid driver configuration in that there are two different driver types here for a total of six drivers per side. The predecessor went with a 1 DD/4 BA configuration and the Blessing 3 ups the ante with 2 DD/4 BA where the balanced armature drivers responsible for the mids and highs (two each) are newer and improved from those used in the Blessing 2. But clearly the main talking point here is the dual 10 mm dynamic driver that MOONDROP refers to as H.O.D.D.D.U.S or Horizontally Opposed Dual Dynamic Drivers Unit System. It's effectively two of the same drivers in a push-pull configuration akin to what I've seen used in some car stereo systems to good effect, although I wasn't sure how well it translates in such smaller drivers. MOONDROP says the two effectively come together to provide an output similar to that from a much larger dynamic driver, which in turn allows for finer tuning for the lower frequencies while maintaining an ultra-low distortion. We do not get further information over the composition of the drivers themselves although there are physical band-pass filters and the shells contribute towards the 2+2+2 crossover/frequency distribution used here. The Blessing 3 has a rated impedance of ~15 Ω and sensitivity of 120 dB/Vrms (102 dB/mW) although these numbers are measured at 1 kHz and may well be different in the bass or treble. While I would not have minded a 4.4 mm balanced cable option, which you can of course do with an upgrade cable, there will not be any bottleneck from powering the Blessing 3 off any decent dongle or portable DAC/amp.

Frequency Measurement and Listening

I will mention that I have a general preference for a warm-neutral signature with a slightly elevated bass, smooth treble range, detailed mids, and good tonal separation. I also generally prefer instrumental music over vocals, with favored genres including jazz and classical music.


Our reproducible testing methodology begins with a calibrated IEC711 audio coupler/artificial ear that IEMs can feed into enough for decent isolation. The audio coupler feeds into a USB sound card, which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA and REW running and the earphones connected to the laptop through a capable and transparent DAC/amp—I used the Questyle M15 here. I begin with an impulse measurement to test for signal fidelity, calibrate the sound card and channel output, account for floor noise, and finally test the frequency response of each channel separately. Octave smoothing is at the 1/12th setting, which nets a good balance of detail and noise not being identified as useful data. Also, the default tuning was used for testing, and no app-based settings were chosen unless specifically mentioned. Each sample of interest is tested thrice with separate mounts to account for any fit issues, and an average is taken of the three individual measurements for statistical accuracy. For IEMs, I am also using the appropriate ear mold fitted to the audio coupler for a separate test to compare how the IEMs fare when installed in a pinna geometry instead of just the audio coupler. The raw data is then exported from REW and plotted in OriginPro for easier comparison.


The IEC711 is such that you can't really compare these results with most other test setups, especially those using a head and torso simulator (HATS). The raw dB numbers are also quite contingent on the set volume, gain levels, and sensitivity of the system. What is more useful information is how the left and right channels work across the rated frequency response in the MOONDROP Blessing 3. The left channel was separately tested from the right one, and colored differently for contrast. I did my best to ensure an identical fit for both inside the IEC711 orifice, so note how the two channels are basically identical across the entire useful 20 Hz to 20 kHz range! In fact, this is the single best channel-matched set of IEMs I have ever measured to date and SHENZHENAUDIO even waited until it had retail units in to ship me one so this is not deliberately picked out as a review unit either. Given the price range the Blessing 3 operates in, I do expect to see some rudimentary driver matching with decent quality control and needless to say things are all groovy here. Measurements taken after 50 hours of testing, which included these playing a mix of various songs as well as white or pink noise and sine sweeps, showed no difference. There was no perceived burn-in effect thus, and none was measurable, either. The response with the anthropomorphic pinna in place matched the ideal scenario in the coupler extremely well too and this is an indicator of how good the fit and seal was when installed in the artificial ear.


Here is the average frequency response for both channels of the MOONDROP Blessing 3 plotted against my personal target taken from VSG.squig.link, which also gives you an idea of my personal preferences to better correlate any possible biases. The tuning of a set of headphones or earphones does not have to match my target as long as it is tuned with some direction, makes sense, and is executed well. After all, no one set will appeal to everyone, and having different options is what makes this hobby so interesting and hard to quantify. Indeed, given the nature of this tonality, I have to also caution you against simply taking measurements as-is because whether or not they are normalized for SPL or frequency and, if the latter, the chosen frequency for normalization will result in a very different preconceived notion for those who have not heard the set. What you see above is effectively how the Blessing 3 sounds to me so please do read/watch other reviews to relate different subjective opinions to other measurements too.

I will reiterate that I have not heard the Blessing2 or Blessing2:Dusk before, although it does not take much to note that the reason for the Dusk's success was a more pronounced bass shelf compared to the Blessing2 which in turn made for a more dynamic and punchy sound while also helping balance out the energy in the higher frequencies. The Blessing 3 effectively slots between the two when it comes to the bass response purely from a numbers basis. This means that if you have listened to the Blessing2:Dusk, for example, and wanted less bass then the Blessing 3 should be of interest. If you do not agree with this stance then perhaps the consolation is that the bass quality you get with the Blessing 3 is one of the best for IEMs I've listened to. The dynamic range on offer is exceptional in allowing you to more easily discern quieter and louder sounds, which in turn also helps appreciate both leading and trailing ends of tones. I also found bass guitars to have plenty of impact and with good detail too, although kick drums felt held back by that bass tuck I perceived. This also does not feel like a set for sub-bass aficionados without further EQ filters applied owing to the relative lack of punch there. Indeed, I humored a few people during the testing period in trying out different bass shelves including a 12 dB sub-bass shelf starting at 200 Hz and the Blessing 3 handled everything with ease. There's minimal distortion added with EQ too so we have plenty of room to play with.

This is a good thing to note given I do have issues with the overall tonality of the Blessing 3. It leans towards a brighter tuning, not just neutral-bright, so a bass shelf is a must in my books to help balance things out too. In fact, I'd even go further and bump the lower mids up a bit too because I found the Blessing 3 on the leaner side here. Male vocals were less forward-facing than I'd have liked and brass instruments also came off worse by comparison to string instruments. Technically the Blessing 3 continues to stamp its authority here by offering excellent imaging on top of a sufficiently wide and tall soundstage for IEMs. It's also one of the more resolving sets across the entire frequency range. Some of this detail retrieval can perhaps be attributed to the treble energy here but that comes with the issue of having pronounced upper mids that affected timbre to an extent and can result in shouty vocals on the higher end, if not even some sibilance. The lower treble can be bothersome too depending on your preference and sensitivity here. It's not harsh to my ears but again reminded me how hard it is to EQ the higher frequencies since I tried but never got a satisfactory result. As such I went back and played more with the bass instead to alleviate things, which does help to an extent. The smoother treble with decent extension does help with orchestral instrument though in addition to providing some sparkle in the upper treble.


The Blessing 3 comes at a price range that I weirdly don't have a lot of IEMs in. I am of course missing the obvious Blessing2 in here but the DUNU VULKAN came to mind right away given it also uses a 2 DD/4 BA hybrid configuration and can currently be bought for the same price as the Blessing 3 after a price cut received recently. The Blessing 3 is the set to get if you are amenable to EQ simply because the drivers are implemented better. The dual DDs are more dynamic here and the set as a whole is more resolving too, whereas the VULKAN makes up in a more pleasing tonality for those who prefer a warmer sound. I'd also give DUNU the win on the design and accessories front so overall it's mostly a wash with my vote going to the Blessing 3 by a slim margin. The XENNS Mangird Tea 2 is a 1 DD/6 BA set that costs slightly more and arguably does the same thing as the VULKAN but even more so on the tuning side going safer to where it does feel somewhat boring. The DD here is mostly catering to the sub-bass so you will notice the better bass quality on the Blessing 3 almost immediately and I wasn't a fan of the imaging on the Mangird Tea 2 either. The toughest competition comes from the likes of the Yanyin Canon with its tunable switch-based sound signature, or even other hybrid and all-BA sets such as the Audio Hekili and SeeAudio Bravery if you are purely interested in a coherent tuning with decent technical performance too, although I'd argue the Blessing 3 doesn't do enough for me personally to justify the price hike compared to the ~$200 single DD and planar sets released recently. The single DD sets do suffer from treble extension more often than not and the planar IEM sound is a different one to where perhaps they may not be for you either. The bottom line is the Blessing 3 does not feel like the unanimous win from MOONDROP in the ~$300 price range that no doubt many wanted it to be.