Introduction

I am still new to the world of in-ear monitors (IEMs), and there clearly are more new brands popping up now than ever before, especially as it pertains to the so-called world of ChiFi/Chinese HiFi. It can be quite hard to make a name for yourself thus, but MOONDROP clearly managed to do so. The company is just under a decade old now, and a combination of clever marketing backed by products that get recommended by media and paying customers alike means it is quickly becoming a brand to consider. There are even rumors of a set of MOONDROP headphones in the making, so the company has lofty expansion goals, too. I've been wanting to test MOONDROP IEMs for a while now, and it was a happy coincidence that HiFiGo, a similarly new audio distributor, got in touch about the all-new MOONDROP KATO. Thanks to HiFiGo and also MOONDROP thus for making this happen!


The MOONDROP KATO was not even the first sample from the brand I received, and some of our readers may have seen a teaser of the MOONDROP Aria (2021) review pop up for our Patreon subscribers. Such is the nature of things that the KATO is new enough to merit prioritization, so it got bumped up the publication schedule. In fact, it is so new that it only just left the pre-order stage with an extra "K-cable" offered to those willing to commit early. As it turned out, the K-cable was holding things up, so HiFiGo offered to send the KATO by itself from the MOONDROP brand, but then threw in an equally new aftermarket cable—the Kinera Leyding. This review goes over the MOONDROP KATO primarily, with the Kinera Leyding adding some splash and color to the mix. The KATO stands for KXXS Advanced Technology Optimized, a reaching acronym MOONDROP created to simply confirm this is a successor to the brand's previous solution in this price range. How well does the KATO behave, and how best does it help introduce the brand to TechPowerUp? We find out today as we begin the review with a look at the product specifications in the tables below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Packaging for the MOONDROP KATO is really where we get the strongest glimpse of the company's marketing at play, with larger than average box that greets us with one of many "anime girls" MOONDROP has put on product boxes. A recent example backfired on social media, but it is safe to say that MOONDROP is sticking with what is clearly a working formula here, understanding there is a large enough subset between IEM customers and anime fans. Ikko does something similar, which we saw with the OH10 and OH1S, so it's not like MOONDROP is unique in this regard. Regardless, the company logo is in the top-right corner, with the product name below. I am still unsure why it reads "KATO MOONDROP PRESENTS" rather than "MOONDROP PRESENTS KATO." On the back are the product specifications and marketing features. There is also a factory frequency response graph here, which will be handy for a comparison with my own results.

HiFiGo also put a sticker on the box, which is smart and gets the brand name into these photos. The KATO name also shows up on the sides, ensuring you know what you bought. As it turns out, all this was on an external sleeve, with the inner black box pushed out revealing one more KATO branding. This one is slightly different in that it is on a cover that opens up from the middle to reveal the presents inside, which is just the kind of unboxing that at times makes people giggle. There is even more branding here, so it's getting to where MOONDROP might well be competing with the likes of ASUS ROG in this regard.


Should this be your first time with IEMs, the thick cardboard sheet up top has some useful instructions on how to install the cables and shells in your ears. Underneath, we see the other items, including the IEMs themselves in a separate compartment on the bottom right. To the left are accessories, including a quick start guide in English and Mandarin, post card with the same drawing as on the front, QC card, and contact card for MOONDROP itself. The rest come in different containers, including a drawstring fabric pouch, plastic bag, and hard plastic case that holds the included ear tips. We get a set of six S/M/L sized tips with the MOONDROP KATO, three of which are silicone, while the others are memory foam. The foam tips are nice for sure and can provide for a potentially better seal, but my eyes were drawn towards the silicone tips MOONDROP claims are newly developed and called "Spring Tips." The outer flange is tacky to the touch without being sticky and conforms passively without going the extra mile, such as with the AZLA XELASTEC tips. MOONDROP says the reinforcing "ribs" minimize sound leakage and bass loss, and a special diffusion structure helps cater to the treble response by suppressing weak resonances and high-frequency linear distortion. This does result in fewer tip choices overall compared to the likes of DUNU and FiiO.


The fabric pouch does seem unnecessary since it just contains another baggie inside that has a metal base with four threaded holes. Two are empty, with the other two holding a set of replacement nozzles. We saw something similar recently with the DUNU FALCON PRO and FiiO FD3, and MOONDROP has joined in with the use of different nozzles for changing the sound signature. This spare set is a brass one characterized as such by the colors and has MOONDROP's patented third-generation anti-blocking acoustic filters preinstalled, which in the company's own words "prevent oily ear-wax from blocking the filters" more so than the previous generation and are "more conducive to the middle high frequency sound quality".


The final accessory is a carry case, which in itself adopts a rectangular form factor with oval sides. As tends to be the case in this price range, it is made out of faux leather, with a two-tone color finish courtesy a dominant blue and white used for an accent strip and the stitching itself. It looks and feels quite nice—the stitching is done well, and the zipper is sturdy to where it won't fall off anytime soon, and easy to use. "MOONDROP CO." is etched into the front, and the lid is held in place by a single magnet. Opening the case reveals a soft lining inside, and there is ample room for the IEMs and cable to be stored inside.


The KATO IEMs come inside a thick foam sheet with cutouts to snugly fit the two individual pieces. There are no pre-attached ear tips, so I simply pushed them out from the other side for further examination, and plastic covers around the shells keep them clean out of the box. These covers also make me think the finish of the shells may be prone to fingerprints, which we will take a closer look at on the next page.


Before we do, HiFiGo added its own freebie for the MOONDROP KATO since the K-cable pre-order gift was not ready. This is a MOONDROP acrylic stand, sold separately for $10 otherwise. MOONDROP has made multiple versions of these stands in the past, which shop flat-packed in two pieces with a base the stand clips into. It is not of very good quality—the acrylic cutout already had micro-fractures, and I had to press down hard to get the stand to insert into the base, which may have made it worse. Once done, however, it is unlikely to propagate further, so it is best to assemble it once only and let it be.