Introduction

MOONDROP is an audio brand based out of China in the city of Chengdu. This specific piece of information may not seem too relevant, but will make sense shortly. It's a brand we've become very familiar with given the multitude of earphones, headphones, portable DAC/amps, audio cables, and even keyboards/switches put out so far. Indeed, this very year has already seen coverage of MOONDROP's new generation of products in the form of the Blessing 3 as well as more budget-oriented IEMs such as LAN, Droplet, and Chu 2. I had mentioned in the Blessing 3 review how MOONDROP has been putting out a lot of <50 IEMs lately, and today we find out why. Those are the IEMs that sell the most and generate enough capital for extensive R&D of the more expensive products. Today we take a look at MOONDROP's most expensive product ever released—the new flagship Solis 2 IEMs.


The original MOONDROP Solis released in 2020 and crossed the $1000 price barrier for the first time in the brand's history owing to the early use of Sonion's EST (electrostatic) tweeters, which are technically electrets but the point remains. Just over an year later, MOONDROP released the popular VARIATIONS that again uses those EST drivers but now in a tribrid driver configuration at half the cost. Given the current generation is building upon the previously released IEMs, I figured the Solis was due for a revision sooner than later. Little did we know that the Solis 2 was going to be something quite different. This is MOONDROP's second ever tribrid set of IEMs using dynamic, balanced armature, and EST drivers but is placed inside shells made of pure silver handcrafted into something that is more down the jewelry route than anything else I have covered to date. This is further cemented by the gold-plated logo on the top that is based off Chengdu's city logo—now you get the context—and there is more going on with this design which dates back to a few thousand years ago too. The MOONDROP Solis 2 aims to be an expensive flagship that combines the old and new alike while still delivering an audio experience to match the price. Thanks to SHENZHENAUDIO, via MOONDROP, for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp as we put these bold claims to the test today and begin with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications