Closer Examination

MOONDROP is generous on the cable front with not one, but two separate cables provided with every VENUS headphones. The black cable is single-ended in providing a right-angled 3.5 mm TRS connector headed to your source, and this is also where the accompanying 3.5 mm to 6.35 mm (1/4") adapter comes in handy with more prosumer equipment, that you will very likely need with the VENUS. The plug heads into a plastic housing with subtle MOONDROP branding on it, before going to fabric-sleeved dual-stranded conductors that are presumably made of high-purity copper, in the absence of any further details. The soft fabric makes this a fairly pliable cable although it can be a touch microphonic, and can snag to things inadvertently. There isn't a true splitter here given the two strands continue past it and head to the two channels as-is where we see more plastic hardware and two 3.5 mm TRS connectors with barely visible left/right writing on the plastic housing to help indicate the left and right channels, respectively. The metal connectors are gold-plated for oxidation resistance, and there's internal strain relief built on the headphone side connectors.


The fancier-looking and feeling cable is what MOONDROP calls its Line V cable, and this was a pre-order bonus for anyone who ordered the VOID headphones earlier this year which is now available for purchase at $40. I already had one of these in its own separate packaging and have used it for a while now thanks to its 4.4 mm TRRS balanced connector, allowing the use of a balanced headphones output off my amplifiers. This time we get CNC-machined aluminium alloy hardware with a brushed finish given to the pale silver colors. The MOONDROP branding is laser etched in place, and now we get a 392 core 8-strand braided cable in a Litz structure that uses 6N (99.9999% purity) silver-plated single-crystal copper conductor. This explains the silver aesthetic in place too, which should better match the VENUS purely from an aesthetics point of view while also having zero microphonics in use. This is not as easy to shape/re-shape however, and I found it had a tendency to kink up in a few places owing to minor memory retention from how it comes packed in the box. The splitter does its job in now giving 4-strand wires headed to the headphones with the same 3.5 mm TRS connectors, although the housings are quite large and do not have external strain relief. This can potentially add undue stress on the headphones side of the cable despite similar plastic housing inside the aluminium covers. On the plus side, the L/R markings are easily visible here to help indicate the left/right channels, respectively.


The MOONDROP VENUS is a full-size set of headphones and happens to be among the largest such circumaural sets in my collection at that. It's not bulky given the actual elements used are on the thinner side as evident from the front-on view above, but still ends up taller and wider on the other two dimensions. These headphones also feel very solid in the hands, to where you will immediately feel this is going to last for a while. MOONDROP has gone with CNC-machined aluminium alloy to keep things light without compromising on structural integrity, and this trend continues with the floating headband that has several holes punched in it. The finish seems passivated to the touch and the matte surface can be potentially scratched if you aren't careful. Your head will rest on the self-adjusting leather suspension band that is simply screwed in place on either side, making it easy to replace it as needed. In fact, everything here is simply attached by screws, to where repairs and mods are on the easier side of average. I do wish MOONDROP had added in a cover on either side to conceal the screws however, given it looks quite raw and also exposes the screw ends on the inner side which are not filed down to be in line with the headband assembly.


The suspension band is slightly stiff but still easily rises up via the elastic band on either side with upwards pressure as you place the VENUS on your head. There is enough room on this thick leather band to add comfort on the scalp but could result in pressure points on the sides for those with larger heads. It's well-stitched and the padding is plentiful, even if I personally would have preferred some ventilation holes here to minimize hot spots. There is enough space between the leather suspension band and the metal headband to accommodate practically everyone, especially once you consider the vertical room courtesy the stretch headband assembly.


The headband assembly is screwed to the ear cups on either side where we also see branding in the form of "MOONDROP Presents Venus" printed on the exterior in a non-obnoxious manner. This allows for the securement points to also be hinges, allowing for the ear cups to swivel in either direction, but then we see MOONDROP has deliberately added in stop points to limit the amount of cup swivel. I had mixed feelings about it until I realized this was actually one of the issues I have with freely swiveling ear cups on other headphones, given they seem to be moving around too much and artificially end up feeling like a toy. Instead, the VENUS continues its trend of coming off quite solid in the hands, and there is plenty of movement here to not be a limiting factor for fit and comfort. Likewise, the ear cups themselves can rotate around the hinge axis quite a bit to allow for good flexibility in all three axes of movement.


You might have observed by now that the native silver color of the headband assembly differs from that on the ear cups itself. MOONDROP has adopted the Art Deco visual style for the product design on the VENUS, including the use of a warmer color and the striking line pattern that makes up the grills on this open-back set of headphones. It is a good juxtaposition of industrial design combined with art, to where I am glad that it was left to just engineers to design the set. Yet the part where the grills are slightly rotated off-center gets to me, and once again it ends up being a case of details left to be improved upon. Do be careful running your hands over the grills as they feel like a blunted cheese grater! You can also see the magnets that are part of the driver assembly through the grill, which does a good job in hiding just how open these headphones are. The ear cups are on the slimmer side as are the ear pads themselves, and the controlled swivel combined with the larger cup size meant that I decided to take advantage of the screws used here to simply remove one of the ear cups off—after all testing was completed of course. I was happy to see plastic washers used to help distribute the load applied when putting the VENUS together.


Now it's easier to remove the ear pads, which themselves are installed via four cutouts in the aluminium cups that make it quite easy to re-install or pad swap, as desired. The planar magnetic drivers used in the MOONDROP VENUS are stunning and massive; they use a total of 36 magnets in a dual-sided configuration, and you can also see the thin silver coating on the diaphragm that makes for a mirror-like finish. I had to get creative to take photos without reflections getting in the way, although I was able to spot a couple of places where the coating could have been better applied. It's otherwise one of the most uniform-looking transducers, and we will talk more about it on the next page. If I had to nitpick further, I'd have rather seen a dust guard over the drivers on either side to minimize any contaminants from affecting the sound signature. This is only plausible with the pads removed, so I suppose just make sure to not remove them in a dirty environment!


I previously mentioned how the stock ear pads on the MOONDROP VENUS are on the slimmer side, so there is a possibility that larger ears can touch the magnets on the inner side of the drivers. Thankfully those are rounded and not sharp whatsoever, and my average-sized ears had plenty of room inside to not touch them anyway. These are leather-wrapped pads that are round in shape but quite massive to where they will easily fit over your ears without needing to following an oval or D-shape for ergonomics. They use medium-density foam filling and are contoured to be thicker on the back compared to the front, which allows for a better fit and seal. There is a fabric cover here to minimize any dust/hair affecting the driver assembly in use. Note also the partially fenestrated design with vents on the inside for increased breathability, while also potentially minimizing sound reflections going back into the ear.


On the bottom of the ear cups is an extension where we see L/R markings to help indicate the left and right channels, respectively. This is also where we will find the expected 3.5 mm TRS ports for the cable connectors to easily click in place. They are directed downwards without a forward angle, so the cables might end up flopping straight down on your chest. Seen above are both stock cables used with the MOONDROP VENUS, with the Line V cable making for a more cohesive-looking set. But those longer plug housings can be an issue in the absence of strain relief, wherein the cable might end up forced out perpendicularly when placed on a headphone stand, given the taller profile of these headphones. You may end up not having room to support these by the metal headband with most headphone stands either! The cables are relatively short at 1.2 m and seem better suited for portable rather than home use, despite the VENUS not really being a portable set of headphones. What happened is these are the same cables that were initially made for the MOONDROP VOID, so the company decided to re-use them here rather than coming out with longer cables.