Fit and Comfort

Seen above is the MOONDROP VENUS placed on a mannequin head, to help show how these headphones would look on the human head. Note that the head is slightly under average sized, so account for the discrepancies accordingly. As with all headphones, getting a good fit and seal is crucial, so make sure to properly use the various pivot points, and the height adjustability of the headband and ear cups. This section is mostly a summary of the points expanded upon in more detail on the previous page, but I will point out that the VENUS weighs ~615 g, if not slightly more, and this was surprising to me given I was estimating closer to 500 g based on how it feels in the hands. This is a testament to the even mass distribution achieved in addition to the larger volume of the headphones, to where the VENUS feels lighter than it is, and certainly so on the head, where I had no problems wearing it for long listening sessions. The mass does make sense once you realize there are a large number of magnets used on the drivers, but overall I have few complaints on the comfort factor for my average-sized head. The self-adjusting headband rises gently and makes enough contact with the top of your head, and the headband is shaped to have the ear cups naturally incline inward and over the ears. If anything, I might have preferred slightly more clamping force but I did get a good fit and seal around the ears owing to the combination of the cup swivel/rotation, clamping force, and the contoured over-sized ear pads. Do keep in mind that the VENUS is a very open-back set and thus will be best used in a quiet environment without others in the vicinity.

Audio Performance

Audio Hardware

MOONDROP talked a good deal about the challenges necessary in making a uniformly driven diaphragm when it comes to making its own e-stat set, that's not yet released at the time of this review. This included the company purchasing proper scientific equipment for both manufacturing and characterization/QA testing, and some of this has been put to good use in the VENUS too. In particular, the diaphragm in the planar magnetic drivers here are 100 mm in diameter with a thickness of 2 µm—which is not sub-nanometer, MOONDROP! This is still amazingly thin for a new driver that is fully in-house developed as opposed to the collaboration effort that went into making the MOONDROP STELLARIS planar IEMs, in conjunction with Tuoyin Electronics Co., Ltd.. There is then a uniform coating of silver that we saw before, with this layer being another 1 µm thick. This large diaphragm combined with the slimmer ear cups/pads means your ears are closer to a larger body of air being pushed back and forth to create sound, thus minimizing any damping issues for eyeglass-wearers, while also promising more dynamics and detail retrieval. Helping move the diaphragm is a dual-sided set of 36 neodymium N52-class magnets (18 per side), that are rounded and placed based on finite element analysis to allow for linear, ultra-low distortion.

Given the extra load on the thin diaphragm from the magnets, it's sandwiched between CNC-machined aluminium alloy frames that further keep it tensioned tightly. There is also a high-frequency wave guide to help minimize phase interference from that ridiculously high number of magnets used here—especially for the higher frequencies. Once again I am reminded of HIFIMAN, with its stealth magnets tech that's used in a similar manner. Regardless, what you really need to know is the VENUS is a current-hungry set that will be pretty demanding on your amplifier. This isn't surprising given the highly tensed diaphragm and that excessive magnet count, and ends up with a low rated sensitivity of just 100 dB/Vrms paired with an equally low impedance of 18 Ω. Those numbers translate to 82.6 dB/mW which makes the MOONDROP VENUS ask for more current than even the notorious HIFIMAN Susvara/HE6se. I'd also recommend going with a solid state amplifier given the low impedance here, although you could try out a tube pre-amp as MOONDROP's own CEO likes to do with the VENUS. Given the need for prosumer-level hardware here, you may be interested in checking out some of the TOPPING/SMSL/FiiO sources we've covered here before, that pair well enough without breaking the bank. This is also why I was suggesting that MOONDROP would do better in providing longer cables with the VENUS.

Frequency Response Measurement and Listening

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


Our current headphones test setup uses a set of two custom in-ear microphones for the two channels. These microphones closely adhere to the IEC711 class, but have been tweaked to be more reliable in the >10 kHz frequency range, the precise issue with my previous setup, that is otherwise still very good and will continue to be used for IEMs and earphones. Two soft silicone pinnae are installed on the sides, separated by a distance matching my head, and multiple "height" adapters have been 3D-printed for further customization, based on fit, head size and shape. Each set of microphones has an XLR output I separately adapted to 3.5 mm. I used a transparent source—the FiiO K9 Pro ESS—for measurements after confirming it was not a bottleneck in any way.

This artificial head simulator feeds the microphone lines into a reference USB sound card, which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA and REW running. 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, netting a good balance of detail and signal to noise ratio. The default tuning was used for testing, and no app or program-based EQ settings were chosen, unless specifically mentioned. Each sample of interest is measured at least thrice with separate mounts to account for any fit issues, and an average is taken of the individual measurements for statistical accuracy.


As before, you can find my headphone frequency response measurements on VSG.squig.link along with all the earphone measurements. Scroll to the bottom and choose different targets there, including two from Harman Kardon developed after years of R&D. The Harman 2018 over-ear target in particular, is a reference curve many headphone makers aim for now, but I find it too bass-boosted. As such, I am opting for the Harman 2018 curve with the bass target from the Harman 2013 curve, which is what is referred to as the "Harman Combined" target. Before we get talking about the sound signature of the MOONDROP VENUS, I want to briefly talk about the measurements themselves and the channel balance achieved here. I think a single look at the measurements above can confirm the excellent driver matching on my set, to where I can't help but think MOONDROP is hand matching the VENUS at this point. It's not a mass-production set for the brand and this would also be a good way to show how serious it is about entering the over-ear headphones market.

As for the sound itself, I am impressed with the VENUS. There is a caveat to mention here in that my unit only once measured like the MOONDROP frequency response in having that sub-bass dip at 40 Hz and below. Out of 35 separate mounts and measurements across both channels, that's a statistical anomaly to where what I report above is also representative of my own experiences too. Granted that others did get similar trends, but the point is that you shouldn't really worry either way since there is very little audio presence below 40 Hz anyway. The MOONDROP VENUS, at least this particular unit, is slightly mid-forward and leans towards the brighter side of neutral. It's otherwise one of the best tuned headphones I've ever listened to and this is really what I was hoping for, given MOONDROP's similar track record with IEMs—the STELLARIS being the one thing that made me worry about what the bigger planar brother would be like. The bass is well extended here and, especially for those who are curious about headphones but are primarily IEM lovers, please note that getting a bass shelf as with the target chosen is not really possible with open-back sets unless they are heavily dampened. That comes with its own set of compromises to where a straight line all the way down is really the best you can ask for here. This is not to say the VENUS is a bassy set in general, it comes off mellow without a sense of dynamic slam or punch for anyone wanting to use it with electronic music. It fares better in discerning faster notes, however, and also does a good job with bass guitars and snare drums, getting both leading and trailing ends of tones reflected properly.

The mids are overall well-controlled and smooth, although the tonality is certainly mid-forward to where it can even come off slightly warm. Vocals take center stage albeit instrument separation is still excellent. This is further helped with good imaging in the central channel and around the ears too, and I thought the soundstage was sufficiently wide without coming off artificial or diffused either—some of this could be down to the slight dip in the upper mids from 1 kHz that artificially creates a larger sense of space, but it's still executed decently. I'll also give a shoutout to the timbre here that felt way better and more natural than most planar/e-stat sets, even rivaling some dynamic driver headphones. This could be down to the overall smoother transitions in the mids heading over to the treble and ends up further taking a point for instrumental music lovers. Female vocals are more likely to sound natural here owing to that relatively middling ear gain, to where there is enough to take HRTFs into account, but I'd personally have preferred slightly more myself. It won't come off shouty even with the relative dip just before, so once again MOONDROP does it well. It's really only when you get to the higher frequencies that you wholly realize this isn't going to take down the more premium headphones on the market. The VENUS continues it's relaxing tone to the extent of being not the most resolving set, and tonality shifts to be brighter too. It can even be fatiguing to treble-sensitive users but works like a charm for acoustic jazz and orchestral music. There's a bit of air which aids for string instruments and cymbal clashes and yet that very emphasis can come off piercing if you are not a fan of mid-to-upper treble presence.


Given all the HIFIMAN comparisons thus far, I figured it would be apt to see how the MOONDROP VENUS compares to the HIFIMAN trio of the Edition XS, the Ananda (2022 stealth magnets), and the latest revision of the Arya with stealth magnets too. The VENUS is priced between the Edition XS and the Ananda but is tuned similarly to the HIFIMAN house sound. Note that I haven't normalized the frequency responses here but we see the overall mid-forward presence, the dip at 1-2 kHz, and then differing extents of treble extension to where I can definitely see people who like the HIFIMAN sound to be pleased with the VENUS too. If anything, the ear gain on the VENUS is less pronounced to where more people will find it pleasant and not shouty. I'd say the VENUS trades blows favorably with both the Edition XS and Ananda in the technical side of things too, with the HIFIMAN trio in general having a wider and taller soundstage and the Arya being the clear cut winner in detail retrieval while also costing over twice as much. MOONDROP bests all three handily from a build quality perspective, albeit is heavier and can be less comfortable than the Arya, the VENUS also has better cables in my opinion while being pickier on the amplifier too.


I don't have many non-planar headphones in the price range the MOONDROP VENUS operates in. There's the Sivga SV023, the Focal Bathys, and also the more esoteric Nectar HiveX but otherwise I mostly have a bunch of planar magnetic sets here for a more apples-to-apples comparison. These include the warm Audeze LCD-2 Classic, the mod-worthy HarmonicDyne G200, and the less-than-impressive ZEPHONE Tiger. The G200 is really the only one that is worth considering for the money and even there you need to work around the comfort and tonality issues with both replacement pads and EQ in mind, but it's going to then give you a set of headphones that is well-built, lighter than the VENUS, and more technically competent in both detail retrieval and dynamics. Then there are the likes of other planar headphones from Chinese IEM brands such as Goldplanar, BLON, and ThieAudio. I have the Goldplanar GL2000 and BLON B-20 here but neither are even worth doing a whole review on, at least not in late 2022 when there are far better options for the money. The ThieAudio Wraith debuted a few weeks ago but ended up getting a silent update to include new ear pads, to where I will be reviewing it sooner than later. As it stands, it would be fair to say that the MOONDROP VENUS is one of the better offerings in the audio space, regardless of where the company is based out of.