Disclaimer: I would like to formally thank Apos Audio for providing us with a unit in exchange for an impartial and honest review. On behalf of the team at the Headphone List, we thank her for her generosity and trust in THL.
TLDR:
The Moondrop Kadenz is vocal-driven IEM with commendable staging and imaging, exemplifying what a solitary dynamic driver can achieve with careful engineering. However, it’s bass-light performance results in a linear but dynamically soft presentation that can come across as austere.
Pros:
+ CNC-machined shells with bombproof build
+ Classic ‘Moondrop’ branding with generous suite of accessories
+ ‘Kato 2.0’ inspired performance, with an aggressive upper-mid rise for an energetic and boisterous vocal presentation.
+ Impressive stage width and instrument/vocal separation for a single-driver configuration
+ Despite it’s bass-light presentation, sub-bass texturing is fulsome and detailed
Cons:
– Extremely weighty shells – its weight can be felt pulling downwards amidst long listening sessions.
– Upper-midrange stridency amidst gritty or crunchy guitar riffs, limiting the Kadenz’s compatibility with a broader set of genres
– Overall thinness and bright-adjacent presentation due to a lack of mid-bass definition and volume.
Introduction
Moondrop is a household name synonymous with being one of the pioneers in the burgeoning Chi-Fi scene, staking its claim to audiophile fame with the classic KXXs, which soon evolved into multiple successors (Kato) and iterations (Starfield, Starfield II).
Each and everyone bears the hallmarks of Moondrop’s engineering philosophy – neutral with a pinch of tasteful coloration (and of course the industry’s lauded and hated Harman-response curve). Today, we’re revisiting Moondrop’s greatest hit in the form of another re-interpretation: the Kadenz.
At its root, the Kadenz shares the same DNA as its earlier predecessors, with a solitary dynamic driver on each side. Priced at 189.99 USD, the Kadenz shares the exact same launch price as the Kato. However, Moondrop has had two more consecutive years of growth and tuning experience. Does that translate into an IEM that performs significantly better?
The Kadenz is available for purchase at Apos Audio.
Technology
Newly-developed TAC Diamond-coated dome composite driver
Equipped with an innovative TAC diamond-coated dome composite diaphragm and a second-generation super-linear dynamic driver, the Kadenz delivers exceptional detail across the full frequency range.
Swappable nozzles for better comfort
The Kadenz comes with three interchangeable nozzles, each featuring different specifications. This lets you choose the nozzle that best suits your ear canal, optimizing treble performance for an enhanced listening experience.
Redesigned chamber for enhanced acoustics
To integrate the new driver, Moondrop re-engineered the internal cavity using advanced simulations and thorough testing. After extensive refinement, they perfected an acoustic chamber that ensures a more balanced, natural sound across the entire frequency spectrum.
Included ECHO-B DAC dongle
To enhance your listening experience, the Kadenz comes equipped with the ECHO-B USB-C decoding cable. Supporting high-resolution PCM audio up to 32-bit/384kHz, it delivers a fully balanced 4.4mm output, ensuring optimal performance for the Kadenz.
Unboxing
In standard Moondrop fashion, the Kadenz’s outer sleeve is replete with Anime-inspired branding (as Resolve would say, a cartoon child). The box the Kadenz comes packaged alludes to much pricier IEM: the monolithic black cardboard box feels deceivingly expensive.
Inside the box, different sections are organised into different segments partitioned from one another. The front panel opens up saloon-door style to unveil its glorious offerings. The theming across every touchpoint is classic-Moondrop: cohesively modern, with bold lines and prismatic shapes adorning every corner.
Inside, you’ll find the following accessories:
- Moondrop Kadenz
- Standard Silicon tips and Moondrop Spring tips (S, M, L)
- 2-pin, single mono-crystalline silver-plated cable in 4.4mm (with 4.4mm to 3.5mm convertor)
- ECHO-B USB-C decoding cable
- Leather zipper-style case
- Replaceable nozzles with varied spout lengths.
The Kadenz’s package is full of goodies that complement the user’s listening experience. Every inclusion doesn’t feel out-of-place, leaving no stone unturned. Moreover, there isn’t a single accessory that feels cheap or poorly-made. The Kadenz gets a golden seal of approval for its premium unboxing experience.
Design
The Kadenz shares the same ‘wedge-like’, 2-pin full-metal design that inhabits the KXXs line of successors. However, every successive iteration has a distinctly different aesthetic. The Kadenz is no exception.
For starters, the Kadenz’s entire surface features a powder-deposited, Cerakote-like coating instead of mirror-polished to a radiant shine like the Kato. Its duller and sleeker appearance represents a less striking but more subtle design.
Additionally, the Kato’s faceplate has a prismatic-like cuts with bold lines etched onto its sides for a blockier, brutalist appearance. Machine-marks in a stepped-pattern are also visible near the spout/nozzles of each shell. The nozzles themselves are also swappable for users with unconventional ear-canal shapes or lengths.
In practice, I always found that the KXXXs line were designed to be cantankerous IEMs built for rough-and-tumble use. I would argue that Kadenz is the best built across its existing line-up due to its scratch-resistant surface finish, paired with its no-nonsense all-metal exterior.
Comfort and Ergonomics
The first downside to the Kadenz’s full-metal jacket is its weight. Stainless steel is a dense and heavy material. Consequently, the increase in weight can be felt during extensive listening sessions. Expect some points of discomfort when worn for too long.
The Kadenz’s wedge-like design has proven to be an effective shape suited to most listeners. The three included nozzles allows the users to pick-and-choose between the nozzles that best suit them.
The stepped machining marks and gradations on the nozzle sides actually has a practical benefit – it offers a deeper and tauter grip against the inner-ear. During my standard headshake test, I never successfully displaced or dislodged the Kadenz’s from my ears.
As per its single dynamic-driver architecture, the existence of two tiny vents is unsurprising. In day-to-day use in external surroundings, the Kadenz is mildly susceptible to noise ingress, especially wind-noise and construction. Thankfully, the Kadenz still isolates fairly well for a DD-powered IEM.
Cable Quality
The Kadenz comes shipped with a Single mono-crystalline silver-plated cable terminated in 4.4mm balanced. These cables are thick, with mirror-polished hardware at the termination end and at the Y-split. While these little finishing touches do make the Kadenz feel much more lavish, the juxtaposition of the powder-coated Kadenz shells and polished hardware doesn’t feel cohesively thought out.
There is a satisfying heft to each cable, with a transparent TPU sleeve sheathing the entire length of the cable. The only catch here is its increased weight and drape pulls against the outer-earlobe when worn straight-down in outdoor settings. This effect can compound even more discomfort on top of the Kadenz’s already burly shells.
The shells themselves are easy to spool and coil, with little to no memory retention. However, the thickness of each core makes it a bit of a challenge to stow away in the provided carry case, especially if the ECHO-B USB C dongle is stuffed in there clumsily.
While there were numerous complaints by other fellow audiophiles noting the lack of swappable terminations (instead, Moondrop has opted to provided customers with a 4.4mm female to 3.5mm male adapter), I have zero qualms with their supplementary solution.
The included cable’s premium and glittery appearance feels especially luxurious at the 189.99 USD price point, but there is room for practical improvement.
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