Everlasting as the moon? Astell & Kern Luna review
You know, I've just impulsively dropped a lot of money on a pair of IEMs. Like, enough money to buy 10, or even 100 pairs community of favourites here. So I figured that I should probably write a review about it, so I can say I have not totally wasted the money; I did it for internet bragging rights.
Why did you even buy those?
They are an impulse purchase. On a trip to Hong Kong, I visited Jaben (a HK headphone shop) with some of my friends. I first listened to the Yet-Another-Andromeda-Release by Campfire Audio, and found them to be above my expectations. Then I set my sights on more expensive demos available: Moonrover, decent but not significantly better than my Supermoon's. Campfire Grand Luna, way too bass-heavy for my taste. MADOO's Typ930; not great with the tuning.
And finally, I set my eyes on the one of most expensive demo units --- the Luna. They were great, but at 22k HKD, it was way beyond what I was willing to spend on a pair of IEMs.
So I asked the shopkeeper, "what's the cheapest price you can give for the Luna?" He said, if I was willing to take the demo unit, I can take it home at half price of a new one.
And before I realised it, I now have a pair of Astell & Kern Luna in my collection.
Specs, build and accessories
Those are configured with a single plannar magnetic driver and constructed in a titanium casing. Came with a carrying case, two sets of ear tips (Eletech Baroque and AET07), plus a 4.4mm cable.
Build quality is excellent, but it is not perfect. The gap between parts of the housing could be smaller, and so could be the gap between the cable and the 2pin recepticle. Yes, this is nitpicking, but I think it is valid for something that is supposed to cost $2800.
Driving the Luna
The Luna is not hard to drive on paper, with 5ohm impedance and 105db sensitivity, and indeed it is not. The Fiio QX13 I have is more than enough for it at low gain, although I would not recommend you to plug it into anything too cheap. It is sensitive to noise, and with desktop mode on I can actually notice a little bit of noise coming from the QX13 --- which is otherwise a very low-noise dongle.
However, I'd mention that I noticed a slight improvement when I plugged it into my newly acquired Topping DX5II desktop amp. I am not sure whether the improvement comes from the DAC part or the amp part, but it is there.
How do they sound?
Very well, obviously. They better be for the price tag. There are a few general impressions I have from listening to them:
The Luna is very sensitive to the eartips you are using. For the purpose of this review, I am using the Baroque eartips; the AET07 eartips will add a lot of bass volume to the Luna, which I find undesirable.
The Luna is treble and midrange-heavy, and with a somewhat muted bass. It generally tries to be light in its sound signature, and does not go for the "thickness" of sound some flagship IEMs go for. It is more suitable for say, string instruments and female vocals than it is for heavy metal, although it performed just fine on the few Sabaton tracks I threw at it.
The Luna's bass is not bad however. It is very fast and precise, with good extension, just that it lacks in volume compare to IEMs designed for it.
What it excels at is the resolution and treble extension. It sounds natural and airy, detailed but composed, and extremely snappy. It works very well for anime songs and game soundtracks, which is what I listen the most. Soundstage is great as is the case for most planars, but the instrument separation is incredible --- I was able to notice individual instruments in the game soundtracks I listened to more easily.
While planars have always been good at resolution, soundstage and treble, the Luna is a lot more "dynamic" in its transient response. It is faster, more concise, and separates instruments better than cheaper or older planars. In a sense, I feel it has the resolution and transient response comparable to electrostatics, and probably has the highest resolution in any IEM I've personally listened.
Overall the presentation is very technical, but it still retains good musicality with its tuning. In a sense, the Luna does sound like the moonlight --- bright, neutral or a bit cold, while invoking an image of clarity.
Anything else about the sound?
It's not about the Luna specifically, but I'd make a point about that I prefer single-driver IEMs. It doesn't matter what the driver is made of: BA, planars, estats, or dynamic, single-driver IEMs avoid having to split their frequency response across different drivers, and often end up sounding more natural/dynamic.
This is especially obvious in hybrid IEMs where, say, the bass is handled by a planar or dynamic driver while the treble is handled by BA drivers. Those drivers have different timbre, and it will be quite noticeable if you are listening to, say, a violin solo.
That is not to say multi-driver IEMs cannot be excellent. They could be, and many are. But in a landscape where everyone is cramming as many drivers into the casing as possible, I'd say single-driver IEMs still have their reason to exist.
How does it compare to $200 Chi-fi IEMs?
I'd preface I can only compare to the 7hz Timeless II and the Letshuoer S12 Ultra, both planar magnetics. I listened to those in a shop side by side, so I don't have much time on either, and the demo unit the shop had might not be perfect.
The Luna is better than both, mostly in terms of resolution and transient response. Neither has as much resolution as the Luna, and the transient response --- the "snappiness" the Luna has easily beats both.
The S12 Ultra comes closer to the Luna, but it was not very close still. They do somewhat soundalike, so maybe the Luna would be called S12 Ultra Max Pro Plus if it was made by Letshuoer.
In fact, S12 Ultra on steroids is probably an apt assessment of the Luna. It is better in every way, the question is just whether it is worth the 20x price tag.
I also think the while the S12 Ultra is more technical, the Timeless II has better tuning --- amazing tuning that I might prefer to the Luna. Its driver though, is just not as technical.
How does it compare to other premium IEMs, for example MADOO's other IEMs?
Compared to the Madoo Typ622, they sound nothing alike. The Madoo has less resolution, but more bass response, and sounds more "thick" if you were able to drive it properly. It also sounds warmer than the Luna. They are however a lot cheaper, like 1/4.
The Typ930 has great resolution that rival the Luna, BUT it is a hybrid and imo they did not cook with the tuning. The BA-driven treble and the plannar-driven midrange and bass did not mesh well together.
Compared to the Campfire Astrolith, they are nothing alike as well. The Campfire is a lot more bass-heavy, and it has less resolution than the Luna. Personally I am not a basshead, but I can see why some people will like it.
The Andromeda 10 is what I think is the most similar with Luna in Campfire IEMs I listened recently, and I think they really did re-capture some of the charm the original Andromeda had. The Andromeda 10 is more balanced than the Luna is, imo, but lacks in the resolution and transient response. Both are amazing.
OK, but is it worth the price tag?
No* --- this is probably the answer you love to hear.
*The reality is while I do not regret spending on the Luna, I would have never bought it at full price, and I would never recommend anyone to do that either.
I referenced it sort of sounds like a Letshuoer S12 Ultra on roids, but I think that is more of a statement of how good the Letshuoer is than how good the Luna is. In this hobby, you'd often need to spend 10x the money to get "to the next level". The improvement you'd get by going from the $200 S12 Ultra to the $2000 Luna is probably similar to the one you'd get if you go from a $20 pair to the S12 Ultra.
To some people, this upgrade might be small and nonexistent. For most people, myself included, it is not worth it. If anyone wants a good pair of IEMs, I'll give them the same recommendations this sub gives --- the Timeless, the Letshuoer, the Truthears --- and the Luna would be near the bottom of my list.
But none of that changes that very few IEMs will beat its resolution, instrument separation, and quickness in transient response. For the price I paid, I don't think I regret getting the Luna.
