Sound From Beyond The Boundary – Moondrop x ddHiFi Surface IEMs
ddHiFi Surface is a $279 USD pair of Earphone IEMs made in collaboration with Moondrop, aiming to deliver a 5 Driver array setup, with one dynamic driver and 4 balanced armature drivers. This is going to be quite a trip as we know both companies are competent and have delivered outstanding products in the past. We will also include brief comparisons with other similarly priced IEMs although this time around we won’t go into too much detail.
Introduction
We have extensive coverage for ddHiFi products, as well as Moondrop products, including IEMs from both companies, so when both have decided to make a collaboration, we knew we had to review it too. ddHifi and Moondrop products are available to purchase from a multitude of sale channels including Linsoul, Aliexpress, Amazon, and countless others, as both companies are rather popular.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to ddHiFi for providing us with the sample for this review.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4e3wVye
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oobckzo
Build Quality – Design
Most product pages available for the ddHiFi Surface are rather short, but we do know that they’ve put a complex array of drivers inside of the Surface, with 5 drivers in total, one Dynamic Driver and 4 balanced armatures playing in harmony to create the sound.
From how things are described on the product page of ddHiFi, it seems that Surface is mostly designed and produced by ddHiFi and optimized by Moondrop, and this IEM features a double crossover, exploiting both the printed PCB crossover and the actual acoustic chamber design of the earphones.
ddHifi also includes their high-end BC120S silver plated OFC copper cable with the Surface IEMs, and this is a cable with a Litz Wire Structure, 30 strands of 0.1mm diameter combined with a Litz wire shield of 116 strands of 0.05mm. This is all equipped with a 4.4mm jack termination, this is one of the highest quality cables that ddHiFi ever developed.
Technically, ddHiFi x Moondrop Surface IEMs have an impedance of 15 OHMs, and a SPL or Sensitivity of 118 dB. The IEM connector is a 0.78mm 2-Pin, and the package includes the IEMS, the BC120S Cable, a transport case and three pairs of eartips.
Fit – Subjective Usage
I don’t always love a product that I am reviewing, and sometimes they may look odd, but ddHiFi surface is a product I absolutely love from the bottom of my heart, that solid resin body is incredibly beautiful, and you can see very minor detail of the drivers, it all looks like it is made of glass.
Comfort is top notch, perfect really. ddHiFi Surface has a shard shell, ergonomic, medium sized, offering a medium – deep fitting that feels secure. The cable they are using is as high-end as it gets, thick, not the most flexible, but it is immune to handling noise. There is no driver flex, no void, and the whole IEM is just uber comfortable.
Passive noise isolation is higher than the vast average of IEMs, at around 15 – 20 dB, Surface has an exceptionally low leakage, and they feel like they cut you off from the outside world quite well. The only thing you should keep in mind is that the somewhat heavy cable will pull them a bit heavy, but it does not pull them out of your ears, thanks to the high-end ear guides that force the IEM to stick inside your ears even if the weight of the cable is pulling them, it never effects the fitting.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To test the ddHifi x Moondrop Surface, I have paired it with a selection of sources, including Rose Technics RT-5000, Dethonray Listening M1, Dethonray Clarinet, iBasso DX340, Lotoo PAW GT2, FiiO K17. For once I found that the technical data is reflected in the actual listening experience and Moondrop Surface is not just easy to drive, it requires little power, medium-low gain levels and sounds exceptional with entry-level sources. It really does not need a high-end source as it is musical and softly tuned, and not analytical to reveal more information even if you feed it with a flagship DAP.
Overall Signature – Although I always need to have as much experience as possible with a pair of IEMS to really understand their sound, ddhiFi surface is immediately dark, thick, lush, vocal with a strong voicing for both male and female voices, a recessed treble, smooth and easygoing, heavy and impactful, with a strong slam, and a warm, big bass that has a thunderous boom and thump. This kind of signature is very far from the usual analytical signatures that Moondrop goes for with their IEMS, but I like how Surface handles micro bits of information, how they sound detailed and high-end despite the really smooth and laid-back signature.
Bass – Initially, I would have called the Surface basshead, as it has a huge bass, with an exceptional resolution, impact, slam and thump, but voices are usually a bit more forward than the bass is, and bass is generally the coating, the underline, the presence that gives music body and explosion, impact, but it doesn’t muddy up or take over the voices. Surface is quite powerful in the lows, enough that I would recommend them for most bassheads, but voice almost always takes a central place in a song as presented by ddHiFi surface.
Midrange – ddHiFi is smooth, but has a good vocal clarity, it reveals textures nicely, although it is forever smooth, lush, full, and feels more resolute than Xelento which in the past used to be the king of this signature. Both male and female voices have the same presence and power, there is zero muddiness and veiling despite the strong bass, and the complex crossover inside of the Surface is fully capable to render micro details, information, but in a thick, dark, lush way. This being said, there’s at least one or two balanced armatures dedicated for female voices, violins and pianos, and despite the lack of peaking range, Surface can render superb voices, even for sopranos, it can render high-pitched guitars and solos, but that is where the energy stops.
Treble – I am saying this because above the rather relaxed midrange, the treble rolls-off smoothly, but quick. You can expect to hear very little treble, cymbal crashes, it is all smooth, free of grain, fluid but treble is quite rolled-off. This is true to the point where I don’t mind it, for example Xelento sounded smooth in how much treble it had, but it also had fairly grainy textures, while Surface is really smooth in the textures too, allowing you to increase the volume unstoppably with zero fatigue, it is the most relaxed, laid-back IEM you can wish for in this price range.
PRaT / Textures / Dynamic – If you like a musical, smooth presentation, you will love the Surface, it has zero brightness, zero edge, and most textures are lush, fluid, oily, dark, full. Surface renders a ton of body for all instruments, including pianos, voices, drums, but it has the smoothest texture in the treble, as it also has very little treble in general.
Volume Control – ddHiFi Surface is powerful, it has the same sound at quiet and loud volumes too, and has no bias towards a favorite volume level. It does not really matter how loud you bring it, it never becomes aggressive or bright, this means that the headroom is incredibly high, there’s no ceiling I can reach, you can tweak and EQ it as much as you desire, but I find the default signature to already be perfect, no need to tune and tweak what sounds great.
Soundstage – ddHiFi Surface is surprisingly wide and has a strong instrument separation, especially considering the deep, dark sound. This is where I think it can quickly change a signature that’s not usually a public’s favorite to one that will be loved by most listeners. Having so much bass and a present voice, with a holographic soundstage makes music impressive, not fatiguing and keeps you engaged, which creates a groovy, musical, intoxicated-like feeling to the sound of the Surface.
Value and Conclusion
Like most ddHifi products, Surface has an exceptional value, only the cable included likely could be sold for the price of the entire IEMS, but we get a transport case, and a beautifully sounding vocal IEM with a thick, lush bass, excellent resolution, and unbeatable impact included for the same price.
At the end of the day, ddHiFi Surface is all about music, smoothness, fluidity and no harshness, no grain, and no abrasive parts, it has enough resolution and can reveal details well enough to be considered a high-end model, but it is the farthest thing from an analytical sounding IEM as it can be, so I would totally recommend the Surface if you wanted to experience bass and vocals, with zero fatigue and with a recessed, rolled-off and smooth treble.
PROs
- Rich package with one of the best cables you will ever see included, similar quality to what sells for a higher price than the Surface IEMs alone
- Smooth, Relaxed, Laid-Back signature with a rolled-off treble
- Clean, revealing voicing with a musical signature
- Lush and powerful, deep bass
- Outstanding overall clarity for this signature
- Zero muddiness and veil despite the voice-bass combo
Cons
- Signature is quite colored, won’t be for everyone
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4e3wVye
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oobckzo
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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