Shifting the Baseline
In today’s world, cutting the wire is no longer a extraordinary thing but more of a requirement. These days, pretty much everything is going wireless. Chargers, connections between devices and of course headphones. There is a sea of options in the headphone market for both true wireless earbuds and headphones, with more brands joining this segment as days go by. Nonetheless with the sea of options available, some brands have established an almost cultlike following.
Apple for example with its AirPods, Bose with its offerings and Sony with its XM range has dominated the market for a long time. Even though there are many brands out there, with many offering some pretty impressive specifications, the delta in price however has always remained small. This ultimately pushes many users back to the top favourites. This is why Moondrop’s Space Travel is somewhat of a wildcard that caught my attention. This true wireless headphone offers plenty at a ridiculous price. How much you ask? Well, read on till the end to find out!
The Moondrop Space Travel enters a market that is honestly heavily saturated. Starting first off with the case, the Space Travel has a unique design which in my opinion is rather pleasing to look at. The frame that holds the earbuds in place is a lightly smoked clear plastic top which holds the earbuds in place. This sits on an off-white base which houses all the electronics and battery. As always there is a small indicator light to indicate status and a USB – C input underneath for charging up the entire set. A new colour way has also been added which sports a black case and an opaque dark orange earbud holder.
The case and buds have unique anime inspired design. The colour and print look really nice, especially if you’re into that modern Japanese kind of look and styling. Speaking of which, battery life supported by the case is a rather solid 12 hours. The earbuds itself have a 4-hour battery life. Not even close to the class leaders here, but to be honest as you will learn in the end, it’s not really an argument.
The ear tips on the ST are of the silicon variety and come in 3 different sizes for a more exacting fit. In my use, the ear tips are sufficiently snug and keep the earbuds in place rather well. I tested it recently in a 3-hour flight and it never fell out of my ears. Even when I dozed off for a quick one, the buds stayed in, unlike the notorious AirPods which I have seen in many cases falling out. Your experience will vary however as the fit is very subjective.
I do need to touch a little bit on the electronics. Firstly, the connection quality is flawless. Throughout my listening I had no dropouts or loss of connection. I even took a walk and had to go pretty far away before the connection dropped off, testament to its Bluetooth 5.3 implementation. There are also touch controls on both side, which is convenient but sadly also finicky as mis taps can happen pretty easily.
Sound quality is without a doubt the most surprising part about these budget earbuds. The ST’s have a rather decent soundstage and very good imaging qualities. Now this will not be to the extent of class leaders but if I must say, they are very far from being bad. The ST is able to convey a good amount of detail and also presents textures quite well. Listening to INXS’s classic smash “I Need You Tonight” showcased the many layers of guitar sounds both in the fore and background without muddling them up together.
The MOONDROP Link App allows for only 3 different settings for the bass curve. From the three, I enjoyed the default “Reference’ as well as the “Basshead”. The latter option having a far warmer more energetic sound signature. Although I must mention that even with the bass head setting engaged, the ST is not the deepest nor weightiest sound. If bass is a must for you, these earbuds might disappoint you.
If I were to zoom in on potential improvement, it would be focused on the app. There should be more information such as status of battery, indication of what mode the ANC is in and perhaps some ability to play around with the frequency curve. In terms of the physical device itself, I honestly can’t knock it. Especially given the price that it asks!
The MoonDrop Space Travel TWS earbuds are sold and distributed by Red Ape and retails for RM 199 (sometimes its discounted for an even sweeter price!). For more information do visit Red Ape’s website or head on down to their brand-new store in Puchong.
Red Ape Headphones Store
No 32A-G, Jalan OP 1/5,
Bandar Puchong Jaya,
47160 Puchong, Selangor
Website – https://redape.my
