Moondrop Edge review: Shockingly good headphones for under $100

The time of wireless headphones being the territory of the wealthy is long, long over with some excellent options out there. Some of the best cheap wireless headphones come from the likes of 1More and Earfun.

So when low-price audiophile earbud maker Moondrop waded onto the scene with a pair of headphones that seemed to fit the budget bill perfectly, my ears perked up. When they arrived I found a pair of comfortable headphones with some very impressive sound quality — but as I found out during my testing there's some trade-offs at this price.

Moondrop Edge review: Price and Availability

The Moondrop Edge are very competitively priced at $89, similar to the likes of the Jlab Jbuds Lux ($79), and the 1More Sonoflow Pro ($88). They make a compelling case for the money.

Considering their fit and finish and their sound quality you might think the Moondrop Edge cost more, although you don't get a hard case and the ANC is not impressive.

If you want to spend a little and get a lot for your money though, you could do a lot worse than the Moondrop Edge — especially if you like your headphones clean and neutral in their sound. Or if you're a fan of anime characters. And weird voice prompts.

Moondrop Edge review: Build and Design

• Metal hinges
• Excellent, comfortable fit
• Lightweight

The Moondrop Edge do something not many other headphones at their price manage — they stand out. While they might not have the most complex design, there’s some interesting shaping to the earcups, a cool-looking metal hinge, and a clean aesthetic that’s refreshing to the leagues of identical models from other manufacturers.

There are two colors available — grey and white. The grey option that I tested is underrated and less likely to get dirty as quickly as the White model, although the white does have its own unique appeal.

I particularly like some of the smaller touches. The Moondrop logo on the side that follows the interesting swivel design looks sleek, and the fabric layer that covers the top of the headband is a nice touch. They’re a good-looking pair of headphones, and you’ll definitely stand out amongst the crowd of black headphones.

The Moondrop Edge build is good for the price. The metal hinge feels sturdy, and the earcups feel like they can take a beating. The padding of the headband and the earcups is smothered in synthetic leather, and its soft and supple to the touch.

I can't speak to the long-term durability of these headphones given my two-week testing period, but it’s likely going to be no worse than the similarly priced competition. There’s no hard case in the box, which is a shame, but there have to be savings somewhere. Hardcase fans should consider the slightly more expensive 1More Sonoflow Pro if they want a protective vessel.

Comfort is good, with one small caveat. The The Moondrop Edge feel light on the head, which combined with the thick, comfortable padding makes for a nice all-day wear. I didn’t find they got too hot while wearing them either, which is a big bonus and a surprise considering how warm your ears can often become while wearing synthetic leather-coated headphones.

The only issue is a lack of clamping force. It’s enough to keep them on your head for most use, be that walking around or sitting at your desk, but runners who like a pair of over-ears to accompany them for a jog are going to find them slipping off when they move more.

Moondrop Edge review: Controls

• Confusing layout
• Lovely clicky buttons
• Take some getting used to

First things first about the Moondrop Edge’s controls — the volume keys are the wrong way around. The volume up key is the bottom, and the volume down is the top button. So you can imagine my confusion, fury, and consequent calm acceptance when I went into the app to see if I could change it and discovered, no, that’s just how the buttons are. I got used to it; I don’t find myself pressing the wrong button anymore. But I don’t like it. And neither will you.

Otherwise, the controls on the Moondrop Edge are fine. I like how they’re better than the usual touch controls you find on the alternatives, although I wish they could do slightly more. There’s a play/pause button that triples as a power switch and skipping tool (press it twice), the aforementioned reversed volume controls, and then an ANC control that turns the cycles between the various modes.

They’re slightly small, and perhaps too similar to tell the difference on initial clicking, but you soon get used to it and you’re pressing them without a problem. A little dot on the play button would go a long way for usability, though, given you can’t see them and I don’t have eyes in my fingers.

Moondrop Edge review: Features

• Barebones app
• … strange anime girl voice prompts
• LDAC

From the moment you turn the Moondrop Edge headphones on, you’ll find what I think might be my favorite and potentially divisive feature of the Edge. Moondrop has a thing for anime girls. There’s one on the box of the Edge in fact, and I can only assume that the voice you hear when you use the various different functions of the cans is hers.

See, you turn them on and you get ‘Power on’ from a cutesy lass with an Asian accent of indiscernible origin. Pairing mode sees her sing you a song, and then pressing the noise canceling buttons has her make noises. “Shiii” signals that the noise canceling is on, or a surprised “Eh” lets you know they’re in ‘aware’ mode (or transparency).

Now, I’m a weirdo who spends many waking hours consuming anime, so I think it’s fun — cute, even — but your mileage may well vary. Especially when I tell you that she can’t be turned off.

The rest of the feature set is fairly run-of-the-mill, however. Up-to-date Bluetooth 5.4 keeps the signal tight and glitch free, and allows for multipoint pairing. There’s LDAC support as well, for those higher quality streams, and it’s easy to activate in the app.

This app doesn’t do much else, unfortunately. It’s easy enough to use with a simple layout, but there’s not that much you can do with it beyond choosing one of three different EQ modes, updating the firmware and changing the ANC mode.

You can change the order of ANC mode when you press the physical button, which is handy, but it would be nice to have at least a 3-band EQ, or even some extra ANC settings. The Moondrop Connect app is fine — but I wish it did more.

Moondrop Edge review: Sound Quality

• Lovely neutral sound
• Punchy bass
• Wide soundstage

Beyond their looks, sound quality is where the Moondrop Edge really stand out. They’ve been tuned very well by the sound engineers at Moondrop, who’ve given them a lovely, neutral sound signature that doesn’t do much to color the music that you’re listening to. They avoid the booming bass that some of their competitors manage to fall into, all while maintaining a delicate edge that makes them a more resolving listen.

That’s not to say there’s no body to the sound — the mids are fat and healthy, and the bass is punch and present. There’s a certain degree of warmth, but it’s never enough to really get in the way of the rest of the ensemble. It’s a sound signature that I really enjoy, and one that I wish other manufacturers would embrace with their own lower price headphones.

Getting Dire Straits Sultan’s of Swing going shows off the cleanliness of the mids, the guitar line picked out well by the headphones. The bass guitar is well-defined with plenty of mid-bass to give it some body, and some nice representation from the upper ranges to give it some edge. The cymbals are quick and exacting, and resolve well — they already sound like something that costs over twice the price.

Window Licker from Aphex Twin brings bizarre, shifting bass lines and distorted digital drum blasts, and the Edge do an admirable job of keeping up. There’s solid bass extension on the sub notes, although they lack some impact in the long run. The vocal line is clear and concise, while the synth stabs are accurate and precise. There’s decent kick do the drums, and the whole thing sounds great.

Archspire's Drone Corpse Aviator gives the headphones a chance to show off their instrument separation, as the cacophony of blast beats, distorted tremolo-picked guitar and harsh vocals can often meld into one sonic mass. The Edge do a good job of making sure that everything stays separate, although the bass guitar sometimes gets lost in the rest of the track. It’s an admirable performance for something that costs so little

Moondrop Edge review: ANC

• On the lighter side
• Excellent transparency mode

The ANC in the Edge is not their greatest strength. I can’t call it ‘bad’ considering their low price, but it’s not quite as good as that which you’ll find on the 1More Sonoflow Pro. When you’re playing music you won’t be able to hear most of the noisiest sounds of your commute, but really disruptive sounds will make it through like crying children or road drills. Stop the music and things become muffled rather than blocked — for the price it’s fine, but there are better options out there.

The transparency mode is top quality though. It’s natural sounding and makes it much easier to buy a train ticket without having to pull your headphones off. It alleviates the problem I often find with transparency modes, where I can hear my voice in my head while it's being pumped back at me by the headphones — like there's an extra person who’s copying me. I don’t know how Moondrop has done it, but it's much better than its peers.

Moondrop Edge review: Connectivity

• Bluetooth 5.4
• Multipoint
• No wired listening

The Edge are pretty up-to-date with their Bluetooth connectivity. Bluetooth 5.4 allows for Multipoint connection, which is as easy to initiate as you might hope. Just press the power button until the pairing sound plays, and then connect the second device. It works fine as well, switching between the two modes quickly and easily.

There’s a USB C port on the bottom of the left earcup, although its use is restricted to charging only, which is a shame. There’s no cabled listening available on the Edge, so when the battery is dead you can’t listen to your music — I’m not a fan. Given that other similarly priced options allow for wired listening, it’s disappointing that it's not here.

Moondrop Edge review: Call Quality

• Reasonable call quality
• Some wind noise gets in the way

The call quality of the Moondrop Edge is, as you might hope for the price, perfectly fine. It’s not going to win any sound quality awards and there is some wind noise that makes its way around the microphones, but my short calls to friends and using them for work calls led to no complaints from my call partners. For the price you’re not going to find anything that’s much better.

Moondrop Edge review: Battery Life

• 48 hours ANC off
• 30(ish) ANC on

The battery life of the Moondrop Edge is fine but it’s not excellent. With the ANC turned off, Moondrop says you’ll get 48 hours, and then fails to give an ‘ANC on’ figure. I found that 48-hour point to ring true while testing, with the headphones lasting around 46 hours on higher volumes with the ANC turned off.

I tested the Edge with the ANC on, and it dropped to around 31 hours, although that will depend on the volume. That’s not quite as good as the 1More Sonoflow Pro (rated for 65 hours ANC, 100 hours without), but it’s plenty to get you through a workday.

There’s fast charging as well, thankfully, so you can charge them up in 5 minutes and get 4 hours of use. That’s not as much as we’ve seen from the likes of the Beats Studio Pro, but it’s good for their lower price.

Moondrop Edge review: Verdict

I’ve enjoyed my time with the Moondrop Edge. It’s their sound that really sets them apart from the rest of the budget headphone segment, with a very good neutral signature that shows a great deal of restraint in a category that usually just cranks the bass dial, packs them in a box, and sends them your way.

It’s a refreshing approach to a pair of headphones, and it makes them a great option for sound-conscious people who are on a budget. Their comfort and fancy design are, in my eyes, just icing on a very delicious cake.

Not all things are shiny and golden, of course — the ANC isn’t quite up to par, and there’s no case in the box. If you want both of those, then you should spend $10 more for the 1More Sonoflow Pro, although you’ll miss the epic sound quality of the Moondrop Edge. And the anime girl. Can’t forget the anime girl.

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