Moondrop CHU High Performance Dynamic Driver IEMs in-Ear Earphone (with mic)

🔴Holiday seasons is here—Great $20 gift for Her?Yes, as far as She is OK with Anime Waifu on the box. Chu has best open-box experience among $20 disruptive trio —Moondrop Chu/Jiu, 7Hz Salnotes Zero, Tripowin Lea— packaging is basic but classy, product high-end looking and aluminum made, ear tips is soft as her hair. Great gift.—Great $20 gift for Him?It depends, if he is rock-heads, Tripowin Lea ($20) is a better bet. If he is classical /jazz lover, and doesn’t mind cheap-looking outlook of the IEM, 7Hz Salnotes Zero would bring his starry eye full pf grateful surprise to you. Or if he loves modern billboard charts, Chu is your pick.About myself: Skip to 🟥END🟥⏬ if not===🔴START OF INTRODUCTION 🔴===—BackgroundAudio equipment reviewer over 20year+ of experience in headphones/earphones/IEM/DAP, initially motivated by:Sennheiser | AKG | Sony | Bose | JVC | JBL.—BioAfter spending a decade with full-size headphones, home audio speakers, I shifted my main listening environment to IEM. Of which, I have over 100 personal inventories —not loaner or review unit—purchased with my hobby budget).—On mobileI enjoyed Lexus’s Mark Levision system, and moved to Mercedes AMG’s Burmester 4D System.—CommunityI have been a member & reviewer at headfi.org —one of the most diversified international audio equipment enthusiast community— since 2008, have 100+ IEMs/50+ full size cans/numerous DAPs.—My IEM Reference (2022-11)qdc Anole VX | 7Hz Timeless | Softears RSV | Moondrop’s Blessing 2 & Dusk | Variations | Aria | Kato | as well as many other current market gatekeepers such as UM MEST MKII ($1,600), Thieaudio Monarch ($760), DUNU SA6 ($560), AKG N5005($1,000) besides consumer brands such as Sennheiser/ Shure / Westone / Sony / AudioTechnica / AKG/ Etymotic Research IEMs.⏬More references at the bottom⏬=====🔴END OF INTRODUCTION🔴=====—About Chu:I have almost completed the IEM series of Moondrop (Variations, Blessing2 Dusk, KATO, Aria, KXXS, Starfield, Chu, Quarks, Sparks, Nekocake, etc ).I was expecting a small step up from their $12 little entry-level plastic Quarks, and its rival Tanchijim Tanya, or alike. It was much more of a surprise that this $19 IEM actually came with metal housing and solid sound reproduction, Sound Quality especially in the lower bass floor is well-controlled and had a sense of Aria-class while upper treble is similar to that of starfield with a bit intimate diffusion field.—TL;DRThis little Chu isn't going to disappoint you even after comparing it to its big sisters such as KATO, KXXS, and Aria. For $19, I'd personally find the Chu extremely high in value addition, because of the complementary set of Moondrop original ear-tips series (Spring Tips) that usually goes around $12.99, if you purchase the ear-tip set independently.—For Tech-lovers:Tripowin Lea ($20) VS Moondrop Chu ($20):It’s hard to pull whether Chu or Lea is better, Chu’s note is thinner, Lea is thicker. But Chu’s cable is not swappable, while Lea left a choice for users. I’d pick Lea over Chu for rock/billboard hit chats, and Chu for J-pop/classical over Lea.Moondrop Chu($20) vs 7Hz Salnotes Zero ($19)Both are tuned to neutral and natural approach, Chu has slightly thinner and impactful basa, a tad more energetic thus averted from pure natural, which bring Chu slightly detail oriented all-rounder, especially great for J-Pop/K-Pop. 7Hz Zero is pure natural, it serves a perfect studio in-ear monitor /reference. Great for all music genre, and 95% of people would find Zero to be their best sounding IEM ever tried. This is my honest opinion from my 20 years of experience in audio world. 7Hz Salnotes Zero is Sennheiser’s HD600/HD560S in an IEM form.7Hz Salnotes Zero ($19) vs Tripowin Lea($20)7Hz Zero has more natural and neutral note touch, which suites perfectly for all-genre but especially great for strings / jazz ensemble. Lea on the other hand would perfectly fit Rock/Pops, male vocals where you find in need for lower range of mid range and higher bass floor and warmer/richer note touch—Final Verdict:In the bombshell, as a person with an extensive inventory of sub $50 IEMs, such as the Final Audio E series, Tanchijim Tanya, Moondrop Quarks, Etymotic Research ER2, Tripowin Mele, Moondrop Aria, Most of KZ / CCA, I find the Chu is a blind-pick for the price.This Chu $20 is a new placeholder and benchmark to beat from now on in the sub $50 segment in my honest opinion.==🔴NEED COMMON REFERENCE? 🔴==Yes, if we share same reference, it will be a good anchor point, here you go.IEM fav:[ 7Hz Timeless / Salnotes Zero | Tangzu Wu Zetian | qdc Anole VX | Softears RSV | UM MEST MkII | ThieAudio Monarch | Moondrop Variations | DUNU Studio SA6 | Moondrop Kato / Dusk | XENNS Mangird Tea | TRUTHEAR HEXA | See Audio Bravery | FiiO FHE | Moondrop Stellaris | GeekWold GK10 | TRI Starsea / i3 Pro | Moondrop Aria(mod) / Chu | KBEAR Believe | KZ ZAS | DQ6S | Tripowin Lea | Kiwi Cadenza ]Wireless fav:[AKG N5005 / N400 | AirPodsPro | Moondrop Nekocake | Air3 Deluxe HS / Gamer No.1Headset fav:Sennheiser PC38X / PC37XFullsize-Can fav:[ Sennheiser HD560S / HD650 / Unipolar 2002 / HD25 | Yamaha HP-1 | AKG K340 | Beyerdynamic DT990PRO[600Ω] ]DAP/DAC fav:L&P W2 | FiiO M11Pro/BTR5/3K | HifiMan HM801 | Astel&Kern AK70 |Speaker:AMG Burmester 4D System////////Shelved items(benched-roaster)////////——Big box Brands——Sennheiser:IE8 / MXW1 / Momentum OE / HD414 / HD202 / PX100 / CX95 / MX90VC / OMX90VC / MX760/660/500 /HD450BTAKG:K701 / K530LTD / K450 / K171MKII /K24&26P/ IP2 / K314P / K324P / K12PUltimate Ears:UERM / Triple.Fi 10PRO / Super.fi 5EB / Superfi 5SONY:EXQ1 / EX90LP / EX700STAudio Technica:ESW9 / EW9 / ANC7Etymotic Research:ER4S / ER2SEBang&Olufsen: A8Phillips: SHE9700 /SHP8500Klipsch: Custom2Harman Kardon: EP720Final Audio Design: E500/E1000/VR3000JVC: HP-FX500Westone:Westone 4/ UM2Ultrasone: DJ1PROV-Moda: Bassfreq——Modern Innovative Brands——Moondrop:Blessing 2/ Starfield / KXXS / Quarks / ShiroYuki / NamelessKZ:ZST Pro / ZS5 / ZS10 / ZS10Pro / ZSN / ZSN ProX/ AS10 / AS12 / AS16 / ASX / AST / DQ6 / ZAX / EDX / S1D / SKS / SK10 / Z1Pro / ZEX/ NRA/ZEX Pro/ T10CCA:CS10 / C10 Pro / CA16 / CS16 / CRNTRN:VX(w/BT20ProTWS) / MT1 / VX PROKBEAR & TRI:Stellar / KS1 / KS2 /Lark 4K / Neon / RobinQKZ:VK1 / VK3 / VK4 / KD4 / KD7 / CK3 / CK7 / CK9See Audio: Yume |ThieAudio: Legacy 3 |NICEHCK: DB3 | FiiO/ JadeAudio: EA3| Surplex: HD668B/HD661 | HZSound: Heart Mirror | NF Audio: NM2+ | Tripowin: Mele——Start Up Brands——GS Audio:ST10 /GT12 | GeekWold: GK3 | OpenHeart: Resin | CCZ: Plume/Coffee Bean DC-01Other Old classics:HPM1000 | JBL Reference410 | Yamaha YH-100 | Fostex T50RP | Grado SR225 | TEAC HP102 | Goldring GR-104 | STAX SR40 | Marantz HP101 |////////END OF Shelved items////////

So let me just start of with a disclaimer here: I am by no means an audiophile. I write this review from the standpoint that, as a starter kit kinda deal to IEMs, this is an absolutely impressive buy for being only 21 dollars with the mic.To explain: the major reason that you are buying these are not actually for the monitors themselves. As far as those go, you do get what you pay for in terms of sound. They are pretty much on the "Good Enough" tier of sound quality, right alongside Apple's earpods.However, these come with a set of Moondrop's new "Spring Tip" eartips. I actually bought the Chu specifically for these because they looked different enough for me to warrant buying the whole thing, considering that they cost 13 dollars on their own in a set of only one size.The Spring Tips are absolutely a game changer in terms of comfort and overall listening quality, as the slimmed down shape and material softness combine to make probably my favorite eartips out of a lot of the things I've tried.Effectively what you are getting out of this package is a 7 dollar IEM with a 13 dollar set of eartips that are worth that price alone. Sure, sound quality wise, other people might say that there's certain parts that sound a little metallic and kinda boring since they don't focus on the bass signatures with these.The only negative I can give these is that you can only buy them with or without the mic, as the cables themselves are not detachable and are definitely going to be a failure point.But at that, considering that I now have eartips that I can comfortably use with my Moondrop Starfield, I can safely say for sure that this is definitely the best bang for your buck purchase you can make in terms of cheap headphones.Pretty much the only question I can pose is: why not???

Pros: Affordable, excellent sound and fit, noise isolationCons: The Cable, Soundstage, sub-bass rolloffI had heard interesting things about the Chi-Fi scene for a while, but had never taken the plunge. I only recently began to acquire some audiophile listening equipment (HD 560S headphones, full Klipsch HT setup) and was looking to replace my AirPods Pro 2 after losing the right earbud. It was $100 to replace the missing bud (even with AppleCare!!), and the Chu’s were only $20.Firstly: They sound AMAZING for $20. After fitting them snug in my ear and playing the highest quality through Spotify, they truly “Wowed” me. They are leagues ahead of the Apple EarPods, on-par with the AirPods Pro, and not far behind the Shure SE215s I’ve used for on-stage work. They aren’t as natural sounding as the SE215s, but with IEMs this cheap that isn’t the point. The frequency response is bright, but not fatiguing, and with plenty of mid-bass to make drums and bass licks sound punchy. I think they could use a bit more sub-bass, but as a bass guitar player I might be biased.The only real con I had for these was the cable. It’s clear that this is where most of the savings come from. The cable is a tad noisy for my liking (lots of thumping when I move or chew), and it’s quite short. I’m a tall guy - with a tall-ish torso - and the cable barely makes it from my pocket to my head. Even though it sounds great, I have to knock off a star for the rough cable.