If you ever had an iPhone 4/4s then you may know that Apple also had included an earbud with their revolutionary products at that time. Nowadays IEMs & Headphones have taken over all the market share of portable audio but Earbuds still holding its ground with unique shell designs and high fidelity sound. Many people think, can an earbud beat an IEM sound-wise? The answer is yes, some premium buds can beat IEMs any day and here come brands like Moonbuds. I have tried Moonbuds Kingslayer and Heron before and without any doubt, they are some fantastic Earbuds that I ever had tried. Today for review I have Moonbuds Super Nightingale which is currently Moonbud’s top of the line product and I would like to thank Moon Harvester for sending this unit for review. Let’s see how Super Nightingale is performing.

Specification

• Driver – 14.8mm,
• Impedance – 16 ohm,
• Shell – Yuin,
• SPL – Unknown (But not sensitive),
• Cable – Beautifully hand braided and half-sleeved,
• Material – SPC and OCC hybrid,
• Cable Length – 1m,
• Plug: 3.5mm Gold plated.

Buying Link – Contact manufacturer through his Facebook page.

What’s inside the Box?

• Moonbuds Super Nightingale Earbud,
• Lots of foam tips,
• Leather cable organizer,
• 1 durable Leather personalized Carry case.

Source

Moonbuds Super Nightingale is not too easy to drive but most of the portable devices can run it easily at around 70-80 % of volume in low gain. I have also used my Fiio Q5 and Dethonray DTR1 with Moonbuds Super Nightingale to evaluate properly. One thing I must say, with good sources Super Nightingale scaling itself drastically, so high-end sources are a must for Super Nightingale.

Tracks/ Albums used

• Tales of America – J.S. Ondara,
• 25 – Adele,
• Brothers in Arms – Dire Straits,
• Robbie Robertson – Sinematic,
• Daft Punk – Random Access Memories,
• Michael Jackson – Thriller,
• Ed Sheeran – ÷ (Deluxe),
• Fleetwood Mac – Rumours,
• Fleetwood Mac – Tango In The Night (Deluxe),
• Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of The Moon (2011 – Remaster),
• Back To Black – Amy Winehouse,
• The Beatles – Abbey Road (Remastered),
• The Best Of Nina Simone – Nina Simone,
• Bob Marley & The Wailers – Kaya (40th Anniversary Edition),
• This Is Acting – Sia.

Presentation

The presentation is different. Moonbuds Super Nightingale is completely a handmade earbud so the presentation is not like factory-made audio gears. Super Nightingale comes inside a premium leather hard carry case. A packet of multi-color foam tips and a ‘Moonbuds’ branded cable tie also has been included in that case. The quality of the leather carry case is very high, and you can tell the manufacturer to laser engrave your name on it.

Design & Build Quality

The design of every earbud largely depends on its cable and shell choice. I have used few Moonbuds before and their cable choice is wonderful. Always a new type of combination and this time Moonbuds Super Nightingale came with SPC and OCC hybrid cable combination. From 3.5 mm to the Y splitter is covered with nylon braiding material for cable protection. Like always the chin slider is beautiful and the shell is Yuin, which is the most comfortable shell design among all.

Build quality is good, though it is totally handmade still no such imperfection is there. Matched plugs, perfectly braided cable and bicolor shells, everything is well made. Even the laser engravings on the plugs have been done with perfection.

Sound

Sonically Moonbuds Super Nightingale is a musical earbud. The tuning is mid centric which is justified as its name is Super Nightingale. You can see the frequency response graph for better understanding the sound signature of Moonbuds Super Nightingale. From this, you also can see the really great channel balance Super Nightingale does have.  Let’s discuss sound segment-wise further.

Bass

The driver size is 14.8mm so there should not be an excuse to produce low bass. But the driver material plays an important role in the sound and the unknown driver material of Moonbuds Super Nightingale is maybe something not conventional. The sub-bass section is quantity-wise not that much but quality wise enough where the mid-bass area is much more prominent. Speed is fast but not super fast and if you love tight and moderate bass from your audio gears then Moonbuds Super Nightingale is right on that spot.

For example, in the song like ‘Instant Crush’ by Daft Punk the sub-bass rumble is not what I used to hear from my warm sounding IEMs but what amazed me that the speed and accuracy of the entire lower frequency part. So bass-heads can avoid Moonbuds Super Nightingale but for quality bass lovers it’s enough.

Mids

Mids where Moonbuds Super Nightingale reveals itself and proved why the manufacturer claims it as their TOTL. The entire mid-frequency part has been forwarded but presented in such a natural way that no added color or noticeable warmth can be noticed.

Upper mids-range has been forwarded than lower midrange but a 3 KHz boost also can be seen in lower mids area. Both texture and sharpness can be noticed throughout the entire mid-range still female vocals sometimes feel sharper than male vocals. Instruments like the saxophone, Piano and other string instruments sound lively and the song like ‘American Dream’ By J.S. Ondara sounding very engaging.

Treble

The higher frequency is neither too smooth nor too sharp. That 9 KHz peak adds sparkle and air in the tracks. Lack of boost in the Presence area makes Moonbuds Super Nightingale a sharp but non-fatiguing earbud. The song ‘ Sun is Shining’ by Bob Marley and the upper-frequency part of that particular track is enjoyable with only smooth IEMS, this time Super Nightingale manages to hold its ground without hurting my eardrums.

Soundstage & Imaging

You can’t expect super-wide soundstage from a mid-centric earbud. Same situation here, the soundstage is wide but not wider enough to create a holographic feel. Surprisingly imaging is very good. Place of Instruments and vocals can be identified clearly. Moonbuds Super Nightingale also manages to perform well in complex tracks.

Conclusion

Moonbuds Super Nightingale is a top of the line product from Moonbuds and without any doubt, it is a solid performer and can beat some similarly priced IEMS as well. Super Nightingale’s tight bass, sweet mids, and soft yet sparkling trebles are suitable for most of the genres you like. If you use your earbuds more than IEMs and very much passionate about earbuds then you should definitely try Moonbuds Super Nightingale because this sweet-sounding earbud sound too good and worth it’s price.

Palash

Graphic Designer by Profession, and Music is my hobby. Can’t recall when I had started digging the Audiophile rabbit hole, but this Website was created in 2019 to showcase my passion for music. I am not an Audiophile, I call myself a Music Enthusiasts and my goal is to pass that enthusiasm to my readers.