Intro
The Moondrop Kato had the entire hype-train behind it, even before it was officially released. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Moondrop’s other IEMs and really wanted to see what the Kato (pronounced: kah-toe) was all about and if it deserved such praise. In short, the $190 Kato absolutely deserves the acclamation.
Tech Specs
Driver: 10mm-ULT dynamic driver
Diaphragm: 3rd generation DLC composite diaphragm
Socket: 0.78-2 Pin sunken design
Housing: MIM stainless steel
Nozzle: stainless steel x2, brass x2
Cable plug: 3.5mm stereo single-ended plug
Frequency response range: 10Hz-45kHz (IEC61094, Free Field)
Effective frequency response range: 20Hz-20kHz (IEC60318-4, -3dB)
Impedance: 32Ω±15% (@1KHz)
Sensitivity: 123dB/Nrms (@1KHz)
Distortion: < 0.15% (@1khz, AES17 20khz, A-weight)
What’s in the Box?
The outer sleeve of the box (with the Anime girl on it – don’t get me started on that), is extremely tight around the main box. Like all good things, it takes time and patience to eventually slide the outer sleeve off.
From there you’re greeted with a double door black box, with beautiful silver embossed type and designs. I really wasn’t expecting this quality of unboxing experience with something in this price range. The packaging is perfect and makes unboxing an Apple product feel downright pedestrian – great job here Moondrop! The packaging and presentation is absolutely superb and feels very special.
I opted for the matte version of the earbuds. They have an ever-so-slight texture that grabs the light and displays all of the hard contours in a mesmerizing way. Any way you look at the Kato, it plays with light. The standard option for the Kato is a highly polished outer shell. I was concerned that the mirror-finish would be a fingerprint magnet and show scratches, which is why I went for the matte version.
The cable that comes with the Kato is a 4-core cable made with high-purity copper and is silver plated. It has a 3.5mm connector and .78 2-pin connectors on both ends. Just like the earbuds, the cable plays with the light. It’s very pretty. Out of the dozens of cables that I have floating around, these are by far my favorite. They feel very sturdy and yet, they’re lighter and more flexible than what you would expect. The cable is extremely comfortable to my ears and I’ll probably end up using it on many other IEMs as well.
The Kato comes with a little plastic box that contains 3 pairs (S, M, L) of the new Spring Tips and 3 pairs (S, M, L) of foam tips. The Spring Tips are much softer than you would expect and are incredibly comfortable in my ears. Recently, Moondrop has released the Spring Tips on their own, and I will be buying more for my other IEMs…they’re that good.
Moondrop has included a small branded metal plate that holds four nozzles – two brass and two stainless. With the time it takes to switch the nozzles out, I couldn’t really hear much of a difference between the two. This review is based on the stainless nozzles if that matters to you.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the quality of these nozzles though! They are solidly made and the outside edge has a nice geared texture that makes gripping them easy, and they hold the eartips on well. They screw in and out of the earbuds smoothly and are obviously machined well. On the back threads, a little gasket keeps you from screwing them in too hard and helps them from loosening over time. Little details like that gasket are impressive and thoughtful.
Lastly, Moondrop includes a drawstring carrying pouch and a blue leather hard case. The leather case is very nice and feels very premium, although it’s a tight fit for the Kato and cable. Honestly, Moondrop should have left out the carrying pouch as it looks and feels incredibly cheap. I haven’t even taken the pouch out of the box, because it just doesn’t line up with the quality of everything else in the box.
Fit, Comfort, & Isolation
Weighing in at a substantial 12 grams each, the Kato’s aren’t light – they’re made out of machined stainless steel. However, the included Spring Tips are up to the challenge and keep things comfortable and solid. I wouldn’t go for a run with these as they would definitely fall out, but they stay in my ears and are comfortable in non-extreme situations. The overall shape of the Kato is angular, but nothing seems to rub inside or outside of my ears. They are very comfortable to wear. Isolation is slightly below average, however this was not a problem for me. They don’t shut out the outside world completely, but they also don’t let tons of background noise in either.
Sound
Overall
All of the above means absolutely nothing if these don’t sound good. Luckily, this is not a problem for the Kato. They have a nice balanced sound with a slight boost in sub bass and upper mids/treble – I’ve been calling it a balanced but fun sound signature. The tuning is supremely refined and provides excellent timbre that results in a natural, organic sound. Everything sounds just as it should, with no coloration at all. Thus far in my audiophile journey, I have yet to encounter such natural timbre in an IEM.
As if that wasn’t enough, the 3rd generation ULT dynamic driver stays comfortably in control, relaxed at all times, and never gets upset. It handles every genre from Jazz to Metal with grace and never loses its cool.
The entire spectrum of frequencies works with each other, coalescing into one cohesive whole. This is refined tuning at its best.
The Kato has good, if not great resolution. This results in micro-details that are nice to listen to. This isn’t the most resolving, micro-detailed IEM out there, but it isn’t a sloppy-slouch either.
Bass
The bass has a tasteful boost in the sub bass and quickly lowers through the mid bass to the lower mid range. It doesn’t bleed into the mids at all, however by doing this the mid bass can feel ever-so slightly thin at times. It has less punch or slam than what the stereotypical dynamic driver has. The bass is pretty fast, natural, textured and it goes deeeep. However, this is not a bass-cannon. While the sub bass is definitely present and boosted a few decibels, it is tastefully done and helps lift the balanced sound signature into a balanced-but-fun signature.
Mids
The Kato’s mids are balanced, smooth, and coherent with the rest of its tuning. This is due to the fact that the mid bass slides seamlessly into the mids and doesn’t step on the mids’ toes at all. There is texture and richness without leaning into warmness. The upper mids (pinna gain) are up-front, transparent and resolving. They really bring life to the party here and are very smooth in their delivery.
Treble
The treble rolls off around 9 kHz, which normally would worry me a bit. However, this means that the treble doesn’t fatigue the ears at all. Normally I like a bit of sparkle at the extreme highs, however this just fits the overall sound of the Kato and it just works. In fact, it works really well. The treble is smooth but detailed and controlled. It sounds so darned natural (aka: timbre) and never gets close to sibilance (that “ssss” sound at the beginning of the word sibilance, for example) territory. The sounds of cymbal crashes and bell hits sound crisp, clean, and above else, natural.
Soundstage & Imaging
The very first thing I noticed when I plugged these bad-boys into my ears initially was the width. Oh-my-the-width. Reverb felt like it could go on forever without becoming echoey, and eventually it faded into complete darkness. While I’ve never listened to incredibly expensive headphones ($500 and up), I have never heard width like this before in an IEM. The instrument separation and layering are quite excellent and about as 3d and out-of-the-head as an IEM can get. To be very nitpicky here, the depth is good but not as great as everything else. Regardless, I have never heard an IEM that has this good of soundstage and imaging.
Conclusion
The hype train that we all love to hate was indeed correct. The Kato is an amazing IEM, especially for the price. I was a little surprised that a dynamic driver could have this kind of technical performance and be so smooth and yet detailed at the same time. Moondrop killed it with the tuning and I haven’t heard an IEM that is this cohesive in every single way before. The Kato doesn’t do one thing well, it does them all. It’s not a boring generalist and surprises in every single way.
If you are in the market for a sub $200 IEM, it would be very hard not to recommend the Kato.