She's Contentious, But She's My Lady
EQUIPMENT
Topping a50s Headphone Amplifier
Xduoo MT-602 Hybrid Tube Headphone Amplifier (Sylvania 5654 Tubes)
SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK2 DAC
iFi Hip-Dac
Shanling UA2 Amp/Dac Dongle
BGVP A08 Tips
Cable: Stock Cable & NiceHck 16Core HPC 4.4mm Balanced Cable
Sources: Flac Files From my Personal Collection / Tidal/ Apple Music Lossless
SPECS
8mm Liquid Silicone Dynamic Driver & 2x Balanced Armatures Per Side
Impedance: 36 Ω
Sensitivity: 120dB SPL / MW
Total harmonic distortion: < 0.3%
Influence range: 12 ~ 26kHz
Noise reduction capacity: 26dB
NOTES
The $149 USD Mojo Monica H20 is an earphone using a hybrid driver setup with one 8mm dynamic driver for the lows, and two balanced armatures for mids and high frequencies. The dynamic drive is said the be of unusual design, using a Liquid Silicone material for its diaphragm. The manufacturer of the armatures are not specified but there are two per side. Tuning is more Bright/Balanced with bass that follows closely what was originally intended in the music. I found the H20's to be quite fussy when it comes to pairings being tip, cable and source sensitive to the likes of which I have not seen since the Smabat NCO or KBear BElieve. The H20 according to the specs are easy to drive but definitely scale with clean, capable power. Retail packaging is definitely not an afterthought and the look and feel here is of a quality product. Contentious it is, but great it can be.
BUILD QUALITY & FIT
Build quality is very good and not just for the earphone but all it's included accessories as well. The wealth of included accessories is welcomed and the unboxing experience shouts quality and attention to detail. The Moji Monica H20 is a small earphone. That combined with a short but wide nozzle can prove to be a challenge achieving a good fit and seal with some individuals. Tip selection here becomes critically important getting the H20 deep enough to provide a good seal which is absolutely necessary. The included silver plated single crystal copper cable is of high quality as well and may be all that some may need. Even the included storage case is a cut above what is usually provided by other manufacturers. No one will mistake the Moji Monica H20 as being a budget product.
:SOUND:
BASS
Bass is overall neutral with a slight mid-bass emphasis. The H20 is a chameleon in this range as it gives what is in the source material but can awaken with force when called for. The H20 is not a Basshead's earphone but will appeal to those where accuracy and a more natural presentation is preferred. Bass output is between that of the HZsound Heart-Mirror and Hidizs MS2. Both are excellent examples and the H20 hangs with them easily. Bass is articulate & well textured, though just maybe a hair less so than that of the Hidizs MS2. Impact is also good with great speed and clarity. Where the H20 excels in the bass is it's organic presentation combined with minimal mid-bass bleed. On Wayman Tisdale's "Circumstance" and "Back Home" the texture and harmonics of the bass guitars was a pleasure to listen to. "Protection" from Massive Attack has a driving bass that was conveyed with control and the right amount of energy. "Angel" by Massive Attack has a driving bass line that with the H20 was reproduced beautifully never overshadowing the song as with lesser earphones. "Thanda" & "Heartache" by Caiiro are beautiful vocal tracks which I found very engaging and satisfying through the H20. Bass was impactful, clean and detailed. Deep sub-bass is present but may not be as powerful as in some other comparable models. Again even in the lower registers the Moji Monica H20 excels at conveying a mature and organic presentation.
MIDS
This is where things get interesting. The Moji Monica H20 is an unforgiving beast. Poor recordings will sound as such while well recorded material will show their strengths. The H20 is also very affected by synergy in the audio chain and as such care has to be taken in pairings to extract the best performance. Mids are more intimate than a number of more V-Shaped earphones passing this way recently. Clarity, fast transients, detail and layering are the hallmarks of the H20's midrange. There is an upper midrange emphasis though that adds to the sense of space and clarity but it has a downside as well. On poorly recorded tracks this can lead to occasionaly bothersome over-emphasis and on rare occasion sibilance. Again the Moji Monica H20 is unforgiving and will not wax over the sonic failings of poorly recorded music. On well recorded tracks the level of detail retrieval and air was very good without sounding clinical. A good amount of micro and macro details are there as well with ample layering and separation combined with the speed of the H20 making the important but overlooked empty spaces between the notes part of the musical experience again. Both female and male voices are more intimate and are very clearly heard. "Love you to the Letter" by the iconic Anita Baker sounded beautifully intimate and "Protection" by Massive Attack had me fixated on the captivating vocals from Tracey Thorn.
TREBLE
The Moji Monica H20 has good treble extension with a sweet organic feel to it. Cymbal strikes and strings have great impact with lots of air and a very believable decay. The treble here compliments the rest of the frequency range. The same levels of detail and texture is apparent with good levels of sparkle, not being embellished to the point of sounding like the sonic equivalence of a Christmas Lights competition. Decay is well presented by the H20. Sounds don't seem to languish longer than natural and the sound of that decay is in a word organic.
IMAGING & SOUNDSTAGE
The Moji Monica H20 throws up an impressive soundstage. Regularly I found that width went past the confines of my ears and in combination with good depth and height reproduction resulted in some recordings placing me just a few rows back of center in an intimate hall or venue. In that soundstage instruments and performers were well placed and distinct. Hugh Masekela's "Stimela" sounded fantastic and really transported me to the venue. The layering and separation capability of the Moji Monica H20 were on full display here really allowing for a very engaging performance. Very well done.
VERSUS
HZsound Heart-Mirror:
Both earphones have an overall Bright/Neutral tuning. Bass is more impactful on the H20 with levels of detail, and texture being very close between the two. MIds on the Heart-Mirror are more recessed than that of the H20 but with respect to the metrics of clarity, detail retrieval and separation they are both very close. Lower mids on the Heart-Mirror are are touch thinner than that of the H20. Treble is also very close. The treble on the H20 wins when it comes to being more natural in attack and decay but in air and sparkle they are both close in performance.
KBear BElieve:
The bass on the BElieve is stronger while it is faster, tighter and better textured on the H20. MIds on the BElieve have more weight being even a touch more intimate than that on the H20 as well. Clarity and separation are comparable but the nod goes the the H20 with respect to detail retrieval although either is very good at this. Layer separation goes to the BElieve with the H20 following closely behind. Treble is where the H20 gets the nod. The H20 just has greater clarity and detail up top but the BElieve has that mature and organic feel that is very alluring.
CONCLUSION
The Moji Monica H20 is not your average earphone. It is capable of excellent performance, but demands a commitment from it's owner to extract this high level of achievement. The H20 does benefit from a warmer source and I found it paired very well with the Shanling UA2 dongle with it's slight bass emphasis as well as the Xduoo MT-602 amplifier in a desktop setup. It is definitely not for everyone, but for those who can appreciate its clean, detailed and organic performance and can appreciate and pay attention to tips/cable and source selection it gets a firm "Must Listen". The Moji Monica H20 is one of those few earphones which had me reaching for it on a number of occasions after listening to something else just so I could get lost in the music once again. This in of itself is IMHO a strong enough recommendation. The lady is contentious, but she's special & she's mine.
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