Sound Impressions
Setup
The following sound impressions of the MOONDROP DISCDREAM 2 Ultra were completed primarily through native 16BIT/44.1K CD playback via its balanced 4.4mm output. Pairings included Vision Ear’s VE10, Empire Ears ESR MKII, and the ZMF Headphones Bokeh.
Summary
The DISCDREAM 2 Ultra delivers a smooth and evenly balanced sound signature, with no overt emphasis or heavy coloration from my tested gear.
Coming from the EC Mini and FiiO’s DM13, it can be argued that the Ultra has less sub-bass and treble emphasis, with a slight midrange focus compared to the former, and a cleaner, more controlled sound in the lows than the latter.
However, this is a relative comparison. For most users, the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra won’t disrupt the balance of whatever it’s connected to unless it runs out of headroom or dynamic range with particularly demanding headphones.
The Ultra excels at delivering an excellent black background, impressive clarity, and a pleasing harmonic balance for instruments and vocals. It achieves a sound that is neither too sharp, muddy, nor excessively shouty, making it a versatile player for a wide range of IEMs.
With that in mind, I loved pairing the Ultra with neutral, clean-sounding IEMs such as the ESR MKII, or those with a healthy midrange presence and excellent bass control, such as the VE10.
For anything requiring more colored or heftier lows, I would switch to the EC Mini or the DM13 to tap into their additional output power.
Its weakness is power and starts to sound stressed and lacking in dynamic range when driving demanding headphones at levels below approximately 100 dB SPL.
A good-quality DAP with 500mW or more balanced output power, such as the Cayin N7, will drive headphones like the 98 dB-rated Rosson Audio MPL-0 planars with greater depth and authority.
Higher-impedance dynamic driver headphones performed better than I expected. While not as nuanced or deep-sounding as with more powerful DAPs, pairings like the 80Ω ZMF Headphones Bokeh sounded punchy and clear, with a good amount of headroom and spaciousness.
Coloration
I love the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra with vocals, particularly higher-register performances where sibilance can be an issue from any excessive treble bleed.
Sometimes I hear a bit of splashiness and a slightly thinner upper mids tone using the Monarch MKIII with the EC Mini which I had not really picked up before I started using the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra.
Now, I must counter that by saying the FiiO DM13 is warmer sounding than the Ultra, especially though the lower-mids with more upper-bass bloom.
However, despite it more rounded tone that doesn’t work to the DM13’s advantage as it loses air and vocal presence once the fuller bass performance kicks in.
That doesn’t happen with the MOONDROP tuning. Vocals sound richer, with less edge in their attack compared to the EC Mini. Its midrange performance also has more clarity and presence compared to the FiiO player.
What it might lack is weight on the sub-bass choosing to emphasize a fast mid-bass punch over a solid level of lower-register heft. Again, this is more noticeable with the Monarch MKIII’s dynamic driver and in some instances, it is a similar case with more demanding headphones such as the MPL-0.
The DISCDREAM 2 Ultra is punchy and fast sounding with strong lower-mids but for absolute reach and sub-bass weight, the EC Mini and to some extent the DM13 delivered a bit more coloration.
Synergy
The DISCDREAM 2 Ultra is more than just a CD player. It can also function as a modern DAC/amp via USB or provide a more traditional optical output to a third-party decoder.
USB-DAC
Since the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra is plug-and-play compatible you do not need an additional driver for a PC or MAC USB DAC connection. One minor observation is the PC still recognizes the Ultra as being connected to it even when turned off.
When turned on and to activate the USB DAC feature on the Ultra you need to long-press the stop button on the front panel. You will know you are in USB DAC mode when the OLED panel displays “PC”.
The qualitative difference in sound quality between direct decoding from a disk and a digital file will depend on the quality of each. My digital file was 16BIT/44.1k so technically a match on paper against my regular CD playback but physical format performance sounded superior to my ear.
Nuanced effects such as staging reverb, space and air around vocals, and instrumental separation, sounded more vibrant and clearer using the physical format. The digital file sounded a little flatter, with less of a black background and less holographic in its delivery with the VE10.
One small but very useful observation during this comparison was the memory retention when switching from CD to PC and back again. The DISCDREAM 2 Ultra will remember your time and track from the CD side even if you move to PC decoding.
Optical Digital Output
For this comparison, I used a Chord Mojo 2 optical connection from the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra and compared a digital file USB DAC input from the PC to the Mojo 2.
I have to say I found the USB connection superior in tonal accuracy and dynamic range compared to the Ultra’s optical output. You get a punchier cleaner sound more in keeping with how I expect the Mojo 2 to perform.
The optical sounded quite smooth and warm in its timbre with some additional low-end fullness of which there will be fans of that sound. However, the level of separation was not the best with a muddier, bloated performance due to a lack of contrast and extension from the highs.
I would stick with native playback or the USB DAC setup if you want the best technical performance from the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra. The optical connection sounds less resolving and somewhat restrictive by comparison.
IEM Pairings
I tested the DISCRDREAM 2 Ultra with four IEMs: the Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020, THIEAUDIO’s Monarch MKIII, the Vision Ears VE10, and Empire Ears’ ESR MKII.
Unless you are looking for a heavier low-end emphasis similar to the EC Mini’s performance, the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra’s relatively neutral emphasis worked better with cleaner-sounding IEMs or ones with a decent amount of midrange presence and space.
There were no obvious bad pairings though the more sensitive the IEM the more aggressive the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra volume control can be.
At zero, all four IEMs have no issues with high noise floors or low audible signal bleeding into the performance. The Ultra’s digital control has a mute from 1 to zero that produces a very quiet background single-ended or balanced.
More sensitive IEMs such as the VE10 and Andromeda 2020 will only give you about 10-12 steps balanced before getting too loud with modern CD recordings. You get an extra 10 steps with older recordings with lower gain levels.
Tonally, I preferred the VE10 and the Empire Ears ESR MKII over the Monarch MKIII and the Andromeda 2020. The Monarch MKIII’s low-end sounded more authoritative on the EC Mini and I prefer a bit more treble sparkle than the Andromeda 2020 pairing.
The VE10 vocal performances respond well to the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra’s stronger midrange presence. It is sensitive enough on the lows to churn out a good response from its dynamic driver if needed.
The ESR MKII’s clean, articulate, and balanced tuning is tailor-made for the Ultra’s smooth and balanced delivery.
I never once felt it sounded congested or lacking in extension in the highs. It’s not a weighty IEM so the relatively neutral lows of the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra take nothing away from the ESR MKII’s performance.
Headphones Pairings
The one weakness of the DISCRDREAM 2 Ultra, the lack of sub-bass weight, was more obvious with headphone pairings. Also, the maximum 222 mW (32Ω load) isn’t going to open it up to a huge range of headphones.
For example, the 29Ω and 98 dB @1kHz Rosson Audio MPL-0 needed about 50-60 steps balanced at least to get a decent volume level, and even then its sub-bass weight was less evident compared to something like the 500 mW equivalent balanced output of the Cayin N7 DAP.
The Audeze MM-500 paired better for tonal balance in the mids compared to the N7 (sticking with it), but the lack of comparative width and saturated lows (punchier rather than hefty) held it back from a two-thumbs up.
The dynamic driver ZMF Headphones Bokeh was a much better pairing. Yes, it is an 80Ω headphone but the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra has no problems with it.
Again, this is a punchier and slightly drier tonal sound to something like the N7’s stronger balanced output but it still delivered some excellent midrange timbral density and a smooth top-end to go along with it.
I would stick with relatively modest dynamic driver loads or an efficient planar in balanced mode if you do want to pair a set of headphones with the DISCDREAM 2 Ultra. It’s too soft and lacking in dynamics on the weaker SE output, making the 3.56mm connection more suited to IEMs.
