Marcelo reviews the MOONDROP Space Travel 2, a 2nd-generation single dynamic driver TWS with Bluetooth 6.0 and active noise canceling. They are currently priced at $29.99.
Disclaimer: This sample was sent to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or status. I thank MOONDROP and Shenzhen Audio for their support.
Click here to read more about the MOONDROP products we have previously reviewed on Headfonics.
This article follows our current scoring guidelines, which you can read here in more detail.
Although MOONDROP is known for its high-quality IEMs, which range from entry-level to affordable high-end prices, it is refreshing to see that they also release budget products, such as the Space Travel 2 TWS ANC wireless earphones, at a budget-friendly price of $29.99.
MOONDROP has slowly been releasing TWS ANC wireless earphones and has gained a good reputation in this field over the years. Its releases include the MOONDROP Ultrasonic, Golden Ages, Alice, Nekocake, and Sparks, among others.
Based on what I’ve gathered, it has been able to compete with mainstream brands like Sony and others in terms of noise cancellation performance.
The Space Travel 2 is the latest wireless earphone release. It has the lowest price among the wireless earphones in the in-ear monitor type product line, beaten only in terms of affordability by the MOONDROP Block, a flat-head earphone-style wireless earphone.
I’m curious how it compares to a mainstream product, the Sony WF-1000XM5, and more price-relatable offerings such as the KZ XTRA. Let’s find out in the review below.
Features
The Space Travel 2 is a true wireless stereo noise-canceling earphone that features a 13mm beryllium-plated dome dynamic driver. This is supposed to enhance the detail, treble extension, and bass punch over the more common PET plastic dome driver.
It features the latest version of Bluetooth, version 6.0, which offers the fastest and most stable connection available. It can connect two devices simultaneously and features seamless switching. It is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms.
A Digital Signal Processor (DSP) is built into the Space Travel 2, which can be connected and controlled by MOONDROP’s Link 2 App, which features customizable as well as built-in equalization.
The Space Travel 2 features a game mode that reduces latency to 55ms, which is crucial for specific games, particularly first-person shooter titles, where sound feedback plays a vital role.
It also features a built-in hardware-level neuron processing unit core equipped with an AI environmental noise-cancelling algorithm. According to MOONDROP, this is an advanced technology that improves noise reduction and increases vocal clarity.
Design
Cradle
Although the Space Travel 2 charging cradle design has been used in other MOONDROP TWS models before, I must commend MOONDROP for designing an original and visually interesting cradle.
The shapes of the lines, the color of the transparent part, and the prints remind me of the book that I read via listening to an audiobook, a trilogy book, Remembrance of Earth’s Past, by Chinese writer Liu Cixin, which includes The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest, and Death’s End.
I can easily imagine this design to be in the second and third books, where Earth has become an advanced civilization.
The top part is made of transparent plastic with an orange color in my review sample, which is also available in green. The earbuds are held in place via a magnet. Regrettably, there is no cover or door to provide additional security and protection against dust.
The bottom part is made of white plastic, featuring an LED indicator in front and a USB-C charging port at the bottom. I would prefer that they put the USB-C port at the back, but this isn’t a deal-breaker.
There are some clean-looking, minimalist graphic designs at the front and back, but the bottom appears busy with logos and specifications.
Earbuds
The Space Travel 2 earbuds’ shape resembles a flat-head earphone from afar, but upon closer inspection, a nozzle with ear tips is revealed, combining the acoustic design of an IEM with the flat-head earphone design, which looks a little weird to me.
The central part of the earbuds is shaped like an IEM with an unusual oblong-shaped output nozzle, which also makes the ear tips oblong. There is a pressure release hole near the nozzle and a larger, slot-shaped port hole near the back.
Instead of a back plate or face plate like the ones used in IEMs, the back is connected to a straight tail-like part with graphical prints, which contains the touch-sensitive controls, and a small rectangular grill, which I press to house the microphones.
It is not a bad-looking earbud design, but it isn’t my favorite either. I wish they made it an IEM design earbud, since it has an IEM acoustic design.
Battery Life
Before using the Space Travel 2 on my outings, I performed a 24-hour burn-in that lasted three days, resulting in approximately 8 hours of burn-in per day.
To burn in the driver and test the battery life. MOONDROP’s claim of 7 hours of battery life for the earbuds, plus 24 hours for the cradle or charging case, seems to be accurate.
The Space Travel 2’s battery life is good, and I have confidence in it even if I use it for a couple of days on out-of-town trips without needing to charge.
Comfort & Isolation
When I observed the design of the Space Travel 2, I was glad to see a pressure release hole near the nozzle, as it means there will be no pressure buildup while using it and no driver flex when inserting it into the ears.
Pressure buildup is a deal breaker for me, as it can cause headaches or nausea during use. Additionally, there are frequent pressure changes while moving or walking, which can be very annoying.
The Space Travel 2 doesn’t have this problem due to the above-mentioned pressure release feature.
I used the ear tips that were pre-installed from the factory, and they fit very well in my ears. The earbud is light, and the shell is small and doesn’t contact any part of the skin near my ear canal; therefore, there is no formation of pressure fatigue during long listening sessions.
Needless to say, the Space Travel 2 is very comfortable to wear, even during long listening sessions and walking exercises.
Unfortunately, the sound isolation is average and inferior to that of the other wireless earphones in this review.
I suspect this is due to the oblong-shaped nozzle, which doesn’t isolate sound as well as a round nozzle in my ears. Alternatively, it could be due to other factors, such as the sound passing through the holes around the earbuds.
Controls
There is no control button on the charging cradle; all the controls are touch-sensitive surfaces on the outer side of each earbud. There are no slide gestures either; only tap gestures are supported.
The control logic is intuitive and easy to use. Tap once on either side to play or pause the music, double-tap the left side to play the previous song, and double-tap the right side to skip to the next song.
Tap once on either side to answer a call, and another tap to end a call. Tap three times on either side for voice assistance.
Press for one second on either the left or right side to switch between noise-cancelling mode, transparency mode, and regular mode. Tap four times, and it switches between music and gaming mode.
Other, less essential controls are written in the manual. However, for basic usage, it is very intuitive that I almost don’t need to read the manual to use Space Travel 2’s basic functions, as a frequent user of wireless earphones.
What I feel that it lacks is a volume control. I wish there were a sliding gesture that controls the volume or a continuous tap on the left and right sides to decrease and increase the volume, respectively.
Software App
The Space Travel 2 utilizes the MOONDROP Link 2 App, which is available for download from APK Download, Apple Store, and Google Play.
I first used the MOONDROP Link 2 App more than a year ago, and I must say that the latest version is significantly improved from the one I used previously, particularly in terms of stability and bug presence.
I never experienced stability issues, such as freezing and crashing, nor did I encounter any bugs with the Link 2 App when used with the Space Travel 2.
Link 2 App allows you to program a preset or custom equalization curve for the Space Travel 2. A flexible five-band parametric equalizer is available, which remains active even when used with other sources without the Link 2 App.
Link 2 App allows you to customize the controls and update the firmware over the air. The Space Travel 2 user manual is also available in the App. However, one must be connected online to use the Link 2 App.
Packaging & Accessories
A transparent PET plastic sheet covers the front of the small black box, displaying “Space Travel 2” to the outside. There is a tag with a hole for a hook for hanging the box.
Overall, a simplistic yet sophisticated packaging design that minimizes material waste, including a user manual, a short Type-A to C cable, three pairs of ear tips, a charging cradle, and the Earbuds with ear tips installed.
Sound Impressions
All equalizers and sound effects are turned off for my sound impressions of Space Travel 2. Everything is in its default, plain-sounding setting. The highest available codec is chosen for each pair of wireless earphones to maximize sound quality.
I used my Samsung S21 Ultra Android smartphone, Shanling M3 Plus, and FiiO’s M15s DAP with PowerAmp, HiBy Music, and UAPP music player Apps.
All player gain is set to zero; no digital gain was used to increase the sound’s volume.
Summary
The Space Travel 2 has a neutral and slightly warm sound signature. It has a smooth overall sound, with a notable absence of sharp peaks in the treble.
The peak at 8 kHz in my measurement frequency response is an artifact caused by the resonance in the cavity between the drivers and the microphone, and is not audible in use.
Those peaks at 15 kHz and above add air and micro details to the sound of the Space Travel 2 and are not fatiguing.
Bass is very neutral and extended. It sounds articulate, with a slight warmth to the tone; it is neither too tight nor too loose, but rather in between. It has good speed, yet it is also well-balanced in terms of weight.
Midrange is lush-sounding, smooth, and transparent. Due to the mild pinna gain compensation in the upper midrange, the overall midrange is slightly warm-sounding, with good note weight and body in the instruments and vocals.
Treble is smooth, airy, and extended, with a slightly laid-back presentation. It is never fatiguing, even at loud volumes, indicating low distortion. However, I feel that the treble details are limited by Space Travel 2’s use of AAC and SBC Bluetooth audio transmission codecs.
Coloration
The Space Travel 2 sounds smooth and slightly warm, and I don’t hear much coloration that stands out while listening to it, except for the slight warmness in sound and the associated consequence of having a warm sound signature, like a slight dulling of transients, and the overall laid-back spatial and dynamic presentation.
Instruments and vocals are rendered slightly thicker and richer than usual, but not to the point of sounding muddy; they remain clean and clear.
Treble’s transient response is also affected by its slightly warm and laid-back demeanor, making the transients less sharp than they should be.
Overall, the coloration is inoffensive and not very noticeable, which makes the Space Travel 2 enjoyable for casual music listening.
Staging & Dynamics
Soundstage size is large and slightly above average. It has a semi-spherical shape with a good balance between height, width, and depth from side to front, but there is not much sensation of space behind my head.
Imaging performance is average; images have their own distinct spaces, especially the center vocal image, but they sound slightly diffused and lack the pinpoint imaging accuracy required.
Therefore, it doesn’t have the vocal palpability of the best I’ve heard in this regard. However, for wireless earphones at this price, it is acceptable.
As discussed above, its transient response is not as sharp or fast due to the warm and laid-back tuning. Resolution, Layering, and separation are also not the best.
The use of AAC and SBC audio codecs could affect this. But for wireless earphones at this price point, it is acceptable.
The Space Travel 2 can get loud, but it cannot provide concert-level loudness. For my regular music listening, I would have to set the volume near maximum, around the 90 percent volume setting. It has an average maximum loudness among the wireless earphones I’ve heard.
Click on page 2 below for my wireless performance impressions and selected comparisons.
