Moondrop Space Travel 2 review: A FOMO update to good earbuds

The original Moondrop Space Travel was an astounding hit, and a fitting yet amusing name for a company called Moondrop. Now the company has released the second-generation model, complete with a new colorway, but is it really new and improved? Usually, an update means improvements in features such as noise cancelation or sound quality, but the Moondrop Space Travel 2 seems to have missed that memo.

What’s it like to use the Moondrop Space Travel 2?

The Moondrop Space Travel 2 comes in minimal packaging, with little to no accessories. That’s to be expected given the price tag. You get a printed manual, a nice little USB-A to USB-C cable, and four sets of eartips, which makes it easier to find a proper size for a good fit.

Wearing the Space Travel 2 for hours, I’ve had no issues with comfort. Wearing it for four hours is the maximum I can wear it for, purely because of the poor battery life performance. With the case to charge them, you can get up to a total of 12 hours. The four-hour cut-off isn’t great, but it is manageable throughout the day. I can easily go through my morning routine for about an hour or two. If you can work without having to take them off, within an hour or two is where you might need to charge.

Despite the cool aesthetics of the case, it’s not practical in almost every sense. Like the first model, the case doesn’t have a lid at the top to prevent dust or the earbuds from falling out. The charging port is also on the bottom of the case, meaning it has to lie on its side while charging.

Removing the earbuds from the case was a struggle. A small lip on the top of the stems allows you to hold on to the earbud. The problem is, it’s so small that it’s hard to grip with large fingers. I found using the face plate to push the earbuds out was easier than trying to grab them, but that led to me dropping them about 50% of the time. Putting them back into the case poses a similar problem. The earbuds should snap into place with the help of magnets to align themselves. Unfortunately, the stems on the earbuds are difficult to slide in without the stems popping out accidentally.

One of the other issues I’ve had when using the Space Travel 2 is that there’s a very noticeable audio delay anytime I watch a podcast or YouTube video. Turning on game mode made the latency much less distracting, but still noticeable compared to a wired connection. I think game mode should be the default at that point, and not have music mode. Moving between the two, there isn’t an obvious difference in how they sound. I’ve also noticed that every time I pair back to them, they default back into music mode, making me switch into game mode manually by tapping the earbuds four times.

What I simultaneously love and hate about Space Travel 2 is the noise made when moving between ANC modes. There’s a “cutesy” female voice that’s reminiscent of a very specific guide in a very specific game to go into each specific mode. When moving to transparency mode, it yells “HEY!”, allowing me to listen to my surroundings. Turning on ANC, the voice gives off a shushing sound. It makes a confused “huh” sound when turning ANC off.

What are the best features of the Moondrop Space Travel 2?

Price is technically the outstanding feature of the Moondrop Space Travel 2. For the price, it’s hard to find decent noise cancelation, decent sound, and wireless connectivity. There is an app that features a highly adjustable EQ or a simple bass adjustment, but there is no need to use the app for daily use.

However, a few functions are only available through the Moondrop app. You can change the gain settings from low to high. The Space Travel 2 sounds loud even with a low gain, and my phone is on a low volume. There’s a Tune EQ function, but there are only three options: “Reference,” “Bass+,” and “Bass-“. Where you can tweak the EQ to your liking is the “online interactive DSP”. This allows you to create a user-made EQ or use some from Moondrop. There’s only a 5-band EQ, but the targeted frequency is customizable. You can even layer a target curve underneath to make it easier to match a target curve.

There are a few things I didn’t like about the Moondrop app. It doesn’t indicate that you can change the touch control settings. I only noticed that that was possible after looking at the specs of the Moondrop on the website. I wasn’t able to find the option intuitively. To change the touch controls, you must touch the Moondrop Space Travel 2 illustration in the app. Not the most in-depth changes either. I can only change what button press actions perform each function, with no other options. At least this fixes the issue with accidental presses, due to having a single touch to pause or play music.

How does the Moondrop Space Travel 2 connect?

The Moondrop Space Travel 2 is one of the few that have the Bluetooth 6 connection, but isn’t used to its full potential. The only available Bluetooth codecs that the Moondrop Space Travel 2 has are SBC and AAC only. This means that even using the latest Bluetooth standard at the time of writing, it’s not using many of the features of the newer spec.

How long do the Moondrop Space Travel 2’s battery last?

In our lab test, the Moondrop space Travel only lasted 4 hours, 20 minutes, and 27 seconds with ANC enabled. Using it for a few days, the battery life is definitely too short. I’ve run out of battery three times, and I’ve only been using it for two days. The Moondrop Space Travel 2 is only within the limits of a daily commute. Just enough to get ready for work, commute to work, and settle in before having to charge it back up.

How well do the Moondrop Space Travel 2 cancel noise?

The Moondrop Space Travel 2 reduces the perceived loudness of outside noise by an average of 71%. The noise cancelation is decent. It cuts down on most noise, but everything still goes through. The rumbling of train tracks is slightly quieter than a regular talking voice. It’s better than a loud roaring and is easily overpowered by the music you’ll be playing. In an office environment, the hum and whine of computers and electronics are brought down to a whisper. Any office talk is still understandable; however, it does sound a touch tinny.

There is a caveat to noise cancellation in windy environments. When noise cancelling is enabled, the wind is amplified instead of reduced. The noise cancelation system is unable to differentiate between normal noise sources and wind gusts. I would suggest turning ANC off at that point.

Turning off the ANC can save battery life. Unfortunately, most of the IEMs I’ve tested have better noise isolation than the Moondrop Space Travel 2. However, it is better than nothing.

How do the Moondrop Space Travel 2 sound?

The Moondrop Space Travel 2 sounds like everything is shouting at you while being a bystander 5ft away.

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

The chart below shows how the Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Score (MDAQS) algorithm from HEAD acoustics assesses the sound of the Moondrop Space Travel 2. The sound quality is rated on a scale from 1.0 (very bad) to 5.0 (very good).

The overall score of the Moondrop Space Travel 2 is within the average of TWS earbuds. Most people are likely to enjoy how they sound out of the box. With the high Timbre score, most people would say the Moondrop Space Travel 2 sounds good. The Distortion score is very low, which means that a lot of people find the sound unnatural.  The Immersiveness score is within the average for TWS earbuds that shoot sound directly into your ear canal. Most people would find they’re likely to be able to place the source of a sound with little to no issue.

Reviewer’s notes

Editor’s note: this review uses a hover-enabled glossary to describe sound quality based on a consensus vocabulary. You can read about it here.

Objective Measurements

The Moondrop Space Travel 2 has a slightly underemphasized bass compared to the SoundGuys’ Preference curve. Having this lowered can give kick drums less punch, but this tends to clear up the mids. The mids themselves follow the preference curve closely, other than the dip in 400 Hz. A dip in that region tends to make vocals sound a little closer than normal. The treble is highly underemphasised compared to our preference curve, which leads to stringed instruments feeling dull and a reduction in spatial queues such as reverb.

Can you use the Moondrop Space Travel 2 for phone calls?

The Moondrop Space Travel 2 has decent microphones on them. Other than windy environments, most people should be able to hear you loud and clear.

Moondrop Space Travel 2 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Moondrop Space Travel 2 microphone demo (Office conditions):

Moondrop Space Travel 2 microphone demo (Street conditions):

Moondrop Space Travel 2 microphone demo (Windy conditions):

Moondrop Space Travel 2 microphone demo (Reverberant space):

Listening to the audio clips, the voices are front and center, with the only issue coming from windy conditions. Other than that, you shouldn’t have many issues with the microphone on the Space Travel 2.

Should you buy the Moondrop Space Travel 2?

Don’t think you’re missing out by not getting the Moondrop Space Travel 2. Especially if you missed the hype of the first Space travel earbuds. They sound pretty compressed, almost as if everything is trying to shout at me. If you know and like to play with EQ, you could use the Moondrop app to its fullest. They’re not horrible. However, they’re not great if you remove the hype and excitement from the success of the previous version.

I would only recommend the Space Travel 2 if you want a non-distracting sound out of a pair of earbuds. The Moondrop Space Travel 2 could also make a great, cheap study companion, allowing you to block out distractions.

What should you get instead of the Moondrop Space Travel 2?

At the same price, the older Moondrop Space Travel would be a better buy. At this price point, it’s hard to find things that sound good. If you do end up getting either the Space Travel or the Space Travel 2, you’re still unlikely to find a better deal in wireless audio. If you would rather get a wired earbud, you can try out the Moondrop Chu II.

Moondrop Space Travel 2 review: FAQs