Bought £80 headphones for on the go – now they even replace my £600 gaming headset

MeinMMO author Marko Jevtic is always looking for the best accessories for his gaming setup. Probably the best purchase for him was the Moondrop Aria. These are in-ear headphones for under €80 that can easily compete with the most expensive devices.

Good sound is one of the most important things when it comes to gaming, especially for shooter fans. When the explosions sound bombastic and you can hear every bullet ricocheting off the wall, it doesn’t just help with the immersion.

A really good set of headphones can be like an “audio wallhack” that can tell you the most relevant information with great precision, even through multiple walls. Nothing makes you significantly better at games faster than the ability to see things with your ears instead of your eyes.

Knowing exactly where your opponents are, how they move and how they are equipped is extremely important, especially in multiplayer shooters. If you can do that just by listening carefully, you know you’re properly equipped.

In order to get the best out of this, I have already tried a number of products. From the very good HyperX Cloud II and Cloud Alpha headsets to the €600 Beyerdynamics DT1990 Pro, I’ve tried everything recommended by experts and used by professionals.

And while I have no hesitation in recommending these devices, I no longer use any of them. Instead, my headphones of choice for the last year have been a tiny device that I only paid €79 for.

It’s all about the Moondrop Aria – IEMs of the extra class with an outstanding price/performance ratio.

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Moondrop Aria: The Best Headphones Under $100

What bothers me about standard gaming headphones? So far my favorite headphones have been the Beyerdynamics DT1990 Pro. These open-back monsters have outstanding sound quality and offer a fantastic, open soundstage. They’re great for both music and gaming, no question. But they have a few downsides that are annoying or even problematic:

• As open-back headphones, they let a lot of outside noise through.
• They are comparatively heavy and large, which is why they are not suitable for traveling and become tiring during long hours in front of the PC.
• They are uncomfortable to wear on hot summer days and cause an uncomfortable feeling of perspiration.
• They cause the famous “headphone hairstyle” with clear dents in the hair.
• They cost a whopping €600 in RRP.

Which headphones do I use now? That’s why in June 2021 I was looking for an alternative for my DT1990 headphones for on the go and for the hot summer days and came across the Moondrop Aria.

The Moondrop Aria belong to the category of so-called in-ear monitors, IEMs for short. You’ll often see this type of wired headphone on the concert stage with the biggest pop stars like Ariana Grande, because they’re supposed to produce studio-quality sound in a compact format.

The Aria are only €79 on Amazon and have excellent reviews. After 571 Amazon reviews, the headphones have 4.4 stars, rtings.com calls them the best wired headphones and tech YouTubers Optimum Tech is of the opinion that they leave nothing to be desired.

But the most convincing thing for me was the conclusion of headphones.com:

At €80, the Aria is phenomenal value for money. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the Aria can compete with anything up to the €300 mark, […] From price to fit to sound quality, the Aria make an extremely compelling offering. For me, the Aria are an ideal entry-level IEM.

So I ordered them as an occasional replacement for my extremely good, insanely expensive $600 headphones. And when I tried the Moondrop Aria, it was clear after just a few minutes:

These things will replace everything I’ve used before. Not only do they sound as good as headphones, which cost almost 8 times as much, they are much more comfortable to wear and can be used much more flexibly.

So for me the Moondrop Aria are not only clearly the best headphones under €100 – I firmly believe that most gamers don’t need to buy any other headphones.

Moondrop Aria: pros and cons of the headphones

What are the strengths? The advantages of the Moondrop Aria quickly became clear after a short test:

• Incredibly good value for money
• The small form factor makes the headphones always comfortable to wear.
• They are very suitable with the Aux connection on the gaming PC and for on the go.
• As in-ear headphones, they insulate well from the outside world and hardly let any other noise through.
• The soundstage is surprisingly open, even if the Aria as IEMs naturally have a small soundstage as large open-back headphones.
• The sound profile is very neutral, balanced and clear.
  • You can hear every instrument clearly on your favorite songs.
  • Explosions in games aren’t overly powerful, nor are they exhausting over time.
  • Footstep noises in shooters can be heard clearly and assigned to a direction without any problems.
  • Small weaknesses in the treble can be compensated for with equalizer settings.

The bass surprised me most pleasantly. Of course, the small Aria cannot shake like the fattest headphones, but they sound very powerful, especially for their compact size. Whether I was listening to the rattle of fat machine guns in Call of Duty or the dirty beats of my rap playlists, the Aria were consistently enjoyable.

Another fantastic advantage is the interchangeability of the individual elements. You can completely replace the included 0.78 pin cable, as well as the silicone tips.

So I swapped out the standard cable with one from Tripowin, which has a built-in microphone. If you would like the headphones to be wireless, you can even use special Bluetooth antennas, such as those from Linsoul, instead of a cable.

Instead of the standard silicone tips, I use the AZLA SednaEarfit XELASTEC, which adapt to my ear shape and thus ensure even better insulation and a stronger hold in the ear. Here you have to be careful to buy the right size for your ears.

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What are the weaknesses? With these upgrades, I was able to make up for most of the few criticisms I had for the Aria. Because before you buy the Moondrop Aria, you should know the following disadvantages:

• The standard accessories are average.
  • The braided cable has no special features and can easily become knotted or frayed.
  • If you need a microphone with your headphones, you have to retrofit it.
  • When running or jogging, the supplied cable makes a lot of noise that you can hear.
  • The silicone attachments do not have a good grip and can become uncomfortable in the long run.
• For the IEM you have to replace the filters relatively often, as the sound passages are ‘clogged’ by dirt and moisture (replacement filters and tweezers are included and can be bought cheaply)
• IEMs have very short cables (1.2 meters), which is why I need an AUX extension on the PC.

So if you want to have a really perfect experience with the Aria, you have to retrofit in some places. Fortunately, however, each disadvantage can also be eliminated according to your own wishes and needs, so that you have exactly what you need from the headphones. The costs of the upgrades are also manageable at the low purchase price of €79.

Conclusion: The Moondrop Aria are a clear purchase recommendation for gamers

The Moondrop Aria blew my mind a year ago and still do to this day. I actually only wanted to use them for jogging, for my Nintendo Switch and for gaming sessions on hot summer days. But since I bought it, I haven’t gambled without it.

They sound great, are incredibly practical and portable and can easily be left in your ear for hours. In-ear monitors are an insanely good alternative to all those fat gaming headphones that one usually finds on gamers’ desks.

When I raved about the Moondrop Aria in front of my MeinMMO colleague Tarek Zehrer, he also bought it. What he wrote to me afterwards made me very happy, but not surprised: “You didn’t exaggerate. I hear instruments that I had never noticed before. These are my favorite headphones from now on.”

Yes, significantly more expensive headphones can sound a little better than the Moondrop Aria. And if you’re a mega audio enthusiast with the right budget and don’t want to compromise at all, you’d be better off with the more expensive products.

But if you’re looking for headphones that are prepared for every gameplay situation and every music genre, that can be adapted to your own needs and that also cost under €100, you can’t avoid Moondrop’s in-ear monitors.

If you are looking for wireless Bluetooth in-ear headphones instead, colleague Benedikt Schlotmann has tried a few for you:

I blind tested 5 in-ear headphones and was surprised by the winner