MOONDROP KATO Headphones Review

The MOONDROP KATO are in-ear monitors with a sleek look. The audio cables are detachable and braided, so you can swap them out if you prefer a different look. The buds are made of shiny stainless steel and have a geometric face that reflects light. However, this surface is very prone to fingerprints, which is a little annoying. They come in two color variants: 'Mirror Silver' and 'Matte Steel'.

The MOONDROP KATO have a comfortable fit. They don't put too much pressure on your ears, and they come with six different pairs of ear tips to help you find the best fit. That said, they're a bit heavy for in-ears, and the buds as well as the cable can feel a bit fatiguing over time.

The MOONDROP KATO have excellent portability. They can easily fit into most pockets or bags without an issue and come with a carrying case to help protect them when you're not using them.

The MOONDROP KATO have a decent carrying case. It's small, lightweight, and there's a magnet to help secure the lid closed. Inside the case is a velvet-like lining to help protect the buds when you're not using them. They also come with a drawstring pouch, which is nice if you don't want to use the case. However, the case feels like it could break over time if you place constant pressure on it.

The MOONDROP KATO have a great build quality. They feel better built than the 7HZ Timeless, and many parts of their design are interchangeable. They have a detachable braided silicone audio cable, and you can swap between the included brass and steel nozzles. However, the nozzles feel like they can detach easily, while the buds' glossy finish is very fingerprint-prone. They also lack an IP rating for dust and water resistance, although this is expected from in-ear monitors.

These headphones have a very stable in-ear fit. Since their audio cable hooks around your ear, even with high-intensity movements like running or working out, they shouldn't fall out of your ears. While the audio cable could snag on something, its two-pin connector design means that the cable should disconnect from the bud when pulled.

• MOONDROP KATO headphones
• Detachable cable
• Pair of brass nozzles
• Pair of steel nozzles
• 3x sets of spring tips (similar to silicone)
• 3x sets of foam tips
• Hard carrying case
• Soft pouch
• Manuals

Using their silicone-like spring tips and steel nozzles, the MOONDROP KATO have a very neutral sound profile, which is suitable for most kinds of audio content. Their mid-range is well-balanced, so vocals and lead instruments are reproduced clearly. However, they lack a thumpy, punchy low-bass, which could disappoint fans of EDM and hip-hop.

Since their design is interchangeable, you can play around with their different ear tips and nozzles to get an audio experience that better suits your tastes. We tested these headphones in a variety of combinations including spring tip vs foam tip with steel nozzles, and small versus medium spring tips with steel nozzles. Some users may prefer the foam tips over the spring tips as they can help form a tighter seal in your ear and improve bass delivery. These headphones also come with one pair of steel and another pair of brass nozzles. The manufacturer specifies that these different materials can slightly change the sound of your audio but doesn't elaborate further. You can see a comparison of the frequency response using the brass versus steel nozzle with spring tip here. The steel nozzle produces a bit more bass, but the actual curve doesn't change significantly. You can also set the nozzle half-closed or fully closed, depending on your preferences. Using the steel nozzle, you can see a comparison of half-closed versus fully closed here.

The MOONDROP KATO have great frequency response consistency. Once you achieve a good fit using the nozzles and ear tips included, you should get more consistent audio delivery each time you use the buds.

The bass accuracy is very good. The response is underemphasized across the range, so mixes lack thump, rumble, and body. Their high-bass is fairly neutral, which keeps some warmth in your audio. If you're looking for IEMs with better bass accuracy, consider the MOONDROP Aria or MOONDROP Blessing 3 instead.

The MOONDROP KATO's mid accuracy is excellent. Although the range is fairly flat, the low to mid-mid is underemphasized, so your mix sounds a bit thin while vocals and lead instruments are nudged to the back of your mix. However, the high-mid is very neutral, ensuring that vocals and lead instruments have detail and clarity.

The MOONDROP KATO have great treble accuracy. Although the response is underemphasized, it's fairly flat. Vocals and lead instruments are a bit veiled, while sibilants like cymbals are a bit dull.

The MOONDROP KATO's peaks and dips performance are excellent. A small peak in the high-bass adds a bit of boom to mixes, while a dip in the mid-mid nudges vocals and lead instruments to the back of the mix. There's also a small peak across the high-mid, adding intensity to vocals and lead instruments. The mid-treble is a little uneven, so sibilants like cymbals are alternatingly dull and piercing.

The MOONDROP KATO's imaging performance is outstanding. The weighted group delay response falls below the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. The L/R drivers are also well-matched in amplitude, frequency, and phase response. This is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects like voices in the stereo image. That said, our results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The MOONDROP KATO have a bad passive soundstage performance, although that's to be expected from in-ear headphones. To create an out-of-head and immersive soundstage, the outer ear needs to be activated by sound resonances. IEMs bypass the outer ear by design, and as a result, their soundstage seems closed off and as if coming from inside your head. It also doesn't sound as open as spacious as headphones with an open-back design.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance is great. Although there's a peak in the mid to high-bass at normal listening volumes, it can be hard to hear with real-life content. The rest of the frequencies fall within good levels, resulting in mostly clean and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test these headphones, and our results are only valid when used in this configuration. To be consistent with each product, we refer to the 'spring tip' ear tips as 'silicone' as they are made of a silicone-like material for consistency across our reviews.

The MOONDROP KATO's noise isolation performance is disappointing. Although they have an in-ear fit, they struggle to block out the low rumble of bus and plane engines, which could be frustrating if you commute to work. That said, they do a much better job of cutting down ambient chatter as well as the high-pitched hum of an AC unit.

The leakage performance is excellent. The bulk of their leakage is concentrated in the treble range, so escaping audio sounds thin. That said, if you're listening to audio at high volumes in a moderately noisy environment like an office, people shouldn't be able to hear it.

These headphones come with a long two-pin to 1/8" TRS cable. This cable is detachable, making it easy to swap out should it get damaged.

You can connect these headphones via analog to your PC. However, they don't have a mic.

The MOONDROP KATO are audio-only compatible with PS4 and PS5 consoles when you plug their 1/8" TRS cable into your controller's AUX port.

These headphones are compatible with Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles when you plug in their 1/8" TRS cable into your controller's AUX port. However, they don't have a mic, and you can only receive audio.