MoonDrop MOONRIVER 2 2*CS43198 DSD256 Decoder 3.5mm 4.4mm AMP 32Bit/384kHz Portable USB DAC Amplifier

I've been on a bit of a holy grail over the last few years trying to find a DAC/Amp dongle that will drive a pair of full-size headphones in as capable a manner as desktop amp. Until now I've had no success; I listened to pretenders like the Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt, which was horribly rounded-off at the top end; Fiio's BTR7, which never engaged musicaly, the Tanchjim Space CS43131*2, which had great dynamics, but an objectional mid/top which led to instant disconnection from the music and others, which I've just forgotten about.But, now we have the Moondrop Moonriver 2: this device easily drives Beyerdynamic DT770 250Ω, through single-ended, with desktop levels of slam, punch and dynamics and here's the biggie it drives my Fiio FT3s 300Ω (albeit via "balanced" output) better than my CIAUDIO VHP2 in single ended mode, i.e. it has the voltage to drive those 300Ω voice coils which the VHP2 just misses. Fortunately, desktop wise, I have other options to drive the Fiios to any manful level.The Moonriver 2 is quite flat to the upper frequencies of my hearing (although perceived frequency response is a highly subjective thing) and achieves this without getting in the way of the connection to the music. I've actually ordered the Moonriver 2 TI from Chenzen audio as well, as it supposedly betters this model; not quite sure how it's going to do that and I await that delivery with eager anticipation.I highly recommend the Moonriver 2 as a device which will equal and through balanced even outperform many desktop amps and do so in an elegant non-fatiguing, highly engaging, manner.

over all build quality is super, sound little bit lower than other competitors.Moon Drop Company is a very respectable company in its products, but this time it made a mistake in the price of the product.If you love moon drop products, this product will not disappoint you.

Love the better size of balanced output. The case is a little rough in some spots due to the design, but it looks cool and doesn’t cause a problem. A little less bass than my earman sparrow. Won’t do all the codecs but really does practical needs. Clear and detailed. Also longer than sparrow, but better balanced jack size. The tiny jacks don’t survive much use. Drives my Audeze LCD-X nicely with good volume. Nice to have a control for volume on the side.

Excellent sound and quality product. Recommended!

Absolutely amazing sounding DAC Amplifier with nice features. Love the volume control buttons, love the quick switch between low and high gain by pressing the buttons simultaneously. I had read reviews that this DAC wouldn’t work with iPhone and decided to give it a try myself for the heck of it… while most of my lightning cables did not work, when I tried the GUCraftman cable adapter, it was immediately detected and worked flawlessly… this is an impressive DAC, and if you’re going to use it with an iPhone, then make sure you get the GUCraftsman OTG Cable iOS to Type C/USB C Headphone Amplifier Cable … it works perfectly and sounds awesome!

Really impressive sounding dongle DAC - works fine with iPad (USB-C) not with iPhone (Lightning) - maybe do not have the right connector - anyways really like the product and can highly recommend it! Currently listening with Campfire Vega 2020 IEMs attached - great fit. Design and build are also great :-)

In a snobbish "audiophile" manner i probably still do. What this "dongle" did however is let me realize that it's not just a stop gap technology to make your iems sound better with your phone or your terrible laptops sound card, this tiny little looking whistle like dac/amp doesn't only power all but the hardest to drive headphones but it can actually substitute desktop dac/amp combos and I bet most ppl than would like to admit wouldn't know the difference. The sound is crisp, clean, vibrant and punchy. The treble is clean, the mids are lush and the bass doesn't lack. For full disclosure I'm using them with Sony IER Z1R's which are almost $2k IEM's but I have little doubt it'll make pretty much anything sound better. Since i keep Bluetooth to my BT headphones, the fact that it has 4.4 Pentaconn connection driven at like 4.0vrs makes me shudder to think what the third iteration will look like. Keep up the good job MoonDrop.