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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

MOONDROP Aria vs MOONDROP KATO

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

MOONDROP Aria
MOONDROP KATO

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Oct 02, 2024 01:11 PM

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Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 15, 2024 07:55 PM

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MOONDROP Aria Picture
MOONDROP KATO Picture

Variants

  • Aria (Black)
  • Aria (Elven Maiden Edition)
  • Aria (Snow Edition)
  • KATO (Mirror Silver)

Our Verdict

MOONDROP Aria

MOONDROP KATO

The MOONDROP Aria are better in-ear monitors than the MOONDROP KATO. The Aria are more comfortable, and they have a slightly more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. The KATO are better built, and you can swap out the nozzles if you want to slightly tweak their sound.

0

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Elven Maiden Edition
Aria
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Mirror Silver
KATO
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Snow Edition
Aria
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Mirror Silver
KATO
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Mirror Silver
KATO
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Mirror Silver
KATO
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Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.5
7.3

Bass Accuracy 
 

9.1
7.8

Treble Accuracy 
 

6.9
8.4

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

MOONDROP Aria Design Picture 2
MOONDROP KATO Design Picture 2

Type  

In-ear
In-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

8.0
7.5

Comfort Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Comfort Picture
MOONDROP KATO Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.08 lbs
0.13 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

0.0
0.0

Controls Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Controls Picture
MOONDROP KATO Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

No Controls
No Controls

Ease Of Use  

No Controls
No Controls

Feedback  

No Controls
No Controls

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

No
No

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

No
No

Breathability 
 

Breathability After Picture  

Avg.Temp.Difference  

Portability 
 

9.4
8.8

Portability Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Portability Picture
MOONDROP KATO Portability Picture

 

1.7" (4.4 cm)
2.5" (6.3 cm)

 

1.6" (4.1 cm)
1.7" (4.4 cm)

 

0.6" (1.5 cm)
1.1" (2.9 cm)

Volume  

1.65 in³ (27.00 cm³)
4.91 in³ (80.40 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

8.0
7.0

Case Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Case Picture
MOONDROP KATO Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

 

2.9" (7.4 cm)
3.3" (8.4 cm)

 

3.0" (7.6 cm)
2.7" (6.8 cm)

 

1.4" (3.5 cm)
1.3" (3.4 cm)

Volume  

12.02 in³ (197.00 cm³)
11.85 in³ (194.20 cm³)

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
8.0

Build Quality Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Build Quality Picture
MOONDROP KATO Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

8.0
8.0

Stability Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Stability Picture
MOONDROP KATO Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Angled Picture
MOONDROP KATO Angled Picture

Side Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Side Picture
MOONDROP KATO Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Front Picture
MOONDROP KATO Front Picture

Rear Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Rear Picture
MOONDROP KATO Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Top Picture
MOONDROP KATO Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

MOONDROP Aria In The Box Picture
MOONDROP KATO In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

0.04 dB
-1.86 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.96 dB
-0.84 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

9.3
8.3

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.14 dB
0.34 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

9.1
7.8

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.13 dB
2.79 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

18.61 Hz
76.61 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-1.48 dB
-4.96 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

0.25 dB
-2.62 dB

High-Bass 
 

1.56 dB
-0.11 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.9
8.6

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.47 dB
1.92 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.05 dB
-1.07 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-2.29 dB
-2.87 dB

High-Mid 
 

0 dB
0.01 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

6.9
8.4

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

4.52 dB
2.42 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-1.21 dB
-1.15 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-6.05 dB
-2.35 dB

High-Treble 
 

-4.11 dB
-5.89 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

8.3
8.5

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

0.94 dB
1 dB

Dips 
 

1.48 dB
0.9 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

9.5
9.2

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.12
0.09

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

0.79
1.27

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.08
0.66

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

0.87
0.89

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

1.3
1.4

PRTF  

MOONDROP Aria PRTF
MOONDROP KATO PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
N/A

Openness 
 

4.0
4.5

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

1.5
1.6

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

MOONDROP Aria Virtual Soundstage
MOONDROP KATO Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.3
8.0

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.192
0.265

WHD @ 100 
 

0.063
0.092

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware
No Firmware

Power 
 

Passive
Passive

Connection 
 

Wired
Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Silicone (small)
Silicone (medium)

Microphone 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

5.9
5.4

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-16.16 dB
-14.61 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-2.09 dB
-0.72 dB

Mid 
 

-20.08 dB
-15.56 dB

Treble 
 

-28.26 dB
-29.03 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

8.7
8.6

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

29.35 dB
29.99 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

No
No

Recording Quality 
 

0.0
0.0

Microphone Frequency Response  

MOONDROP Aria Microphone Frequency Response
MOONDROP KATO Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech 
 

N/A
N/A

LFE 
 

N/A
N/A

FR Std. Dev. 
 

N/A
N/A

HFE 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted THD 
 

N/A
N/A

Gain 
 

N/A
N/A

Noise Handling 
 

0.0
0.0

SpNR  

MOONDROP Aria SpNR
MOONDROP KATO SpNR

SpNR 
 

N/A
N/A

Noise Gate 
 

No
No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

N/A
N/A

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

None
None

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

MOONDROP Aria App Picture
MOONDROP KATO App Picture

App Name  

No App
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

9.5
9.5

Cable Picture  

MOONDROP Aria Cable Picture
MOONDROP KATO Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

4.27 ft (1.30 m)
4.20 ft (1.28 m)

Connection 
 

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

Check Price

Elven Maiden Edition
Aria
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Mirror Silver
KATO
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Snow Edition
Aria
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Mirror Silver
KATO
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Mirror Silver
KATO
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Mirror Silver
KATO
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MOONDROP Aria

MOONDROP KATO

Comments

  1. Comparison

MOONDROP Aria vs MOONDROP KATO: Main Discussion

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