Moshi ClarusMoshi | Clip-On Earbud | $ 200 Style, sophistication, and sleekness have been pushed so greatly in the last few years with the introduction of so many artistic headphones. Moshi has been one of those companies that have always been keen to this aspect of design. Like every other manufacturer, Moshi promises to offer great audio quality; they deliver it as well. Specifications Drivers: Duo Dynamic Drivers (15 mm woofer, 7 mm tweeter) Frequency Response: 10 - 25000 Hz Impedance: 24 ohms Sensitivity: 100 dB In the Box Moshi Clarus Headphones Carrying Case 3 Sets of Tips Airplane Adaptor The Clarus does come with a good set of accessories.Design Cutting the edge of design, in the most literal aspects, Moshi creates a clip-on that is not only flashy and fun, but also lustrous and elegant. The metallic finish on the exterior glitters in its silvery goodness and doesn’t attract fingerprints. The steel exoskeleton, as a whole gives the entire body a beautiful, yet solid, feeling to it. The black coloring on the interior steel plate and cable gives a great contrast to the metallic, silver steel that Moshi chose to use. The Clarus is aesthetically pleasing in just about every single way. The design choices made on the Clarus ensure that they shine clearly for the world to see. Design: ★★★★★ Audio As its name suggests, the Clarus focuses mainly on clarity. In this case, the specific focus is the clarity in the midrange; it does amazingly well at it. The midrange is energetic and lively, almost like Etymotic’s midrange. The highs can be a bit much at times, but still have great sparkle and separation. The low end is closer to the balanced side of things having great texture and punch. However, a loss of presence can be slightly problematic. Bass The bass on the Clarus is on the lighter side of things. Although on the lighter side of things, the bass is entirely felt like it should. Moshi really did tune the dynamic woofer nicely to provide a accurate reproduction of bass. The texture is beautiful, but lays low in the background while the slight mid-bass emphasis creates the punch and impact listeners would demand. It doesn't find it's way into the front still, and recedes into the background where it belongs. The body would be my only complaint about these. The bass body can use a slight tweak to create better bass presence in general as they can seem lost in complex sections of music.Bass: ★★★★½Mids The midrange on these is on par with etymotic mids. The energy and power that are portrayed in the midrange is just magical. The clarity, like the name suggests, is top notch while the detailing is like no other. Although bright and mid-centric, the midrange on the Clarus still has a great balance to it. Separation and timbre are there as well, nothing over the top, but presented well nonetheless. The quality of the midrange is absolutely stunning and musical nonetheless. It is the life-force behind the headphones.Mids: ★★★★★Highs The highs on the Clarus take a backseat to the midrange. However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have the energy that the midrange had. The sparkle on the high end is there, but decays quickly. Separation is wonderful while the detailing, like the midrange, is tremendous. However, one small problem that persists with the highs can be the slight harshness and metallic sound they produce at times. Otherwise, the high end is just about picture perfect.Highs: ★★★★½Audio: ★★★★½ Build Going off of a great audio quality, Moshi also ensures that the build of the Clarus is great as well. Although they fix many of the problems exhibited in the Moonrocks, the Clarus is still not perfect in terms of build. The included case, however, is not only for looks, but protects the Clarus well. The included case looks high quality and protects the headphones from damage. The housings are built like steel; partly because they are built entirely of steel. This ensures that the housings won’t fall apart and can take beating after beating. The strain relief coming out of each housing is strong, but also flexible. The ear guides hanging out of the housings is also strong. The steel housings will take a beating, and they will truck on. Although the case has a built in cable winder, the fabricated cable can tangle up at times when the case isn’t used. The fabrication is strong and will hold well. The cable seems solid with just about everything if you overlook the tangles. The cable has great design, but can tangle at times. The steel design continues with the headphone jack. Although the steel is a step up in build quality, the straightness is still a negative aspect. The gold plating and strength of the jack, however, helps this out. The headphone jack strong, rugged, but flat. Build: ★★★★ Comfort The steel housings may feel hefty, but they are quite comfortable to wear. They don’t move when inserted and stay in place. The main problem however is that the Clarus can get quite uncomfortable after a while. The way that the arm can press up on your zygomatic bone can become a nuisance. Three sizes of tips are included to ensure that the clip-ons will say in your ear, which is a nice thing. Included with the Clarus are 3 sets of tips to ensure top comfort. Comfort: ★★★★ Value At 200 dollars, I really can’t complain about the audio quality that you are given. It’s well above, or at least on par, with what I’d expect a 200 dollar pair of headphones to sound. The design sticks out and the build is strong. The comfort, however, can be a problem for some, but really didn’t bother me too much after adjusting to it. The included remote and mic is a plus. The 3 button remote will come in handy for smartphone users. Value: ★★★★½ Final Thoughts While boasting big design, Moshi also remembers that these are headphones. Headphones produce sound, and the sound that these produce is lively and fun, yet have a great deal of accuracy. Moshi goes on to ensure that the Clarus do deliver in terms of clarity, but also have a nice added bonus of energy to them. By providing some of the best audio quality in the 200 dollar range along with having a great overall package, Moshi proves itself to be listed in my IEM suggestions for the following areas: Balanced Analytical Rock, Alternative, Classical, Acoustic genres All-around IEM for all genres. I’d like to thank Melissa for the product sample. Overall ScoreMoshi Clarus † All prices are in US currency.This review was written by the iFans.com Review Team. Cumulative scores are rounded to the nearest half or full star.This accessory, product, or app was received as a sample. Thanks Melissa for the product sample.
Wow. Those are beautiful headphones. Good to know that they have some great sound to back that up... Awesome review.
I was pleasantly surprised by these, and yes, it's good to see a company that cares about more than just design. They look better in person too
This is a perfect use for them, definitely. They don't isolate, so you won't get killed wearing them You don't know what's on top of the mountain until you have climbed it. Additionally, you don't know what's at the rest stop until you've stopped there.
