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Moon Audio's Old School Craftsmanship

Black Dragons and Sennheiser HD800 Review

Working at Moon-Audio.com in Cary, NC a few days a week is fun, cool and keeps me in Chord Hugo DACs and Fostex TH900s headphones. If you see a "Will Work For HiFi" sign I'm probably holding it.

workforhifi

I love working where a brilliant engineer (Drew Baird) thinks of new ideas and inspires a team to create them. Here is an on-point review that just came in from Chesterfield, a former classical guitarist, on our Black Dragon Headphone Cable V2 page:

"As others noted, as an upgrade to HD-800s, it would be difficult to top a Black Dragon.

I can't claim to have tried all the HD-800 cable upgrades, but I've tried quite a number of them, including cables from Cardas and ALO. I used to be a professional classical guitarist and have a pretty good ear for these things.

The Black Dragon has incredible bass timbre and bass extension, and just enough emphasis to balance out the HD-800s rather light bass. The mids are really quite wonderful. The cable also tones down the HD-800's treble glare.

But the real merit of this cable isn't to be found in any register: the cable's real merit is its vast and layered soundstage. It has an elegance I've never heard in a headphone cable before, and certainly complements the HD-800's greatest strength.

As for build quality-the cable shell doesn't compete with, say, a Cardas clear in terms of luxury, but it's certainly functional (honestly, this is perhaps the cable's only weakness--the sleeve really should be a bit nicer). I took the connections apart to examine the insides. Some companies don't know how to wire and solder.

Whoever soldered my Black Dragon is an expert. I've rarely seen such skilled soldering--in any application. Generally, I'd say, the cable is built to last a lifetime, not built to be replaced after six months or a year.

This cable, overall, is one of the best values I've seen in the audiophile world."

Note: Chesterfield is discussing a Moon-Audio.com bestseller, the Sennheiser HD800s, with Black Dragon audio cables.

Headphones On The Moon

Drew is Moon's visionary and chief engineer. He trained Darrell on how to build and solder Moon's Silver, Black and Blue Dragon audio cables. Drew's, Darrell's and the Moon-Audio.com's team's commitment to quality and excellence in each handcrafted cable reminds me of Ralph Lauren's Portraits of Craftsmanship Video:

My company, Curagami.com, works with eCommerce clients. We help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing. Moon-Audio.com has what we look for in a client — something GREAT they OWN. Anyone can sell headphones, but selling headphones equipped with cables matched to cure audiophile issues as Chesterfield describes in his Sennheiser HD800 headphones and Black Dragon audio cables review is unique to buying headphones on the moon.

As I write this post Drew just ended a call with another curious potential customer. Can't call Ralph Lauren and talk to the man himself. In Cary, NC where Drew's Silver Dragons made my Sennheiser SE846s sound SO SWEET I regretted taking a year to upgrade, Drew spends half his day every day helping anyone who asks on the phone and on email. When you LOVE what you do it isn't hard to do it. Drew, Darrell, Kayla (graphic designer) and Nichole (COO, partner, and spouse) care about making great cables that make their customers' headphones sound better.

Like the Blues Brothers, making even great headphones sound better is a divine mission for the Moon-Audio.com team. They bet everything to create a company based on old-world craftsmanship. Moon Audio creates one-at-a-time craftsmanship we thought was gone. I'm thankful there is a group of dedicated engineers, designers and craftsmen (and women) in Cary, NC (near my Durham, NC home) who've learned the most important online marketing lesson - MAKE GREAT STUFF!

Wait, need to hold up my "Will Work For HiFi" sign. Drew is leaving for England to learn the latest from Chord Electronics (stay tuned cool NEW Chord Electronics gear ahead in Moon's Chord Hugo Magazine). Doubt Moon Audio's old world bona fides? Here is Darrell crafting a Chord Hugo connection by hand and only slightly sped up: