Lime Ears Incognita VS Moondrop Psyche

Youtube Video Summary

Moondrop Psyche shoots for flagship prestige with a dual-DD, 4BA, and 4 planar array at roughly $2,400, dressed in an unusual faceplate and a metallic shell that sits large but contoured in the ear. Fit and finish feel sturdy yet quirky—visible drivers, a faint seam line around the shell, and minor scuffs on the sample. The stock cable terminates in 4.4 mm and includes a chin slider, but feels stiff and not especially premium; the familiar Moondrop case and basic tips (plus a USB-C adapter) don’t elevate the unboxing to summit-fi expectations.

Sonically, Psyche reads thin, bright, and heavy on upper-mid/air energy, yielding hollow vocals, a plasticky/cuppy timbre, and lightweight bass. Graph views normalized around 500 Hz (and at ~3 kHz) highlight a pronounced upper-mid rise that pulls the rest of the spectrum down perceptually, reducing dynamics and natural midrange body; impedance adapters don’t meaningfully change that behavior. While upper treble isn’t offensive and stage is merely okay, EQ only helps marginally. The tuning feels closer to an eastern-market flavor than Moondrop’s usual crowd-pleasers and diverges from targets like JM1, recalling sets such as KZ Symphony or NDX12 more than the brand’s own high points.

Against internal benchmarks, Meteor, Variations, and even the Dusk DSP come off more balanced and enjoyable; Daybreak already pushed upper mids, but Psyche goes further in a way that’s fatiguing rather than fun. As a collectable design piece with a very specific V-tilted emphasis, it may click for treble die-hards who enjoy that glare-forward presentation (think budget TRN Medusa tonality scaled up). For most, especially at this price, the package feels harsh, underdynamic, and outclassed by alternatives—ultimately earning a firm no-recommendation for general listening.