Moondrop has unveiled its new Skyland planar magnetic headphones, and while the headline specs are predictably huge, the most interesting part isn’t the drivers — it’s the headband.
In a world where high-end planar headphones often feel like wearing a weighted helmet, Moondrop seems to be tackling a long-standing audiophile complaint head-on: the lack of comfort during long listening sessions.
At first glance, the Skyland ticks all the usual flagship boxes. There’s a massive 100mm planar magnetic driver, ultra-thin 500nm diaphragms, and a quoted frequency response stretching from 8Hz to 34kHz.
Moondrop says its Full Drive Technology distributes planar circuits across the entire vibrating surface, rather than concentrating them in a central strip, delivering treble performance “comparable to electrostatics” and better clarity than traditional planar designs.
But the real shift in thinking sits right on top of your head. Instead of a conventional padded band, Skyland uses a 3D-printed, multi-segmented carbon-fibre headband.
It’s hollow, flexible, and designed to improve weight distribution and airflow, which are two things audiophile headphones often ignore. If it works as intended, it could significantly reduce neck fatigue, especially during long sessions.
That’s not to say the rest of the build has been overlooked. The open-back earcups feature a low-diffraction matte finish and a metal grille positioned far enough from the diaphragm to protect it without interfering with sound. The cups themselves are made from a CNC-machined aluminium alloy hollow structure, paired with lambskin earpads shaped to avoid obstructing audio performance.
Moondrop has also paid attention to connectivity. The Skyland uses replaceable cables with universal 3.5mm connectors, and ships with a 4.4mm balanced cable, plus adapters for 6.35mm and XLR balanced outputs. With an impedance of 60 ohms and sensitivity rated at 96dB/Vrms, they should be relatively amp-friendly for a planar design, though they’ll still benefit from proper amplification.
Priced at $799 (£595 / AU$685), the Moondrop Skyland sits firmly in the high-end bracket. But instead of chasing even bigger specs, Moondrop appears to be betting that comfort — breathability, balance, and long-term wearability matter just as much as frequency response.
For audiophiles whose necks give up before their playlists do, that might be the most meaningful upgrade of all.
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