Moondrop Space Travel vs Space Travel 2: Same but different

Moondrop made a big splash with the original Space Travel earbuds, offering decent sound quality and ANC for under $30. Both the original Moondrop Space Travel and the Space Travel 2 are great budget earbuds, but for different people.  After testing both, each set of earbuds has its strengths, but also some frustrating limitations. Let’s see which pair is the better pick for you.

What’s it like to use the Space Travel 2 compared to the Space Travel?

The case of Space Travel 2 is identical to the original, which means it has the same issues as the first version. There’s no top cover, so dust can easily get in, but that’s a small issue. Both earbuds are finicky to pull out of the case. The earbuds should snap into place with the help of magnets to align themselves. Unfortunately, the stems on the earbuds are difficult to slide in without accidentally popping out.

Both have the same fit with little to no issues. I can wear them easily for hours at a time. Both have small battery life as well. What else would you expect from having the same build?

Do the Space Travel 2 or Space Travel have more features?

The huge gap in features makes all the difference between the first and second generation Space Travel earbuds, as the app on the first one was extremely limited.  All that the original Space Travel had were 2 EQ options, Bass head, and monitor. There is also a volume slider, but why use the app when you can just use the volume rocker on the phone?

Moondrop added app features to the Space Travel 2 with customizable EQ curves, target curves, and gain adjustment, making it appealing if you enjoy tinkering with sound. The app still has quirks, but you can tweak the EQ to your liking with the “online interactive DSP”. This allows you to create a user-made EQ or use some from Moondrop. For those audio enthusiasts out there, you can even layer a target curve underneath to make it easier to match a target curve. They even have a community feature to check out other people’s EQ. 

How do the Space Travel 2 and Space Travel connect?

Both the Space Travel 2 and Space Travel connect through Bluetooth. The Space Travel uses Bluetooth version 5.3, and the updated Space Travel 2 is on the latest and greatest 6.0. The Bluetooth versions don’t really matter much right now, as most of the features of the newer Bluetooth versions aren’t being utilized. But at least they will be ready for when they are.

Both earbuds only support the SBC and AAC codecs. Moondrop limited codec support to only SBC and AAC with the Space Travel 2, which is surprising given the upgrade to Bluetooth 6. This means most don’t really benefit from the new standard’s higher potential. Bluetooth 6 has features such as ISOAL(Isochronous Adaptation Layer ), which, in theory, should reduce latency. In practice, I still noticed occasional audio delay with videos, even with game mode enabled. Pairing was simple, but having to revert to music mode every time I had to reconnect was annoying.

The first Space Travel relied on Bluetooth 5.3 with the same SBC and AAC codec limitations. Neither of them supports higher bit-rate codes such as APTX or LDAC, which is unfortunate. For higher bit-rate codec support, there is the Space Travel 2 Ultra. Hopefully, in the future, the Space Travel 2 will have a firmware update that makes some of the features from Bluetooth 6 accessible. Missing features include LE audio, for better battery life, LC3 codec support, for more data bandwidth for audio, and “channel sounding”, the ability to easily locate a device.

Is battery life better on the Space Travel 2 or Space Travel?

Battery life is essentially a tie, which is not good. In our lab testing, the Moondrop Space Travel 2 lasted just 4 hours, 20 minutes with ANC on. The case extends playback to about 12 hours total. This makes them adequate for a commute, but not reliable for a full day of use.

The original Space Travel matched those numbers exactly, clocking 4 hours, 20 minutes in our lab test. That’s near the bottom of what we’ve measured for true wireless earbuds. If you’re hoping for all-day power, I wouldn’t consider either of them.

Do the Space Travel 2 or Space Travel reduce noise better?

In my experience, the Space Travel 2 provided decent ANC, reducing outside noise by an average of 71%. Office hums and train rumble dropped to manageable levels, though speech remained intelligible. The biggest flaw was in windy environments, where ANC amplified the gusts rather than suppressed them. Passive isolation also lagged behind most IEMs.

The original Space Travels ANC achieved noise reduction by 68%, which is excellent for sub-$30 earbuds. Fit played a role, but with a good seal, these cut down external noise better than I expected. Transparency mode worked well enough for quick conversations, though the bandwidth-limited sound could feel strange. Overall, it doesn’t feel like a big difference going from the original Space Travel to the newer Space Travel 2.

Do the Space Travel 2 sound better than the Space Travel?

Out of the box, the Space Travel 2 disappointed me personally. The sound felt compressed and overly mid-focused. It was almost as if everything was shouting from a few feet away. Bass was slightly underemphasized, treble lacked brilliance, and the trailing reverb feels cut off. EQ adjustments helped improve things, especially with the “Bass+” preset.

By contrast, the original Space Travel sounded remarkably good for its price. The tuning was enjoyable across a range of genres and free from the fatigue that plagues cheaper earbuds. Though your skull won’t get rattled, you shouldn’t find much to fault with the sound when listening to the Moondrop Space Travel. I consistently enjoyed listening to these far more than the sequel.

Multi-Dimensional Audio Quality Scores (MDAQS)

The Moondrop Space Travel 2’s high timbre score suggests decent tonal accuracy, but the low Distortion rating can make the sound feel unnatural. The original Space Travel scored higher across the board, resulting in an overall score of 4.9, this doesn’t mean that it’s perfect, but almost everyone is likely to find that the original Space Travel sounds enjoyable.

Objective Measurements

Measurements of the Space Travel 2 showed underemphasized bass and treble compared to our preference curve. The large deviation means more people will unlikely find the Moondrop Space Travel 2 enjoyable. The original Space Travels frequency response measured much closer to our preference curve, with stronger bass and mids alignment and excellent treble extension. This means most people are going to find that the original Space Travel sounds better than Space Travel 2.

Do the Space Travel 2 or Space Travel have a better microphone?

Overall, they both do a good job picking up voices, but do horribly in windy environments. Neither of them sounds natural, but they don’t sound horrible either. It isn’t difficult to tell what the person is saying when listening to the microphone. Listening to both of the recordings, I was hard-pressed to find any difference between the two.

Space Travel 2 microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Space Travel microphone demo (Ideal conditions):

Space Travel 2 vs Space Travel: Price and availability

The original Space Travel launched back in 2023 at and remains one of the best bang-for-buck earbuds you can get. Availability may start to dwindle as the Space Travel 2 replaces it, but if you can still find a pair, the lower price and better tuning make them a more attractive buy.

At launch, the Moondrop Space Travel 2 cost , making it just a few dollars more expensive than the original. Its release in July 2025 means it’s the newest option and should remain easy to find. Its main value lies in the expanded EQ tools, though the default sound doesn’t justify making it a better buy.

Should you get the Space Travel 2 or Space Travel?

For those who just want a cheap but good-sounding pair of headphones, get the original Space Travel. They sound good out of the box, without any adjustments. On the other hand, The Space Travel 2 doesn’t sound great out of the box, but if you like testing out new EQ target curves or equalizing your own, go with the Space Travel 2 instead.

If you already own a pair of the original Moondrop Space Travel, there is no reason to upgrade. The sound has degraded in terms of how likely most people will enjoy how they sound. The Space Travel 2 is an improvement in features, including Better noise cancelling and EQ options. But unless you like tinkering with how your earbuds sound, they will not feel like much of an upgrade.