These Bluetooth 6 ANC buds deliver space-age spec for a down-to-earth price

Moondrop has launched a set of ultra-affordable ANC earbuds with impressive specifications for the price. That includes LDAC audio, planar magnetic drivers and Bluetooth 6. The recommended retail price is just £39.99 / $39.99 (about €46 / AU$82).

That's usually a low price for wireless earbuds with even basic features, but these also promise AI-powered customisation and tuning, low latency mode for gaming, Hi-Res Audio support at up to 24-bit/92kHz, and feed-forward noise cancellation that removes outside audio without also cutting the bass frequencies.

So the Moondrop Space Travel 2 Ultra buds are seemingly great value when you consider that some of the best earbuds cost much more.

For example, even at sale prices, Sony's WF-1000XM5 and Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are five times the price.

Moondrop Space Travel 2 Ultra: key features

Moondrop is known for its affordable wired IEMs, and its move into the affordable wireless earbud market has been well received by headphone fans. The Ultra is a more premium version of its recently released Space Travel 2 earbuds with a more sober colour scheme and an improved fit and specification.

The drivers here are 13mm single-magnetic annular planar drivers, but it's worth noting that these are small square planars – a more budget option than the audiophile planar drivers in premium headphones. They are more typically found as part of a hybrid IEM setup than as the sole drivers.

Battery life is a decent seven hours with a further 24 in the charging case when streaming with AAC. LDAC will reduce that slightly because it's more demanding.

I haven't heard these earbuds yet, but with improved ANC and the promise of better bass too, the Space Travel 2 Ultra could be an excellent fuss-free option for budget earbud buyers.