Moondrop’s Space Travel series has quietly become one of the best budget surprises in true wireless audio: lightweight, comfortably shaped buds with sound that punches well above their price.
Recently, the lineup expanded with the Space Travel 2 and its slightly pricier sibling, the Space Travel 2 Ultra, both promising sensible upgrades — longer battery life, better noise control, multipoint, and in the Ultra’s case, LDAC and a planar driver.
On paper, those sound like meaningful gains. In practice, the changes are a mix of nice-but-not-revolutionary and a few surprises that matter depending on how you listen.
I spent time with all three models back-to-back: the original Space Travel, the Space Travel 2, and the Space Travel 2 Ultra. So here’s my complete breakdown, which helps you understand the differences between each model.
Price & Availability
The Moondrop Space Travel 2 Ultra is priced at $39.99 USD and comes in an elegant Grey finish.
The Space Travel 2 retails for $29.99 USD, available in both Black and White color options.
Meanwhile, the original Space Travel model is now harder to find in stock, with prices historically ranging between $24–25 USD.
Best Deals:
- Moondrop Space Travel: View on AliExpress
- Moondrop Space Travel 2: View on AliExpress
- Moondrop Space Travel 2 Ultra: View on AliExpress
Fit and comfort
If you liked the fit of the original Space Travel, you’ll be immediately comfortable with the 2 and the Ultra — they’re essentially the same shell and ergonomics.
The shallow, lollipop-style fit produces very little ear canal pressure and, for most people, a secure daily wearer. I scored comfort high across the board because all three share that same lightweight feel and the same range of ear tips.
The only practical difference is cosmetic: the Ultra I tested came in a soft gray finish while the Space Travel 2 ships in black or white.
If you’re sensitive to deep-insertion earbuds, these will be a relief. If you need maximum stability for intense workouts, neither model uses wing tips, so they won’t suit everyone.
Because the physical design is consistent across the three, stability is similar: they stay in for everyday movement and even short runs, but their shallow fit isn’t as lockdown-secure as sport-focused buds with fins.
If your ear shape prefers a deeper, more locked-in fit, you might notice them shift during high-impact training. For most people, though, they’re comfortably stable; I rarely needed to readjust during weight training or casual running.
None of the Space Travel models carries an official IP dust/water resistance rating. That doesn’t mean they immediately fail if you sweat in them or you’re caught in a drizzle, but there’s no manufacturer guarantee. Wipe them dry after use and avoid deliberate exposure to water.
If you routinely run in heavy rain or rely on buds for very sweaty sessions, consider a model with an IP rating
Controls
MoonDrop hasn’t reinvented the control scheme. You get touch gestures — single, double, triple, quad taps and long presses — and now there’s click feedback on the Ultra that makes the taps feel more responsive, almost tactile.
That’s a subtle improvement that improves everyday use. Unfortunately, you still can’t adjust volume from the buds themselves, and noise-cancelling mode can’t be changed on a call (you must set it before answering or use the app after).
The Ultra and Space Travel 2 do let you designate which modes are cycled by the tap gestures — ANC, transparency, or off — which is handy, but the control experience remains functional rather than premium.
Connectivity
Here the Ultra clearly separates itself. The Space Travel 2 adds multipoint connectivity (a hugely useful feature that the original lacked), and it uses Bluetooth 6.0 with SBC and AAC.
The Ultra keeps Bluetooth 6.0 but adds LDAC, the higher-bandwidth codec that matters if you care about high-resolution audio from a compatible source.
In daily use, multipoint works well: you can have two devices connected and audio switches seamlessly when you press play on the active device.
If you frequently move between a laptop and phone, that alone makes the Space Travel 2 (or Ultra) feel much more refined than the original.
And if you own a phone that supports LDAC and care about detail and hi-res audio, the Ultra is the only option of the three.
Call quality
Microphone performance is consistent with what you’d expect from sub-$50 buds: useful for calls in quiet places, but challenged by wind and noisy environments.
In quiet-room tests, the buds are acceptable; in simulated crowds and windy city simulations, performance drops and the mics pick up a lot of environmental noise.
I’d rate call quality as capable for everyday voice chats, but don’t expect stellar performance for outdoor calls or noisy commutes.
App and extras
Where MoonDrop shines is customization. The app is not the slickest I’ve used, but it brings legitimate tools: five-band EQ with Q-factor controls, the ability to upload and download EQ presets, toggles for multipoint and LDAC, and ANC/ambient customization.
There’s an online community of user EQs you can download, which is surprisingly useful. The one annoying detail: to upload EQ presets you have to log into the app, and you can’t simply save a custom preset locally without an account. It’s a small friction point but worth noting.
Overall, the app elevates the experience over the original model in a real, practical way.
Noise cancelling and transparency
ANC on the Space Travel line has always punched above its weight, and the 2 and Ultra continue that trend.
Both newer models do a better job at taming background music and steady mid-bass hums than the original, but the Ultra’s claimed “5% stronger” ANC is subtle in everyday use — you might notice a little more reduction in certain frequency bands, but it’s not night-and-day.
Transparency (ambient) mode is serviceable for hearing surroundings, though it’s not perfectly natural: voices can sound slightly boxy and you’ll still get occlusion when you move your jaw or speak.
Wind remains a weak point in both ANC and transparency modes. If you rely on industry-leading ANC, these aren’t noise-cancelling champs, but for their price they do an admirable job.
Sound Quality
Sound is where your personal taste will matter most. The original Space Travel and Space Travel 2 both use a 13 mm dynamic driver and lean toward a balanced but engaging tuning: there’s decent bass presence without getting muddy, and the mids and treble are tuned to be clean and relatively non-fatiguing. The Ultra is the outlier:
Moondrop fitted it with a 13 mm planar driver and tuned it flatter and brighter. That planar emphasis brings more air and instrument separation up top, and detail in the upper mids and treble is clearer, but it also feels a touch more clinical and, for my ears, slightly more fatiguing on long listening sessions.
If you like a lively, slightly bass-forward presentation, the original Space Travel (and the 2 with its “tasteful” sub-bass) will likely please you — especially if you apply a modest bass boost in the app.
If you prefer a cleaner, more analytical sound that reveals detail in strings and cymbals, the Ultra’s planar tuning will appeal.
Personally, I found the Space Travel 2 the best middle ground: improved features and battery over the original, with a balanced stock tuning that’s easy to tailor via EQ.
Moondrop Space Travel 2 Ultra vs Space Travel 2 vs Space Travel: Specs Comparison
| Specification | Moondrop Space Travel | Moondrop Space Travel 2 | Moondrop Space Travel 2 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 13 mm dynamic driver (enhanced dynamic) | 13 mm dynamic driver (large dynamic, lower distortion) | 13 mm planar driver (annular/planar type) |
| Bluetooth version | Bluetooth 5.3 | Bluetooth 6.0 | Bluetooth 6.0 |
| Supported codecs | SBC / AAC | SBC / AAC | SBC / AAC / LDAC |
| Profiles | A2DP / AVRCP / HFP / HSP | A2DP / AVRCP / HFP / HSP | A2DP / AVRCP / HFP / HSP |
| Active Noise Cancelling | Feedforward ANC (single feedforward) | Single feedforward wide-band ANC (NPU AI noise cancelling) | Improved feedforward wide-band ANC (claimed stronger in select bands) |
| Battery (earbuds) | About 4 hours (manufacturer) | About 7 hours (AAC, manufacturer) | About 7 hours (AAC, manufacturer) |
| Battery (with case / total) | About 12 hours (case) — ~16 hours total (manufacturer) | About 24 hours (case) — ~24–31 hours total (manufacturer lists ~24h with AAC) | About 24 hours (case) — ~24–31 hours total (manufacturer lists ~24h with AAC) |
| Battery capacity | Earbuds: 3.7V / 37 mAh · Case: 3.7V / 380 mAh | Earbuds: 3.7V / 35 mAh · Case: 3.7V / 380 mAh | Earbuds: 3.7V / 35 mAh · Case: 3.7V / 380 mAh |
| Charging | Type-C (earbuds ~1 hr; case ~1.5 hr) | Type-C (input 5V-1A) | Type-C (input 5V-1A) |
| Low-latency / Game mode | 55 ms (game mode claimed) | 55 ms low-latency game mode (claimed) | Low-latency game mode (55 ms class) (claimed) |
| Multipoint (dual-device) | No (original) | Yes — Dual-device connectivity / seamless switching | Yes — Dual-device connectivity / seamless switching |
| App / EQ | Basic app support / EQ presets | MOONDROP Link app — DSP graphic EQ, tune sharing, 5-band EQ & more | MOONDROP Link app — same feature set + LDAC toggle & advanced EQ support |
| IP rating (water/dust) | No official IP rating listed | No official IP rating listed | No official IP rating listed |
| Case design | Compact open-style case (no wireless charging) | Compact case (no wireless charging) | Compact case (no wireless charging) |
| MSRP (official listing) | ~$29.99 (varies by market) | ~$29.99 (official listing / retail varies) | ~$39.99 (official listing / retail varies) |
Final Verdict
After testing all three, it’s pretty clear that the Moondrop Space Travel 2 Ultra takes things up a notch. The shift to a planar driver instantly gives it a richer, more detailed sound, and LDAC support finally makes it feel like a proper upgrade rather than just a refresh. You can hear the difference in clarity — vocals are cleaner, the bass is tighter, and overall it just sounds more refined for the price.
That said, the Space Travel 2 still hits the sweet spot for most people. It has the same solid battery life, app control, and dual-device pairing — basically everything that matters day to day. Unless you really care about higher-resolution audio or that extra edge in sound quality, the Ultra might feel like overkill.
The original Space Travel now feels like a first-gen experiment compared to these two — decent for the price, but not really worth buying in 2025.
So if you’re planning to pick one, I’d say go for the Space Travel 2 Ultra if sound quality is your priority. Otherwise, the Space Travel 2 is the better all-rounder and still one of the best budget TWS options you can grab right now.
Best Deals:
- Moondrop Space Travel: View on AliExpress
- Moondrop Space Travel 2: View on AliExpress
- Moondrop Space Travel 2 Ultra: View on AliExpress
Nick, the Co-founder of Earbuds Arena, is a seasoned freelance tech journalist with over ten years of experience covering wearables, apps, headphones, and gadgets. When he’s not immersed in the tech world, you’ll likely find him unwinding with video games, going for a run, or enjoying a game of soccer on the field.
