Moondrop x Crinacle DUSK

[CedarX]

Interesting, one year of crinsearch for this EQ... Also available with a regular cable for $25 (the IEM, not just the cable, that is), though:
View attachment 361193

So, one can spend $359 for a nice IEM, with impressive technology, and a good profit for both Moondrop and Crinacle.

But if you believe in engineering and audio science—what ASR is about—you can limit your expense to $25, reset your brain, and find out your ears report no difference…

 

[Somafunk]

I see a number of folk are complaining that the Moondrop app on android requires permission to access your photos, camera, mic and location before use so folk are loading the 5 peq presets from Crinacle instead

Here’s a link to the post on headfi with Crinacle’s presets

Post in thread 'MOONDROP X CRINACLE DUSK NOW AVAILABLE'
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/moondrop-x-crinacle-dusk-now-available.972277/post-18056893

 

[CedarX]

I see a number of folk are complaining that the Moondrop app on android requires permission to access your photos, camera, mic and location before use so folk are loading the 5 peq presets from Crinacle instead

Yes… I’m not too paranoid about it… as I only have a cheapo Android phone (and HiBy M300) for this type of stuff, but at a minimum, it is sloppy programming: they do need access to USB, and probably the mic., but the other permissions???

 

[Matias]

Interesting, one year of crinsearch for this EQ... Also available with a regular cable for $25 (the IEM, not just the cable, that is), though:
View attachment 361193

Wow, crazy! At least he is consistent lol.

 

[MacClintock]

Wow, crazy! At least he is consistent lol.

Exactly. It is a bit like in the supermarket. At least in Germany, there are some products from a house-brand or no-name, which are virtually identical to some respected brands, just for a fraction of the price. I know, the Dusk 2 has all kinds of fancy drivers (two planar tweeters!), but at the end, in IEMs all that matter for the sound if the frequency response. Also, many people complain that the 7Hz Zero 2 is too small and they don't get a good fit, for me it's fine and much preferable to the chunky beast of the Dusk 2, let alone the price.

But maybe I should look for a collaboration as well, I also like to play around with EQ....

 

[Jimbob54]

I see a number of folk are complaining that the Moondrop app on android requires permission to access your photos, camera, mic and location before use so folk are loading the 5 peq presets from Crinacle instead

Here’s a link to the post on headfi with Crinacle’s presets

Post in thread 'MOONDROP X CRINACLE DUSK NOW AVAILABLE'
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/moondrop-x-crinacle-dusk-now-available.972277/post-18056893

Mildly irritated that I asked Moondrop directly for the filters used for the May on its cable DAC (as they have made the cable with different mic to 2 pin lengths than the Free DSP cable which makes it unusable to me as cant add a chin woggle) and they said quite politely but firmly "no" , yet Crin is happy to share all his filters for what will surely be a far bigger seller.

When anyone gets the new Dusk, I would ask that they measure and report on the length between the top of the remote/ mic blob and the tip of the 2 pin on the right cable please.

 

[USER]

So these new Moondrop IEMs only work as intended with an extremely-ramshackle-borderline-unprofessional app? (I've tried it on Android and no thanks.) They couldn't actually properly tune them even when others have with "lesser" drivers and at rock bottom prices? How are these not their lowest priced products then as they are unpolished on every level? What the heck is going on over there? I'm guessing they want to be like Neumann and Genelec but clearly that is years away for them. Again, every major brand has integrated DSP well wirelessly for many years now along with many great features such as proper fit/seal check (which works really, really well and often catches me by surprise).

 

[markanini]

Here I am glad no one is forcing me to buy anything.

 

[tknx]

I would rather the DSP was built into the actual earbud and was just a button to cycle through. Or was a PEQ profile that could be loaded over BT...

 

[Chromatischism]

I would rather the DSP was built into the actual earbud and was just a button to cycle through. Or was a PEQ profile that could be loaded over BT...

So you want them to be even bigger and contain a DAC and amp.

 

[IAtaman]

I would rather the DSP was built into the actual earbud and was just a button to cycle through. Or was a PEQ profile that could be loaded over BT...

Airpods Pro?

 

[USER]

So you want them to be even bigger and contain a DAC and amp.

My wireless JBLs are so much smaller and do the latter! As are the Sonys and Samsungs. That tech is old news. Moondrop needs to catch up to 2018.

 

[CedarX]

My wireless JBLs are so much smaller and do the latter! As are the Sonys and Samsungs. That tech is old news. Moondrop needs to catch up to 2018.

Moondrop actually has a range of TWS: different market segment, that's it.

 

[tknx]

I actually don’t like TWS headphones since they never stay in my ears so I usually use a BT cable. But what that means for these is that the EQ is useless for me.

And so if the EQ was in the decide themselves then it would work fine. Or if they start building in uploadable PEQ into the Bluetooth cables I suppose.

 

[staticV3]

I actually don’t like TWS headphones since they never stay in my ears so I usually use a BT cable. But what that means for these is that the EQ is useless for me.

And so if the EQ was in the decide themselves then it would work fine. Or if they start building in uploadable PEQ into the Bluetooth cables I suppose.

Would this work for you?

MOONDROP LITTLEWHITE Bluetooth Neckband | MOONDROP Official Website

moondroplab.com

 

[Leiker535]

YMMV, but the main advantage of using hybrids builds in IEMs for me is that you can have a more coherent extension into the upper frequencies. I have the zero 2s and the Blessing 3s (the latter used with a bit of EQ to be more "dusk" like, as I find the DF oriented tuning too shouty), and when both are EQd to the same target they are so close in most scenarios that I'd say a lot of the "technicalities" hobbyists rave about so much can be excused for price bias. That said, there are some instances which no EQ can alter for my ears though: the B3s upper treble is more spicy and well extended for me than the Zero's, which have a more natural decay, and no mega peak filter was able to make them equals. Here are two measurements of my actual Blessings on two different 711 clones vs. rando Zero 2's (not mine).

Spoiler

That being said, I'd say the vast majority of people would be hard pressed to state the price difference between the units is worth it.

On the matter of the Dusk alone, it seems to be getting rave reviews by everyone, specially the usual reviewers and "collabers". And I must say how funny I find the reception of the DSP cable in the IEM world: a thing that is used extensively since the early 2000s by the speaker industry and even the TWS/BT HP industry nowadays is being received as absolute novelty in the convoluted audiophile world.

Most interesting are the remarks of some reviewers regarding the complete upgrade from not only tuning but also the infamous TECHNICALITIES, when we all know that the only things being applied is negative gain filters to alter the FR, as said by Crinacle himself. This further reinforces the notion that price bias influences the perception of technicalities, and may show that even the most renowned audiophile reviewers are somewhat strangers to digital EQing.

They couldn't actually properly tune them even when others have with "lesser" drivers and at rock bottom prices?

While it doesn't forgive the absolute mess that is the Moondrop Link app (the v2 doesn't even show for me in the Play store using my Poco F3), the stock tuning of the Dusk is already pretty good.

 

[USER]

YMMV, but the main advantage of using hybrids builds in IEMs for me is that you can have a more coherent extension into the upper frequencies.

I guess, theoretically. But here I really do believe it is being sold more on marketing terms than engineering ones. It's just so hard to say whether it's true based the limits of the measurement apparatuses in that region. Here are two examples that tell slightly different stories.

In the first, sure, above 13kHz or so it seems there is more with the Dusks. (Whether that's worth the premium is up to the reader.) But what's the curve being used to judge whether it's a good thing? Diffused Field? In the second, the Zero 2 is missing info between 9-12kHz (the B&K seems to say that that is wrong), but it follows the curve correctly above it. So, yeah, more info, but it can actually be a bad thing!

 

[Jimbob54]

0

I guess, theoretically. But here I really do believe it is being sold more on marketing terms than engineering ones. It's just so hard to say whether it's true based the limits of the measurement apparatuses in that region. Here are two examples that tell slightly different stories.

View attachment 361638
View attachment 361639

In the first, sure, above 13kHz or so it seems there is more with the Dusks. But whats the curve being used to judge whether it's a good thing. In the second, the Zero 2 is missing info between 9-12kHz (the B&K seems to say that that is wrong), but it follows the curve correctly above it. So, yeah, more info, but it can actually be a bad thing!

That's 2 different samples of the Zero 2 though, sample 1 in first, sample 3 in second.

All I would take from that is the Dusk has more top end than the Zero on either rig.

 

[USER]

0

That's 2 different samples of the Zero 2 though, sample 1 in first, sample 3 in second.

Are you really nitpicking that? That's what I have to work with. I'm not paying for the comparison feature, lol. We can also say that a second Dusk may not perform as "well" as the one measured.

Edit: just saw the graphs of the three Zero 2 examples. They are more or less the same up there.

 

[staticV3]

Here are two examples that tell slightly different stories.

Do they really?



Looks well within marging for error to me.