The Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk is VERY good... sort of.

Crinacle has once again teamed up with Moondrop to deliver the new Dusk, replacing the older Blessing 2 Dusk. In this video Resolve takes a look at the new Dusk, in both analog and digital mode, and gives you his perspective on how it fits within the IEM market.

How to read the new measurements:
The 10 stages of headphone measurements

00:00 - Intro
00:41 - Disclaimers
01:19 - What you get
02:54 - Ergonomics
03:38 - Sound: Analog
06:50 - Sound: DSP Default (the intended tuning)
09:24 - Sound: Harman and DF Tilt
14:09 - The app is awful
15:18 - You DO NOT need the app... but
16:11 - Resolve's perspective
18:17 - Comparisons & Conclusion

[crin]

Clarifying in case it gets lost in translation: the Moondrop LINK app is not required for the DSP to work.

The Default profile is baked into the DSP cable right out of the box, so in that regard it is immediately plug-and-play. No additional EQ software is required.

[bakerlefdaoui]

Dude, most people don't know how to EQ when a sound signature bothers them. It is truly remarkable to have the work done for them via DSP for most people. The other thing is no one wants to change eq settings on each device each time they plug their IEM in a different device, sometimes you plug a different headphone and you forget to change your EQ profile, it's simply not handy. So an IEM carrying its own EQ is just better.

[chradon.]

Thanks for the measuring the nozzle dimension

[ResolveReviews]

Just a note, turns out the sub bass boost on the DF tilt preset is due to issues when using peak filters below 65hz. Apparently reducing it there introduced noise, so they didn't do it.

[taidee]

Thanks Resolve for the review. Crin has actually done this use of one device to show two targets with the TruthEar Zero & Zero:Red, the blue being Harman and Red being IEF, but sadly a lot of reviewers and commentors never touched on what the Red was, instead they simply highlighted how you can get better sound with Hexa from the same stable, showing how they completely missed the point that Crin was making, where he was saying "here is the same device with two tunings, which one is your preference". The Zeros (at US105 combined) were so that you could find the general signature you prefer for when you are buying the really expensive stuff, instead some people even complained that project red was just another cheap Crin tuned IEM.

[TheElly]

I choked on my coffee when I heard "Its always nice to see the cartoon children"

[sidesaladaudio]

I like both the Analog and DSP tuning, with Analog coming across like a slightly less harsh version of the B2D, but I do prefer the tuning of the DSP default. I still have my issues with the free DSP cable, and concerns with longevity as there have been complaints of the cable failing after a few months, as well I’ve started to have issues with my Moondrop may freedsp cable where it cuts out when listening and needs to be reseated.

Achieving something closer to the DSP default tuning through analog means would have stirred up less controversy

[earlybird]

This review, AND the links with more info are really good! Thank-you.

[EladIdan]

I'm getting these because it suits my use case. If i were a more hardcore audiophile with serious amps and whatnot i would be skipping these for sure. But I'm not, most audiophiles would consider me casual, but I'm still well above normies in my expectations. I currently use fiio FH5 with their Bluetooth amp since i only listen to music via my phone or computer. Not having to worry about recharging that amp will be a good quality of life improvement, and having some presets that the community agrees sounds amazing means i get to experience "true goodness" without spending tons of money or finicking around with EQ wondering if i really got the best tuning for me.
This protect was definitely not made for everyone, like most products. It is something that does appeal to a casual audiophile like myself who was already thinking about spending some money to upgrade his experience.

[revving]

For those who want to replicate the Dusk's DSP default tuning in analog mode with an EQ app or Qudelix 5K, the filters and exact values seem to be:
Filter 1: PK | 1400Hz | -3 | 0.8 Q
Filter 2: PK | 5400Hz | -3 | 2 Q
Filter 3: PK | 14000Hz | -5 | 2 Q

The filters are basically provided by crin himself in his video, but he didn't give what gain or Q filter values, which I found to be these.

Edit: Just saw GizAudio's video, and Crin gave him all the exact filters for all profiles at 7:16.

[tapasr]

Fyi, the Free DSP cable I bought, stopped working within few
I hope the QC related to this unit is better than their other recent products cuz I love the tuning...

[malfunkt]

Good critique, especially on the not so great app. Great info on the diffuse field and Harman curves, but to add another dimension, your enjoyment of either will also depend on whether you are using your IEM along with spatial audio - be this through modern game engines, hardware DSP (ifi audio), software dsp (professional version of Waves, Audeze, etc). Spatial audio or very good crossfeed can make a huge difference in presenting a more natural soundfield similar to speakers in a room that most stereo recordings were designed for.

Regarding the Dusk, looks like a good iem. Myself, I replaced my Blessing 2 with the Kiwi Ears Quintet instead. The Quintet splits the difference between the Blessing 3 and the new Dusk (DSP). It has a similar mid-range/treble as the Blessing 3 with the bass section of the new Dusk. It's a touch hot on poor masters, but sounds great with the most dynamic recordings. Doesn't have the top end treble spike, is much cheaper, still great tech, is smaller, good build and has a lip on the nozzle. Might be an alternative for some.

[Simpaiii]

what I don't really get is the "meh" response to the analogue tuning from quite a few reviewers, when it's basically the universally praised B2D tuning with some of its complains (slightly hot upper mids, lack of extention) ironed out.

sure, there is the treble peak but I own the Performer 8 which apparently has an even more extreme peak, which I don't think I've heard anyone mention as a problem

[Rezzznr]

Yes! For so long I am telling people that you can upgrade a good IEM to a GREAT IEM with some slight changes in EQ... And they don't listen ;) So many people keep chasing imaginary end-game product when it's so easy (and fun) to achieve with EQ.

[radiofreealbemuth]

Can you elaborate a bit more on what you mean when you say you prefer the Dusk to the Monarch MK2/MK3?

[frgmnt]

I preordered the Dusk and seeing how there were EQ values provided finally got me to try EQ APO + Peace GUI on my PC. Doing more research on it, I came across profiles for some of my already owned IEM's that get them towards a certain target, and I'm blown away by the new life brought to those IEM's that I stopped using as much. Seeing all the options and sliders to adjust on an EQ definitely put me off from trying it earlier, but having different profiles for specific headphones to get a starting base to tune from made the process a whole lot easier to play around with. Makes me wish that manufacturers would just provide EQ profiles for various targets/preferences along with their headphones. A text file with just a few lines of values is all that's needed to import them through Peace.

[HobbyTalk]

This was the first DSP moondrop that didn’t have noise floor for me.

[garygriffiths]

I wish the dusk dsp tuning was the analogue tuning. I can't see me using any of the other tunings. To be honest, I'll probably just use them with the qudelix and eq them to the dsp tuning myself. I can't see me using the moondrop app as it looks awful.

[fifteenbongos]

Might have to skip then. At this point, I'm not really plugging into my phone for audio unless I'm going outside, at which point I'm not going to be using something at that price point, especially if I'm worried about the cable failing. Would rather have the analog tuning be closer to this new preset, with a nicer 3.5mm cable so I can use it with my normal source.

[QuinnSlattery]

Why care about the app at all, though?

The best preset (DSP default) is already baked into the cable; the app is just for applying those bonus gimmicky presets.

Just plug and play to your phone or PC with the DSP cable and never even bother with the app.