The BEST $50 Amplifier!? Moondrop Dawn Pro!

Dawn Pro Here - apos.audio/products/moondrop-...
HD600 - amzn.to/45SMtQp
Arya Organic - apos.audio/products/hifiman-a...
Fir M5 - www.firaudio.com/store/m5
Great Budget headphones to go with! - amzn.to/3PIuqHi
$300 Hifiman Sundara - amzn.to/47M5FRw
TOP 3 FAVORITE BUDGET HEADPHONES
🥇 HD560S - amzn.to/3NwLeNM
🥈 SHP 9600 - amzn.to/3NEsoEo
🥉 K361 - amzn.to/3xxKQsM
Favorite headphones
🥇 DIANA TC - abyss-headphones.com/products...
🥈Arya - apos.audio/products/hifiman-a...
🥉 DT1990Pro - amzn.to/3MzsBrg
TOP 3 FAVORITE CLOSED BACK HEADPHONES
🥇 Sony Z1R - amzn.to/3aDxOB4
🥈 Sony Z7 - amzn.to/3O0C2Bd
🥉 K361 - amzn.to/3xxKQsM
BEST Amplifiers -
🥇 Topping A90 - apos.audio/products/topping-a...
🥈 THX 789 / 887 - amzn.to/3QdJ0Vq
🥉 DX3 Pro - amzn.to/3O1wF4H
IEMS
🥇 Sennheiser IE300 - amzn.to/3Q8svd3
🥈 Moondrop Aria - amzn.to/3aEytlG
🥉(budget Option) - Tin T2 - amzn.to/39g6eta
SPEAKERS
🥇 SVS ULTRA Towers - amzn.to/3xzt9sU
🥈 Vanatoo T1E - amzn.to/3O5ag6q
🥉 Micca RB42 - amzn.to/3aBmXHP
ACCESSORIES
iFix It - amzn.to/3NCok7O
Soundrise Pro Stands - amzn.to/3tphpXt
IEM TIP Storage - amzn.to/3NAMQ9r
Headphone Case - amzn.to/39xOlkF​​​​​​​​
My Filming Equipment
Camera - A7S-3 - amzn.to/3mynq00
Sigma 24-70mm - amzn.to/3MtKBmQ
Sony 90mm - amzn.to/3QarT6P
​​Sachtler Flowtech 75 - amzn.to/3H4WEG9
Ronin RS2 - amzn.to/3HdOgUP
GVM Slider - amzn.to/3Q8nEIV
These are my genuine recommendations in various categories. They are affiliated links that help pay for this KZbin channel at no additional cost to you.
SOCIAL MEDIA
📷 / joshua.valour
🔔 / joshvalour
📫SENDING FOR REVIEW??📫
Email Me - [e-mail]
#Moondrop ​​​ #Budget #DawnPro
*As an Amazon, Drop and Apos Associate I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
I use this money back towards the quality of video of this channel. To see how, watch this video

[@HiFiInsider]

small package with high thrust.

[@marcosvictor4935]

In the words of moondrop themselves: "large thrust"

[@saucyg6371]

The thrustiest of small packages

[@Omar_ZX]

Size doesn't matter

[@MRxJOExA]

2inchs at 100mph lol

[@minagamunasinghe6460]

@@MRxJOExA💀💀💀

[@ericw.1620]

One of the things I respect most about Moondrop is that they're not afraid to release products that directly compete with other of their own products. They did this with chu vs quark, and now they're doing it again. Most other companies would have nerfed the performance of the cheaper one to make sure they're not competing directly.

[@ViaRosalesVlogs]

its like them sayng, hey youre doing great on sales, now its time for you to be stopped by your younger better brother and so on lol. love that company, they listen to the feedbacks too when releasing new iterations, which what made me a fan. for sure they will release a next version with no holes on it because of the things theyre getting with this. but its a good start nonetheless

[@ser_igel]

@@ViaRosalesVlogs honestly sometimes new versions is one step forward two steps back Chu were awesome (i bought more than one pair and am using one of them right now because bought one specifically to leave them at work), while they aren't really great at technical aspects like imaging and sound stage, they have really great neutral-ish tuning which i really like A week ago I got Chu II and while their cable is great enough to replace the kit one from my Starfields, they now sound pretty generic. I still like them but I like the first generation more. And while I bought two pair of Chus for two different places, I believe I'm gonna buy two pairs of ChuChus for two cables (cuz it worths its 19$)

[@r_ex_7]

@@ser_igel you should get the moondrop lan if you like the chu's tuning. theyre the true successors to the chus, inheriting the neutral tuning while the chu iis have a more v shaped tuning. the cable is also miles ahead of the chu and better than the chu iis

[@beansarr]

Picked up one of these immediately after release due to the surprisingly low price. Expectations weren’t too high, but I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it. Very impressive power for its size. Haven’t felt the need to use my desktop amp for weeks. Great to hear your perspective on it!

[@nftbandit9645]

Good to know! Have been thinking about picking one up. I’ve just been using an apple dongle for my IEMs so I’m excited to upgrade. Although I’m aware it’s diminishing returns after a certain point.

[@nftbandit9645]

Good to know! Have been thinking about picking one up. I’ve just been using an apple dongle for my IEMs so I’m excited to upgrade. Although I’m aware it’s diminishing returns after a certain point.

[@beansarr]

@@nftbandit9645 Yeah, the Apple dongle is actually a really good performer. I quite like it for IEMs, especially given that it’s so discreet and affordable. I don’t notice any difference in audio quality going to the Dawn Pro, really, but definitely a huge difference in power output. The Dawn Pro drives my open-back headphones of relatively high impedance with no issues.

[@braxfl7462]

could this power hd 6xx which are 300ohms? I have no room anywhere for a small desktop amp, and definitely don't wanna spend the money as I just spent $400 on headphones.

[@beansarr]

@@braxfl7462 incredibly late response, but yes. I’m using it now with the HD600 and it can drive them loud on the 4.4mm balanced output. The single-ended output might struggle a bit more. The video covers the HD600 also, which will pretty much be identical to the HD6XX.

[@quackgarage9551]

This is RIDICULOUSLY good for $49 and perfect for any trips. It's amazing that you can have such portability with that sound quality, that's why it's great not only for travels or at work, but also for desktop use. No need to spend more than this on a portable DAC unless you plan to use low sensivity gear. It's indeed a no brainer at its price tag and will redefine the segment. Moondrop did an outstanding job.

[@librast]

Thank you for mentioning the 'compatibility' with the planars! appreciate it so much

[@willgregor8043]

Would love to see other videos on other great budget amps and/or dac/amps

[@burns0100]

I just got one, had to wait 2 months for production to catch up but finally listened to it and I was blown away. Using my Moondrop Beautiful World so I got to test 3.5 and 4.4mm options and can say the balanced output is 2x louder, a lot of power for IEM's. Honestly I'm enjoying just being able to put my source at 100% and then use the 100 tiers of volume the Dawn Pro offers to finely adjust my sound. My one negative is that default source quality is signalled by a bright red LED... not some nice soft blue or white. Just a harsh red. Tempted to upsample my source just to change the colour but have no idea what effect that would have on quality. I've own two DAC/AMP's, The FiiO E10K-TC and now the Moondrop Dawn Pro. Have to say they are both extremely good for what they offer and I'd struggle to pick between the two but based off price alone, Moondrop wins. I think Fiio has the overall better package but at a higher price and less portable. With the Dawn Pro I'm not trying to figure out an option to get it to work on my iPhone. Need some Adapter or cable that will work and support audio.

[@danrussell9357]

Liked the video - Appreciate the budget content!

[@chillstep4life]

Was literally about to pull the trigger on the Moondrop Dawn pro until I saw this on HiFiGo... This has so many features wit the built in battery, low/high gain, and multiple outputs. I think I might pick this up. Now I wonder how they compare in terms of sound. Thanks for the review

[@OledBurnInKing]

I wish there were more options for portable tube amps. I wish that audeze headphones and iems were available at a magnolia hifi since that's where I go whenever I go to best buy since sony acquired audeze and hopefully audeze will be available in the mainstream at stores while still retaining what audeze is known for. I saw the focal bathys at hawthorne stereo and the sennheiser orpheus at the definitive audio store but the employee working at the store told me that I need to set up an appointment to try them out but the store did not have any customers just the employees.

[@calvinyip364]

Hope you can do tier list of best budget amp dac combo. Something like this.

[@ronsprouse7856]

Recently bought this. Very pleased with it so far. Couldn't vouch for how it drives headphones since I only use IEM's.

[@RoosterRubio]

Bro, really digging your hair, on point 👍🏼

[@gmejia8]

This was a great review, I'd love if you could do a review on the new SMSL DO400 for around 500$

[@NicolasGomez-kx8xo]

Joshua, what would be the best amp-dac for 50usd? I was recently considering the moon river 2 to compliment my listening on the go with iems. But this video really caught my eye at the right time

[@AhloiFTW]

You should review more dongles, like cayin ru7 (Fully Balanced Resistor Networks Discrete 1-Bit DAC), cayin ru6 (r2r), HiBy FC6 (R2R DAC/AMP with Darwin Architecture), Qudelix's new T71 (DSP built in with Four ES9219C SABRE HiFi® DAC, etc etc..

[@matthewhilty4209]

Dang I bought a Questyle M15 that was around 230ish dollars on sale a while back , crazy if this little guy could get close to that for only 50 dollars.

[@DCer0]

Questyle has better amplification. More natural and warm

[@networkn]

Good well explained not overly technical review.

[@Snidel]

Please make a video of the option for budget dacs :)

[@AlainKapture]

I was waiting for this for the Aria 🙃

[@t0nyxgq]

Thanks for another great review! How does this compare with the macbook pro's headphone jack for iems?

[@Rsalmond83]

Yes

[@illitero]

Shout-out to one of the most famous audiophile guys on this platform for using the perfect storm of a weighted base and solid mount for the condenser microphone to pick up the subtle nuance of copious elbow thumps and hand thunks as he speaks

[@n00baTr00pa]

sm7b is dynamic.

[@theodoroschronis2966]

Can you step front or back the songs when hold pressing the volume buttons like, for example, the fiio btr5 does? It is useful when you have it in your pocket and the mobile phone does only volume up and down.

[@kenbalbari3229]

Ibasso DC03 Pro, Truthear Shio, Tanchjim Space, and JCally AP10 are other affordable dual CS43131 or CS43198 dongles that are competitive with this. But $50 price is hard to beat.

[@mathias242]

Just got the Shio, four days ago and was debating whether to get the Dawn Pro. Good to know there would be basically no difference 👍

[@antonzaitsev8411]

EPZ TP20 is 47 bucks

[@dogewow8999]

Did you try the planars with a balanced cable?

[@LuciferArc1]

For those concerned with the holes, geekria has a rebranded lamscat with the same chipset. Doesnt have the holes. So there is an alternative. It doest cost 10 dollars more though so keep that in mind

[@eseyyy]

What product is it sir?

[@user-nu2zs1ue3x]

trust me,those holes are the real problem.if water or sweat get inside it's dead, that's how i lost my dawn pro.

[@LuciferArc1]

@@user-nu2zs1ue3x I had no idea. I didn't even think about that. I just happened to have another dongle with the same chipset

[@sebQbe]

Looks like it slots in nicely between the Apple dongle and the Qudelix 5K, if you need more power but don't care about PEQ and BT.

[@phhiemstra]

Quedelix has more power I think (240 vs 125 mw), and I quite like how they drive my sundara. Especially with the eq of the quedelix applied.

[@DCer0]

Yeah, Qudelix is still top.

[@FridmanB]

How would you say these compare to the FiiO KA5?

[@jonathanalemanlinares9473]

Hi, I hope you can help me with a recommendation. I have the Phillips SHP9500 with V-moda boom pro and I use them in a laptop, the audio quality is very good. But I would like to upgrade a little more with a DAC, AMP or DAC&AMP in the $120 price range and if possible that is very good for the HD560s. Thanks.

[@winnieid2727]

I think this one, only using the dual CS4131 dac chip for amplification, why don't go with little bit more with the one that have separate amp chip to boost the power like dc04pro, link2 bal, etc... that maybe the reason it cannot fully drive the planar....

[@TheArpage]

I was looking to invest in this product for my T50RP’s. My iPhone 15 pro + Ikkolot USB-C dongle drives them loud enough, but I want just a little more volume. Bass response with this combo is terrific though! You sure the Dawn won’t drive them louder than a simple iPhone + Ikkolot?

[@ilpastor]

There's also the Shio dongle which it's pretty interesting!

[@hydreafaebae]

I'm a complete newcomer when it comes to DACs, would you say this one is sufficient to power headphones like the DT 990 Pro from Beyerdynamic (250 ohm) ? Will it be loud enough?

[@Gatecrasher3]

@JoshuaValour Can you suggest a portable dac/amp that would power the Hifiman Sundara? Love the sound of my Sundaras but I want to use them with my Steam Deck when I travel, but the desk does not have the power they need.

[@deshan79]

I saw the thumbnail and $50 and I legit thought that was a picture of a new Schiit product. Looks like a keychain made my Schiit

[@SzymonSaysStuff]

Hey Josh, how does volume control work with this on phones? They usually have limited volume controls and I'm afraid of blowing my ears out jf using wkth sensitive IEMs

[@AudioHand]

Would love to know other options in this range. Around 50$ mark which are as good or even better.

[@lordbiscuitthetossable5352]

I almost brought this, but portability was far more important so I wouldn't have to keep my phone in my pocket all the time. Looks like a nice little DAC/AMP that I might pick up if I just want something to leave in my computer presently.

[@ismaeltorres3219]

That's where I'm at with this dongle as well. Currently, I alternate from using my HiBy FC3 dongle between my phone and at my computer setup paired with my amp. It's not too much of a hassle, but sometimes I want to just leave my dongle in my bag for when I'm out and about and I accidentally leave it at my desk.

[@nami7810]

Can I run my focal elex on this? I know it isn't ideal but I'm spending almost all of my budget on the headphone and I want to use this with my phone only since I have a sound card that I can plug my heaphones in to at home. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

[@kramnodbe02d]

Can this power Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250ohm? Planning to use this on an Android for portable set up.

[@Mageoftheyear]

Seems like a great match for the Moondrop Kato. My only concern is those holes. I don't like that there's a needles point of failure (water damage) where heatsinks could could have been used to solve the same problem. Hopefully we get a revision to this as the Moon River 2 Ti revised the design of its progenitor.

[@LuciferArc1]

Look up geekeria dongle dac. They have one with the same chipset that doesn't have holes. Cost 10 bucks more though

[@syarifsaiya1040]

maybe the hole there for heat to escape

[@LuciferArc1]

@@syarifsaiya1040 probably is. My geekria dongle has the same chipset and gets a little warm if I use it for more than an hour. So I'd assume it probably is

[@Mageoftheyear]

@@syarifsaiya1040 Yes, I know that. That's why I said they could have used heatsinks to do the same thing.

[@andrewy1983]

​@@Mageoftheyearsome people can't 🤬 read

[@pavelmarchev1468]

Is it good for Modhouse Argon Mk3 (planar drivers I think)? Which is the cheapest budget dac+amp you would recommend for the Argon Mk3? Also, if you say it is top 5 (top 10) amplifier, which are the other 4 (9) you can recommend?

[@fknracer]

I just bought a sennheiser ie200... should i get the moondrop dawn pro or just stick with my apple dongle.. i use tidal on my phone

[@aGrimTurtle]

Hey Josh, do you think these could sufficiently drive the 800s for the occasional, casual couch listening session?

[@audio_tron]

I wonder how close this is sonically to the Questyle M15.

[@user-PEPEPICKLEBOCCHIDIOSA89]

How well will it go with the leshouer s12 pro

[@cosmic7019]

how does this compare to something like the Meizu HiFi dongle? (not the pro, the regular one - but i know both are discontinued now)

[@jacobcharters6614]

How’s it compare to my ibasso dc04 dongle

[@martin6742]

what cables did you use with that hd 600 please?

[@matyelrojo1835]

Does it support audio input through the 3.5 Jack?

[@AllenJun]

Any reason to pick up the Schiit Hella over this? Need something to power my 250 ohm 990 pro

[@REMY.C.]

I couldn't take my eyes out of the dust on your microphone stand 😂

[@NA26626]

You can use it with a lighning to C cable right?

[@xanderrednaxx]

Will the grill make it really vulnerable to liquid damage?

[@leecaldwell1029]

when using this product how do you know what sound level it is at? I just had to turn it down like crazy when I plugged it in. It was 100 on my pc and 100 on my dac?

[@user-se9sf7lg1n]

Can it drive planner iems like 7hz salnotes dioko properly? ❤

[@Feliciano12v]

Qudelix 5K. Drives Sundara/ 6XX. End game for many!

[@SLEEPZERO_Speciall]

Have you ever tried xduoo xd-05 basic? how is that compare to this moondrop dawn pro?

[@pugak5366]

I’m using IE300 and iphone. Do i still need this if i want to improve the sound quality?

[@yevheniibatiievskyi]

Does it have its own battery? If not that is bad for phone use.

[@the7observer]

to connect a DAC to PC do I need an OTG cable or any cable will do?

[@Vektorion]

It can definitely drive my moondrop para

[@francisplourde2277]

I would like a comparison with bigger dac/amp

[@twisted-t]

Is it gonna be ok if I plug it into my PC? For instance, I have a CS43131 and it drives my HD58X just fine in term of loudness (the sound could be better though) but when I plug it to my PC it's like half the volume compared to my iPhone (and it's not like I have a garbage PC my MOBO is B450 Mortar MAX, good power supply and I only run a couple of external HDD's, my Xduoo XP-2 Pro doesn't have this problem so I think it's the dongle's fault).

[@paranoidandroid9796]

Hi, Is the moondrop link compatible with ios? Both my dawn pro and space travel in my iphone11 and iphone15 are not detected. Works fine on my android.

[@Sotos75]

Would love to find out how this compares with the Truthear Shio.

[@REMY.C.]

I lately bought my first IEM, wanted to start cheap and bought some KZ ZS10 Pro X. Problem is on windows and my PC, the volume is extremely high even on the minimum 2. So I bought a cheap adapter for with volume but I feel like when using it I don't have the "full range of sound" (gaming, music, movies), it's like it's missing details. Do you think such an amplifier would help me get decent volume control and "full range" of sound? Thanks.

[@JesusGreenBL]

Does anyone know if anywhere has the output impedance spec for this? It looks perfect for my needs but I'm trying to find something with lower (2ohm or less, though the less the better) output impedance so that it'll be a good match for IEMs and might be a better pairing with my K702 than my current amp, and I can't seem to find a single site listing this spec for it.

[@mckronic]

Any recommendations for amps with 4 channels?

[@FromPlsNerf]

I would pay a little more and get the Qudelix 5k. You can use it as either USB Dac, Bluetooth, or both at the same time with multiple devices. I needed a small device to use at work with my laptop dock and the Qudelix is perfect. I either use that or the Hip Dac at work.

[@yuunashiki]

"a little more". From $50 to $110. Yeah right.

[@Diffferencial]

The qudelix also has quite a high noise floor compared to the dawn pro soo...

[@bao1964]

​@yuunashiki i mean the 5k is quite older so the price should be around 70 to 80 realistically if you are willing to purchase used, i copped one myself last year for around 85$ used (converted from my currency).

[@pimqek]

Can you get shock absorber for your mic (or filter out the thumps or stop touching the table). It ruins otherwise great video. Thank you.

[@ballad_bird]

Please review the Questyle M15

[@BamPlan]

one of the dacs of all time

[@ACE112ACE112]

What's the vent layout supposed to be?

[@enzofelipe3]

I tried it on my iPhone (lightning) using my cable and didn’t work, just on computer, how can I make it works?

[@derekschoenfeldt9155]

Can you hook this up to an iPhone with lightning connection?

[@abdullahbinmadhi8306]

compare it to ibasso dco3 pro since they are the same chips and close in price. I own ibasso dco3 pro and pair it with tanchjim kara with tip and cable rolling. The sound is amazing on apple music lossless.

[@aaomurga]

How compares with the tea from khadas?

[@sunnysalunkhe1195]

How does it compare to apple dongle?

[@MonTadas]

Were this out at the time of buying Shanling UA1s(more than half a year ago) I would've extremely regretted that purchase. But now I'm just jealous

[@MatheoHarrill]

is this really better than the m2 macbook pro output?

[@tsarbomba1]

Those vents make it look like a mini Nomad.

[@frankhu8692]

Well i need to correct you on the moon river 2, Maximum Output Power: 4.4mm: 32Ω 280mW, 300Ω 53mW, this one max out at 32Ω 120mW for balance, its enough though the moon river 2 is still quite a bit better, so?

[@capberganza]

hello, total noob here, If I buy one like this will I be able to enjoy my IEMs at its fullest?

[@shurikviro5521]

How it sounds compared to Fido Btr7?

[@usmankhalid990]

Can this be used for console gaming on a ps5?

[@stale_.]

Can this drive planar iems sufficiently?

[@tomandrews1615]

Would it work to help benefit the likes of hifiman he5xx?

[@ekketiivas7603]

Is it better than the Dragonfly Cobalt? Considering sound only and not the price difference, any thoughts welcome.

[@marinecorpsman5]

I'm wondering this as well.

[@LDFades]

How would I use this if I need a Lightning connection to my phone?

[@CybrTwo]

dumb question but are you supposed to run your dac/amp combo at max volume while changing windows volume or does max windows volume with lower dac/amp volume work too? running fiio btr5 (2021) and sony mdr-ex800st

[@hypnogri5457]

If possible you try to lower volume as far down in the chain as possible. headphone > amp > dac > pc is the order

[@m4nc1n1]

Just ordered this from Audio64 (US dealer out of NY).

[@tonywalker6624]

Can you please review oneodio pro 50

[@kamienica1000]

This is better than MOONDROP DAWN 3.5 MM - MINI DAC/AMP USB ?

[@komi1834]

FiiO KA13 review when? $80 but does 1100mW on 4.4

[@princeajaz9167]

What is the best DAC under 50$ in ur opinion?

[@rial2997]

ifi go link vs moondrop dawn pro Which on better

[@ajaycherian9791]

Do balanced cables affect the soundstage, keeping aside amplification/louder volume ?

[@Hatano_Rin]

I'd say yes... I'm currently testing this dawn pro with my blessing 3 (stock cable) and compared it to my balanced cable. Both are spc cables, the stock cable seems wider imo, it has more open/wider instrument placement and extra airiness but the treble in balanced cable sounds more tame, more intimate vocal in comparison

[@ajaycherian9791]

​​Many thanks for the response...so are you saying balanced is better or again subjective to each ear with pros and cons. I am relatively new to the hobby but I do feel an increase in soundstage ​while using the Tripowin Zonie 4.4 balanced with Chu2 and FuDus as opposed to stock their stock cables with 3.5 terminations...oh and I am using Audiocular CS46L41 dongle DAC for the 3.5 and a basic JCally JM6-4 dongle DAC with a CX319889 chip for the 4.4 mm balanced cables. I was hoping upgrading to the Dawn Pro will improve the experience !?@@Hatano_Rin

[@oLegacyXx]

What was the outro song?

[@ad-entertainment-xi9dj]

is it working with iphone 15?