My New Primary IEMs! - Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk! Unboxing and First Impressions!

An unboxing and first impressions of my new primary IEMs! These are the Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk. I've heard a lot of praise with the Blessing 2 dusk and not so much with the Blessing 3, so I've waited until the release of this "Dusk 2" for a purchase. I've been using my Fiio FA9 previously for the past 4 years as my main IEMs so I kind of wanted to try something different at this point. I'm super impressed!

[@thekaydubz]

I forgot to mention, I don't really think I notice any noticeable hissing or audible noise floor with these so far, at least not in my music. I heard some hissing during editing this video on the pauses but I'm not sure if that's this cable or just the quality of my microphones. The IEMs also sound really good when being played loud, just something I noticed. Also, would I have preferred if they achieved the DSP tuning on the IEMs themselves using analog? 100%, that would have been ideal. But since every device I own and listen to audio with (phone, laptop, etc) has a USB-C port nowadays, I'm perfectly fine using the DSP cable as well. In order to use my IEMs with my phone I used to pair it with my Earstudio bluetooth DAC, but I guess with this DSP cable I don't need to anymore.

[@MaiChaMH]

When you’re editing, are you using the analog or usb c? From my experience any “IEM” will pickup hissing from bad DAC(analog port). Cable can pickup noise as well when it’s not balanced, but you can tell by fiddling around the cable. The usb c they’ve provided have a dedicated DAC inside, and I don’t think they’ll put a bad one that makes hissing sound.

[@thekaydubz]

@MaiChaMH using the DSP cable, just plugging it into my Mac. I think it is just the cable, since I can sometimes hear some light noise in pauses in my music too when it's quiet. Hiss/noise was actually one of the biggest things I've been listening for when using the DSP since a number of people have noted it in reviews. It doesn't bother me though, barely noticeable to me.

[@apothecy4011]

Dusk is literally a less expensive and a tad better Monarch MK3. And if you dont like the dsp, you can EQ them with analog as well. Nothing currently comes close under $500 , except the DaVinci which comes very close to the Dusk but it isnt released yet (Hype 4 is the only thing that can somehow compete) , and it also almost beats everything below $1k (including the Variations, the Volaire , the Scarlet Mini , The Hype 10 and trades blows with the Monarchs and the DunuSA6 MK2). Under $1500, things get more heated with the Prestige LTD and Elysian Diva , slightly edge the Dusk out (and Dusk narrowly beats the FatFreq Maestro) But the difference isn't worth the price difference. Just be wary of the Moondrop's QC. The DSP cable might have artifacts and there are also some channel imbalance reports.

[@thekaydubz]

Wow, before I got the Dusk I wanted the Monarch MK3 as my end game but I guess I don't need to buy one anymore. Really shows too, the Dusk sounds absolutely incredible and I don't feel the need to get anything else for the next 3-5 years at least (hoping they last that long). I was planning to put out a quick review today or tomorrow and was also going to talk about some noise from the cable. I rarely hear it and only on certain pauses it seems like. I have to really look for it though. Really informative comparisons!

[@apothecy4011]

@@thekaydubz if you had the MK3s, then why did you get the dusk? Both are about equal. From MK3 to the DUSK is more of a sidegrade. If you don't have either , then yeah, dusk is the better choice. Looking forward to your comparison video vs. the MK3.

[@thekaydubz]

My bad I wasn't clear. I meant I wanted the mk3 as my endgame, but I never bought it.

[@samlawson635]

If it's your first IEM using planar, give the Dioko a try! I believe Dioko is still the cheapest planar, and it's absolutely fantastic.

[@thekaydubz]

Yeah my first planar! I've heard of the dioko before, I think I seen Linus make a video on it but never tried it myself. I might just be sticking with the Dusk for the next 3-4 years like I did my FA9 😅. I'm afraid of spending too much on gear!

[@samlawson635]

@@thekaydubz I absolutely feel that. I've been rotating through my watch box full of IEMs, because I know they won't get a lot of use for a while after I get my Dusk 😆

[@RandolphNwaiwu]

It’s a postcard. You’re welcome.

[@thekaydubz]

Tru

[@olternaut]

Is this specifically the Dusk 2?

[@thekaydubz]

Yeah would have been the blessing dusk 2 but they just named it dusk since they are using different drivers

[@bourjuva]

is good for gaming and overall music?

[@thekaydubz]

I haven't tried it while gaming since I don't really use IEMs while gaming, but I would imagine they should be at least decent. Soundstage is wider than my Fiio FA9 tho not particularly wide when compared to headphones ofc. Imaging is great though! Music is a no brainer, this IEM sounds excellent! I've been listening to these for many hours straight while working

[@WildfireX]

I was thinking about these but i might go with thieaudio hype 4 instead. I don't like the idea of having to use usb to get the best audio out of them, considering i still buy Sony phones because they come with the 3.5mm jack & my dap obviously has the same. Currently only have the moondrop chu 2 when it comes to iems though.

[@thekaydubz]

I never tried anything from thieaudio but I heard a lot of good things about the hype 4. I read that crinacle released the EQ adjustments so apparently people can apply those EQ settings and get the same sound from analog I believe? I never tried tho

[@WildfireX]

@@thekaydubz I wanted to get the monarchs either MK2 or MK3 but honestly £1000 for iems is just, I can't justify it 😂 I think £500 is the upper limit if pay for iems, & £750-£1000 the upper limit id pay for headphones I swear all this stuff is expensive asf anyway

[@thekaydubz]

At one point the Monarch Mk2 or 3 was my end game also, but the urge wore off eventually after I stopped looking at IEMs to buy and just used my FA9 haha. Was also looking at the IE600 but read so many posts about drivers dying all of a sudden so I Scratched that as well. Now I settled on the dusk