Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk: The DEFINITIVE review 

Hi mark how does this compare to the original oracle? I have the opportunity to buy an oracle for $300. Like you, I’m not interested in the dsp cable. In terms of tuning how different are since the FR is so similar perhaps the oracle is leaner on the bass?

I'll Stick with my Blessing 2 OG

24:19 the comparisons are what I'm here for and why I like Akros' work so much

🙏 Thank you.

For $30 it's very useful with limitations / annoyances.

Been wondering whether the Variations is better than Dusk. You mind giving some feedback?

@@F8Msssss I only have the variations, so I can only answer with relation to equing the variations as a Dusk. I personally always prefer the variations equalized to the Dusk's dsp response. That probably means I prefer the Dusk's tuning. I'm not a great fan of the variations, but I think it has good drivers, and lends itself well to eq. Having said that, since you need a dsp cable to get the Dusk's better tuning, might as well get a discounted variations and eq it: the Dusk's sound signature is good but is not the best possible eq for the variations.

damn is your throat sore bro?

that's what i think as well. Also, yes, EQ is free, but we don't have expensive equipments to let us know how the EQ will actually affect the iem's frequency response.

@@KanyeWestFan69 i think EQ affects the FR in a predictable way (until the drivers distort). Also, AFAIK using measuring rigs to base your EQ on can be misleading as they don't 100% replicate the human ear. For example: I heard both Variations and Nova. And while they graph similarly, they sound totally different.

@@elijahpalmer6323 Ooh, sick burn. You really roasted me there. Wow!!

@@kaavik47 chill out lil bro

The Aria 2 cable is pretty nice.

Hit me up on Discord.

Overall I prefer Dusk. Variations treble might be a bit smoother up top but it's been over a year since I heard it, so not a great comparison.

He discussed it on the stream.

Estamos aí.

A $200 B2:Dusk is hard to beat.

@@SuperReview completely agree, I’m heavily contemplating the B2 Dusk just for the price alone. Have you had a chance to listen and test the Xenns Mangird Top?

On the M300, the cable doesn't really work for me -- the EQ wasn't being applied.

EQ is a good learning tool if nothing else.

​@@SuperReviewit's interesting to try EQ'ing one of your IEM/headphones with squig to another that you own, and see how they compare and what EQ can and can't realistically do. As fun as it is to think your EQ's Sundara is just as good as an HE-1..

Possibly, I'm interested.

Both Timmy of Gizaudio and Crin have released the EQ files so you can kinder Dusk your Blessing 3, that's what I've done.

@@taidee where can I get those ya?

​@@taidee i dont think those eq files from timmy and crin will work for the blessing 3, since the base tuning of both iems do differ, instead you can just go to squig link and auto eq the blessing 3 to the dusk, go find some tutorials on google on how to do that on squig link as it will be more detailed in explanation

Gizaudio Dusk review has a link to the text files for wavelet EQ.

@@earlybird3668 what I was looking for is the Blessing 3 to the Dusk DSP. nvm I'll just EQ using squig.

Even though Birocratic licenses his music for RU-vid use, I keep getting copyright claims from music publishers that are a pain in the butt to dispute so I give up.

Just use squig, brother. Or better yet, Crin's graph tool with 5128 measurements. It'll be more precise too.

Yeah I been using those tips a lot lately.

What other IEMs do you have experience with under the $100 mark? Curious to hear exactly how this stacks up

Different sounds, both very good, don't think of good and better.

Oki, makes sense. Thanks!

I will do something about it yeah.

Can't say they sound noticeably different.

don't care about the cables as long as they transport signals and hang nicely on my ears.

I’m not particularly fussy, and I don’t consider myself an expert audiophile. But I do experience different sound with different cables. For instance, I was curious about the Hola cable. Well, connected to my S8’s I (think I) lose weight/authority/realism (don’t know how to explain) and extension at both ends when compared to Linsoul’s Euphrosyne. At the same time, I followed Mark’s lead on the Fiio HS18 tips and…. OMG! They work so well for me on my S8. To the point that I wanted to sell the S8’s as I ordered the Supernovas and would help funding the purchase. But I am keeping the S8 now 😅

@@gripau92 DSP cables usually change sounds by applying EQs. Otherwise, cables are only different by impedance, and in turn, only affect loudness in 95% of cases. Ppl do tend to perceive diff loudnesses as diff sounds, but, in the end, we can change loudness w/o changing cables. Tips do make big differences tho.

So why even add it with the IEMs? It cheapens the product

@@BrandonAdams1010 absolutely agree with that, for 350$ it makes the overall product less premium because the implementation is bad. Why did they include it? Well damned if I know but again, it's just a bonus, they probably expect you to give it a try not something to be taken seriously

But it isn't really. Crin said the DSP does what they couldn't do in analog. So the DSP tuning is what he wanted in the first place.

​​@@rafdesdsp is just EQ as he had repeatedly said. He also shared the dsp tuning if you don't want to use the dsp provided. I'd probably just release a new batch with the dsp tuning as default then have the option for buyers if they want to get the dsp cable. I'll also want the analog cable to be of higher quality

@@alrizo1115 Yes, I know about the wavelet files, it's on Timmy's review of it. But, they couldn't get the tuning as he wanted so the only way was to use the DSP for straight plug 'n play. They can't just release the it with the analog cable with the DSP EQ. It's not possible. Either way, you would need an EQ to get it to sound the way Crin want's it to be. Analog is just a slightly better Blessing 3 without it.

Squiglink

how do you do that? Isn't it quite difficult?

@yellow_fellow At first it takes a while, but with experience more like 10-15 minutes

@@1fareast14 what app you use for EQ?

@drizzlydr4ke For quick jobs and testing I use the android system wide eq, though the auto gain is a little annoying. For final setup I use peace eq to make a profile, then export to qudelix 5k

That's in the q&a video. Links on his discord.

DSP is just another term for EQ. I guess you could stack EQ from multiple sources, but probably better to do it in one place.

khruangbins newest, A LA SALA

Well he used the DSP just to perfect what couldn't physically be done, it's more of a bonus feature than required.

There's a Dusk preset EQ in the Moondrop app with ungodly bass boost.

@@SuperReview ngl cranking uo the bass boost made me appreciate how much of a trip phonk can be with how fast the bass is on them haha

Up to you. It's not a factor in the sound.

@@SuperReview Thanks for the answer.

I think the point of the DSP is to make that last bit of correction that they couldn't make without it.

Hype 4 instead Dusk 👍

@@user-df3pz2xt4c 6 weeks wait on Hype 4 ! worth it or not ?

Getting into EQ is free soubd quality and Hexa improves a lot with a bass shelf.

​@@user-df3pz2xt4c You should state reasons why.

I'm in the same camp. I love my Kato but I think I need better treble and Dusk seems fitting. An endgame IEM for me if I ever buy it.

Should be, I haven't tested the accuracy of Wavelet's EQ application.

Have you tried it?

He said that tips which he used improve bass I can't remember model but I think it is something made by fiio

The Fiio HS18 tips seal a bit more consistently for me than the Spring tips in small, probably they're about a size in between small and medium Spring.

@@SuperReview Thanks! Damn! Cannot find a source…

AliExpress

@@SuperReviewthis was such a revelation. Really, I am enjoying my S8’s (even) so much more! Thanks so much for the tip (no, it wasn’t intended). If you read this, I am curious to know which cable you use with the S8’s. Thank you!

Not a dumb question. AirPods Pro 2 are actually really quite good. If you really like vocals, I think Dusk beats them, and the bass tactility is more engaging on Dusk. But nothing wrong with AirPods.

Can you do it with the B3 and update us?

@@AliR03 I believe Gizaudio made a review video of the Dusk, in which he makes the same suggestion i.e. you can use EQ on your DAP to get the exactly the same sound profiles, without having to use the DSP cable. I think he also briefly shows the plus/minus values at various frequencies as set by the Moondrop App. I'm not sure if he produced downloadable wavelet files, but in theory you can pause the video, get the values and create your own wavelet files.

​@@tobydavies6240 crin made downloadable wavelet files so no extra tinkering needed

@tobydavies6240 NoNoNo What I mean is that he can fully equalize the blessing 3 to the dusk, Moondrop app allows you to play with 60-10k region only, which is good for the air region, but not for the sub-bass Bro it's 40$ with msrp and 75$ now on Ali Express "price diff"

@@tobydavies6240 Crin gave him the files and Timmy has it for download on his review.

I tried it with my M11s and it works as intended

@@vianhoho19 thank you

Too similar to say.

Eq settings must not to be exactly same But if you don't want to do it by yourself you can try these (it is not Mark's, I made it from scratch) Filter 1: ON PK Fc 130 Hz Gain -3.6 dB Q 0.600 Filter 2: ON PK Fc 550 Hz Gain 0.9 dB Q 1.300 Filter 3: ON PK Fc 2000 Hz Gain -4.5 dB Q 1.000 Filter 4: ON PK Fc 4000 Hz Gain -3.3 dB Q 2.000 Filter 5: ON PK Fc 6000 Hz Gain 1.0 dB Q 2.000 Filter 6: ON PK Fc 12500 Hz Gain -9.0 dB Q 5.000

@@HeroOfAnnihilated than you so much! Did you make it for moondrop link app?

@@helgiforest it should work for freedsp for latest versions of app May cable should be same as freedsp cable All frequencies are not boosted in resulting fr, because it is one of app limitations

Dusk is next level I believed Mark said it's close to the Moondrop S8 performance ! It depends on how much people want to spend !

@@Greg.Siucrazyforaudio2016 Sound is subjective. Zeos and some others said analog sounds like shit (sounds significant less than $360) and dsp sounds amazing.

Dusk

@@SuperReview also better than ziigaat cincotres?

The measured unit's are mostly fine. Isn't it a single unit that was the cause for the commotion?

I have Fiio HS18 tips.

He does. I believe he said B2 < B3 < B2 Dusk < Dusk

I’d love to see that comparison as well.

davinci and ziigaat

I kind of agree, and with the watch analog the cheap Casio doesn't mean the more expensive watches are pointless, just that if your goal is simply telling the time, you can do that well for cheap.

Blessing 3 is already 300$+ so it doesn't make sense for the dusk to be very close with B3 in price, as for the DSP it's only 20$ and they even include it as a bonus in moondrop aria 2 and may which is 100$- IEM so let's just say DSP is just a free bonus

@@VSN-wb2ly DSP is not a bonus if you are paying $40 for it.

you could just buy the DSP cable and put it on something else.

@@John.Christopher for something that originally cost 300$ I think it's more of a bonus. let's have some logic, moondrop aria 2 is 90$ and moondrop may is 65$, if the DSP is 40$ then those two IEMs would actually cost 50$ and 25$, for that amount of price I don't think it'd be worth for them profit wise, and there's no way moondrop may actual quality only costs around 25$. Even at 100$- the DSP cable is actually only worth for about 15$ or so, and the tress hold gets bigger the higher the price is (so the actual DSP price is smaller and less worthy) hence why I think DSP cable for something that's originally 300$ (B3) is not worth considering the price and I would go as far as saying that the DSP is pretty much a free bonus at that price point. the analogy is when you buy a very expensive house and you get 1 carpet as a bonus, sure you could say the carpet is probably expensive as a stand alone product for 50$ and it's probably not any better than 10$ carpet, but if you just bought 500k$ house the carpet instantly became invaluable compared to the house and in the end it doesn't really matter aside from some silly jokes and laugh for a moment thinking how dumb the bundle is. The analogy might be too far but you'll get the idea, lol

@@VSN-wb2ly Understood. From a price premium perspective, it's likely headroom to split revenue for the project if not for the included DSP. In this review, it is stated that they perform indistinguishly from each other when EQed the same. With treble presentation being negligibly better on the B3 with the Dusk bringing the same approach to dynamism as its predecessor and is more musical. But again, you can tune them to your liking, and both are great. Unless, of course, you don't care to EQ, or don't have preexisting tuning/amp methods the Dusk is hands down the pick

Sorry Mark just saw you already responded to the same question! Appreciate all you do!

Chopin is bassier, Dusk is a little livelier and more open sounding. Better is up to personal preference.

l believed it is better than all of what you mentioned 100% it's close to Moondrop S8 level !

Mark also compared it with the Hype 4 it's as good or better than the Hype 4 !

I haven’t heard dusk but origin is truly overrated product by most reviewers is and is not even worth over 150$

@@DaddyYanToTe My taste matches with gizaudio's Timmy , he praised origin so highly

@@xeenon5438 Try falcon ultra and BQEYZ wind bro , they are both worth buying

I think Mark answers this question in the Q&A, and S8 is still better

I personally prefer the normal blessing 3 to the ie600

Yes.

Popsicles in between what? Not the legs I hope.

I like this better, not as thin.

You could always use an analogue cable and use an app on your dap to peq it. Crin has the values posted somewhere, so you don’t need the dsp cable. But yes if you used the dsp cable it would bypass your daps amp.

yes, if you use this cable, the cable's dac and amp takes over. the dap will only output digital signal. however terrific the hardware of you dap is, it won't matter anymore.

@@haomingli6175 So, essentially, the claim regarding the Moondrop Crinacle Dusk is that, if you use their DSP cable, you avoid the need for an expensive DAP, and can use a very cheap storage device instead. In this scenario, any digital storage device capable of holding FLAC files (e.g. Sansa Zip Clip or any number of cheap alternatives, typically costing about $35), will sound exactly the same as an expensive DAP (typically costing £350 - $1,500 or more), as all of the Digital to Analog conversion actually happens within the cable anyway. If I were a DAP manufacturer, I'd be furious. The need for their existence has just been blown apart by the suggestion that all of the work that is done done in a $1,000+ DAP can be achieved, and provide identical results, if you use a cable that typically costs around $25. This tells me that either ... 1) DAP manaufacturers must to be lying, if they claim that their expensive product will produce better audio results than a cheap storage device, OR 2) Moondrop must be lying, if they claim their cheap cable, with internal DAC, can product sound quality that is identical regardless of the DAP or digital storage device you use. By this logic, one of the above statements has to be true, and the other one has to be false. So which statement is true?

​@@tobydavies6240expensive daps or dongle only noticable when using high impedance headphones, most iems don't need that much power and it's barely noticable using 3.5mm on phone and a daps

@@heyking8583 Okay, thank you. Very informative.

If you can Eq then I believe it is. I eq mine and it now sounds slightly better than my hype 4 (I increased the quintet's bass by 2-3dB, lowered the 8kHz region by 4dB, and increased the 16kHz region by 2-4dB).

If you're happy where you are don't worry , if you can afford a better set than it cost you more , better purchase = better value , not in quality i.e. staging, separation ,clarity , tone ,air , texture, all adds up as you pay more you get more !

@@Greg.Siucrazyforaudio2016 False. There are many iems that are superior to more expensive iems for a cheaper price. And with proper EQ the vast majority of iems can be superior to more expensive sets (assuming that you don't eq the more expensive sets

dsp cable is saving some peoples money , you don't need another dac/amp ,some people liked it simple , only not for you and me , this is optional , free to use , how good is that !

Dusk, I mean, Duh.

Because you watched the live

@@John.Christopher no I didn't

@@VSN-wb2ly just kidding 😁

@@John.Christopher I didn't even know he made a live, why I didn't get the notification tho

@@VSN-wb2ly turn on notifications 😁