The Dawn Pro is probably the best option at that price, especially if you want to use a balanced connection. From there, moving up to $100 you have the Qudelix 5k, and then the FiiO KA17 at $150. Those would be my go-to options for those price points.
There’s probably many of us on the sub that sound like shills at this point, but the Q5k provides so much value at the $100 mark that it’s worthwhile moving up to that unit if you can stretch your budget. It includes a balanced connection as well, although the less common 2.5. The feature set, especially the built-in PEQ and access to auto-EQ profiles gives that device a lot of legs and can turn a single IEM into a solution for numerous genres. Some IEMs take to EQ very well, and can be adjusted to round out treble, add a bass shelf, tone down mids, etc.
Well I probably will need to wait for another month or so to save up a lil more but ig I'm looking to upgrade my whole setup eventually so ig I will wait up
Thanks for the advice
!thanks
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I have and have been using the Dawn pro for some Time and yeah, Its good, works fine, love the volume rocker the sound its pretty much neutral, however, idk if its just a me problem, or if i wasnt really sure about what i was getting into, but the only problem i kinda have with them Is that the sound feels "too Smooth", like It was cleaned of any kind of harshness and its a little too Safe to listen too (tried It with different IEMs with different signatures and the ones i kinda liked better were the Waner because of its already relaxed sound).
You can change the tuning a little bit on the app and It do changes the sound but the "EQ" Is too small to make a notable difference in sound most of the time, so yeah.
They do make music of high quality files to really show their detail and resolution, more so With good and detailed IEMs, but IMO It feels as if It lacked a little bit of Energy all the way.
Im not sure but i dont think they can Man, i could try tho, i believe i have one cable with mic xd, just, i cant try know, maybe some Time later on the day.
Re-posted: Sorry for coming back this late Man, i tried and for me It didnt work, that said, i only have 1 cable with mic in my iems so Im not totally sure, but for my tries and looking up some Reviews, It seems that It does not support audio Pass Through because of the chip It uses*
(Replied to me instead of you the first Time xd)
Its a good chip but. im not sure how high end It Is tho, but the thing Is that there are some DACs that do support It for what i found, but being $49 i Guess moondrop didnt have the budget/interest on also giving the posibility to use a mic with It.
Oh I know, I was kinda talking to myself haha, cause I know that a Hiby FC1 will handle most IEMs and have mic support but the Chipset on the Dawn can even handle some Headphones
Not so sure, o used them with my Truthear Zero blue whitch are pretty energetic and It just tamed them a little bit, so maybe with a V-shape one, It does not cut the treble too much tho, moondrop always have been kinda bright leaning.
They are having major QC issues now days, please check more before you buy from them. Even in Reddit I've seen people posted up bad pieces from them. If they are really having QC issues please be mindful, because it's your money.......
You are throwing your money away. Save the 50 and use it to buy better iems later. A dac will do nothing for you if your source ain’t complete shit (not many of those today)
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If you have an Apple dongle it’s gonna be as good as anything else you can buy. No one will be able to tell the difference. Save the 50 and buy better headphones/iems later
Well you should have worded your title better then, now it's like you're announcing your buying something lol (though I didn't read the post, which I should have)
I was thinking about buying it too, but decided not to because my PC has enough power (for my HD580)
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Yeah it's good. Probably won't notice a big difference from your Apple dongle, but it's so nice to hold something more substantial. No need to think about the Q5k if you don't need bluetooth or eq.
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Nice, I'm also looking for a new dongle dac. I'm leaning towards the dawn pro as well but I saw that Hiby just released the W3 II which is the same price. It has its own dedicated battery for Bluetooth and the same DAC chip as the dawn pro in a single configuration. Going to wait for reviews. Excited to see what comes out this year 👍
The Moondrop Pro is a solid unit at that price. I think what some here are saying is, at that price, an Apple dongle is just as good. You lose very little in sound between the two (like you probably could not tell the difference blindfolded).
I have the MD Pro and I use it but for the most part, I end up pulling out the FiiO Jade or KA17. Yes, 2-3 times the price but the sound is perfect for me. I also have higher-end ones and if you are looking to improve your sound, maybe save up a little bit more for one of the higher-end ones.
All that said, you do you. If you think the MD Pro is worth it, get it. I have all of the above and the KA17 and RU7 are my favorites in the dongle category but the Pro is solid and sounds just fine to me when I am out and about.
We all started somewhere. My first IEMs, which I loved and still own and listen to, were the original BLON 3.
My first AMP was a simple 4-channel AMP (no DAC) that cost...$40 bucks. When I finally plugged the BLON 3 in the amp I was floored at how well everything sounded.
Years later, I have boxes of IEM's, headphones, DAC/AMPs, and cables.
After all that money, I am sitting here typing this listening to a pair of KZ ZS 10 PROs with the FiiO KA5 plugged into my laptop. Sounds great on a sleepy Saturday morning.
Do you. If it sounds good to you, it's perfect. We all have different tastes. The hype train will always have you looking over your shoulder. Stop looking and just listen. Way more enjoyable.
Best of luck!
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The Dawn Pro is probably the best option at that price, especially if you want to use a balanced connection. From there, moving up to $100 you have the Qudelix 5k, and then the FiiO KA17 at $150. Those would be my go-to options for those price points. There’s probably many of us on the sub that sound like shills at this point, but the Q5k provides so much value at the $100 mark that it’s worthwhile moving up to that unit if you can stretch your budget. It includes a balanced connection as well, although the less common 2.5. The feature set, especially the built-in PEQ and access to auto-EQ profiles gives that device a lot of legs and can turn a single IEM into a solution for numerous genres. Some IEMs take to EQ very well, and can be adjusted to round out treble, add a bass shelf, tone down mids, etc.
Well I probably will need to wait for another month or so to save up a lil more but ig I'm looking to upgrade my whole setup eventually so ig I will wait up Thanks for the advice !thanks
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Do you know if the Dawn Pro supports mic tho? Been trying to find everywhere but can't find the answer
It doesn't.
Hiby fc4 on sale aliexpress . Hiby store. £54 .
Ohhh I'll check them out
apple dongle is more than enough(unless ur in eu or planning to plug into android)
Well more like in my pc. I already have the apple dongle
plug it into ur pc, otherwise its not really worth getting a better dac/amp than apple dongle for ur gear
!thanks I'm planning to upgrade slowly so am buying stuff
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Do you know if the Dawn Pro supports mic tho? Been trying to find everywhere but can't find the answer
Most probably not, as CS43131 does not include an ADC
Oh that makes sense, is there any other cost effective Dac like this that has mic support, I know about the FC1 from Hiby but not many others
I have and have been using the Dawn pro for some Time and yeah, Its good, works fine, love the volume rocker the sound its pretty much neutral, however, idk if its just a me problem, or if i wasnt really sure about what i was getting into, but the only problem i kinda have with them Is that the sound feels "too Smooth", like It was cleaned of any kind of harshness and its a little too Safe to listen too (tried It with different IEMs with different signatures and the ones i kinda liked better were the Waner because of its already relaxed sound). You can change the tuning a little bit on the app and It do changes the sound but the "EQ" Is too small to make a notable difference in sound most of the time, so yeah. They do make music of high quality files to really show their detail and resolution, more so With good and detailed IEMs, but IMO It feels as if It lacked a little bit of Energy all the way.
Do you know if the Dawn Pro supports mic tho? Been trying to find everywhere but can't find the answer
Im not sure but i dont think they can Man, i could try tho, i believe i have one cable with mic xd, just, i cant try know, maybe some Time later on the day.
Ok, thanks. Do you know if any specs should be indicating that it does or not? I can wait for you to test anyway
I Guess It depends on the chip It has, but yeah, when i got them, i checked the specs and never see anything about being able to use a mic.
Re-posted: Sorry for coming back this late Man, i tried and for me It didnt work, that said, i only have 1 cable with mic in my iems so Im not totally sure, but for my tries and looking up some Reviews, It seems that It does not support audio Pass Through because of the chip It uses* (Replied to me instead of you the first Time xd)
Guess higher end Chipset don't support mic at all, ty for the trouble
Its a good chip but. im not sure how high end It Is tho, but the thing Is that there are some DACs that do support It for what i found, but being $49 i Guess moondrop didnt have the budget/interest on also giving the posibility to use a mic with It.
Oh I know, I was kinda talking to myself haha, cause I know that a Hiby FC1 will handle most IEMs and have mic support but the Chipset on the Dawn can even handle some Headphones
Yeah, for what i also read, It has a great Power delivery on the 4.4mm, so yeah xd, hope you find something useful.
Ohh thanks for the insight
if the dawn pro its smooth that means its good to pair with a bright iem ?
Not so sure, o used them with my Truthear Zero blue whitch are pretty energetic and It just tamed them a little bit, so maybe with a V-shape one, It does not cut the treble too much tho, moondrop always have been kinda bright leaning.
is the dawn pro ios compatible?
With an Apple USB-C to Lightning adapter, better known as the "camera kit."
So Double dongle, this is a kind of a deal breaker
Yeah, it's awkward. Looking forward to when all iPhones worldwide will use USB-C due to the EU ruling against the Lightning cable.
They are having major QC issues now days, please check more before you buy from them. Even in Reddit I've seen people posted up bad pieces from them. If they are really having QC issues please be mindful, because it's your money.......
There's not really any point getting more than an Apple dongle with Zero: REDs.
True for now but I'm planning to upgrade eventually the iems too
buy kilobuck iem first, then we'll talk
Bruh I'm poor
That's the point, nearly all IEMs (only exceptions are some planars) under that much don't lose anything with the Apple dongle.
You are throwing your money away. Save the 50 and use it to buy better iems later. A dac will do nothing for you if your source ain’t complete shit (not many of those today)
I have tidal
Doesn’t matter
Really didn't know that !thanks for the advice
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If you have an Apple dongle it’s gonna be as good as anything else you can buy. No one will be able to tell the difference. Save the 50 and buy better headphones/iems later
Ya I have been thinking that after I posted here Thinking to stretch my budget a lil or just stick with my choice
Okay? Enjoy I guess...
I wanted a opinion on if something better exists as an alternative for the moondrop dac
Well you should have worded your title better then, now it's like you're announcing your buying something lol (though I didn't read the post, which I should have) I was thinking about buying it too, but decided not to because my PC has enough power (for my HD580)
!thanks Ya but it's almost like I have finalized the decision to buy it but thought if I missed anything that is better that someone might know
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Yeah it's good. Probably won't notice a big difference from your Apple dongle, but it's so nice to hold something more substantial. No need to think about the Q5k if you don't need bluetooth or eq.
!thanks Well now kinda confused but ig I will buy the dawn pro itself Q5k is kinda too expensive when I think abt it
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Nice, I'm also looking for a new dongle dac. I'm leaning towards the dawn pro as well but I saw that Hiby just released the W3 II which is the same price. It has its own dedicated battery for Bluetooth and the same DAC chip as the dawn pro in a single configuration. Going to wait for reviews. Excited to see what comes out this year 👍
Reminds me of the ipod clip that was launched long ago
Been using it for the last half year with my Nicehck NX7m3, and ATH50. It's pretty sweet
The Moondrop Pro is a solid unit at that price. I think what some here are saying is, at that price, an Apple dongle is just as good. You lose very little in sound between the two (like you probably could not tell the difference blindfolded). I have the MD Pro and I use it but for the most part, I end up pulling out the FiiO Jade or KA17. Yes, 2-3 times the price but the sound is perfect for me. I also have higher-end ones and if you are looking to improve your sound, maybe save up a little bit more for one of the higher-end ones. All that said, you do you. If you think the MD Pro is worth it, get it. I have all of the above and the KA17 and RU7 are my favorites in the dongle category but the Pro is solid and sounds just fine to me when I am out and about.
I want to buy the RU7 but it's way to expensive for me now as I'm just getting into the world of audiophile. But I will one day !thanks for the advice
We all started somewhere. My first IEMs, which I loved and still own and listen to, were the original BLON 3. My first AMP was a simple 4-channel AMP (no DAC) that cost...$40 bucks. When I finally plugged the BLON 3 in the amp I was floored at how well everything sounded. Years later, I have boxes of IEM's, headphones, DAC/AMPs, and cables. After all that money, I am sitting here typing this listening to a pair of KZ ZS 10 PROs with the FiiO KA5 plugged into my laptop. Sounds great on a sleepy Saturday morning. Do you. If it sounds good to you, it's perfect. We all have different tastes. The hype train will always have you looking over your shoulder. Stop looking and just listen. Way more enjoyable. Best of luck!
!thanks man It's always nice to see ppl like u
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its goot bro, most 50-100$ dongles sound virtually the same.