MOONDROP DAWN PRO REVIEW

>>I am brazilian and I speak portuguese, so forgive my english, I’ll use translation tools to help<<

INTRO:

A dongle that has been very successful due to its price and performance… and also due to its already well-known brand, we’re talking about the Moondrop Dawn Pro.

The dongle market is heating up again, there are a lot of interesting things coming out these days. I’m starting to use dongles again and I hope more will appear here.

Price: $49,99 USD
Color: Silver

Moondrop reviews: Aria, CHU (in portuguese)

MOONDROP LINKS:

https://amzn.to/3Yvx9sl

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DEXN7GB (official store)

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DmvHFnz (hifigo)

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DmyjrYP (shenzhen)

https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Dk0ga4j (haoda)

SPECIFICATIONS:

– DAC Chip: CIRRUS LOGIC CS43131
– Frequency: 5Hz – 82kHz (±1dB)
– Supports: PCM 32-Bit/384kHz, DSD256
– Input: USB type C
– Outputs: 3.5mm SE & 4.4mm Balanced
– Power output: 3.5mm (2Vrms), 4.4mm (4Vrms)
– SNR 3.5mm: 123dB (A-wt), 4.4mm: 131dB (A-wt)
– THD+N <0.00014% (AES17 20kHz non-loaded)
– Dynamic range: 4.4mm: 132dB (A-wt)
– Noise floor: 3.5mm: 1.5μV, 4.4mm: 1.3μV (AES17 20kHz)
– LED RGB: Sampling rate
– UAC 2.0 and UAC 1.0
– Dongle size: 4cm [L] x 2cm [W] x 1.2cm [D]
– Cable size: 11.3cm (end to end)
– Adapter: USB-C to USB-A
– Material: Aluminum alloy
– Dongle weight 13.2g
– Cable weight: 4.1g
– Total weight (packaging, dongle, etc): 107.5g
– Packaging size: 12cm [L] x 12cm [W] x 2.7cm [D]

DEVICES USED:

– Kiwi Ears Quintet
– Tanchjim 4U
– Tin HiFi P1
– FiiO M11S
– FiiO KA11
– MotoZ3Play
– Samsung S22U
– Dell Inspiron (W10)

UNBOXING:

PHYSICAL ASPECTS:

Construction: Dongle with great construction! All coated in aluminum alloy used in aviation. The design is a very positive point, besides being a minimalist dongle, it’s also super compact! This is one of the points that I found most positive about the Dawn Pro, it’s very small and lightweight – of course, for a dongle that has two outputs: 3.5mm and 4.4mm. I think that for this type of equipment, the smaller and lighter, the better.

Regarding the construction, the only part that I didn’t like were the buttons on the side… not that it’s bad to have buttons on the dongle, on the contrary, it’s great, but the problem is that these buttons are kind of slack, making that little rattling noise when you shake the dongle. This really gives the product a feeling of being something cheaper. I know it doesn’t interfere with anything, but I think that the button making noise is very annoying (in my opinion).

Basically, there are only two volume buttons on the body of the dongle: vol up and vol down. And speaking of volume, the Dawn Pro has a 60-level volume adjustment, which is very good, because you can get a more precise adjustment, the Android volume is quite limited (15 levels). Therefore, the dongle has volume control independent of the source (smartphone, notebook, etc.). Another interesting feature, and one that I really liked, is that the dongle has ventilation holes on the top surface. It’s something that is part of the design but it was not done by chance, this improves the dissipation of the heat produced by the dongle.

Cable. The Dawn Pro has a removable cable. The product comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A adapter. Regarding the adapter, it was a positive point that the company included one, however, something I noticed is that the product doesn’t have anything for the Lightning connection (iPhone). I’m an Android user, I don’t know if the dongle works on iOS, and I also didn’t see anywhere saying if it works on Apple devices. I think so, if the company made a product and didn’t include a cable or adapter for the iPhone, then I wouldn’t even buy it, because it implies that the company didn’t prioritize iPhone users (models before 15). With my Android smartphones, the Dawn Pro worked perfectly. Before buying the Dawn Pro, I thought the weak point of the product would be the cable, but so far I was wrong… I’m enjoying it, it’s very flexible, you can fold it and store it in a smaller case.

One thing that the company missed was not including a button to activate the gain, or including some configuration to activate it using the volume buttons. I tested it by holding the volume buttons and nothing happened, so I don’t think it really has that function here.

The dongle has an RGB LED that is located just below the ventilation holes. You can only see the LED when it’s on. The LED colors represent the sampling rates: UAC 1.0 (slow flicker-red); UAC 2.0 in PCM 44.1 – 96kHz (red), 176.4 – 192kHz (green), 352.8 – 384kHz (blue), DSD 1x (yellow), 2x (purple), 4x (white). I only use FLAC 16bit/44.1/48kHz files and the most common music streaming services (Spotify, YouTube Music, Deezer, etc).

Moondrop Link 2.0 App. As you can see in the screenshots below, the Moondrop app is very simple, it doesn’t offer many features, basically it only has: turn off the LED, control volume, select the gain, and change the DAC filters. To top it off, there’s a bug in the icons, but it might be due to the version of my Android (it’s old). The company needs to improve the layout of the app too.

Download link: https://moondroplab.com/en/download

USB Audio Class. This dongle has compatibility mode in UAC 1.0 and UAC 2.0. UAC is the type of protocol used by USB ports to play high-resolution files. UAC 1.0 can play PCM files up to 24bits/96kHz, and UAC 2.0 can play larger files, such as PCM 32bits/384kHz (higher), or DSD256 files, for example. This may be interesting for devices that require specific compatibility, such as the Nintendo Switch.

Battery consumption on the 3.5mm output. Using the Kiwi Ears Quintet, battery consumption was 10%. The smartphone I used has a 3.000mAh battery. The test was performed during 1 hour of playback with the screen off and WiFi turned off (airplane mode). The volume set on the dongle was vol. max and on Android it was level 10 out of 15 available.

I also tested the Tin P1 on the balanced 4.4mm output. The battery consumption with the P1 was 15%. Same as the previous test, I just changed the volume to 12 out of 15 on Android. As I always say, these aren’t 100% accurate numbers, it’s just to get a baseline.

Heating test: I usually see this issue while I’m testing battery consumption. I can say that the Dawn Pro got a very good result, it practically only gets a little warm, but it doesn’t heat up excessively. It seems that the ventilation holes really had an effect. The FiiO KA11, for example, heats up a lot more. A positive point for the Dawn Pro. On the balanced output it heats up a little more, although this difference is almost imperceptible to the touch.

On the computer, the Dawn Pro was recognized immediately, I didn’t need to install any drivers. The volume scale on the computer goes from 2% to 2% by scrolling with the mouse scroll wheel, but you can probably adjust it by 1% by 1% if you use the arrow. As of this writing, the dongle has not received any firmware update. If it does, the firmware page is the same as the app download page.

As far as I know, the Dawn Pro doesn’t support microphones, or maybe I just couldn’t find the information.

SOUND ASPECTS:

It’s important to remember that this analysis is subjective, based on my experience with the product and its synergy with other equipment I’ve used. I’ll also mention that the more objectivist part of this hobby aren’t quite my beach, so some information might be limited, I’m not an expert in the technical side of this type of product.

I really liked the Moondrop Dawn Pro. It is another dongle that, along with many others, has been implemented with the Cirrus Logic DAC chip, model CS43131. The audio quality of the dongle – in my opinion – is excellent. Lately I have seen that dongles come and go and the quality of the equipment always remains at a high level.

The Moondrop Dawn Pro arrived recently, and from the little I have been able to test the dongle, the product has proven to be a very competent DAC/AMP, presenting a 100% transparent, very clean sound, and with excellent definition. I really liked the level of detail it presented. I have tested DAC/AMPs of higher prices and honestly the Dawn Pro is in no way inferior to them (in my opinion). I didn’t notice any distortion, coloration, noise floor or strange sounds.

Amplification: The Dawn Pro connected to my notebook only needed 25-30% volume for the sound to be perfect for me. The Kiwi Ears Quintet is an easy to push IEM, and the Dawn Pro did the job masterfully. Very powerful and dynamic bass, vivid and textured sound. About the Dawn Pro with the Tanchjim 4U, it’s basically what I wrote in the 4U review, since I evaluated the IEM using the Dawn Pro. I saw some people online saying that the Tanchjim 4U needs more amplification… so, in my opinion, the IEM doesn’t need it, the Dawn Pro pushed the IEM already at volumes between 25-30% (dongle volume at maximum and gain activated). In my opinion, with this 3.5mm output, the Dawn Pro will handle 99% of the IEMs on the market.

I tested it with the Tin HiFi P1 and the Dawn Pro with the 4.4mm output, and for me, this output was indeed capable of pushing the P1. Obviously, I’ve already listened to the IEMs with more powerful sources and the performance was better than with the Dawn Pro, and with the FiiO M11S itself it was better. One thing I didn’t like about the Dawn Pro with the P1 was that when I turned the volume up above 60%, the sound simply started to show signs of distortion (clipping). I think that perhaps the Dawn Pro isn’t the best dongle for more demanding headphones, for example, a Hifiman HE400se. If you have earphones that aren’t so demanding and want to use the 4.4mm output, then I think it will be a better situation.

Digital filters: These digital filters always come with DACs, but I confess that I’ve never heard a difference between them. I think it’s a feature offered by the chip, and then companies take advantage and add it as an extra. I’ve talked to other people in the hobby and none of them say they notice a difference either.

COMPARATIVE: Moondrop Dawn Pro x FiiO KA11

As I always say, they are different products… even though they have the same DAC Chip, the other features and internal components are different. Therefore, this comparison is just a report on my experiences, not scientific data.

In terms of physical aspects, the FiiO KA11 has a fixed cable, and the Dawn Pro has a removable cable. Well, I already mentioned this in the KA11 review… The quality of products nowadays is much better, and if you are only going to use the dongle on your smartphone, I would even prefer it to be a fixed cable (if it’s of good quality, like the KA11). A removable cable is interesting in case you need to extend the cable (for use on a computer), or if you didn’t like the material used by the manufacturer. Now, it’s important to remember that a removable cable has an extra connection point, which can also cause problems.

Both dongles are very light and compact, although I think the KA11 has the advantage in this regard. As for the heating issue, the Dawn Pro comes out on top, since the KA11 heats up a lot more. The Dawn Pro has a balanced output, so that’s another positive point… if you’re really going to use that output, because if you don’t, you’ll just end up with an extra useless hole, then the KA11 is the game changer.

In this case, I can only evaluate the sound of the dongles on the 3.5mm output. Using the Kiwi Ears Quintet, the KA11 presented a warmer and stronger sound, and I’ll take the opportunity to say that it also had a slight increase in power compared to the Dawn Pro. The Dawn Pro, on the other hand, showed a more neutral/analytical sound. It’s likely that this difference in sound is exactly because of the difference in amplification (power).

I see some friends commenting that the Dawn Pro has a smaller soundstage. So, comparing the KA11 with the Dawn Pro, there is a slight feeling that the Dawn Pro has less spatiality, but it’s really only a small thing. For me, the issue is the difference in power between the two. The paragraph above kind of answers that here… if you have a more powerful DAC/AMP, it will certainly deliver a more “open” sound, with more vibration, more texture, and more strength. Remember that I am reporting the part that is within my limitations, if this difference is really due to some other objective issue, unfortunately I can’t point out.

The FiiO KA11 is my recommendation for simple dongles, that is, with only the 3.5mm output. It’s cheaper than the Dawn Pro, especially because it doesn’t have a balanced output. I think the cost/benefit of the KA11 is very good, for what it’s intended to be. Now, if the person really wants to have a dongle with a balanced output, then the Dawn Pro comes in as an alternative with great cost/benefit as well.

PROS AND CONS:

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