Moondrop - DUSK

The mangrid Tea pro, the Dusk has a weird treble issue that had to be corrected with a DSP cable, dont get me wrong, its still an awesome IEM and a class leader, but it all depends on how you like your treble, just to ruin your day, the other options around that price range that you should be looking for would be the Hype 4, the Aful P5+2, the simgot ET142 and the new kiwi ears planar.

Next expensive set of IEMs I have are the Truthear Hexa, which might be an upgrade for some, but also a downgrade for others since the Hexa have less bass. The Wan'er 2 are amazing, but I own both a set of Moondrop x Crinacle Dusks as well as a set of Softears Volume S, which both are much better than the Wan'er, or at least they are to my ears. It just depends on your preference. But generally speaking, sets that are significantly more expensive will most likely be better than the Wan'ers

I instantly thought the Volume S was too shouty, but I still tried to gaslight myself into liking them. In the end I returned them and that was a good decision. Also the first set of Dusks that I got, the left side had this horrible rattle so I had to exchange those too, but in the end I got a set that was fine and I really enjoyed it

I haven't heard the Tea Pro, but I have herd the Volume S. I don't recommend them and I actually returned them. Way to shouty for me and they didn't actually sound as warm as others described. I'm still in love with my Dusk though

The KE4 and the DaVinci should be good for the sound signature you're after. The Ziigat Odyssey have a V-shaped tuning, which is not really neutral, but if you're looking for a V-shaped IEM those are the ones to beat right now apparently. If you can pony up $50-$100 more I can personally recommend the Moondrop Dusk, the default DSP tuning aims for the same meta tuning the KE4 and the DaVinci aim for, which is a mostly "neutral" sound signature with a slight bass boost.

I'm new to this IEM topic and bought myself a Moondrop Dusk. These are the best buds my ears have ever heard. With Equalizer APO without DSP, the sound is simply amazing. My stuff is CX31993+MAX97220 without DSP cable (because 3.5 is more convenient for me than type-c and I use EQ Apo)

Have you tried the Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk? Theyve been my first iem after headphones that I've tried that I've really enjoyed and still been using them for gaming, music, and movies on my pc. Been interested in trying either the softears volume s or xenns top pro. Could you help compare the two?

I think the Dusk is the best choice for you.  Electronic music require some bass boost and Dusk provides the best bass in it's price range. Alternatively you can wait for the Project Meta. From what I can see it's going to be a more resolving version of the Dusk. 

Can't get better than Dusk at that price, u don't even need to use DAC with the dsp cable

Moondrop DUSK. DAC beeping noise when no sound is playing, practically the same issue as Moondrop May USB cable DAC. The hassle to EQ when using normal wire.

I was searching for ones that are gaming related myself. No one wants to wear a headset all the time after years of doing it. I got some Arctic nova latest pros but I don't want to always wear em. Got me some moondrop Dusks, changed the eartips with the kiwi ones and now I can enjoy music and incredible gaming. At one point, I was buying a couple iem to test out, but I realized if I wanted a solid pair, I probably needed to spend more. Dude was selling these local for 300 and I picked them up immediately. Now I use both my Arctic and these, just whatever I'm feeling.

iPod touch 7th gen + Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk. FLAC files from Dezzer and Qobuz using Flacbox

You probably already received your pair by now but sound is very subjective. I enjoy these iems a lot and love the tuning. i typically listen to EDM, K-pop, J-pop, R&B, Classic Rock and Metal. These iems are good enough for me and i’d say they are good for their price. They are very mellow for me and very natural sounding. I LOVE BASS and these have good enough slam for me but I wouldn’t use them if I am craving bass lol. I use my Thieaudio Hype 4 if I really want big, deep bass without it bleeding into the other frequencies. I also own Moondrop Dusk (yes the Crinacle collab), Moondrop Blessings 3, Thieaudio Hype 4, Finalaudio A4000, and on the lower end of the price bracket the Linsoul KZ ZS10 Pro 2. My personal rankings for my IEM collection (from best to worst): Hype 4 = Dusk > Blessing 3 > Daybreak > Finalaudio A4000 > KZ ZS10 Pro. Daybreaks are good for their price range but I wouldn’t say they punch above their weight. The ones i ranked ahead are more than double the price of the Daybreak so it makes sense why my rankings are like that but if you have the money for the Daybreaks then I would say go for it and keep them and if you don’t like the tuning then just return them and maybe save up for a more expensive iem? Also just an FYI, I am pretty new to the IEM scene as I used to mainly collect and use Over-ear open back headphones (I own the Sennheiser HD800s, HD600, HD6xx, AKG K712 Pro, Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro, hella Koss Porta Pros, and hella Grados). So you can take my say with a grain of salt since I am fairly new to IEMs.

I really like the Dusk especially if you can get it around $300 but it’s less usable on IOS than android especially if you don’t have an adapter

[look here](https://www.reddit.com/r/iems/s/a3ex9VYSEJ). The sigmot EW300 might be the choice. And while there hasn't been any reviews yet since it's brand new, the Moondrop Rays might be interesting. Personally I use my Moondrop Dusks for gaming and for music.

After spending some time looking at various IEM's around what would be considered the 'mid' price brackets, it seems you just can't win with everything (not even close). From needing to EQ various areas to try and get the sound you want through to lots of QC or design issues - even a lack of aesthetic choices. Example of IEMS I'd buy: Hype 4 - Shell itself and 2 pin connection issues. One owner clearly resorted to a gluegun being used to try and hold the connection in. Maybe a batch issue? EQ tweak fine. Dusk - 3.5mm EQ essential + new 3.5mm cable as the one provided wouldn't be out of place on a budget IEM, channel imbalance issues (notable if you look at frequency response - may not be always heard), resin cracking around 2 pin connection underneath the connector (not visible unless cable removed, likely to worsen over time) plus possible moisture issue (minor). Davinci - EQ essential due to bass. Size issue plus nozzle size issue at 6.7mm widest point (why not bond a nozzle on that's less wide?) Mega5est - 2 pin connector on shell possibly not fully flat resulting in the connection of normally left side constantly coming out slightly - reported here and on atleast one review that's even pictured. Unsure if design was revised and if this is a regular problem. Difficult or not possible to know if you would get a revised design when ordering online. EQ tweak fine.

3.5mm - In part due to the lack of warmth at the low end and weak lower mids, overly forward 1.4k area, overly boosted 5.4-5.6k area and arguably worst of all, a highly inflated 14k area giving everything a sizzly, wispy, artificial high defintion sound that's most problematic with the treble. Certain tips only make it worse like the W1, making it sound even more metallic than it already is by default. Or to phrase it a different way, because the FR and sound isn't within more ideal average preference ranges. Virtually all of this is largely (but not fully) fixable with EQ from what I have tested.

I would recommend someone buys something as close to their preferences as possible, that fits well, with good warranty/returns policy, trial/test tips, and then EQ to taste once tested should it be required. I think this is fairly widely accepted advice. I would also check for known QC issues with the chosen IEM, such as connectors coming loose or shells being highly prone to cracking and so on. I should add, I enjoy my own set of Dusks, but only with certain tips, and after lots of testing leading to my own EQ. If I were to buy again in this bracket, I'd buy something that slightly better matches my preferences by default and again > eartip testing > EQ testing (if required).

If he keeps his eyes open for regular discounts etc he will find these sooner or later for around 300. IMO these are hard to beat for the price and I love how they sound.

There aren't that many once you've ruled out Etymotic. Honestly at that 'lower than Studio 4' price range you might as well go for the Studio 4. Aful Performer 5+2 / 8: Relaxed pinna gain at 2-4kHz means reduced vocal bite; speech and 'breathiness' is sacrificed slightly for a more relaxed, pleasant presentation. Not neutral. Anecdotally, I've heard the Performer 8, the soundstage is wide but centre image is weak. Moondrop Dusk: crinacle's house sound = big bass shelf. No go for neutrality. Moondrop Blessing 3: Upper-mids/lower treble emphasized (4-6kHz) beyond neutral. Supermix 4: Harman, i.e not neutral (bass and upper-mids emphasized) Thieaudio: U-shaped is their house sound from the Hype 2 all the way to the Valhalla. Extra bass and spicy treble. Not neutral. I would add that the Hexas aren't neutral either, they have too much bass for it, it's simply masked by the fact that its bass is sloped, not a shelf. All the 'Meta' IEMs out so far also fail in the neutral bass department by having too much of it. This includes the KE4, Volume S, Mega5EST and even CrinEar's 'Reference', if his chart is to go by. Graphs are worth looking at for reference. So you only really have the Studio 4 left. That, or an IER-M7 if you could get it for cheap.

Same, its a flavor game for me as well. All of the default tunings are what make IEM's unique. I always feel like its a bit cheat to DSP tweak an IEM's sound. Sure, it can make a mediocre IEM Good, but i would rather jsut have a better IEM by default. Because unless the price is going to come down to mediocre, its not worth it (looking at you, DUSK).

Of the ones you posted my favorite is the Dusk. Another one of my favorites is the Studio4. Those I would recommend

The pilgrims are good but they lack bass even compared to the hexas, so I wouldn't go that way, the thing with the hexas is that their mids and highs are basically tuned to the meta target, with less bass, so if you want a hexa with more bass then a meta tuned iem would be perfect for you, the kiwiears ke4 is the cheapest but in your price range you can also get the dunu da Vinci or the moondrop dusk.

moondrop qc is incredibly ymmv . but the consensus is any and all freedsp derivative has issues . i currently own the may dsp , dusksp , and freedsp — all has noise and it has made me switch to analog for their respective iems

blessing 2 then eq to b2: dusk all the way

Comfort is the best part of the iem since it’s so small. The only other iem I have near its price point is the moondrop dusk where the IE600 has slightly better technicalities and a more exciting tuning

Bruh I've tried foam tips myself on various IEMs. The second I use them no matter how strong or weak the seal is my bass just completely dies off and all I get is peaky treble. Unless my ears just hate foam or something else is wrong. I've tried them on the Arias, the Dusk, the Monarch Mk 3s, and the Oracle Mk 2s.

Zigaat Lush with Moondrop Spring Tips (large) is basically an HD600 for my ears. Even when I monitor with it — speaking into a mic and listening back — it’s dead-on with my voice. Crinacle Dusk (analogue mode) also sits right in that HD600 zone. ======================= Random and slightly crazy thought: grab a neutral mic like a RODE NT1 4th Gen or Austrian OC818, then monitor your voice through different IEMs. It’s kind of a trip — one will sound thin and bright, another warm, another exactly like you. I swear it lines up with their tonal balance The Truthear Pure with Tang Sancai balanced bore (green for me) is pretty close to Hd600 too. Don't use the stock eartips though. It's mud with stock eartips.

The Dusk is too forgiving with sibilance. So you won't detect sibilance in audio.

Tea pro, top pro, dusk, aful performer 7, 3001bd or anything around this price point. Your money but I never saw a point of buying many of cheap iems because there’s nothing special between them. 

There's no such thing as a neutral IEM. Watch this to understand why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZoKPtzjdtQ So the correct answer is something that you EQ to match your HRTF. Therefore the best option (since you didn't give a price range) is the Moondrop Dusk, because it's designed for EQ, comes with some common targets as presets, and you can burn your custom EQ to the cable and forget about it (so no worrying about using the wrong EQ profile by mistake). There are lots of other things that are neutral-ish, or meet different definitions of neutral, at various price points.

There is zero point in spending more than $100-ish on an IEM for gaming, unless you also plan to use it for general music listening most of the time (and know what you want). Gaming performance tops out with the Simgot EM6L, which is also a pretty solid all-rounder. If you're going to spend more than that you really ought to know what your tuning preferences are, which is only something you'll find out by trying other IEMs.

The EM6L is a pretty good all-rounder. Like I said if you're spending a lot of money on an IEM it's more about what you like than what suits a specific genre or use-case. There's no scale from worst to best, just different tunings (and some outliers that just aren't good). Someone suggested the Dusk which is probably a pretty safe bet if you really want to throw money at it without knowing what you like. It has built-in EQ so you can change the tuning easily and it comes with a number of presets that have been developed specifically for that IEM, so you don't need to actually learn EQ to use it. The only thing about the Dusk for gaming is that if you plan to use it with things like a PS5 controller then you'd need to swap out the cable, because it's USB C. It will work with a normal 3.5mm cable (and you can pick up a decent one for $5-20) but you do lose the EQ then. You may be better off starting with something dirt cheap like the KZ EDC Pro ($7) and using that to figure out what you would want in the longer term.

Hey man welcome. I think I can help! Most audiophiles come at this with a different view than what you posed, simply because we have different priorities. I'll also try to correct some of the things you wrote that are not true. You posted so many good questions and points, though. This is going to be a long response. >i just found it expensive enough Yes and no. Some high end stuff has crazy prices. Some of the super expensive stuff straight up sucks, too. But good IEMs can be had for under $50. >not even wireless Not the main priority of IEMs or headphones for audiophiles/musicians. We generally prefer a reliable connection that doesn't rely on a time limit (battery). We also want to squeeze every drop of audio quality, and wireless means bluetooth which means compressed data. (That's changing, though!) Wires are 100% reliable and gives 100% of the performance. More importantly, ANC IEMs (e.g. Apple Airpods Pro 2) tend to be much more expensive for the sound quality they provide. Going back to the last section, IEMs are not more expensive than their wireless counterparts. Wireless is convenient! You'll see many people here rocking ANC IEMs for our daily, and going home to our wired IEMs. I'm one of those many. >Headphone provide better sound noise isolation No, they don't. Ignoring ANC, IEMs tend to isolate the best. Some can isolate even better than actual earplugs. They isolate so well, musicians use them to isolate themselves on stage during LIVE performances, and those get super loud! >Headphone are more comfortable More of a preference thing. Generally speaking, headphones will rarely have a "bad fit" issue because they go around your ears. Any decent set of cans (hehe) is light enough to be mostly unnoticeable. IEMs can be very comfortable, and doesn't get in the way of anything. But, you'll run into more fitment issues on larger IEMs or IEMs with thicker nozzles. >Latency Yep, wired means close to 0ms latency, software and interface aside. Again, we're trying to squeeze every bit of performance. For music making, we want <10ms. For gaming/listening, hardly matters. Most people aren't dropping big money to buy IEMs for gaming. Honestly, how many of us is good enough to warrant that for gaming? lol **Okay! Now to your questions.** 1) Advantages and disadvantages. You'll have to understand the differences first, and it is one of preference. Normally we listen with our entire ear and head. Like the fleshy bits of our ear is a bit part of our listening. But with IEMs, we bypass the ears entirely and the sound goes right into our earholes. It creates a completely different experience than headphones/speakers. It's like the music is in our heads, and feels different than "listening". Advantages: - If you prefer the aforementioned sound, the IEM sound cannot be replicated by headphones, speakers, or earbuds (the ones that sit outside your ear canals). - Dollar for dollar, IEMs will provide more performance than headphones and definitely speakers. - Portability. Not even close compared to even headphones. And speakers lmao. ANC buds and IEMs win over wired anything in this category; you'll have to pay for it, though. - Isolation. It keeps the noise out passively, without ANC. I'd say for certain frequencies (e.g. human voice), a good passive isolation is superior to ANC. ANC just isn't very good for higher frequencies. And for most audiophiles, they'll pick open-back headphones, which provide basically negative isolation. Disadvantages: - Soundstage, or how it replicates space in audio recordings. Because you're bypassing the earflesh, space is not replicated correctly. If you love to "hear" the stage, headphones are much better than their IEM equals. Some IEMs are great with this, but a good headphone will still beat it easily. - Fit/comfort. Not every IEM is for everyone. Most are fine, but look up reviews/try them would be ideal. This is more of an issue with more expensive IEMs ($250+) that shoves a ton of audio components into the IEM form factor, and the shell/nozzle has to be enlargened. Famous examples: Sony IER-Z1R, ThieAudio Monarch Series, etc. You also got something that is touching your ear canals for potentially hours at a time. Some people can't stand it. Some people have no issues. Again, personal preference. 2) What is the best overall IEM (ignoring the price)? Oh boy. Ignoring price? Probably the Subtonic Storm. But it's $5K, has very few reviews, and the waitlist is closed. It's been reviewed well by reputable reviewers, but hype is a thing in this space. Time will tell, but that seems to be the one to have if you can swallow the price tag. Outside of that outlier, best overall IEMs will cause arguments in this hobby. People have differences in preference, but they can be summed up in a few categories: 1) neutral tuning, 2) mild-V/U tuning, 3) V/U tuning, 4) bassheads, 5) trebleheads. I'm condensing a few groups together for the sake of brevity (ironic), don't @ me. Let me know if you read this far and want me to provide examples for each. The best IEMs or headphones in the world don't attempt to do everything the best. They do one or two things exceptionally well. For most people? You don't have to spend anywhere near $1000. You want something neutral? Hisenior Mega5EST. You want something a little more exciting? Moondrop x Crinacle Dusk 2. You want to feel like your brain is on meth? DUNU Braindance. There are so many more great IEMs in this price bracket. There really is a great IEM for around $500-600 for every taste. Even just 5 years ago we did not have this level of luxury in choice. Anything beyond $500-600 really is diminishing returns. Not really worth it, and this is from someone who has many IEMs over $1K. 3) Are there any accessories/peripheral for IEMs (other than eartips)? Yes, but eartips make the most difference. Required: buy Q-tips, lens cleaners, small brush (like from an electric razor), and, if your wallet can stomach it, an IEM vacuum. Cleaning your IEM is important and not often talked about because frankly it's so boring. Debated: buying cables for sound quality. Buy a cable if you want an upgrade in comfort or cable noise (microphonics). If you don't like the sound of an IEM, return it. No cable is going to solve that for you. Also debated: DAC and AMP. Again, you don't have to spend a lot, or at all. If you have an Apple Dongle, it really is good enough. Especially for IEMs, power is almost never an issue unless you're deaf or you want to be deaf. However, if you want to get into the hobby of finding amp sounds, that's a different story, and outside the scope of this post. DACs should be colorless and we've basically perfected the technology. You're paying for features now. Which brings us to the point: you can buy portable bluetooth DAC/AMP combos for your wired IEMs! (Back to BT compression, a little sacrifice of sound quality and money for added portability.) Welcome to the hobby, hope this helped!

I have used Sennheiser IE 300, Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk, Phoenix Call, Chu 2, Tanchjim Origin, Tanchjim kara, Dunu Da Vinci, Mega5est, Simgot EA500, Kinera Skuld, Tin T2, Tanchjim One.and softears volume s on the way soon.

Personally I'd go Dusk and use the Bass+ DSP profile

Hey thanks for making the tier list. I wanted to get my first decent pair of iems for electronic music, I mostly listen to older 90s/2000s trance music with female vocals or stuff like orbital. I am torn between dusk / davinci at the moment I can get davinci about 90 less than dusk but don't mind paying for dusk if it would fit that style of music better. Both seem to be pretty great for the price category just wondering if you had any advice between the two, and thanks.

Hey I never got to try the davincis out, I ended up finding a hype4 during a good sale so I got them along with the dusk and listened to them for a while, the hype4 were far more of my preference but they had a sharp spikey upper treble at times that I found to be too much for me, I realize I could have eq'd that out, but I felt for the price I should not have had to do that. plus the nozzles were a bit big for my ears making them slightly uncomfortable. Going off graphs which doesn't tell the whole story the davinci seem to be very close to that without the spike but I don't believe in graphs alone so i'm not sure if it would have been a different story. For that type of music genre though if you like a thicker bottom end the hype4 were better in my opinion - the dusk are highly detailed but lack the thickness that I prefer in that style of music. I do miss the hype4 at times and still going off those as a reference here were a few iems that I wanted to try at some point: Davincis, Mangird Tea Pro, Estrella and QoA Adonis but never got around to trying them, I just use a cheap pair of zero 2s at the moment and im happy with them so I quit looking down the rabbit hole. I realize im probably going to get slaughtered for saying these things since they don't fit what most would say about these iems but just letting you know my opinion.

Currently I've already tried many iems under 1000, and I think I'm ready to approach endgame. Problem is, which one should I choose? I've tried I/O Volare, Moondrop Variations, Moondrop Beautiful World, Moondrop Crinacle Dusk, Crinear Daybreak. Out of all of them, I like the sound of the I/O Volare the most. I have a Moonriver 2Ti DAC as well to go with whatever endgame IEM I'm gonna buy. Any suggestions?

Sorry for the late reply lol. TLDR at the bottom if u don't wanna read I won't say anything technical comparing these iems, I'll just tell you my general feel listening on all 3. I use spinfit tips on every one of them btw The Dusk and Variations all sounded great, however there were some general problems with these. 1, I never dabbled too much into EQing iems, and when I did try it didn't work that well. This is very much a skill issue, and I know the Variations is very much a great EQ IEM and could sound infinitely better if I had better skill at tuning. I'm not a big fan of the stock tuning of the Variations, though, but I've had people disagree with me. The Dusk on the other hand sounded great in a lot of the songs I listen to, I do feel like there's a difference between this and the Volare but the difference isn't too big. However, I do a bunch of stage prep work and recording engineering, and one day when I was out of the studio and didn't have my studio headphones, I tried to use the Dusk to listen to the recordings of the orchestra. I found that I couldn't really discern the panning and staging that well using it, and when I tried with the Volare next I could hear an immediate improvement on the clarity and separation of the instruments. Probably because of these electrostatic drivers. But yeah these are my subjective opinions. TL:DR I still think moondrop crinacle dusk is great and very similar to Volare at a cheaper price, but I only really heard the difference once I listened to recordings of ensembles and orchestras for work and found that the staging and separation of the instruments were tremendously better on the Volare.

I like the Blessing 2 and 3's - they're great IEMs. Despite the parts that aren't perfect (Kinda wish the USB C DSP cable wasn't so necessary- even if it's actually a nice cable) I prefer the new Dusks for their increased bass impact over the Blessing 3. The new Dusks are over your budget but, IMO, there's something to be said for 'buy once, cry once'. Your post suggests that you'd rather have just one set of IEMs and the Dusks are very decent. Of all the IEM sets that my non-audiophile colleagues at work have tried, the Dusks and Variations have received the most positive feedback. Can also highly recommend the Moondrop Variations but they're well over your budget and IMO there's a lot of diminishing returns considering how much more they cost than the new Dusks. But like the other posters have said, your personal sound preference counts most of all here. Over 200 USD, there are few IEMs that are objectively bad - they're mostly just *different*. Unfortunately you say that you don't yet know what you like. I can only suggest that you try another popular headphone or IEM and make a list of the things that you really like and the things that don't like and this will give you a much better idea of which >250 USD IEM will best suit you.

I got dusk. It's infinitely better than sm4 for music, and for gaming you can just apply EQ if you want.

I honestly can't remember exactly, I just remember the lows being on a next level on dusk, as well as the vocals and the pitch being much better. And after a few days I just realized how ear piercing and unnatural the supermix was and so that was kinda it, I didn't wanna use supermix for music anymore. The sound stage I only checked for fps games, supermix has much better vertical distinction for enemies. I only spent time eq for fps games to check if I could replicate the verticality of supermix, and I think i got close enough. That's kinda it. Although I ended up using it 99% for fps games and 1% music so in the end I should've probably just used supermix and saved the money. No eq needed. But yeah music wise I highly recommend the 'new wave' or whathever it's called. If I see 'harman' and 'iem' in the same sentence I will just auto dismiss from now on.

I love the vocals from latest Moondrop Dusk with iBasso Elite… balanced via iPhone beats many top DAPs I use Roon and DSP to my taste fab

I just went on this exact same hunt with the same genres lol, I went with the davinci. I'm not trying to tune a dusk. The base analog sound of the dusk was called thin pretty often, dsp mode was better but I need 4.4 for my toys. The davinci was the number one choice for complicated electronic music due to the 5 way crossover. Can't argue with having the dynamic drivers play 2 different bass lines. Dusk DD pair is on one frequency.

Two very subjective aspects. For me Dusk would be pretty high on the list.

EQ settings are relative to frequency response. It's like asking how much should I add salt to fries without the information if they're already saltes. The question is what kind of a tuning is ideal for metal and as a metalhead at least in my youth I find that a very interesting question. Preferences matter a lot as well and someone who loves the sound of one IEM maybe just hasn't heard something better yet and can't imagine what the improvement might be. The best tuning for metal I've heard so far with maybe fifty IEMs and some EQ on top was Oluv's mainstream preset for the Free Pro 2's. Really fun yet clean bass and you could push the volume really high without any fatigue etc. Gave me chills with a lot of metal music. With IEMs I have to say I haven't found anything excellent yet and actually KZ Libra (balanced) is easily on of the best for that and costs $10. The bass is pronounced, but much cleaner than the measurements seem to imply. The straight rising bass boost might be the reason instead of a bass shelf. Old but gold would be a Tin Hifi T2 Plus as it really pushes vocals pleasantly forward and has that big energetic feel to it. Not detailed etc at all, but really enjoyable. IEMs I love otherwise like Zero Red, Hexa, MP145, Timeless, B2 Dusk, Dusk DSP just don't impress me at all with metal specifically and I would take the Libra over probably all of them for that. You can make an EQ preset for the Chu to match KZ Libra on the AutoEQ website and elsewhere. Give it a try if you want.

EQ settings are relative to frequency response. It's like asking how much should I add salt to fries without the information if they're already saltes. The question is what kind of a tuning is ideal for metal and as a metalhead at least in my youth I find that a very interesting question. Preferences matter a lot as well and someone who loves the sound of one IEM maybe just hasn't heard something better yet and can't imagine what the improvement might be. The best tuning for metal I've heard so far with maybe fifty IEMs and some EQ on top was Oluv's mainstream preset for the Free Pro 2's. Really fun yet clean bass and you could push the volume really high without any fatigue etc. Gave me chills with a lot of metal music. With IEMs I have to say I haven't found anything excellent yet and actually KZ Libra (balanced) is easily on of the best for that and costs $10. The bass is pronounced, but much cleaner than the measurements seem to imply. The straight rising bass boost might be the reason instead of a bass shelf. Old but gold would be a Tin Hifi T2 Plus as it really pushes vocals pleasantly forward and has that big energetic feel to it. Not detailed etc at all, but really enjoyable. IEMs I love otherwise like Zero Red, Hexa, MP145, Timeless, B2 Dusk, Dusk DSP just don't impress me at all with metal specifically and I would take the Libra over probably all of them for that. You can make an EQ preset for the Chu to match KZ Libra on the AutoEQ website and elsewhere. Give it a try if you want.

Most aren't. Imo those aren't, but Vivace, Zero Red (far prefer it over Zero Blue) EM6L and some others are practically as good I'd say as headphones (I have AKG Q701 as my main gaming headphones, but have HD800 and others as well). There are personal preference things to consider certainly and I overall prefer the experience of headphones a bit, but could do all my gaming (including Siege where locating sounds probably as important as it gets) with IEMs as well. I see no benefit in spending more than $100ish for IEMs from a gaming perspective though the Dusk are my favourite IEMs and in general highly recommended.

For me the Dusk was the first one to sound open and not like a Harman IE box I was sticking my head into.

Many Kiwi Ears have that clarity, separation and neutral sound that I'd say fits well. Dusk has such an open sound they don't even feel like IEMs in a way.

Define good bass. For example Dusk doesn't have that much quantity, but the quality is fantastic.

Not entirely sure, but some otherwise good IEMs are just bad for distinguishing direction. Channel matching is certainly one thing, but rarely big enough to be the reason. Not just tuning either it seems. IEMs like B2 Dusk, Timeless and Performer 5 if I remember correctly were rather bad for gaming compared to Zero Red, Vivace or EM6L which are perfectly good. Looping the same gaming recordings with the first ones I struggle hearing directions that already know in advance while with the others it's obvious.

# TL:DR Hype 4: I like more the sound signature and the punch bass that comes wihout EQ. DUSK: It feels slightly more comfortable to my ears and i percibe the instruments and vocals more "widely open" and i enjoy that alot. My wallet can only hold one. I accept other iems suggest that have the best of this two. \--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wanted a 450€ iem and decided to try these two. Let me tell you my experience: # Accesories DUSK comes with a good good presentation, two cables (3.5mm and DSP cable) and a leather case. Hype 4 its only the 3.5mm and you\`re done. # Comfort The Moondrop DUSK hugs my ears while the Hype 4 are OK but fels slithly bulky. # Volume I always drive my iems with the Qudelix-5k. If i don't touch the volume, at 25%, the Hype 4 has more volume than the DUSK, last one need to be at 38-40% volume to match the Hype 4. # Sound - THIEAUDIO Hype 4 I feel it like a V shape and that bass at 50-100 Hz, oh boy that makes me happy, hearing drum & bass and Jazz its a pleasure. I notice that the vocals are a little above the rest of the spectrum, i like that in some songs like "As the world caves in" or "Sunflower - Rex Orange County". The imaging when playing games its ok, It's not perfect, like when footsteps come up behind you on the left, they feel close and narrower. # Sound - Moondrop x Crinacle DUSK I know these are more neutral and maybe there isn't any frequency that stands out above another. But the instruments, voices, drums... I can hear each instrument separately. Maybe I'm exaggerating, or maybe I'm subconsciously giving these headphones more love than I should. Nothing distorts and by equalizing the frequencies between 4 KHz and 8KHz 3-5 dBs it makes them majestic to listen to any song where vocals predominate. The imaging in games, everything feels more open, with more space, not cramped. I can tell when sounds are coming from above, to the right, or behind, to the left, with better precision than with the Hype 4. When i try to EQ with the Qudelix i feel like the bass is not that punch than the Hype 4, and that "jars" me a bit. Maybe im doing something wrong when i eq this ones, i didn't try to import a custom eq yet. If someone can share her eq profile i would be glad to try it.

Thanks everyone for the comments. I've finally found the almost perfect EQ for the Dusk. It's just a harman profile with: 100 Hz 3.5 dB Q0.8 125 Hz 3 dB Q3 I'm thinking of trying the Mangird Tea Pro in the future and doing a mini review of them.

Lossless ain't worth it, mp3 320 is all you'll need and then maybe later on you can get lossless subscriptions. 400 dollars is an excellent price range for a normal endgame type thing. I have the DUSK with a JM6 Pro type dongle and it's my IEM endgame lol

i was researching for my endgame stuff and this is what i think monarch mk4 ought to fit the bill, neutral with a slight treble and bass boost without the switch, bassy sound with the switch. Best of both worlds and you can just use an HSQ filter to turn down the treble if it is too spicy. I was thinking of getting em but the size scared me off. Not in the market for anything that won't fit my ears, even the Moondrop DUSK fits a little weird for me lol The best actual all rounder I think is the U12T. Inoffensive with loads of technicalities. The only con people i've seen people give is that the tonality is too neutral/boring and some others complain about ba timbre. Some say the ThieAudio Valhalla is either slightly better or worse than the U12T but mostly people talk about the shell size and its bassy signature, complaining about the treble lacking air but not detail. I love all rounders but I value bass quality the most which is why I was looking at the Z1R but fit issues scared me off so I'm just off the iem market entirely now. Using the Moondrop DUSK and anything bigger would just be a waste of money for me and my ears. I'm curious though what do you like about the Volare and how do the DUSK and Variations compare to it?

bro it's like 380 bucks now i think. Though i must say it's completely worth it as a dusk user myself. For 2 reasons : 1.) DSP, not the cable but rather the presets, you can choose to buy the Moondrop FreeDSP Mini OR just input the data into your fav eq and get the same thing, allowing you to experience manufacturer approved edits to the sound, letting you experience some nice flavours if you want to try different stuff out. 2.) most important for me, the comfort. The shell isn't the most comfortable out there i think but the lightness is uncanny for me. So many drivers, such a big shell yet oh so light. It's kind of annoying actually, after an hour i forget they are there and i must make sure to check my ears so that i dont pull on em when getting up and stuff lol For me this is IEM Endgame till i get my whole audio setup up and running with speakers and headphones. Unlike a lot of others, i love both the default AND analog tunings, different flavours for me. Anyways, I think my point is that if OP is looking for UNDER 300 bucks and you're recommending something under 400 bucks it's a little weird lol Again, totally worth it in my opinion.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Aful P5+2 and the Kiwi Ears Astral is doing a lot of rounds as well. I don't own any 80-300 dollar iem so i cant say for certain how they are, but people i trust said good things about them so i'd take their word. I've bought the Moondrop Aria (2021) and the Moondrop DUSK based on their reviews/impressions and i have no regrets. I wrote some things about the DUSK in another comment below and im going to copy and paste from there : "Though i must say it's completely worth it as a dusk user myself. For 2 reasons : 1.) DSP, not the cable but rather the presets, you can choose to buy the Moondrop FreeDSP Mini OR just input the data into your fav eq and get the same thing, allowing you to experience manufacturer approved edits to the sound, letting you experience some nice flavours if you want to try different stuff out. 2.) most important for me, the comfort. The shell isn't the most comfortable out there i think but the lightness is uncanny for me. So many drivers, such a big shell yet oh so light. It's kind of annoying actually, after an hour i forget they are there and i must make sure to check my ears so that i dont pull on em when getting up and stuff lol For me this is IEM Endgame till i get my whole audio setup up and running with speakers and headphones. Unlike a lot of others, i love both the default AND analog tunings, different flavours for me." These are just 2 EXTRA features that i was talking about. I didnt even delve into the sound. To me, it sounds ethereal. It's quite annoying to listen to with my eyes open, because when i close my eyes, all my brain power goes into listening and i feel like i can point out most things in a really nice manner, the one example that absolutely stood out to me is the rhythm guitar of any song. They're panned left and right with different audio sources and usually they blend together but on my DUSK i can not just feel the difference but HEAR it. Though i must say i only get to hear all that with my eyes closed, with my eyes open it gets a little busy imo. It might be weird to you, and trust me it is a bit weird to me too, but ig that's the ceiling of a \~400 dollar iem and that's where more expensive stuff shine, allowing you to analyse stuff with less effort. But I'm 90% sure that the DUSK are gonna be an upgrade over your 560s in all but soundstage and tonality, I think Sennheiser's tuning and the open back nature are gonna be hard to beat. But in imaging and especially bass im sure it'll be at least on par. Honestly tho, apart from the bass, i dont see the point of using them for movies/story-driven games (they're both the same nowadays imo lmao). I think headphones would be better for that purpose. But by itself, i find little flaws with the Moondrop DUSK. But there are flaws ofc, the price being one (imo), the packaging is lackluster compared to the competition i think and most importantly, Moondrop QC is said to be shoddy. As you're using a German made Sennheiser, you should be ready for proper quality for years to come but i think iems, especially chi fi stuff, arent going to last as long. That's just how it is, you trade longevity/reliability for sound quality at a lower price. For example, there's a black paint on the DUSK near where the side and backplate of the iems meet, and my hands get a little sweaty at times and i noticed the paint coming off. So yeah, just little things like that. So if you're ok with returning it OR you're ok with being a bit more careful than usual, then the DUSK is an absolute win, despite its high price.

Astral ought to be good enough. The Daybreak is a step down from the Astral and the Astral is more or less the same as my set (Based on what people said), the Moondrop DUSK and i just cant recommend it enough if that's the case. Just be aware of the scary treble spike.

Depends on what you consider "worth". For me a jump from an 80 dollar Moondrop Aria to the Moondrop DUSK was worth it, if i made a smaller upgrade like to a 200 dollar one i'd have been disappointed. People have made smaller jumps, like from 50 dollar to 80 dollar iems and called it "worth it", all a personal thing honestly. If you're able to return your Tea Pro and get the Top Pro, then yeah go for it. But if you have to sell your Tea Pro to get the Top Pro, meaning you're having to pay more, then i wouldn't really suggest it. Imo not worth the hassle. Maybe also think about other iems unless you're super duper careful as the Xenns Pro iems seem to be quite frail from what i've seen. They break easily.

go for a \~50 dollar IEM if you want to upgrade and ideally an 80-90 dollar one like the Truthear Hexa. For most people's use cases this is good enough and if you want an upgrade path after that i'd say you can choose whatever but stop at \~450 dollars. Imo it goes like this : You pay triple to quadruple the money for a game changing difference or at least an easily noticeable difference in quality I went from freebie Samsung AKG earphones to Moondrop Aria to Moondrop DUSK and i dont really want anything else. The Aria, for me, was exceptional and for the money i paid at the time there just wasnt much like it. And i had to pay SO much more for the DUSK to get the same difference in sound quality as found between the Moondrop Space Travel and the Aria. So that's how i came up with this pricing thing lol.

yeah even after the kilobuck range, upgrades exist. But the improvements are so minor for such drastic increases in price that it just gets a bit goofy i think unless you're a true audiophile. Even Crinacle goes on and on about the Monarch Mk2, a 1000 dollar iem, when he has tried stuff that's multiple times that cost. Precogvision's fav is the U12T, which although expensive, is still not as ludicrously priced as 64 Audio's own higher priced stuff. At the end of the day, a modern day 400-700 dollar iem with tuning made exactly for you/matching your preferences is going to be your endgame now. Not even spending 4k is going to matter as much as something absolutely nailing your preferences. Another example can be seen in super review and how he glazes the Truthear Hexa and the Moondrop DUSK. His glaze for the DUSK got me to buy it and i can confidently say i have near absolute faith in the guy now 😹

exactly what im saying my friend. I had the Moondrop Aria and I had to spend 4.5x more to get the Moondrop x Crinacle DUSK. It was an absolutely monumental upgrade, just like the upgrade from my Space Travel 2 to the Aria was, but that's what im saying. IEMs see changes really fast and prices of good iems drop fast and all that, but it's really tough finding a proper upgrade. Like, the price difference is massive and it feels bad but the sound is so good I can kind of justify the move to the DUSK. But if i had spent 300 dollars and gotten a far less technical IEM, I'd have been felt like I was ripped off. That's why I'm saying try to either enjoy your set, look for different styles of tunings with similar technicalities or make sure to have a big jump. Your set is already an excellent one. That's the problem with buying great products, they're so good it's hard to replace them with a decent upgrade. I mean my Aria was hard to replace and your Hexa replaced my Aria for most people, it's more technical! And since you weren't wow'd by the Origin, just hold off my friend.

yap session incoming : yeah the DUSK has really good amounts of bass and so did the moondrop aria! Crin's recommendations were great for me! I also got the M40x based on his ranking and was absolutely friggin happy haha! And i DID use the Samsung x akg freebies, which were my main before the m40x and crin talked good about them as well! So yeah safe to say i trust crin's judgement haha, and super reviews praised the HECK out of the DUSK, even though it was only the analog tuning! Everyone dunked on this, saying the analog tuning sucks and stuff and i was concerned but i personally love both because the tech is great. And the one thing super review mentioned that stuck with me was bass quality, he said the bass of this is exceptional and he compares everything up to 500 dollars to this and this nearly always came out on top for him and no kidding, the bass on this, even in the analog mode with low quantity, is super high quality (for me) and quite addicting! And although he's bass shy, he's a proponent of good quality bass AND has similar tastes to me as well in terms of timbre ig, it's just that i like more bass and he likes more mids. The DUSK has been called analytical and a little sibilant by some, i didnt even think about it till i read about it lol, it's absolutely amazing for me. Whatever the case, these 2 guys just go over things in a nice manner and i trust em cus after buying their recs im thoroughly satisfied! And like, super reviews does his reviews after using them for a long time, that's quite an important factor for me, apart from crin, i dont really trust anyone who "tries" an iem out with some tests. It took me 5 days to properly get the fit down and to get used to the sound of my iems. Anyways sorry for the yap session lol And dang, wish i coulda helped you mess around with eq or something but admittedly, i hate eq'ing audio gear cus it's super hard compared to eq'ing when mixing for example, which i absolutely adore. Basically, i hate the eq process on audio gear but LOVE the end result, thanks for the duc recommendation, seems like a cool guy! hmm im talking about bass quality, yk speed/texture, those seem like they're good bass but LOTS of bass, i was also looking at the Europa but at that price i'd rather go for the Z1R, saving up for that one rn ahah, cant wait to experience dat bass yeah, it's just me, i just dont feel like spending that much money on used iems, different philosophies. Nope, the Maestro SE is at the price class of the Z1R and i'd rather go for the Sony, the complaints about fatfreq are also quite concerning to say the least but i think the sony is gonna be either more balanced or would have better staging, everyone comments on that and dang it im so interested now lol

Dusk is great if you care about listening to multiple different tunings to find out your tastes. If you don't want that, then the Kiwi Ears Astral will give you the same quality for less. Also keep in mind dusk has a usb-c dongle dac so you get a "free" dac with it although it is more expensive. I would never suggest buying it at 400 USD. I got it for 355 USD a few months ago on sale, get it on sale or go for Astral If you can stretch your budget to 400, buy the Yu9 Que and you can essentially be done with the hobby. Everyone says it is more technical than the DUSK which already is incredibly technical for me. The only way to one up the Que in every way fathomable is to pay 3x more with the monarch mk4 for a small upgrade or to pay 5x more to get a U12T for an actually big upgrade. The Yu9 Que is the tipping point of diminishing returns rn imo tho some can argue for it being around the 50-200 dollar range, I'll say for audiophiles after this point you've hit a high ceiling and topping it is going to be significantly more for less critical upgrades. I personally have not tried the Que but people I trust have and I'm basing this off of their discussions. Just clarifying. I'm a DUSK owner and I love tinkering and stuff and the USB c cable is a nice addition so I went for it, if I knew about the astral I might have gone for it if the DUSK weren't on sale.

if the que is not to your tastes then go for the Hisenior Mega5EST. It's a proven winner and anyone who says no is lying. If you want something cheaper the Kiwi Ears Astral is there. Most of the Mega5EST's technicalities but at a far cheaper price point. That's diminishing returns for ya And I use the Moondrop DUSK, i got it at sale for 355 USD instead of 400 USD, so if you're getting this, I'll only get it at sale. The Astral is the DUSK but cheaper. I only got DUSK because I needed to try out different tunings with the DSP cable that you get with it. And i really like the look. Plus I love Moondrop. The Blessing 3 will be VERY flat and not fun at all for you. The DUSK with the DSP cable (or if you use the 3.5mm cable just use the dsp's tuning in an EQ) you're gonna have a very nice response. Really, if you wanna go for the Xenns feel free to, the sound will be exciting and the technicalities will be nice. I just personally have had bad experiences with poor QC in general when people have never complained so i cant imagine how bad it must be having a 500 dollar iem that breaks down easily.

Totally get where you're coming from, I've heard that advice and I thought about going in that direction, but it really just ends up being more money that I'd rather not spend. I've been using my Technics AZ100 TWS and using squiglink + Poweramp Equalizer to manually EQ to IEMs like the Crinnacle Dusk and the TSMR Armor, and while it's not the same experience since it's a Single DD, the tonality and the increased bass presence is what I'm looking for. Worst comes to worst I just do a bit of EQ on the Armor. One of the benefits of being someone that can't help but test and tinker with settings 😅

I have the galaxy buds 2 pro, hype 4 ($400 iem), moondrop dusk ($400 iem), and the xenns top pro ($500), along with a few $50-150 iems. Cna tell you rn that rhe galaxy buds 2 pro perform better than most iems below $100. Its my favorite wireless earbuds too, and i ve teied many, includijg the airpods 2 pro. To answer your question, yes iems can sound much better than the galaxy buds 2 pro, but the ones that do will cost the same or much more. You can try looking into the kiwi ears4 if you want more base and better sound quality than the buds 2 pro. They cost around $150, but i think the galaxy buds 2 pro have pretty good bass though, but i am using spinfits 1 eartips and I downgraded the firmware to the own with the best combination of sound quality and ANC. If the bass isn't there for you, try switching eartips and doing some eq.

I am getting slightly bored of my dusks (despite them being by far the best IEM/audio device ive used to date) and am looking for an upgrade up to the ~1000-1500usd region. The main things I love about the dusk is how the level of detail and separation between instruments was unlike any other set ive used before, which is definitely a quality I would like from my next set as well. My music tastes range very widely from rap, r&b, kpop, country, edm, and classical depending on the time of year. I would also like slightly more soundstage than what the dusks have if possible (i know it is hard to achieve with iems). Any recommendations as to what to purchase next? Is it even worth going that high in terms of price bracket or should I buy more iems within the 500 usd range? Is there anything out there that has higher levels of detail and soundstage than the dusk? Thanks in advance

Take the Dusk and EQ it with the Qudelix 5K.

https://preview.redd.it/zrc2pcr2oere1.jpeg?width=1206&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=542e8f6977562798c38c624d580ac88347defed9 These are my filter settings. I change it from time to time, but it‘s kind of a reference. You can also do that with your 5K.

I think you can EQ the Dusk pretty good. Even with the included DSP cable you can enhance the upper treble a lot.

Crin has already shared the EQ values he applied: DUSK-Default 1400Hz, -3.0dB, 0.8Q 5400Hz, -3.0dB, 2.0Q 14000Hz, -5.0dB, 2.0Q https://crinacle.com/2024/04/10/moondrop-x-crinacle-dusk-eq-dsp-values/

I tried KZ AS10 and DQ6, Blon BL-Mini and A8 Prometheus, Moondrop Kato, B2, B2 Dusk and S8, Softears Studio 4 and TinHiFi T2 Plus. Tin were trash. KZ AS10 was okayish but not really. DQ6 super comfortable, lightweight decent SQ for the price and comfort but nothing crazy. From Kato to B2/Dusk there's a significant step up in SQ. From B2/Dusk to S8 there's an improvement but it's not something crazy. The Blons sound OK, BL-Mini is quite decent in terms of price to performance, A8 are overpriced in terms of SQ but they look amazing. Both are lower in SQ than the Kato. Studio 4 sounds amazing to me, it's a more mid centric sound signature. The S8 has a more spacious sound and has more perceived space between instruments but the S4 is just godly in terms of it's timbre, everything's sounds just right, notes are weighty of I had to describe it somehow, and vocals are on another level altogether. I'll soon hear the RSV MKI. Thus far from this lineup I'd say diminishing returns start at the Blessings, now... The S4 I think is a justifiable step up, the S8 if you have the disposable income yeah, otherwise you spend more and you get more but not that much more. The S4 is cheaper than the S8 and I'd surely recommend the former. I guess it boils down to how much you are willing to spend. There is an improvement in SQ but it's definitely not a linear function, it's evidently logarithmic, just like horsepower in cars. I'm sure though there's plenty of snake oil sets out there. I'm sure if you bought the Hexa or the Nova and compare them with the Kato the latter would feel like a scam. That being said SQ is not the only factor, I have the Blons almost exclusively for how they look. I've met people that were like meh they all sound the same. I think I trust myself as I found the S8 underwhelming compared to the cheaper S4, and I really wanted to like the S8 as they look gorgeous, but I truly believe the S4 are the better pair. And bro, damn... those TinHiFi T2 Plus, 60 bucks? I wouldn't take them for free... Everything sounds like an out of tune banjo with only two strings left played by a crackhead that lost half his fingers.

The #1 most important thing is fit. The better they fit the more you'll use them and the more your money's worth you get (not to mention an better experience). So get the Dusk and the rest you can learn to EQ as best you can.

I have a collection with those composers and many more, over 2000 albums of TV shows, movies and games. I currently use the Blessing 3 with an eq bass boost and the clarity listening to the tracks are amazing, I'm stunned every time I put them in my ears, the bass is very articulate with the boost, very pleasing. They really do put a smile on my face. If you don't want to eq then just go for the Dusk, I have them too but I don't need to use them while my B3 keep going so they are there as a backup. You will be very happy with the Dusk though.

Fellow Aria 2 alumni here. Both of those IEMs are great. I dont have direct experience with the Tea Pro, but You will not regret the Dusk. But to properly respect it, please buy a Q5K. I know it’s an extra $100, totally worth it. Moondrop’s DSP cable isn’t that great. Q5K can replicate all the DSP settings and allows you to create your own custom EQ profiles.

1. Moondrop X Crinacle Dusk (DSP tuning except I don’t massively cut 14k) 2. Fiio FT1 3. AirPods Pro 2 I just ordered Edition XS though! I’m planning to add a little extra bass with EQ

Dusk is in top 2 IEMs for me

The IEMs that comes the closest to being an endgame set for less than $400 for me are the Xenns Tea Pro Kiwi Ears Punch Ziigaat Estrella Thieaudio Hype 4 Dunu DaVinci Moondrop Dusk Ziigaat Doscinco Simgot EM10

Crinicle dusk and theaudio Oracle OG. Are may favorites. But I have many others I still have that I haven't gotten rid of yet. Trn conch is crazy nice with eq. Orchestra lite for gaming, ikko oh10, and recently kiwi septet I have really enjoyed.

Dusk and especially Pilgrims are definitely not bassy iems...

Why I keep returning iems like tea pro and moon drop dusk and keep returning to my MK12? I cannot fault them in anything and I tried hard to not like them. They beat the tea pro in every department and cost less than half of them. Where am I wrong?

I see that this are on the cheap side and to be honest you really can't find any good gaming headphones under 250-300 dollars so I use a pair of moondrom dusks and some old sure se 825 with nice cable mic from Amazon and nothing beats it. Love the inside your head feeling you get with the sure se825

No iem will give you wallhacks or anything like that, the Aful explorer does what I need and more even compared to my supernovas and dusks and performer 8s. Spending this much just for gaming is not worth it

Iem ventilation is another factor. I started my iem journey with Etymotoc ER2XR which have absurd sound isolation because of their deep insertion depth and lack of vents. I tried taking my Dusks out for a walk and the vent on the outside made listening to music impossible with a slight breeze. Picked up a pair of Orchestra Lites (all BA set with no vents) and though they aren't as isolating as the ER2XRs they are much better for walks compared to the Dusks.

Definitely Dusk over Volume S for bass. I prefer Studio 4 over both though. If your budget is $450 maybe you can consider the Kiwi Ears Hbb Punch too.

Yeah, very. Much more punchy compared to the Dusk and Volume S, on top of that they also still have very good mids and highs. They are a really fun set if you want a basshead set. At $300(sale) it's the best basshead set I've heard. They look great too. Here's a fair review of them [https://youtu.be/0sfX6sO4JmE?t=1375](https://youtu.be/0sfX6sO4JmE?t=1375)

Everyone's ear is different but I own the Volume S and used to own the Dusk, I would put the Da Vinci on par with either of them although they're all different. Da Vinci is better for Classic Rock/Blues/Single Player games. For me its never shouty or sibilant so I love it for the fun relaxing and immersion although it doesn't have the same details as the other 2. It's also not great on busy tracks. Volume S is great for vocal focused tracks but you need to listen to it at really high volumes to really hear the magic nuances, that creates a problem with always having to adjust the volume to prevent it from being too shouty, however, when you find the right track for it, hearing the little breaths from the vocals and the amazing definition on the vibratos are really satisfying especially if you're a singer or really into vocals. Dusk depends on whether its with the DSP or Analogue, but I think it's a better all rounder than the other two, less shouty but better low end than the Volume S but doesn't have the magic vocals. Better bass definition than the Da Vinci, but doesn't have bloomy warm fun sound that the Da Vinci offers. Better separation and details than both Da Vinci and Volume S IMO. For me they're all about on par with each other so don't let the FOMO get you. Getting another pair of $300-$600 IEMS isn't going to give you the wow factor/butterfly in your stomach feeling. At best you get something that you notice is slightly better or more to your preference. Maybe wait a year or two before buying the new hype IEMs. They get better every year. In the meantime, just enjoy what you have.

For me personally (truthear reds -> moondrop dusk), it was about a 10% ish improvement. It was a subtle but noticeable difference, but is it really worth the price increase? I'm not really sure tbh.

Moondrop x Crinacle dusk from the analog jack are in a similar ballpark with a little more slam, a little bit more detailed, and a slightly better soundstage, but at the loss of sounding as immediately engaging. I still need to hear the Hype 4, they may be what you want, but I just skipped that and bought a FATfreq Scarlet Mini as my bass head set and use the P5 for more natural listening.

Fit and seal is great. They are a larger iem but I had no issue there. I used the largest white tip provided with the brain dances and actually was the best fit of all the IEMs I have used seal wise. Tomorrow I'm going to try some tip rolling with the provided tips and some I have stored as well as trying out the impedance adapters. But I loved the stock sound. I will still check out what an impedance adapters does to the overall sound though. Out of all the IEMs I have (like 13 pairs in a month) coming from the 80-120 dollar iems the quality is an immediate upgrade. The sound is definitely worth the price. My two midfi pairs the dusks and the braindance just smoke the cheaper IEMs, which sound good in their own right but the difference is apparent right away.

I like both sets a lot but prefer the BDs. The dusk sound amazing too on the DSP cable. But I don't always want to use the cable. Both sets sound really good though just depends what flavor I want. There isn't anything I dislike about both pairs besides the dusks not sounding as good (still sound pretty damn good) without the DSP cable. I'll have to find the EQ settings for the dusks so I can replicate it on my dap and headphone amp. The braindance is a more fun sound to me. The treble is just so crisp. Really like the sound of drums on them. Both are amazing sets so it's hard to make a choice. I'd probably take the BDs just cuz I don't need to screw around with eq to replicate the DSP cable.

For the sake of this thread I just compared my cheaper IEMs to each other (tangzu wan'er, moondrop chu, salnotes zero 2) to the dusk and the difference was night and day. The bass response, the soundstage the finer details I literally missed with the cheaper ones. The cheaper ones don't sound bad but yeah switching to the dusk is like going from McDonald's to a steak.

Yeah I was a studio headphone collector before getting into IEMs and no I absolutely hate subbass roll off and prefer IEMs. I don't really like V shaped headphones. I have the dusk and the brain dance. Both have great sub bass while having clarity. I just find the tuning of iems more fun in general.

Not really. I haven't got a set I don't like. My current favorites are the dusk, dunu braindance, kiwiears aether, and kiwiears orchestra lite.

Blind bought the dusk (well all of my IEMs actually) and love them on both the DSP and analog tuning. My 2nd favorite pair and one of my daily drivers.

I just got the dusks about a week ago. They blew me away. I'm relatively new to IEMs but everything I've listened to has been great. I don't really know how to judge IEMs but I haven't heard anything that sounded bad while listening. The soundstage and separation is great.

Sub bass is actually really good on them was listening to some music with really low bass and it sounded great too. I enjoy the Harmon tuning but the dusks have been the best iem of my collection and the most expensive. I am trying something a bit more expensive but also controversial the brain dances. They should be here sometime between now and next Saturday.

Just my opinion but I found the Hype 4 too harsh on the treble and sibilant. Dusk was quite safe and neutral, I instead went with the Mangird Tea Pro.

I've bought and tested things like Blessing 3 dusk and Tea Pro and returned it. Hell I've even returned iem that I used for a year and got my money back lol

Meze Alba, Sennheiser IEX00, Moondrop Chu/Chu2, etc. There are also plenty of hybrid/tribrid IEMs that are not tiny, but still very appropriately sized. I find DUSK to be pretty comfortable despite being a 6-driver tribrid.

It depends on what you want. Variations is tuned towards Harman. If you want something that is like the variations but a bit better I would either look into the I/O Volare or wait for the Mooondrop Meteor x Crinacle DE (The issue with the meteor is the lack of bass, only decent mids but really good treble and crin said collabed with mooondrop to fix that. Like with the blessing series). [https://graph.hangout.audio/iem/5128/?share=JM-1\_Target,Variations,Volare,Moondrop\_Meteor&bass=8&tilt=0&treble=-4&ear=0](https://graph.hangout.audio/iem/5128/?share=JM-1_Target,Variations,Volare,Moondrop_Meteor&bass=8&tilt=0&treble=-4&ear=0) If you want an iem next to your Variations that is just more vocal forward I would either go for something cheaper like the Tanchjim Lineup (Nora,Fission, Fola) or for a bit more something like the Softears studio 4. If you want something that has good vocals but also bass, I would look into the Softears Volume s or any other jM1 tuned Iem like the crinear daybreak, Ke4, Ziigaat Odyssey 1/2, Mooondrop Dusk (and many more) or something like the Ziigaat Luna. Ps. You could also consider to try out some EQ and add a bit more lower midrange and maybe a bit more mid bass. Something like this might work for you. https://preview.redd.it/zn3o9psp46tf1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a11b179c593b4f5707192bf77cd1be58c94e415

I have the dusk, hype 4, ie600, Aful 5+2 and I can EQ any one of these to sound like the other. Fit is most important. EQ really can do the rest. As for me, dusk is more comfortable than hype 4 as well.

I would also suggest the Dusk with the DSP cable(I own 2 sets) That iem fits my ears better than the hype 4 and tea pro. Not as good as the p7 but it’s another one that punches way above its price especially if you get an open box for $250.

Dusk DSP Bass + is the special sauce

IEMs photographed left to right in first two photos: Unique Melody Mest MkII, Moondrop Variations, Moondrop x Crinacle DUSK, TSMR Halo, Thieaudio Monarch MkIII, Elysian Annihilator 2023, Elysian Diva 2023. I’ve also put a close-up photo of each IEM in the order they appear in photo one. Photography is not my skill so the photos are awful; whoops! This is just update post for my collection. Again, the post is mostly for me to look back on myself in the future (for example, I said in my last post I was looking for Diva 2023 and I finally got it courtesy of a Head-Fi seller). I’m not expecting anyone to care or be interested. But on the off-chance someone cares I’ll list a few rankings off here. You can also see the driver configurations of each IEM in photo three, listed top to bottom in the order I acquired the sets. My rankings are coming from the point of view of someone who values detail and treble extension primarily, with bass a secondary concern. Sound (most important of course): 1. Elysian Annihilator 2023 2. Elysian Diva 2023 3. Unique Melody Mest MkII 4. Thieaudio Monarch MkIII 5. TSMR Halo 6. Moondrop Variations 7. Moondrop x Crinacle DUSK Comfort/Fit (essential for long listening sessions): 1. Unique Melody Mest MkII 2. Elysian Diva 2023 3. TSMR Halo 4. Elysian Annihilator 2023 5. Moondrop Variations 6. Thieaudio Monarch MkIII 7. Moondrop x Crinacle DUSK Stock Cable (maybe interesting, maybe not): 1. Unique Melody Mest MkII 2. Elysian Diva 2023 3. Thieaudio Monarch MkIII 4. Elysian Annihilator 2023 5. Moondrop Variations 6. TSMR Halo 7. Moondrop x Crinacle DUSK (both cables) Finally, not photographed except for the boxes are my two DAPs. The iBasso DX340 is clearly the better of the two but I hesitate to say it’s ‘worth it’ as an upgrade to the R4. They’re both fantastic but as a value proposition I think the R4 is great. To conclude, clearly the IEM hobby is something of a chase for perfection which you will never achieve. There are tradeoffs to every IEM, DAC, DAP, cable and eartips. If you’re seeing this post and thinking about things like diminishing returns and these sets being nowhere near ‘worth’ their price – I’d say I agree. Diminishing returns (not a phrase I like much because everything has diminishing returns but I digress) set in quite early imho. For an all-rounder that you can use with practically any device the DUSK (as an example from my sets) could easily be the pinnacle of what you’re looking for and there’s really no need to chase the latest releases or constantly be looking to upgrade. Then again, I also disagree with people who look down on someone for owning more than one set – do we limit ourselves to one pair of shoes just because we only have two feet? (Bad example but maybe you get my point.) At the end of the day, yes, the IEM hobby is rife with consumerism, as are all similar tech products, but I think the craftsmanship and the various different designs, sound signatures and so on make it a fascinating hobby to be involved in. And on second-hand sites like Head-Fi (where I got my Mest, Diva & Halo from) or even r/AVexchange you can sometimes snag yourself a bargain, or at least meet more people to talk about this great hobby with. I’d be happy to discuss anything photographed if anyone has any questions (and made it all the way to reading this)! Take care and all the best, Rob

Thank you! Yes I agree, the R4 is definitely popular for good reason. :) I’d say it’s quite far off in technicalities for things like staging, separation, tightness of bass, treble extension and so on. Mind you, it’s almost splitting hairs at this point because the DUSK itself is great. There’s a reason I still have it lol, it’s lowest on my list but I’ve kept it for good reason!

I had on OG launch Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk with Moondrop provided laser etching, that I’ve since sold, just to add to your list: https://preview.redd.it/je9v2yzd5akf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=50dee07f6219118915bd703ce1f695b10776c9c3 It was novel at the time because I’d never seen anything like it before, but I’d never purchase something like that again.

i have the dusks and ive also extensivley listened to my brothers hype 4. I find the open and more balanced sound of the Dusk analog really nice. when i listen to the hype 4, the bass is really nice but for me its a tad too much bass; i feel like it can shroud some of the details that would be there otherwise like on the dusk. the comfort and look of the dusk is also really nice, even with small tips on the hype 4, the nozzle is a bit large and can feel stiff in the ear when on the dusks i use large tips and the nozzle just floats, much less pressure in the ear. the treble on the dusks is definitely more present and quick than the hypes not just in tuning but also because of the planar tweeters. the soundstage on the dusks is something else especially when playing games. they both sound VERY similar to each other in many ways so it comes down to what you want from them.

Some price bracket options off the top of my head: Theaudio hype 4 and moondrop dusk are probably endgame for most people $400 right now. If you want a bit cheaper there's the aful performer 5 $220. If you want entry level something like the kiwi ears cadenza $35. But regardless of what you choose you should get at least a cheap dac/amp dongle to make the potential of the iems fully realized. If you go for the more endgame sets, you should probably go with something better than a cheap dongle but even with a cheaper dongle the $300 to $500 pairs will still sound good. A really decent cheaper dongle is the moondrop dawn pro but if you want even better audio go with the fiio br17. Bluetooth and wired for desktop and mobile. A more cost efficient option is the qudelix 5k, it's great.

dusk is good. im using them right now in fact; but the qc on moondrop products is very iffy sometimes. the dusk has a very balanced tuning so nothing steps over the other sounds. it has a decent soundstage as far as iems of this price goes. the bass isnt super strong but it is high quality and is very well controlled. the vocals and instruments are vivid and sound great. I prefer the analog tuning but for most, the DSP default profile seems more preferable over the analog; DSP is a slightly less forward, warmer profile. if you want a generally more engaging sound with all of those qualities, i would go with the thieaudio hype 4, the overall tonal signature isn't too far off, they are very similar sets but the hype has a bit more bass volume than the dusk. if you want a more technically advanced set that has a different tuning to the hype, get the hisenior mega 5 EST. good endgame set for most if your not chasing the dragon.

I bought the dusk, and half the reviews I come across absolutely glaze the dusk, and the other half just tear it apart? Why is it so polarizing

I mean I’m just going to run them on 3.5 mm. I’m just worried if I’m getting the best performance out of a near endgame set

Yeah atp I’m probably going to stick with the dusk for now because mega5 is €150+ more expensive where I live. Dusk might be endgame unless I can get my hands on the V16 divinity. I still don’t really know if it’s worth it compare to the tea pro

To be honest , I have tried the dusk. Didnt find it to be as good as it was hyped

Somehow I didn’t like the dusk as much and had to return

The Studio 4 is the most "shouty" of the bunch and it's BA bass is rather lean in the mid bass (albeit still good for BA bass). My vote would be on the Pilgrim since it is (to me) the most detailed but it's hard to go wrong with your other choices too. If comfort is a factor though the P8 and Dusk are better.

try filtering only 2023 to 2024, i'm still quite surprised my kato is still in these list. i'm still using my kato outside home/carry. dusk and variations stays at home. still blue kato is an eye catcher when wearing outside. brass nozzle, Divinus Velvet Silicone Eartips For 3-5mm Nozzle S, Venture Electronics Odo, Stock Kato Cables. poweramp bass at 35, stereo expand 20%

i have the dusk. the 3.5mm sound artificial and tilted to the highs. i wouldnt buy it if i were to use 3.5mm, what is so bad about using the dsp dongle, i dont get it. have onix x1, yes it sounds better but not by much, and final note, the included 3.5mm cable sucks a\*\*, if you change it to better quality cable, the sounds improved by like 7%?

i tried V16, similar with thie prestige, natural is one word i could describe it, yes more details across the range, but it's tuned in such a way that will not wow you, everything will sound "normal" i guess. and it is even more chonky than the dusk. to get real upgrade from dusk you have to go multiple its price.

If you want an all ‘rounder, the Mangird Tea Pro is the best option in your price range. That said, even with dozens of IEMs, from budget to summit-fi sets, I run the EM6L 90% of the time. The Tea Pro is markedly better when it comes to media consumption, but the EM6L is no slouch there either, being somewhat mid-forward, but with excellent bass and treble and very strong imaging for a budget set. Whatever you choose, it’s best to avoid sets with emphasized lower frequencies as it will narrow staging and impact the clarity of your mids. Upper mids and treble are where most gaming cues live and is thus the most important area of the frequency range for gaming — hence why the EM6L is such a good option at its price. Other sets I’ve run for games that I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed; Thieaudio Hype 4, Crinicle Dusk, Xenns Top Pro, Meze Alba, Truthear Blue and Blue 2, Letshuoer S08 and S12 2024.

Yes and No. Tread carefully with the buying IEMS. Like with any other audio equipment, you'll always naturally want to seek that "next upgrade". After that $250-$300 mark for IEMs, it's all deminishing returns. The bump in price after that range would only be for clarity but it would never justify 1.5x or even 2x the price IMO. For IEMs, I've got the Sony WF-1000XM5s, Linsoul Kiwi Ears Cadenza, Moondrop x Crinacle DUSK, and the Pilgrim Elysian, all at different price points. I tend to enjoy more of a slight V-shape sound signature and the DUSK, Cadenzas, and the XM5s are exactly that. You can get each for under $300 if you look in the right places. The Pilgrims are $400-$500 but tbh it's just not worth the offering for me even if the clarity is better the rest is underwhelming. TDLR: Find what sound signature you like best, do your research, and pick carefully. If you like a V-Shape signature like I do out of the box, the Cadenzas are great for $35. Oh and like someone else mentioned here. you only need that Apple Dongle as a DAC......nothing else.

Had Odyssey, Dusks, Hype 4 and Davinci at the same time. What is left is Davinci. I love them. They just sounds right to me (with touch of warm), just like i would not wear iems at all. They have amazing scene and directionality. Dusks - too intense, Hype 4 - to much subbas, Odyssey- too much subbas and overall meh. I know that i can eq and I am doing it but eq is not always possible and i am seeking for most fitting me (sonically) base

I feel the exact same, i use the CHU2 and the moondrop X crinicle Dusk, genuinely the only thing i could tell is that band members sounded slightly further apart on stage. This was only after I was laying down in bed, covered my eyes, and removed myself from the world as I switched back and forth from each of them. Its one of those things that youll only be able to tell ANY difference if you train yourself and also listen to very specific music. Unfortunately El cheapos have gotten really good so the average consumer wont be able to tell the difference - music is music and changing the iem won't change it. The #1 driving force of price is amount of speaker in them, CHU2 had like 1, maybe 2 speakers in them, while the Dusk had like 4 or 6 or something crazy. Sounds all the same. However, the more money you spend, the cuter anime girl you get on the box, so its worth it.

How about Dusk? It's a perfect platform for EQ.

He400i, bought it from TaoBao through Superbuy agency before Hifiman had an Aliexpress shop. The diaphragm got loose after 2 years of excessive bass boost. Then i got an ATH R70X, but the sound was not the same. Currently got the Sundara's (2020, no Stealth), and I'm planning to get a closed back this year. I also had the IEMs: Zero Audio Duoza (2xDD), FiiO FH3 (1DD, 2BA) and the Moondrop Dusk (2DD, 2BA, 2PA)

Just got some Moondrop X Crinacle Dusk off eBay for 300$, would highly recommend if you like his tunings. Similar to Harmon overall.

About the same in terms of perceived detail retrieval. Both relatively natural sounding. Dusk comes off as more sterile. Rockies is more organic sounding. Micro dynamics probably go to Dusk. Macro dynamics, rockies. Rockies is more musical sounding. Dusk more clinical. Bass quality goes to dusk, mids, Rockies. Treble, I prefer Rockies, some will prefer dusk. Pick your poison kind of thing!

Volume S is not that bassy has most ppl think. Is a sub bass oriented IEM, meaning you don't hear the punch you mostly feel the rumble, I don't know other way to explain it. The Dusk on the other side is over priced for the perfomance and technical details you get IMO, should be priced at exactly 300 nothing more and is okish. My recommendation is go with the Volume S and a 5 ohms impedance adapter or just EQ it. For that price my recommendation is go with the HBB Punch while on sale for 380 that's really endgame for 95% of bass oriented ppl it's just 1 tier above both

I'd say Tanchjim Origin and Elysian Pilgrim are the best on that list for soundstage size (pilgrim has slightly better separation but origin is no slouch). Braindance (and, by extension, the Dita Project M) I personally love but wouldn't recommend because it seems to be quite anatomy dependent (some people find its treble god awful while others love it. If you can get it from Amazon or a store that let's u return it then maybe go for it). Tangzu bajie is on Shenzhenaudio and linsoul for around 510usd rn and that can be a consideration (I typically like neutral to neutral-bright but that iem blew me away). I actually like dusk in analog the most and its midrange is beautiful imo (especially vocals)

Tried Dusk, sent it back after a week. I don’t see the appeal at all. If you have an android and don’t have a Q5k, maybe, but the cable is like €25 separately so I don’t see how it justifies a €350 purchase. I’m currently waiting for my Tea Pro, meanwhile enjoying S12 Pro.

I have the Dusk and I use 3.5mm only because I am using my own DAC. The DSP is just a pre-applied EQ on the cable. If you want the DSP tuning you can go to squiglink and then compare the 3.5 and DSP FR to get the pre-applied EQ from the DSP cable. (Although it may not be exactly the same) But why are you limiting yourself to specific tuning? You are always free to EQ your iem to your own preference.

Wow I didn't know that!!! Thanks for sharing. If this is open information, there is no reason for people to be that obsessed with the DSP cable. I personally prefer the original tuning of the Dusk more. This EQ profile reduces vocal forwardness and technicality, making it too bassy for my liking.

Lol my new crinacle dusks mix up sound cues in FPS shooters wayyyy more than my PC38x. Music sounds great though.

Many options: Dusk(best resolving), Mangrid tea pro(most spacious) and Hype 4(most bassy)

Dusk is a very good choice. If you would like the EST treble, then Hisenior Mega5est. I have the Xenns Top Pro but they are a bit thin for rock/metal in the lower mids, will geet Ziigaat Luna in a day or two, they migjt be better for that. I too listen to Bring me the Horizon from time to time, so I might just as well report back to you once the Luna is here. :) A very good and not that expensive iem for your preference is the Ziigaat Odyssey, a true gem in the price range.

Appreciate the effort! Personally I kinda checked out after getting my hexas, as the only upgrade I found worthwhile is the dusks 3, but can't afford to spend that much on iems

I'm on Dusk's side for this one. Dusk just comes off as alot more natural, transparent and detailed compared to Hype 4. I personally use the DSP tuning and Wow, is the bass so much better than Hype 4. Not exactly in the amount of bass but the quality. Dusk's bass is more snappy, accurate and dynamic while keeping the mids clean. The treble is also handled better with it having an emphasis but not too much to where it's sharp and edgy. The Analogue tuning can be like that to some but I still find it better handled on the Dusk. The Analogue is alot more lean and bright so if you want just more bass and the DSP isn't giving to you, maybe something like Xenns Tea Pro would fit better. Hype 4... As much as I want to like it, it's outclassed by multiple IEMs below it's price point. The bass dynamics are pillowy and bloomy so it's not the most satisfying bass for me despite how much bass it has. The bass's messiness also kinda effects the mids clarity for me because the bass just crowds it out with muffled slam which just makes the mids not as detailed as I would like them to be. the treble is also a little hot on some tracks so definitely more a V style tuning but it just doesn't sound natural, clear or resolute which is what I usually like in an IEM. Below it, IEMs like Ziigaat Odyssey, Performer 5+2, META all do a better job at overall sound quality and clarity. Going at the same price tho, Tea Pro is just way better Hype 4 in my opinion. The bass punch and tactility is really just wow on that. The "Lub Dub" of kick drums and the rumbling of the sub bass really is nice and it still keeps the mids clear and details while also having a more tame treble so it's less V shaped and more of a Neutral with a good bass boost. If you want that bass => Tea Pro If you want clarity and naturalness => Dusk I find these 2 sets to be some of the best at the price point but these are just my opinion so mileage may vary but hope this helped to give more perspectives into your perchasing decision :)

I have more expensive sets, some more than 5x more expensive and I picked up the Hexa right now, just to give you an idea of how relevant they are. The good thing about them is that they sound really natural. I think this is the best way to describe them. I think they are better than my Bleessing 2 Dusk, for example, not on everything but I still like them more. In short, I suggest you at least listen to them but since you're coming from the 7Hz Zero I honestly think there's no way you won't enjoy them.

Tea Pro or Top Dusk Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite I love the Tanchjim Origin too but it's more of a vocal centric IEM

Tried them. Returned the IE600, kept the dusk and variations from Moondrop. Those two I wasn't expecting the size of them, the tube seems to help making the sound a bit more airy. Dusk is quite neutral, a bit more airy than variations, and less fatique on long run. But tuning I preper variations a bit more. Both are very nice. Quite a step up from my old SE846. Thanks.

OP, have you tried out the Tea Pro yet? I'm kinda stuck between getting the tea pro and Dusk. Currently wanting to upgrade to one of the two since my ears are getting tired while wearing my Blessing 2 dusk :(

Yeah, I've had my b2d for 2 years now, but I can't wear them comfortably after 30 minutes or so lol

I've auditioned stuff like the Clear MG and the 800S, but I won't be putting those here. For headphones I have personally bought I'd do something like this: FT1 > 6XX >> 620s >> Bose QC45ii >> M50s/any other ANC headphones I've tried Blessing 2 Dusk >> Moondrop Chu 1 >>> everything else. The FT1 is what blew me away this year for sure, there's only a few things I'd even want changed about its sound, but considering the price I can definitely live with those few minor flaws. For IEM's, I bought Blessing 2 dusks when they came out and have had no desire to switch. MAYBE I'd switch to something with a smaller shell, and that's about it. I bought the Chu 1's for the eartips lol but they don't sound bad. Just annoying to put on and feel a bit cheap.

Don't forget to [read this](https://www.reddit.com/user/NinjaSiren/comments/1jil8re/beginners_intro_guide_to_iems/) on how to protect and make your IEM last longer, its my tips and tricks for beginners! I would recommend a neutral balanced "harman", neutral balanced "IEF", or flat sound signature IEM for your purpose. Or planars for that fast transient response, or Sennheiser stuffs. (based on Squiglink stuffs) Neutral Harman: * Moondrop Aria 2 * Truthear Nova * Simgot EA500/500LM * Kefine Klean * Kefine Delci * Tangzu Wan'er Studio Edition * KZ EDC Pro * KZ Castor/Castor Pro Silver Neutral IEF: * Truthear Hexa * Tangzu Wan'er Studio Edition Flat-ish: * Truthear Hexa * Tangzu Wan'er Studio Edition Crinacle collabs: * Truthear x Crinacle Zero Red * Truthear x Crinacle Zero Blue 2 * Moondrop x Crinacle Blessing 2 Dusk * 7hz x Crinacle Salnotes Dioko Planars: * Artti T10/T10 Pro * Letshouer S12/S12 Pro

Yea, I was hyped for this one since my Blessing 2 Dusk has a crack in the shell. But it looks too dark for me. Less treble and more midbass than JM-1 even switching it to tilt which I slightly prefer over Crin's bass/treble adjustments. I guess good sound is good sound so I'll probably get the Hexa if my B2D gets worse.

Honestly I hit this too recently, splurged on some top line stuff and honestly need to force myself to use them over some cheaper options I have. For example I picked up the Moondrop Meteors and Blessing 3’s Yet still find myself falling back to the old trusty Shire se215, kiwi ears orchestra and moondrop aria snow editions I find the top line are always very “clean” sounding but i personally enjoy the sound curve on the lower line models best! Might be what my ears are capable of hearing also. Again all subjective and YMMV Always enjoy the little sense of discovery with things like this, think finding the limit of price to returns for me is a fun thing with most hobbies i get into. Finding out for yourself is important! Now I get more excited when I find some a pair of cheap little gems that I can recommend to people looking for some IEM’s!

Currently I only tried DUSK on default dsp. Compared to megafest, it is more fun and energitic, while mega is very natural and light-hearted. It seems megafest becomes more engaging on larger volume. Yea, there is no binki in my pic.

DUSK(default dsp) - neutral, non-fatiguing, but still fun sa6 mk2 (u can buy it cheap) - super non-fatiguing and musical, bass off mode is more warm than neutral, still highly recommended mega5est - satisfies your description perfectly except the price is a bit higher Neutral: mega5est > DUSK > sa6 mk2 non-fatiguing: mega5est \~= sa6 mk2 > DUSK acoustic: mega5est >= DUSK >= sa6 mk2 vocal: sa6 mk2 > DUSK >= mega5est

There's CCA Hydro at $125. If you want high end, there's Moondrop Dusk DSP and Simgot EM10 above $350. Although, I would say, get Castor Pro if that is what you like you can invest more in similar tonality.

dusk dsp sounded perfect in comparison to the hype 4, analogue was missing a lot imo.

I haven't branched out too much into IEM's but I've had a few of MoonDrops's and I absolutely LOVE how good the quality is.