Crinacle X Moondrop Dusk

I got these from a trade with a friend recently and this is a personal unit.

The unboxing experience for the Dusk is fine for the price point, nothing too fancy but it comes with all the necessary items (spring tips, 3.5mm cable, DSP cable, carrying pouch and the iems.)

I like the faceplate design but I personally would prefer a semi-transparent and darker shell, since I see glue inside the shell between the faceplate and the shell from the outside of the shell. I feel like using a darker, half-transparent shell would make it look nicer and more harmonious with the black faceplate. I do get why they chose a transparent shell though since they need to match their brand's aesthetic, so this is just my two cents on the design. The leather case is pretty nice too. The 3D print shell is really nice and fits well on my ears.



I know that many people mentioned that it has to be used with the DSP cable, but I did not expect how bad it sounded with the stock 3.5mm cable, I personally think it is terrible with the stock cable so I recommend getting another cable if you plan to use it without the DSP cable. I tried it with my Toxic Cable BW26 and it sounded a lot better than the stock cable. I think getting some entry cables from big-name brands would be a lot better as well and you should be able to get one under $100.

However, it does sound very good with the DSP cable and I think it is super convenient for most people. The Dusk is very balanced with a slight sub-bass boost, and it is a safe tuning but doesn't sound boring. Clarity is fine for the price, and you can hear most of the details that are in the music. It sounded slightly warm and I prefer it over cold-sounding iems. Soundstage is slightly above average, it doesn't sound too close in your face. Vocal is great with the Dusk as well. The DSP cable made it very simple out of the box as well, you just need a phone and you are good to go, which is what I really like about the Dusk. There is a hint of BA timbre but I think it is acceptable, if the vocals were slightly smoother it would be more to my preference.

I used it mainly without the app, due to the app being kinda janky, I did try it with the other tunings with the app but I feel like the default DSP tuning sounded the best so I just uninstalled it and use it without the app. I saw some people saying the DSP cable has some QC issues but I haven't encountered it yet. I am using iPhone 15 and didn't hear background noise as well.

Also if you were to tip roll the Dusk, I found that many tips would slip out of the nozzle as it does not have a lip on it, so I just use the stock Moondrop spring tips and call it a day.

Tuning-wise it is more balanced and more all-rounded than the typical Moondrop offerings such as the Katos. I personally preferred it over the Dunu Davinci that I sold recently as well as I think the Dusk is less fatiguing to listen to for a longer period and it sounded more balanced than the Davinci. The Davinci has more bass and is more fun but more fatiguing to listen to for a longer period.

Overall I do like the tuning of it, the MSRP is fine in today's market but you have many options now. It is a great all-around iem if you plan to use it with the DSP cable. I am using this iem mainly as a travelling iem and it serves me well. I would definitely recommend it to my friends who are getting into the audio world if they are looking for an iem if they are fine with using the DSP cable.

Small update: AZLA SednaEarfit eartip is a great fit, it has the grip to stay on the nozzle and gave me a way better seal than the spring tips, will give it 4.5 stars paired with the ALZA tips.

Bass: 7.5/10
Mids: 8.5/10
Treble: 8/10
Tuning: 8.5/10
Fatiguability (higher score = less fatiguing to listen to): 8.5/10
Price to performance ratio (MSRP): 7/10
Overall: 8/10 (4 stars)

In this review, I will only talk about the sound and my experience with the IEM.

Long story short, the Dusk is an IEM that requires considerable time for people to understand what it can do and how to use it correctly (At least for me).

On 9/2024, I got my Dusk and listened to it on the DSP cable for the first time. My impression that time can be concluded into one word: "BASS". As a former user of B2, the bass of the Dusk at that time was kinda too much for me. However, the more I listened to it the more I came to get addicted to how rumbling the Dusk sounds while maintaining the clarity of the midrange, regarding the superior technicalities compared to the B2. You can say that the DSP tuning is to the liking of the majority of people, who listen mostly to rap, pop, and EDM. On the other hand, although the mid provided great clarity and coherency, the vocals could never shine on this kind of tuning as it became the very opposite of forward. Most of the time, I found the vocals sank in the track where different instruments and things were going on.

Turning to the 3.5mm cable, as I plugged directly into my computer, I found myself in great disappointment. It was just like the Dusk lost its strong point: the bass was anemic and amateur while the treble was way too bright and sharp for my ears. Fortunately, the soundstage and mid did not change. The vocal seems a bit forward compared to the DSP tuning. But to be honest, the dusk with 3.5mm cable sounded so bad that I even found some KZs sounded better. At that time, I felt like my money was wasted on the Dusk in analog mode and promised to only use it with the DSP cable.

That way, my taste in music gradually turned from vocal eccentric tracks to Rap. I craved nothing but the high-quality bass that the Dusk provided. However, as time went on, I realized that the DSP cable was too much of an inconvenience. The first reason is the fact that I could not connect it to some devices, in particular, my iPhone. You know, sometimes you just want to go outside with a pair of IEM listening to music but with my iPhone and the Dusk, I could not do it, which is extremely frustrating. The second reason is the sensitivity of the Dusk. The more I used it, the more I felt like there was a hissing noise while playing classical tracks. I do not know if this is due to the DSP cable or the Dusk itself but that noise is right there. That was also part of the reason why I mostly listened to Rap using Dusk as the bass could kind of make me forget about the hissing noise.

This is when I started to be depressed about the Dusk. I even had the intention to sell it as I thought this IEM was not worth it. Listening to the DSP tuning of the Dusk did me dirty as all I cared about was bass and how it hit in rap songs. I no longer cared about other things such as mid, treble, or soundstage. "If an IEM hits bass the hardest, it is the greatest" - kind of mindset. Fortunately, it came to an end.

As I researched ways to make my Dusk worth the money, I found out that the Dusk in analog mode takes a dedicated amount of power and source. So I chose a portable one that can provide those: FiiO Q3.

Now we are talking, the Dusk in analog mode with a great source is the IEM that I consider worth the money (or maybe this is the doing of Fiio Q3). It is nothing like the DSP mode, the Dusk in analog mode can be seen as a vocal-eccentric IEM. I am not great at describing things so in summary, it sounds like a B2 with greater technicalities, timbre with elevated high mid. The bass is not much but tighter and has enough thumps. High mid is like the very main point of the Dusk: Sounds extremely smooth but no sharpness is present. Vocals now feel natural and forward. And the most important things are imaging and soundstage gets taken to another level, which makes the experience of listening to the Dusk feel like the singer is right in front of you.

The hissing noise that I mentioned is gone using a 4.2mm balanced cable (it is still there using a 3.5mm cable so I guess that noise is related to the sensitivity of the Dusk).

Overall, it was a long journey to finally properly use the Dusk. Right now, I can say that the Dusk is worth my money (or maybe this is the doing of FiiO Q3, I never know). It goes to my taste as the vocals and instruments really shine and feel natural on this IEM. I also really enjoyed the Dusk in DSP mode but I wish I could have this experience without using DSP. Maybe I will get a mk2 in the future.

Thank you for reading this post till the end and I wish you guys a happy new year.