Today, we’re listening to some awesome music and checking out Moondrop Dawn portable DAC/AMP.
The sample for this review was kindly provided by Shenzhen Audio in exchange for my honest review. As always I’m not paid to say anything in particular about this product and all thoughts and opinions in today’s episode are my own.
Moondrop Dawn is a brand new and fully-balanced portable USB DAC & Amp from Moondrop. At the heart of the dongle, we have a dual CS43131 DAC chip from Cirrus Logic and it has a fully-balanced circuitry. DAC supports PCM decoding up 768khz at 32-bits and Native DSD256 decoding.
Dawn comes in a metal tin box and the packaging is quite unusual for Moondrop as I think many people already got used to typical anime illustrations, which, frankly, I’m not a big fan of. On the front of the box there is a branding. And on the back of the box there is a list of technical specifications
Inside the box:
- Moondrop Dawn DAC
- A basic USB-C to USB-A adapter
- QC certificate
- And a manual, which was located underneath the foam insert
By the way, the foam insert that holds both DAC and USB adapter also has one more slot, which in my case was empty so I wonder if initially it was made to hold a lightning adapter.
Moondrop Dawn specifications:
- DAC Chipset: Dual Cirrus Logic CS43131
- Frequency response range: 7hz to 90Khz(-3dB)
- THD+N: 0.00017% (AES17 20kHz, without load)
- SNR: 132dB (AES17 20Khz,A-weight)
- Power rating: 4Vrms(in high-gain mode), 2Vrms(in low-gain mode)
- Maximum output power: 230mW@32Ω and 54mW@300Ω
Length of Moondrop Dawn without the cable is 46mm and it’s diameter is 16mm. Overall length of the dongle with the cable is 120 mm. The cable is not de-attachable which may be a a deal breaker for some people. Connection type is USB Type-C and you can also use the supplied adapter to connect it to your PC.
The DAC weights 13.7g and has a one 4.4mm balanced headphone output. Firmware upgrade is also supported when you connect the DAC to PC. Moondrop has also mentioned that the lightning adapter will be available soon. The device has two gain modes High and Low that can be only switched within the application.
Design & build
The body of Moondrop Dawn has cylindrical design is made of aluminum and is CNC-milled. The metal casing gives DAWN both sturdiness and the ability to shield the device from external electromagnetic interference. The body of the DAC is painted with white matte paint which adds a really nice texture. Besides branding, there is also a small LED that changes colors depending on the file type and its bit rate
On one edge of the DAC there is a 4.4 mm balanced headphone output. And on the opposite edge, there is an attached cable. If you are familiar with Moondrop’s flagship MoonRiver 2 DAC, which I also reviewed on my channel, you will recognise the cable. It’s the same silver platted cable, but this time it’s unfortunately non-detachable, which might be a deal breaker for some people
Pairing, controls and user experience
I was mainly using my Samsung S10 running android 12 and USB Audio Player PRO (UAPP) and also used this DAC with my PC. In addition I also tried it with my old iPhone 6S Plus with an aftermarket Lightning to USB adapter and it worked too I have included the link to the adapter I was using in the description of this video.
When I connect the Moondrop Dawn to my S10 it gets detected right away. In addition to that if you install the Moondrop Link software and, it will allow you to fully manage your device, including selecting the digital filters, changing output voltage (low and high gain modes), and switching off and on LED light.
Firmware upgrade available only when you connect it to your PC or Mac. In addition, the iOS version of MoonLink doesn’t give you the possibility to manage the DAC so you need to be on Android.
During the playback, The LED indicator changes color depending on the file format and bit rate and you can find the color explanations in the manual. I have also noticed that when you disconnect the headphones from Dawn, it doesn’t pause or stop playing music, which means it doesn’t send a connection status to the smartphone, and its a bit disappointing
With MoonDrop MoonRiver 2 I went with a simple mounting option and used a piece of velcro tape to attach it to the back of my phone case. But with Moondrop Dawn, the same method might not work, as the mounting will be less reliable due to its cylindrical shape. Moondrop Dawn also doesn’t have an idle mode and in addition to that, I noticed that after a couple of hours the DAC becomes a bit warm.
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Power rating and sound impressions
First of all Moondrop Dawn is very power efficient and at the same time it provides a lot of power, an accurate sound, and a great performance. The high gain mode provides 4Vrms and offers up to 230mW power at 32Ω, which is quite impressive for a device of its size.
When I was using it with my smartphone and my IEMs, I was using it in low gain mode only and was around 30% of the volume so there was a lot of headroom left. When I was using it with my PC and my IEMs, the volume levels were much less than 30%
With full-size headphones, and hi-gain mode the DAWN has driven all my full-size headphones with balanced cables to my comfort level of volume and there was some additional headroom left as well
Comparing Moondrop Dawn to my desktop stacks which are Topping D10s+xDuoo MT-602 and SMSL SU-6 with Schiit Magni Heresy I’d say that DAWN performs quite close in terms of details and presentation, but of course, it doesn’t have so much headroom.
Moondrop Dawn surprised me with it’s timbre, resolution and detail-retrieval. It offers natural, clean, resolving and very transparent sound with a balanced sound signature. I also didn’t notice any audible noise with IEMs even in high gain mode and this is exactly what you should expect from a quality DAC/AMP.
Low frequencies are well extended, the bass is thick, fast and detailed. Impact and slam factor was varying depending on the pair of headphones, but overall Dawn was capable of producing a nice punch. The mid-range has a good body and note weight, and mids sound very natural. There is enough clarity in the mid-range, which I liked a lot. Instruments have a good timbre, the mid-range region sound clean and is full of details. The treble is well extended too, it has enough energy and sparkle, resulting in a clean and transparent presentation
Conclusions
Moondrop Dawn is a small, flexible, and very powerful DAC & Amp. It also offers an effective and reasonably priced way to explore balanced audio. In addition, it’s very power efficient, compared to its competitors.
Pros:
- Good build
- Dual CS43131 DACs
- Enough power to drive a lot of IEMs and full size headphones
- Well balanced and natural sound signature
- And excellent technical abilities
Cons:
- Non de-attachable cable
- Not the best form factor for portable usage
- Does not have a music stop/pause feature when you disconnect the headphones
Moondrop Dawn offers well-balanced, neutral, and natural sound and is currently among the best-sounding portable DACs under 100 US dollars. I can absolutely recommend it to those who want to use their smartphone as the centerpiece of their portable setup and want to explore the world of balanced audio.
And that concludes my review for today. If you want to see more content like this consider subscribing to my YouTube channel for future updates. Thank you for joining me, and until next time, goodbye!
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