Dawn PRO 2 Decoder Headphone Amplifier 3.5/4.4 Phone Out Dual CS43198 32Bit/384KHz DSD256 Portable USB DAC/AMP

For the price the Moondrop Dawn Pro 2 is a wicked little device that does its job well. Very tiny and seemingly decently built. Small enough to attach a round USB-C cable to it and treat it like part of a headphone cable. I know there are a few quality issues with the buttons on some units but mine seems A-OK. I leave it at one notch below max volume and control from my device. For reference I am a 10+ year experienced audio nut. I have a large collection of over-ear headphones ranging from $20 to nearly $2000, as well as several sets of speakers and amps, a shelf full of high-end DACs I can't bring myself to sell (lol), etc, etc. In short I have good experience with a range of audio gear including lots of budget gear. 3.5mm output has a good amount of power for many IEMs and also runs some of my more sensitive full sized headphones okay. Audeze LCD-X, Sennheiser HD599, and Philips SHP9500 all not too bad from the 3.5mm port. 4.4mm balanced output should be plenty of power for the great majority of IEMs, and decent enough for quite a few full sized headphones. I don't have an XLR adapter but I do have 4.4mm balanced cables for some of my IEMs and it can push them well beyond comfortable with very decent headroom. Moondrop Chu II, Kiwi Ears Cadenza, TRUTHEARS x Crinacle Zero:RED all run great from balanced with plenty of power. It's pretty much maxing out what its particular chipset can do. If you need more power than this there are other options from FiiO, Qudelix, et al. But they also get considerably more expensive than the pocket change this is selling for at the time of writing this review. The Dawn Pro 2's frequency response is overall pretty flat with a slight bass boost. Sound quality is quite solid and whatever tuning or tweaking that may have been done to the hardware is pleasant. It has a nice DAC and better amplification hardware than most phones, laptops, portable gaming devices, etc. However a desktop amplifier this certainly is not. It has clear audible hallmarks of being an AIO chip amp with sometimes digital and etched treble. But for the money and depending on your needs that might not matter much. I got this for my ROG Ally X as it has really lame headphone output and for that particular purpose it excels. Massive improvement and so tiny I can velcro it to the back of the grip case. Also with a 3.5mm to RCA adapter it makes a great impromptu front end for any sound system with RCA input. Much better sound quality for speakers than the 3.5mm jack on a phone or the ROG Ally X. It's not perfect sounding from an audiophile perspective but is still an all around decent sounding DAC that outclasses those in a lot of consumer devices. I have not tried the Moondrop android app and prefer to EQ via PowerAmp or a PC with Equalizer APO. That said this is supposed to have some EQ and gain functionality that can be edited and saved to the device with an android phone. I don't do much with EQ and am pretty satisfied with the stock sound quality of the Dawn Pro 2. What else is there to say? It does what it says on the box and is clearly heads and tails better than the headphone jack on just about any non-audiophile consumer device. It's not going to beat a good quality DAP or an actual portable headphone amplifier with its own power supply, but it's still an audiophile-centric dongle with some solid features and good power. For the price it's a pretty nice performer. Highly recommended.

This Moondrop never fails! It not only have the pocket size but for such a small size it really improve by A LOT the sound of my music or even Gaming!. And all of this doesn't provide just only for my PC but I can have the same quality and Power of the device with my phone to! Just because of the compatibility it can't be hard to recommend this device to my friends! 10/10

Good bang for the buck. Having a web personal EQ app attached to this is really a game changer. While I wouldn't say the form factor is as easy to travel with as a standard dongle, being able to hold down on both volume buttons for a couple of seconds to turn on the PEQ is really fun. ​Being able to get a clear signal and play around with different sound signatures really gives an interesting little bit of life to your IEMs. Best of all, while the Android Moondrop app isn't the best thing in the world, the web app is very functional and competent and doesn't require any downloads. Overall, very happy with the purchase. PS if you're like me and worried that it didn't come with a USB-C cable, pull the foam up. It's on the other side.

Sound quality and output power is great over the 4.4mm balanced connection, but it is a little finicky plugging in my cable all the way made the audio quiet, pulling it out a bit made the connection seat properly, Moondrop seems to have some QA issues that should be addressed

This sounds great, it powers my iems really well with my phone or my pc, I’m probably going to get a second one for my wife.

Does what I needed it to. I’m not super educated on the specifics of the hardware though so I’m not going to act like I do! Volume control is nice but unnecessary for me as that’s on my keyboard. The EQ being downloaded and stored on it is awesome though.

It works the same as the first model but! You can retweek them with the app and I think that's impressive it's a little learning curve but well worth the sound that's at your fingertips

Feels like it might break in your hand. Makes a hissing sound. I can’t believe anyone likes it

I picked up the Moondrop Dawn Pro 2 to use with my Sennheiser HD560S, and the difference was immediate. The HD560S already has great clarity, but this DAC/amp brings out even more detail, separation, and depth. The soundstage feels wider, bass is tighter, and vocals come through with incredible precision. Power isn’t an issue at all — the Dawn Pro 2 drives the HD560S effortlessly. Build quality is excellent, the metal housing feels premium, and the hardware volume control is super smooth. It’s plug‑and‑play, no hassle, and the tuning is neutral and accurate without adding any harshness. Superb value for money.

Awesome DAC. Small and portable. Feels very high quality. Works great with my IE 200's, but have had some issues with the 4.4 balanced ports reliability. Sometimes one earbud does not work or the whole audio feed is unbelievably scratchy and distorted. Not due to the cable. Other than this great product, sounds awesome.

The Dawn Pro 2 is not just a DAC/amp. In practice, it becomes a EQ tool, especially when paired with something as resolving as the Blessings 3. With the Blessing 3, the changes needed were decimals but enough to make a difference. Small EQ adjustments were enough to slightly reduce sibilance in the 6–8 kHz region and trim the bass shelf just a tad bit to clean up the low-end weight without thinning it out. Because the Blessing 3 already has strong technical performance, the Dawn Pro 2’s DSP allows refinement rather than correction. The result is a cleaner tonal balance without sacrificing resolution, staging, or microdetail which is important fueture that the pro 2 comes with compared to the older model. The ability to switch between one saved EQ profile and the default tuning is practical. It allows instant A/B comparison. On the hardware side, it supports up to 32-bit/768 kHz. Realistically, that ceiling is far beyond what is necessary and even a waste of power and battery if you are connected to a bettery device such as laptops. Even most high-resolution music is distributed at 24-bit. The extra headroom does not translate into audible improvements but it indicates that the device is not a bottleneck in digital decoding capability and allows for future proofing and future needs incase you plan to become a musician. The more important factor is clean output and stable power delivery. The Dawn Pro 2 drives the Blessing 3 without hiss or strain. There is no noticeable noise floor intrusion compared to some other dac dongle i have.

Me llegó el 14 de octubre del año pasado, llevo un tiempo usándolo en mi PC porque no quiero usar el USB c de mi celular y está bastante bien, al ser mi primera vez no tengo un punto de comparación y así afirmar qué tan bueno es, pero en sí cumple con lo deseado, se escuchan las cosas mucho mejor, tiene bastante volumen, y sobre todo no se calienta tanto como esperaba tras un uso prolongado desde unos cuantos meses después de comprarlo. No lo usé antes porque debido a mí infinita estupidez pensé que no venía con cable, solo era levantar la espuma en la que está el Dac/Amp y justo abajo ahí incluye todo lo que dice que incluye en el empaque con la monita china, y al usarlo, difícilmente vuelves a solo usar los audífonos directo al puerto de la PC

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