MOONDROP DAWN 4.4 mm Portable DAC/Amp

Consider this a quick look article combined with a headphones review, but it works here because I did listen to the MOONDROP VOID using the optional Line V cable and the DAWN dongle to make it a MOONDROP-branded trio. The MOONDROP DAWN released after the MoonRiver 2 portable DAC/amp we took a look at as part of my review of the exciting MOONDROP DASH75 keyboard, which in itself is an excellent source for IEMs and headphones alike, if not slightly expensive. The MoonRiver 2 features onboard volume and gain controls, an LED indicator, and both 3.5 mm single-ended and 4.4 mm balanced connectors. People clearly wanted a less expensive take on this and thus was born the DAWN that ships in either 4.4 mm or 3.5 mm versions. I have the former here which ships in a similar tin-shaped metal box as we saw used for the Line V cable before. The sticker label on the top has the relevant identifiers on it with product specifications on the back. Open the box to reveal a shaped foam piece with cutouts to snugly hold and protect the contents inside.


There's the expected QC card included here but the only accessory worth noting is a USB Type-C to Type-A adapter allowing the use of the DAWN with a PC/laptop that only has a USB Type-A port available. This means the DAWN itself uses Type-C connectivity courtesy a fixed cable on the input side and that makes the DAWN a dongle as opposed to a portable DAC/amp that has only connectors on either end with a standalone cable plugging into the input side too. MOONDROP is using custom silver-plated copper cores in a parallel arrangement on the USB cable to allow for ultra-low impedance, resistance, and interference too. The clear sleeving allows a closer look at this ribbon-style cable that has subtle branding as seen above. The main body of the DAWN is cylindrical in shape and composed of CNC-machined aluminium alloy. There is a matte white point over it and this part takes up up 120 x 16.4 mm of room while weighing just under 14 g. MOONDROP calls this a "micro DAC" as noted by the printing on the body alongside an indicator LED light.


As expected, this DAWN 4.4 mm version has a balanced 4.4 mm TRRS headphone output on the other side that allows you to plug in a compatible balanced cable. The DAWN 3.5 mm version released shortly after this launched and costs $5 less if you only have a single-ended cable for your IEMs/headphones. Connecting the DAWN to a compatible client powers it on as indicated by the LED turning red. This also signifies the unit is in low gain mode and it would turn green when in high gain mode. There are no volume and/or gain controls on the DAWN, however. On the other hand, the LED is not as annoyingly bright as on the MoonRiver 2! Using the MOONDROP VOID with the MOONDROP DAWN 4.4 mm version requires a balanced cable such as the Line V as mentioned before, and I have to say this combination worked quite well for testing the headphones in a more leisurely manner with a DAP such as the HiBy R5 Gen 2 or even with my phone.


As mentioned in the review of the MOONDROP DASH75 keyboard, the MoonRiver 2 is somewhat weird in that it doesn't get support for the company's MOONDROP Link mobile app but the DAWN does, despite sharing a lot in common. Indeed, the internals are so similar that I won't even bother repeating them except to say it uses dual Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC chips rather than the more expensive dual CS43198 configuration in the MoonRiver 2. There's isn't a whole lot different between them in practice and overall I find it a decent compromise in terms of what you get for the money saved. Given the absence of hardware buttons here, it's also a good thing that the DAWN is indeed supported by the app to allow for easy control over a couple of preset filters, gain mode, turning off the LED indicator if you so desire, and having 256 steps of fine volume control that is separate from what you get on the client device itself.


To no surprise, the MOONDROP DAWN measures identical to the MoonRiver 2 in being near flat and better so than many desktop sources even, and the Cirrus Logic DACs here present a slightly brighter tone compared to the likes of ESS and AKM DACs I've used. Don't go in expecting DAC magic of any kind though as the differences are minute at best. Still, it has impressively low THD+N numbers and a high SNR off the 4.4 mm balanced connection here to where it's a clean source without any distortions to worry about in the default high gain mode. It can provide 4 Vrms from the 4.4 mm balanced connector in high gain mode (2 Vrms in low gain) which translates to an incredible 230 mW at 32 Ω off a simple dongle such as this that goes down to a still impressive 54 mW at 300 Ω. I had no problem driving the MOONDROP VENUS or Drop HD 6XX, for example, let alone the MOONDROP VOID itself that's no challenge here. At the same time, it's clean enough and has plenty of volume control range to be paired with sensitive IEMs too. I just wish it had onboard volume controls!