Sound Impressions
Bass
This Dawn Pro has more bass, and clearer bass, than the previously reviewed Stellaris by Moondrop. But, that bass quantity description comes with the need for a lot of EQ to obtain it.
Thankfully, similarly to the 7Hz Legato, this Dawn Pro retains excellent control of the bass when amped and significantly boosted. Without any EQ active, the experience is shoulder shrug worth on the low end. It feels unbalanced, with a top-end and upper-mid experience that far outweighs the tactility and heft of the bottom end.
That alters with EQ because you are able to add quite a lot, upwards of +8dB before things get overly muddied. So, you can obtain a good bass quantity and retain the quality despite that massive boost.
Bass fidelity is very good. Side by side with the Stellaris, (another planar IEM), the Dawn Pro sounds audibly cleaner and reaches noticeably deeper as well on the same bassy track.
So, there is no denying that this IEM needs some boosting to achieve its best performance in quantity. But as for the fidelity and purity factor, so far this year, this Dawn Pro is the cleanest IEM that I’ve reviewed.
Mids
Along with being one of the cleanest bass experiences in an IEM so far this year, the Dawn Pro is the most forward and engaging IEM I’ve heard in a long time as well.
None of the other planar IEMs I’ve reviewed felt this forward and enveloping. Even the Audeze Euclid feels like a distant-sounding recessed IEM in comparison.
The upper mids are lovely, gently bright, and feel energetic without feeling hostile. That means they are plentiful, forward, enjoyable, musical, a little on the bitey side in a great way, and do not ever become annoying or painful.
High musicality exuded across this earbud, top to bottom, but the upper mids are, at least in my opinion, the real star of the show. This may be the result of the excellent BA driver and the planar driver below it works together to separate things out for you.
I’m not sure what the cause of this is, but I like it and wish more IEMs and headphones sounded like it.
Treble
The top side of the SeekReal Dawn Pro is a step into the bright category, but it never gets annoyingly painful or overly bright. Just like the treble, it has a great balance ratio of energy to physical slam factor.
It is not fatiguing, but it is also not overly reserved and tame. The entire top side feels extremely well suited to female vocals, which seems something that the designers wanted from the get-go.
Furthermore, the top side of the Dawn Pro is significantly cleaner than the 7Hz Legato and the Moondrop Stellaris but seems like the total inverse of the JQ 4Upro that I reviewed a short time ago.
Where the JQ is immensely hostile and edgy, the Dawn Pro is refined and much gentler, without going into the overly bright tonal hue tier.
For $249, this is a hell of an experience on the top side. I am hard-pressed to say that the Dawn Pro may be the cleanest top side in a sub-$300 IEM that I’ve messed with in the past few years. Excellent. Beautiful highs.
Imaging
The Dawn Pro feels wider than it is tall but also offers excellent depth and separation of instruments. I feel that a lot of that great separation and air comes through the upper mids and treble feeling so sublime in tonal brightness.
Some products just grab that golden zone, or rather should I call it the silver zone? It just does treble right, and the airiness factors of the treble seem to be a direct result of that excellent tone on the top side.
The IEM is also moderately coherent and sometimes does feel like it needs more height, which is odd because the Dawn Pro is also very, very forward feeling in placement. Yet, you can also sense that the imaging width factor is “more” than the height factor.
Depth though, is fantastic. So, yeah. The Dawn Pro may be a tad incoherent in that regard and not fully well-rounded or a proper square in shape, but that gives it a lot of character, at least in my opinion.
The lack of height and excellent everything else makes the experience a uniquely relaxing imaging experience, one that my ears seem to want to adjust to quickly and that do not struggle with.
There is again something about a live venue setting or concert, where the width factor feels very wide, and the height factor feels moderate. When these two sound signatures combine with a very aired-out and excellent treble tone, the entire imaging experience feels refined and very mature.
Select Comparisons
Moondrop Stellaris
The Moondrop is thicker feeling, offering more heft to the tonal signature overall. It also is much heavier and doesn’t have the absurdly great fit and comfort of the Dawn Pro.
Also, the Dawn Pro has a significantly clearer and cleaner treble. The Stellaris’ upper mids are problematic and that is the strength of the Dawn Pro. The Dawn Pro also has a bit more bass quantity than the Stellaris.
JQ 4UPro
Both IEMs are roughly the same price now and it is clear as a bell that the 4UPro has some serious work to contend with against the Dawn Pro.
The JQ’s treble is like a nuclear bomb that goes off on your ear sometimes, the total opposite of the Dawn Pro’s caressing and still an interesting and engaging level of treble consistency.
The low end of the Dawn Pro feels much cleaner as well. Also, the Dawn Pro is much more forward, but the JQ is taller and more “coherent” in the sizing traits of the imaging experience.
SeekReal Airship
The Airship is wonderfully balanced sounding but lacks the depth of the bass experience that the Dawn Pro is capable of. Where the Dawn Pro has a great response to alteration and bass boosting, the Airship does not.
The treble on the Airship is significantly more reserved, much more tamed, and less dynamic in tone and texture. The Dawn Pro is brighter, but also much more focused and hefty feeling in physicality.
The width factor of both IEMs is impressive, and both have a lacking sense of height compared to the width. However, the Dawn Pro takes the depth of field and realism a step beyond what the Airship can offer.
The Airship requires little to no amplification, but the Dawn Pro requires a fair amount of amplification power to get the best out of it. The Airship is clinical, icier, and sterile in tone across the board.
The Dawn Pro has subtle hints of warmth on the bass, but it has a drier and more natural midrange that reaches almost to the treble area. Where the Airship is very clinical in tone, the Dawn Pro is more in the middle area, not fully warm, and not at all icy.
Yanyin Aladdin
Also, at a similar price, the Yanyin Aladdin is extremely hostile on the top side, compared to the blissful experience of the Dawn Pro’s treble. Interestingly, the Yanyin sounds taller, but also less wide than the Dawn Pro.
Also, the build quality of the Yanyin is subpar and severely lacking in comparison to the excellent cut of metal of the Dawn Pro. Price isn’t everything these days, quite a difference in quality between these two products for roughly the same price.
Our Verdict
Some very good upper mids and treble, a forward midrange, and a responsive bass when EQ is applied, and all in a very dense cut of metal. How can you ask for more? The SeekReal Dawn Pro is a very well-designed planar IEM.
It is classy, refined, interesting, and fun, with very enjoyable highs. That’s a good example of a planar and a BA driver properly tuned and working in harmony, so I am happy with it, I can’t see anyone else being upset with what it offers at this price point.
SeekReal Dawn Pro Specifications
- Drivers:10mm*14mm planar Driver + Knowles Balanced Armature Drivers
- Planar Diaphragm material: PU composite resin + lithium-magnesium alloy diaphragm
- Cable material: 6N silver-plated Single single-crystal copper
- Cable length: 2m
- Plug specification: 78 2pin removable
- Sensitivity: 106db
- Impedance: 8 Ohm
- Frequency response: 12-40kHz
