Moondrop x Crinacle Silicon: MEMS Done Right?

The Moondrop x Crinacle Silicon comes in at $250, deriving its name from solid-state MEMS driver technology. Built around a hybrid driver setup including the aforementioned "new" driver type, the headline attraction for some is likely is the use of MEMS drivers handling the upper-treble region.

While many manufacturers use MEMS hardware as an excuse to blast aggressively over-cooked high frequencies into the listener's ear canal to prove the driver is working, Crinacle takes a far more restrained and tactical approach here. But does it pay off?

Build, Accessories, and Eartips

Visually, the Silicon utilizes a shell design based on the Moondrop Armature Art 12, offering a large, softly contoured body with a noticeably thick nozzle. While the overall aesthetic is handsome, smaller-eared listeners may find the physical footprint cumbersome over long sessions.

The accessories package includes a minorly-microphonic blue/black cable and a bulky leather carrying case with silver stitching. The case is functional for home storage, though far too large for standard pocket carry unless cargo pants are involved.

The eartip selection is where user experience becomes polarizing. Rather than including standard silicone options, Moondrop bundles custom gray foam tips alongside ultra-grippy, clear liquid silicone tips. We found for people who have longer ear canals, the extra mid-treble of the clear tips may help things from becoming too dark, while those with shorter ear canals may prefer the foam tips.

The clear sticky tips provide a secure seal, though their tacky material attracts lint easily. Conversely, the foam tips soften treble intensity for sensitive ears, but introduce a mid-treble recession and also prove notoriously difficult to clean. We would've preferred a third option of a traditional silicone so listeners who don't particularly like the feel or sound of either of these options would have something a bit more normal/familiar to use.

Sound

Acoustically, the Silicon represents a editorialized take on population-average DF-based curves, yielding mixed results. We think broadly this was something good to aim for, but the execution ended up leaving a bit left to be desired.

In particular, we're surprised that one of the bigger bottlenecks is an overly aggressive upper-midrange ear-gain elevation centered around 3 kHz—surprising because on measurements on the 5128, we don't see any major elevation here.

On vocals and electric guitars, this forwardness introduces a glary, papery, and somewhat brittle edge. For Resolve and his longer ear canals (which'll push the 3-6 kHz region more than average), because the eargain pushed so far forward relative to the rest of the spectrum, the bass and low-midrange sounds a bit under-represented by comparison. This is further affected by the bass shelf's corner frequency being set relatively low, leaving the bass response feeling somewhat disjointed and lacking physical density.

For listener, the issue was mostly lower treble being a bit too forward and causing a slightly gritty, over-textured presentation.

But where the Silicon genuinely shines—relative to other options that use MEMS drivers, at least—is its execution of the air. Thanks to a tasteful MEMS implementation, the treble avoids splashy exaggeration.

Instead—at least for Andrew—it provides smooth, detailed, and non-fatiguing treble at teh very top end. For complex acoustic tracks, instrumental jazz, and ambient music, this combination of (borderline excess) upper-midrange clarity with smooth treble extension above that creates a remarkably articulate and "detailed" pesentation. However, for poorly mastered pop, rock, or vocal-centric tracks, the glare below 8 kHz quickly becomes an annoyance.

Comparisons & Verdict

When stacked against other releases in Crinacle's portfolio, the Silicon struggles a bit to justify its $250 price tag. The $170 CrinEar Daybreak offers a more versatile U-shaped signature, better bass-to-midrange integration, and superior everyday comfort for $80 less.

For those seeking Crinacle's benchmark performance, the $300 CrinEar Reference remains superior basically across the board.

Ultimately, the Moondrop x Crinacle Silicon strikes us as a bit of a niche take on this approach, or more of a genre specialist, rather than a well-rounded daily driver.

While its MEMS implementation is easily one of the smartest and most tasteful on the market, for us the slightly rocky performance above 2 kHz still holds it back from something we'd recommend enthusiastically.

From us, Silicon earns a 6.1 and a 5.7 for sound quality from listener & Resolve, respectively. To us, it serves primarily as a niche option for instrumental purists who crave razor-sharp clarity without going crazy above 10 kHz, rather than something broader in its appeal or utility.