I don't know how the DSP works but there is probably no way to interface with the DSP and even if there was, it could be based on ROM (=read only memory)

Possibly yes, but since the code is closed source, you will have to reverse engineer it which is no easy task.

If you want to tinker around, I recommend going with the Pine64 PineBuds Pro which are open firmware and you have a lot more control over this type of thing.

I'mma sell my Dusk cause of this thing.

omg! the DSP Quarks is that good? I really was just thinking that thing was just another cheap hyped chifi shit...

It is. The best frequency response in your ear wins. It doesn't matter if it's $2 or $2000.

Agreed. If you enumerate the usb interfaces it exposes, often there's a serial endpoint for debugging and firmware update. Might be able to get the firmware that way, but after that you just have a binary blob.

Didn't know about pinebuds. Sounds neat.

Downvoted for speaking facts

It's not. I wasn't a huge fan of the tuning, but my main issue is that it has an audible noise floor.

Basically you plug it in and it starts going shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Great bargain, but not a replacement for anything high end

Lol It's gonna happen a lot more. I was initially careful not to make too many hasty claims about the Quarks being as good as the Dusk but I've given it some time and have been comparing them recently and I'm just about ready to come out with it.

You can’t EQ detail, slam, soundstage, etc. and any smoothed graph you are looking at won’t tell you that. So if it sounds good to you, that is awesome but even with DSP they are lacking quite a bit. I would be curious of your thoughts on the Dusk if you EQd them to the same target.

Theoretically?

Most definitely.

But since you likely don't have the Firmware Update Tool of the chipset that is being used:

Practically? No.

It is just another hyped cheap chifi IEM.

It is better than cheap IEMs from a year or two ago, but really nothing groundbreaking. Still loses to Moondrop SSR in the technical department, and tonality wise it's just a well executed V-Shape, it you're into those things. It's definitely a good IEM, but doesn't really come close to things like Titan S, P1 Max or Starfield.

You can EQ all of those things if you have no un-EQable flaws. For example the Quarks DSP and the Dusk are the only 2 IEMs I have heard that do not have a timbre killing treble spike somewhere after 10k.

As for EQing them to the same target, it doesn't matter. I would never get it perfectly right and they are already close enough that it comes down to a matter of preference which one I think is better for what music depending on the production (EG, if there is tons of sub bass already I will prefer the Dusk, if there is a lot of warmth in the lower mids I will prefer the Quarks) but mostly I can take either so by default it goes to the one that is 1/20th the price, fits more comfortably and is not fragile.

If I were actually able to EQ them exactly the same they would just be the same IEM and sound exactly the same.

It is incredibly groundbreaking. It completely Destroyed the Chu and made it obsolete while the Chu already did that to the $20 price bracket.

And there is no such thing as the technical department. It's imagined by people who can't accept that a $20 IEM is the real deal.

The noise floor doesn't matter when you are listening to music. It is a replacement for high end. Now I can get rid of my Dusk, have a much more stable/comfortable fit and never worry about breaking my fragile $330 IEM.

I mean yeah if you're listening to extremely compressed stuff or super loud then if you won't hear it. But I absolutely hear the noise floor during quiet passages.

I'll give you the first point. Chu was garbage, Quarks were pretty good, Quarks DSP are even better than that.

And lmao cope harder.

You might like its frequency response very much, but there's absolutely nothing groundbreaking about it. It's just another $20 IEM, much like the Chu was just another $20 IEM. Technicalities existing is not something that can even be debated.

If there's some kind of accessible bootloader/debug port, maybe, but it'd be a lot of work and you'd probably need to obtain the developer documentation/toolchain for whatever DSP they're using - likely not readily available to random individuals (and probably all in Chinese).

Depending on the chip they use, the firmware could also be mask ROM like ye olde video game cartridges and unmodifiable.

They are very good, but also my issue apart from the noise floor is the noisy cable. They are really that good sound wise though

No need to cope. I've got my end game IEM until something better eventually comes for $20.

Why do you call it a $20 IEM as if it is an insult? That just makes it all the more groundbreaking. It is an extreme revolution in price/performance as it is better than the vast majority of IEMs including ones that are 100x the price.

What kind of thing are you looking for to qualify as "groundbreaking"?

So let’s see here, you absolutely cannot EQ those technicalities with our current extremely smooth graphs because you cannot even tell me where they are. So that is an outright lie.

Yes, if your hearing is not capable of discerning details then I would certainly buy the one that costs way less. Also, if they are already close enough then why would one be better than the other given a certain song?

Yes I would agree that they would be the same if we could perfectly measure a headphone (we cannot) and we could perfectly EQ a headphone (we cannot) so why even make the statement? If they both had the same FR, they would be the same headphone. The point is that even if you EQd the to try to match the smooth target you are missing the fine grained details that make all of the difference.

The quarks are a great budget IEM with excellent tonal balance. Nothing more.

It sounds like tonal balance is all that matters to you which makes sense why the quarks are all you need. Makes you look like a fool for owning those HD800 though. Why even own it?

You mentioned the price the exact same number of times as I did. It's nice that we're clarifying the bracket they're competing in - the Chu most certainly didn't have a shot of competing with more expensive IEMs, and I very much doubt the Quarks DSP does. Hell, the Chu is quite far from my preferred $20 IEMs, even.
There's just a limit to how much you can do at this price point, the significantly better technicalities in more expensive earphones are related to their better drivers.

Gotta imagine the squeeze isn’t worth the juice