-Color option? (nitpick) -Could sound a bit harsh on wrong eartips (nitpick) -Show flaws of poorly mixed songs (nitpick)
Dunu DN142 1DD + 4BA + 2 Micro Planar $250USD
Hi everyone, welcome back ! In today’s review, we’ll be talking about another crazy hyper detailed IEM BUT cheaper, the Dunu DN142. Before we start, I would like to thank HiFiGO for sending over the DN142 in for review. Rest assured, this review is 100% my own personal opinion.
The DN142 I believe is made out of medical grade resin, and is built really well. The faceplate at a certain angle looks very beautiful, though the color choice is only blue. While the DN242 is red. I’m not so sure about this, some people might not want their IEMs to be blue or red.
It does look a bit chonky, and is chonky, but its very comfortable to wear.
As for the cable, it feels nice, very high quality and looks good, the cable termination is also modular, we get a single ended 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced jack. Specs
The DN142 as the name suggests, uses 1DD 4BA 2Micro Planar. The DN142 is rated at 37ohms with sensitivity of 107db
Power Requirement
Any source with a 3.5mm jack works really well with this IEM. Sound
Setup Used:
Dunu DN142, Stock Grey Eartips, QX13, Poco M6 Pro, Apple Music (J-POP, EDM, Rap, Metal, Jazz)
My impression of the DN142 is that, just like Astral, the BASS and the micro detail is crazy. We have another very nice contender of hyper detailed, extreme value IEM here.
It is tuned very closely to harman target, with the exception of the 12.5khz boost and extension. It resulted in a very clean, mellow with hyper detail and extended sound. I probably will compare the DN142 a lot with Astral from Kiwi Ears.
Let's start from the bass, it sounds really rounded, and it's really good, I can’t get enough of the bass, just like how I said on the Astral review, this one is just oof chef kiss !
Midrange? On the mellow side, BUT not as mellow as Astral, this one has more forward vocals, BUT that doesn’t mean the vocal is forward, it's just that IF I compare it directly with the Astral, the DN142 has more forward vocals and instruments. DN142 also has zero shout, zero metallic timbre, I can barely hear the balanced armature timbre. It sounded so natural, which just like the Astral, I’m quite shocked, and guess what? As a vocal lover, I prefer this compared to Astral, though some people would love the more laidback presentation of Astral. It's like choosing HD600 vs HD650, one has more laidback vocals, one is more forward.
Treble is where the Astral and DN142 quite differ. The Astral has this super extended with hyper detail, you can hear everything, most likely the extension of this IEM is limited by your hearing health, while the DN142, is not as extended as Astral, though the detail I can say, for the particular 12.5khz region, which usually where the airy part of vocals laid,the DN142 has more detail than the Astral, BUT on the higher ultra high range, the Astral feels more spacious and airy, though as I said on the Astral review, I cannot use Astral for long listening sessions because its too detailed.
Technicalities
For a $250USD, the technicalities are spectacular. I can almost copy paste my review from Astral, because I found the DN142 in the same ballpark as Kiwi Ears Astral. Stage: Medium Sized, hyper realistic layering, everything sounds very well placed with exact size and boundaries. Imaging: Holographic, even when plugged only to my Poco M6 Pro, which I don’t expect, this IEM is just really mindblowing. Separation & Positioning: Spectacular, Its so good, that if you buy this for FPS gaming and you still can’t locate your enemies, thats definitely on you, not the IEMs fault Detail Retrieval: Spectacular, All I can say is that this is more detailed than my Moondrop Dark Saber, which cost a lot more than this, and again as I said on the treble section of this review, the DN142 has more treble details on the 12.5khz range, while Astral has detail on the entire treble spectrum.
Comparison
Since I already talk a lot about Astral in this review, I am obviously going to compare the DN142 to Kiwi Ears Astral.
Price wise, DN142 is cheaper by $50USD. Build wise, I found the shape of Astral to be more ergonomic to my ears, but build wise both are on the same level, high quality, and feels nice to hold. Accessories wise, DN142 wins hands down. All the accessories feel more premium. Sound wise, tonality, the DN142 has more forward vocals with treble that focuses around 12.5kHz range, it doesn’t particularly sound sharp on a properly mixed song or cover. But if a song mixed poorly, lets say sibilance and stuff, usually mixer has this problem with too much boost on air, or boosting too much on the upper range of cymbal and hi-hat, the DN142 will definitely show the flaws to you, while the Astral is more like, here, extended treble ultra airy highs. For tonality, I actually wish that the DN142 has the treble of Astral, or Astral with the midrange of DN142. Technicality wise, I’d say both are on the same level. Value wise, the DN142 is cheaper by $50USD.
Conclusion
GET THIS, this might be also one of the easiest IEMs recommendations just like the Astral. Very nice bass, natural timbre, hyper detailed, extended, good build, and costing only $250USD? Basically a steal.
One thing I could nitpick with this IEM is the color. Not all people would want their IEMs to be blue.
If you find this review helpful, kindly check my YT channel below
OK that's all from me for now. Thanks for sticking with me until the end!
