Dunu 242's Review - Great Mids!

 

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort

Dunu is no stranger to the community, the 242 is a new model featuring, 2DD+4BA+2Pla. The shell is red in colour and the overall design theme is leaning towards the chinese mythology-ish theme featuring Nezha, to complement with the fiery red’s design language

The packaging is very premium overall which is expected from Dunu, I had a very good unboxing experience. The IEM came with a storage case, and came with various types of eartips (Dunu S&S, Candy and a few more). A high quality modular cable featuring Dunu’s Q-Lock Mini swappable termination plug system. It screams premium overall. The whole iem is very smooth and there aren't any sharp edges. The face plate is, as I mentioned,fiery red in color. 

In terms of comfort,the 242’s shell is neither too big nor small(for me), but it fits very well and also the seal is very good. I have no discomfort even wearing them for long listening sessions,do take into consideration that everyone’s ear is different and if it fits well for me doesn’t mean it will fit well for you,but fortunately, as mentioned earlier, Dunu does throw in plenty of ear tips choices,so i’m sure there will be one that fits eventually.

Gears used for this review

• xDuoo XD05T

• Nipo A100

• Dunu 242 Stock Eartips and Cable (4.4)

Foreword

My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound

The 242's sound signature is a mild u shaped to my ears, slightly warm rather than going for the energetic approach like the DK3001BD. Although sporting 4 BAs and 2 Pla, BA and Pla timbre is very minimal and it doesn’t really detract me from enjoying the music, also possibly due to the slight boosted mid bass giving it additional warmth

Bass

• The sub bass has enough rumble and has good extension, but i wouldn’t say it is anywhere near basshead kind of rumble, it does rumble when the track calls for it

• The bass texture is alright, it doesn’t sound thin nor overly thick 

• Mid bass is quite punchy and doesn’t lack body at all, double bass pedal doesn’t sound bloated or lacking in terms of texture, Slipknot’s People = Shit, during the fast drumming, every hit can be heard clearly and it’s satisfying

• 242’s bass is tight and clean, it exhibits no muddyness nor distortion 

• Transition between the sub and mid bass is quite balanced without sounding incoherent, overall the bass performance is very satisfactory for me

• I personally find the tuning of bass is done right to my preference,somewhere between fun and audiophile but not venturing into the basshead category, this is definitely not a set for bass head as i mentioned earlier

Mids

• The mid range is rather clean and exhibits plenty of details and they don’t sound recessed at all, in fact i find that this is one of the strength of 242 as well

• Vocal doesn’t sound recessed nor too forward, just right to my ears, but then the eartips does play a role as well in my opinion, again, experiment with different tips/positioning and see which suits you best

• Male vocal in my opinion sounds a little bit lacking in terms of texture and the fullness due to the nature of the tuning, but female vocal on the other hand has very good energy level to it, even when you crank the volume higher, it doesn’t sound “shouty”

• The upper mids are generally quite safe sounding, but again, it depends on your tolerance and sensitivity, and most importantly, the fit

Treble

• Now, the treble, is also another strong point of the 242, it has plenty of energy and air, yet it is not harsh sounding

• Detail retrieval both micro and macro are very very good and actually for the asking price

• The detail retrieval is impressive and it is not overly done to the point where it feels too analytical and fatiguing to listen to

• Extension is quite good and the transient speed is also very good

Soundstage/Imaging

• The 242’s soundstage is not that “big” sounding, but it does have a good width and height perception, separation is good compared to others

• Imaging is very good,the instruments can be pinpointed easily in busy track like Slipknot’s Duality 

• The technicalities of 242 overall is very good

Driveability/DAC AMP Pairing

• The 242 is not hard to drive and it does sound decently loud even from weaker source, what i want to stress is that, sounding loud is not equivalent to driving power

• Pairing it with both of my portable dac/amp, the Nipo A-100 as well as xDuoo’s XD05T proved to have good synergy, on the A-100, soundstage is very impressive, hall like effect, with good tonal weight overall, XD05T on the other hand has the tube “Magic” that brings additional warmth to the presentation of 242, the treble is slightly smoother when paired with the XD05T

• Amplification is good to have but not necessarily needed

Comparison (Kiwi Ears Orchestra II)

• Switching over to the Orchestra II for the purpose of comparison,I would say the tonality between the Orchestra II and 242 is quite different

• Orchestra II and 242 both are priced at $349 but sporting different configuration (10 BAs per side vs 2 DD + 4BA + 2 Pla) 

• The tonality of the Orchestra II is leaning towards neutral bright-ish, not everyone is into this kind of sound signature, and it can get quite fatiguing after a long listening session

• In terms of bass, the sub bass does have a bit more quantity compared to 242, but the mid bass is slightly thinner than Volare

• Mids are very clean sounding, the male vocal especially, can be a little thin at times(which is quite similar to 242), female vocal however is very sweet and full of energy

• Treble is very energetic, at times it can be a little fatiguing for those who are sensitive to treble, on the positive side, it is very airy and contributed to a very big soundstage

• In terms of technicalities, to be frank, 242 is not too far off from Orchestra II, detail retrieval and imaging

Final Thoughts

Having tested the 242 for almost a week, it is safe to say that it offers a very good and high price performance ratio. For those who love mids, this is actually very recommended, it definitely does almost everything right, this is my personal opinion of course, and based on my listening preference, of course there are some cons if I were to nitpick, a slight boost on the sub bass will make it almost perfect. The 242 has been my daily driver since I received them. Definitely worth recommending!

*The 242 is sent over by Dunu for the purpose of this review. I thank them for the support and opportunity as always

Head over to the official store if you are interested in getting one, it is currently being priced at 349$ with a limited time 10% off upon the time of writing

Dunu 242's Store Link - Non Affiliated

Dunu 242 AliExpress Store Link - Non Affiliated