DN-142 vs Falcon Ultra: which needs more amplifier?

The Dunu DN-142 is 37Ω at 107.0 dB/mW; the Dunu Falcon Ultra is 16Ω at 108.0 dB (no reference unit printed). This page covers what they ask of an amplifier, not how they sound.

The DN-142 needs 1.0 dB more than the Falcon Ultra to reach the same loudness — 0.20 mW against 0.16 mW.

The numbers that decide it

SpecificationDN-142Falcon Ultra
Impedance37 Ω16 Ω
Sensitivity107.0 dB/mW108.0 dB
Sensitivity (voltage)121.3 dB/V126.0 dB/V
Power for 100 dB0.20 mW0.16 mW
Voltage for 100 dB86 mV50 mV
Current for 100 dB2.3 mA3.1 mA
Highest source impedance
that leaves them alone (one-eighth rule)
4.62 Ω2.00 Ω
Sources that reach 100 dB
out of 280
280280

One caution before reading the rows. Dunu Falcon Ultra printed a decibel figure with no reference unit, so this page reads it as per milliwatt. If it is really per volt, that model needs far more than the table says. Why the two readings differ by so much.

Where the two part company

Every source in the database that drives one of them drives the other. On power, the choice between these two changes nothing about what amplifier you need.

14 sources stay below the audible-hiss threshold with the DN-142 but cross it with the Falcon Ultra (FiiO BTR11, FiiO K11 R2R, Lake People G103-S Mk II, 11 more).

280 of the 280 sources here reach 100 dB on both.

What each one needs from 80 to 105 dB

The DN-142 is more demanding than 26% of the 567 non-electrostatic models in this database; the Falcon Ultra than 11%.

dB SPLDN-142 powerDN-142 voltageFalcon Ultra powerFalcon Ultra voltage
802.0 µW9 mV1.6 µW5 mV
856.3 µW15 mV5.0 µW9 mV
900.02 mW27 mV0.02 mW16 mV
950.06 mW48 mV0.05 mW28 mV
1000.20 mW86 mV0.16 mW50 mV
1050.63 mW0.15 V0.50 mW90 mV

The cheapest source that satisfies both

SourcePriceHeadroom, DN-142Headroom, Falcon UltraOutput impedanceNoise
JadeAudio JA11$2021.1 dB19.8 dB0.5 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO KA11$2929.4 dB31.9 dB0.7 Ω1.7 µV
FiiO BTR13$5926.4 dB28.8 dB0.6 Ω1.0 µV

Of the 280 sources here, 280 reach 100 dB on both. 57 of them also publish an output impedance low enough for both under the one-eighth rule and a noise figure that stays below the audible-hiss threshold with both.

The cheapest of the 57 is the JadeAudio JA11, at $20. It leaves 21.1 dB of headroom on the DN-142 and 19.8 dB on the Falcon Ultra, its output impedance is 0.5 Ω against a one-eighth limit of 4.62 Ω and 2.00 Ω, and its noise figure puts the hiss floor 14 dB and 9 dB below the 20 dB SPL this site treats as the point where a quiet room stops hiding it.

Try any other source.

What each sheet prints, and what it is worth

ModelAs printedToleranceStandard
DN-1425Hz – 40kHznot printednot printed
Falcon Ultra5Hz-40kHznot printednot printed

Dunu prints 5Hz – 40kHz for the DN-142 and 5Hz-40kHz for the Falcon Ultra.

Neither range has a tolerance printed beside it, so a wider range on one sheet is not deeper bass or more treble.

Not a measurement; maker by maker.

Both pages in full

Both have a page of their own. In full: Dunu DN-142 and Dunu Falcon Ultra. Each figure on this page is labelled on those pages with where it came from, including the ones Dunu never published — what that maker publishes, counted.

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