Sound and matching
Tonality wise the D42 is more pristine and clean with solid clarity and detail and a great soundstage but the tonality didnt work with all headphones I tried. The Marshall Monitor worked pretty well given its overall warmish tonality but the life just drained out of the K550 sounding thin and tinny – it just didnt have the right tonality match or power for the K550 which is a shame but somehow I didnt feel terribly surprised by that as I dont view the K550 as truely portable class which the D42 is really aiming for.
The solidity returned with the easy to drive Custom Pro One but only on bass port 4 did I feel any sort of slam in the lower end. Normally bass port 4 is reserved for nothing less than a complete brain fry of a bass session but with the D42 mamaba presented everything in a rather orderly and if somewhat restrained fashion. Yes it was clean, yes clear but lacked a bit of depth and slam I would have hoped to hear on bass port 4.
The M80 was easy enough driven but I was not hugely stellar on the tonality match with a little harshness in the uppers and slight lack of depth on the bass. The P5 benefitted from the clarity and speed of the D42 and given its reasonably warm and analog tones the brighter D42 seemed a better match with the P5 than the M80 and hugely better than the K550. Overall out of the 4 the Marshall came out trumps for me in terms of tonality. At 48ohms and 98db thats not too bad for portable headphone to be honest for the D42.
The D42 was a much better match for IEM’s and much more competent using the 9v battery rather than the power from the weaker 5v usab. This makes a lot more sense to me considering the target market is likely to be brandishing an S3/4 with some sort of flac app or music library and an earphone to match. Customs check, high grade Final Audition earphones check – everything sounded more involving, dynamic and engaging on IEM’s.
Irony struck again when going from usb to 9V and pairing with the FiiO X3. I actually really enjoyed this combination using IEM’s. Perhaps its the beefed up 9v (300mah) power delivery but there was a slightly more dynamic and lively presentation though still not the richest or most liquid amp performance. Those who value clarity and detail and a nice speedy attack will prefer this amp over anything warm analog or beefy – it is the anthesis of Hifiman’s HM series or the FiiO E11 for me personally. If you liked the D Zero then you know what sort of territory I am heading in.
Click on next page for usb on the go and final impressions…
