The dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) is a cerebellum-like structure that integrates auditory nerve input with multimodal inputs. There are several morphologically identified cell types in the DCN. We recorded auditory response properties of single DCN units in the awake mouse, and found a variety of physiological response types. The physiological response types were similar to those that have been observed in other preparations, and we could identify each with a corresponding morphological cell type. We hypothesized that the responses of our DCN units to auditory stimuli could be explained in terms of a combination of membrane properties and synaptic connectivity in the DCN. Therefore, we developed mathematical models based on the known properties of each cell type, then applied synaptic inputs to replicate recordings of spike responses. The combination of modeling with in vivo data allow us to quantify the relative importance of membrane properties and synaptic input in determine the spike patterns generated by auditory stimuli.