Aune T1 USB Tube DAC+ SS Amp Discussion Thread ***See first post for FAQ--Updated on 02/14/15***

[caracara08]

Anyone have impressions of the Genalex 6922 or the Sovtek vs the Genalex?

 

[arcorob]

   
 
Nice to see someone else finally had the balls to try a 6H30p tube. You summed up exactly my findings. Very nice tube, would pair very well with electronic style music or anything slightly bass heavy.

I liked it very much....the only thing it seemed to balk at a bit was heavy metal. Not rock, but real metal ..but then again that might have been just me...LOL
 
LOVED some of my test songs like SADE's Smooth Operator..vocals are stunning...can't wait to hear your recommended black plate.

 

[abhinit90]

So I've decided I'll also open my Aune T1 and see the caps :|
 
Any tips or pointers, am a newbie in matters related to opening
 
Thank you

 

[diaBoliQu3]

My Aune T1 adapter is faulty. Whenever I turn on the socket, it will cause tripping to my house. Tripping happen even if didn't turn on the amp. Few things tested:
1) Try to change the tube, no luck.
2) I plug in adapter to amp and turn on the wall socket/ extension, no luck.
3) I plug in the adapter only, and turn on the wall socket/ extension, no luck.
 
I glad that the adapter still cover by warranty. Will get replacement hopefully before Chinese New Year.

 

[arcorob]

Tube break-in for the AUNE....So just wondering two things..
 
1) The AUNE is quite low voltage (my tubes don't even get too hot to touch like my amp does)..So is that a factor in break-in on a new or NOS tube? What's a reasonable time?
 
2) The way I have been putting hours on the tubes is I setup my tablet to the AUNE in the system but shut the amp down. I set the tablet to PLAY ALL music in a random playlist (about 18hours) and just let it get a signal all that time....is that a good way ? Doe sit actually require a signal or just having the AUNE on with no signal ?
 

 

[spacequeen7]

One of the tube selling retailers was mentioning close to 100 hours burn-in period for "Reflector" 6N23P-EV ("build like tank")
on another note ,I noticed that some of my tubes can drastically change the whole sound spectrum between natural headphones like 880s and he400s,some tubes like Siemens which is very natural and balance tube (not the best for 880s) can really shine while listening via he400 and my lovely Red Valvo that's just a joy on 880s pretty much suck on he400s (rolling out) ,there are few that can deliver on both so I'm hesitant to come up with the review since there is so many variables (caps,headphones,speakers,burn-in,etc)     

 

[arcorob]

Thanks !

 

[CoiL]

  One of the tube selling retailers was mentioning close to 100 hours burn-in period for "Reflector" 6N23P-EV ("build like tank")
on another note ,I noticed that some of my tubes can drastically change the whole sound spectrum between natural headphones like 880s and he400s,some tubes like Siemens which is very natural and balance tube (not the best for 880s) can really shine while listening via he400 and my lovely Red Valvo that's just a joy on 880s pretty much suck on he400s (rolling out) ,there are few that can deliver on both so I'm hesitant to come up with the review since there is so many variables (caps,headphones,speakers,burn-in,etc)     

I`ve been saying it many times in this thread - burn in tubes properly before posting review! Properly in my opinion doesn`t mean you have to feed tubes with pink noise etc. stuff - just let it burn playing with different music genres. Not even sure if music passing through tube will make difference, might just be enough to leave Aune T1 turned on.
Even my worst tube Brimar ECC88 (very narrow & small soundstage, thin sounding, no punch & bass etc.) has gone lot better after using it with movie watching and for night-time background music. Well, it`s still one of my worst tubes but it is a lot better than in beginning. Most of my tubes have "opened up" after burning for some time.
 
Don`t hesitate to post your review`s with different cans ! This would be great for users wanting tube for exact can-match. Imo there`s even difference between using speakers or cans with certain tubes. So, every bit of info and impressions about different can/tube/speaker combos is useful! Although, it might be totally different from other members subjective impressions.
 
Hopefully will get new capacitors for Aune T1 tomorrow ;P

 

[BenWaB3]

I received shipment of the T1 this past Monday. So far I like it a lot. I don't have the expertise or ears of all of you, but that won't stop me from putting out my unsolicited opinions anyway

 The only thing that gives me some worry is that the tube socket is not fastened levelly so the tube goes in at a tilt. I'm hoping this is not indicative of a further erosion of quality control at the plant. as far as I know everything else works well but I don't have another unit on hand to compare it to. I did send an email to shenzhenaudio about it & received a reply telling me to contact Amazon about it - it was bought from shenzhenaudio through Amazon. So far all I have is the stock tube but I did order one of the GE/Siemens tubes from arcorob's recommendations & will probably order the Telefunken from lwrs10's list as well.
 
 
Most of my listening is through an amp & speakers but I do have 2 sets of phones, Sennheiser HD-598 and Grado SR-80, sort of the Yin & Yang of phones. I've only gotten to listen a bit with the 598's so far. As far as sound impressions go the type of stuff I listen is probably pretty weird compared to many folks on the forum so it may be totally alien to you, but here are a few examples. These were tried through a Mitsubishi DA-10P preamp & a Yamaha M4, soon to be replaced by a Mitsubishi DA-A15DC power amp as soon as it is back from getting a tune up by the repairman. The A speakers are JSE Infinite Slope .6's & the B speakers are Infinity SRM's. I realize this review is coming only a couple posts after Coil's admonishment about reviewing before the tube burns in properly but just take it in the spirit of a first impression.
 
 
Brazilian Wedding Song - Quincy Jones: There is a clave + metallic percussion instrument on the 4th beat of the odd numbered measures here. The T1 reproduces the high frequencies  on the instruments plus you can hear each one distinctly from the other. It also reproduces well the open to closed high hat on the last 1/16th note of the even measures to the 1 of the following odd one. Soundstage is also good with Take 6's harmonies spread in a nice wide fashion. The whole recording is great quality. Whether you are a fan of his genres or not ya gotta admit "Q" knows his way around a recording studio.
 
 
You Met Your Match - Tower Of Power from The Great American Soul Book: Contemporary TOP recordings can somewhat compressed with a lot of high frequencies. This one has a trebly rhythm guitar & clavinet going on so I wanted to see how the T1 handled them. It was a little harsh but it's the stock tube & it's not broken in. TOP is also somewhat a 16th. note based band but that didn't bog the T! down.
 
I've Got You Under My Skin - Monty Alexander from the Echoes Of Jilly's album: classic jazz piano trio here & the ride cymbal is recorded rather subtly but it sits well on the top with the T1
 
Sure Fire One - Liquid Soul from the Here's The Deal album: I listen to this one to see how a system handles the double-pedaled bass drum on the instrumental sections. Again, the T1 came through fine.
 
Route 66 - Natalie Cole from the Unforgettable album: A piano trio opens this version up. I listen to (& like in this case) the sound of the brush work & acoustic bass. Another one from this album I've enjoyed on phones through the years is It's Only A Paper Moon. Over phones the big horn section coming in when they go into tempo from the rubato introduction kind of explodes right into your ears. lookin' forward to testing that out on the T1 soon.
 
My Indian Red - Dr. John from the Goin' Back To New Orleans album: This one features a brass band so I like to check out the sound stage & separation plus how the drums are in the center. Also I like to see if the banjos are defined during the instrumental intro verses. These are probably the 4 string variety, played in the brass band style instead of the 5 string variety more prevalent in country & bluegrass. I was able to make them out very well during said verses. Another good song from this album to use for testing is Litanie Des Saints, especially the rubato intro then the strings coming in when they go into tempo.
 
 
There are others but I don't want to ramble on too much. Overall I really like the unit - I'm just a bit apprehensive after seeing the workmanship. The GE should be in by the weekend so I'll trying rolling The Leaning Tube Of Pisa & see how it turns out. So far so good.  
 
 
Ben

 

[CoiL]

For what it counts, stock 6922EH tube is no good for rock/metal/progressive/jazz. It has extended and loose bass, extended sparkly highs and mids are kind of "recessed". Also soundstage is "too big" for those genres. Imho, it suits mainly for atmospheric electronic music/EDM/dubstep/minimal etc.
Anyway, those new tubes you get should make noticeable difference (I hope so, don`t have those tubes myself). Which GE you are getting exactly? GE 6GM8 or GE ECC85?
Looking foward to your impressions.
 
Just a note, plugged in my Ultron SQ PCC189/7ES8 (DJF V3B, Bharat India, gold label) after burning in other tubes for awhile and this tube still makes me smile every time.
Perfect fit for filter modded (mkII) HD-681 red and should be also great for Grado`s.
 
Edit:
 
lwrs10, please give pinout guide to 5670W > 6DJ8 adapter so I could add it to my tube list post: http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/2010#post_9502453

 

[arcorob]

  For what it counts, stock 6922EH tube is no good for rock/metal/progressive/jazz. It has extended and loose bass, extended sparkly highs and mids are kind of "recessed". Also soundstage is "too big" for those genres. Imho, it suits mainly for atmospheric electronic music/EDM/dubstep/minimal etc.
Anyway, those new tubes you get should make noticeable difference (I hope so, don`t have those tubes myself). Which GE you mean exactly? GE 6GM8 or GE ECC85?
Looking foward to your impressions.
 
Just a note, plugged in my Ultron SQ PCC189/7ES8 (DJF V3B, Bharat India, gold label) after burning in other tubes for awhile and this tube still makes me smile every time.
Perfect fit for filter modded (mkII) HD-681 red and should be also great for Grado`s.

Coil,
 
I don't agree. You/we really need to qualify this with "On my system,,which consists of" and "In my opinion"...
 
Look at my opinion page..it says:
~~NOTE - this applies to my system. Of course every systems will be a bit different (links in the chain)
 
what works for you or doesn't work for you may be the opposite for me. Trust me, this is not an argument. This is observation of something that has been going on in terms of rating tubes that could steer people away from their perfect tube,. I think the stock tube is a great start..it was a bit fatiguing in the high end for me on MY system but that may not be the case in another, I actually rated it pretty high.
 
If I was not the type to experiment on my own, I never would have tried the two GE's and the Sylvania that sound awesome in my system
 
Now when you mention the Ultron, you are giving more details on WHAT it sounds good on. I can't give reviews on what they sound like through headphones because I don't listen that way...
 
Nes pas ?

 

[CoiL]

arcorob, like I`ve said before, this opinion about stock tube (upgrade) is pretty much overall consensus, there are many others saying same about this tube. Of course much depends on system setup, hearing, taste etc. but in general, impressions about 6922EH stay same. I`ve been in this thread from page 20 and I know what I`m saying. And most of us here listen with headphones but my statement also goes for external speakers - 6922EH not so good for rock/metal/progressive/jazz.
Out of all tubes I have (about 50), 6922EH stands pretty much "in middle" of everything but I`m confident about this tube being not so great fit for rock/metal/progressive/jazz, especially after hearing Amperex OG 6DJ8/ECC88 & Mullard ECC88, which are confirmed by many users being much better overall tube over stock 6922EH.
Btw, Imho means in my honest opinion if you are not familiar with this short version and this refers to my system/opinion.
 
About Ultron SQ PCC189, read the thread, plenty of impressions and information given by me. In short version, tinybit better than Amperex 6DJ8 (GAC ⊿9F3, single support leg dimpled disc getter, orange globe logo) - In my opinion.

 

[arcorob]

  arcorob, like I`ve said before, this opinion about stock tube (upgrade) is pretty much overall consensus, there are many others saying same about this tube. Of course much depends on system setup, hearing, taste etc. but in general, impressions about 6922EH stay same. I`ve been in this thread from page 20 and I know what I`m saying. And most of us here listen with headphones but my statement also goes for external speakers - 6922EH not so good for rock/metal/progressive/jazz.
Out of all tubes I have (about 50), 6922EH stands pretty much "in middle" of everything but I`m confident about this tube being not so great fit for rock/metal/progressive/jazz, especially after hearing Amperex OG 6DJ8/ECC88 & Mullard ECC88, which are confirmed by many users being much better overall tube over stock 6922EH.
Btw, Imho means in my honest opinion if you are not familiar with this short version and this refers to my system/opinion.
 
About Ultron SQ PCC189, read the thread, plenty of impressions and information given by me. In short version, tinybit better than Amperex 6DJ8 (GAC ⊿9F3, single support leg dimpled disc getter, orange globe logo) - In my opinion.

You take things too personal Coil. You want so desperately to be right. I don't care if you have been in this thread since Noah was learning to work with wood. It is irrelevant. what is relevant is your opinion is not the be all end all. I did not say the stock tube was the greatest  (you really should read instead of being defensive) ..I gave my HUMBLE opinion based on my setup and MY experience which is not limited to this family of tubes.
 
Your ultimate Amperex Orange Globe SUCKED in my humble opinion...glad I got it cheap. But then again so did the somewhat pricier Mullards. For me, I have found LWRS10's reviews much more helpful which doesn't make yours WRONG - It just tells me his system is probably closer aligned to mine.
 
I think you are trying to speak for a group when you can really only speak for yourself - and if the "group" has similar opinions, it is because they are listening on similar rigs.
 
so take the defensive emotion out of it and understand what is being said (I know you wont though...saw that the last time my opinion differed from yours)

 

[CoiL]

For what it counts, stock 6922EH tube is no good for rock/metal/progressive/jazz. It has extended and loose bass, extended sparkly highs and mids are kind of "recessed". Also soundstage is "too big" for those genres. Imho, it suits mainly for atmospheric electronic music/EDM/dubstep/minimal etc.

 
Quote:

 

  arcorob, like I`ve said before, this opinion about stock tube (upgrade) is pretty much overall consensus, there are many others saying same about this tube. Of course much depends on system setup, hearing, taste etc. but in general, impressions about 6922EH stay same. I`ve been in this thread from page 20 and I know what I`m saying. And most of us here listen with headphones but my statement also goes for external speakers - 6922EH not so good for rock/metal/progressive/jazz.
Out of all tubes I have (about 50), 6922EH stands pretty much "in middle" of everything but I`m confident about this tube being not so great fit for rock/metal/progressive/jazz, especially after hearing Amperex OG 6DJ8/ECC88 & Mullard ECC88, which are confirmed by many users being much better overall tube over stock 6922EH.
Btw, Imho means in my honest opinion if you are not familiar with this short version and this refers to my system/opinion.
 
About Ultron SQ PCC189, read the thread, plenty of impressions and information given by me. In short version, tinybit better than Amperex 6DJ8 (GAC ⊿9F3, single support leg dimpled disc getter, orange globe logo) - In my opinion.

You take things too personal Coil. You want so desperately to be right. I don't care if you have been in this thread since Noah was learning to work with wood. It is irrelevant. what is relevant is your opinion is not the be all end all. I did not say the stock tube was the greatest  (you really should read instead of being defensive) ..I gave my HUMBLE opinion based on my setup and MY experience which is not limited to this family of tubes.
 
Your ultimate Amperex Orange Globe SUCKED in my humble opinion...glad I got it cheap. But then again so did the somewhat pricier Mullards. For me, I have found LWRS10's reviews much more helpful which doesn't make yours WRONG - It just tells me his system is probably closer aligned to mine.
 
I think you are trying to speak for a group when you can really only speak for yourself - and if the "group" has similar opinions, it is because they are listening on similar rigs.
 
so take the defensive emotion out of it and understand what is being said (I know you wont though...saw that the last time my opinion differed from yours)

 
Whatever. I`m not talking with your ego. Dude yelling in CAPS is the dude taking things personally & trying to be right.
Sorry that Amperex OG 6GM8 didn`t work out for you. Didn`t seem to suck so much for you at beginning. You are the one who should lose some emotional attitude and ego.
 
Edit: Oh, and don`t put words to other ppl mouths - "Your ultimate Amperex Orange Globe" - I haven`t said anything like that. I even said that it surely isn`t best for every genre.

 

[arcorob]

   
Whatever. I`m not talking with your ego. Dude yelling in CAPS is the dude taking things personally & trying to be right.
Sorry that Amperex OG 6GM8 didn`t work out for you. Didn`t seem to suck so much for you at beginning. You are the one who should lose some emotional attitude and ego.

I knew you would try to have the last word. I had two words in caps. All caps is yelling. two words is called emphasis.
 
My posts have not been about emotion and ego, they have tried to be a voice of reason. And my posts on this subject have been quite reasonable.
 
Whatever.