[joeq70]

Quote:

ok, so I have a lot of audio equipment on test right now
 
the aune t1 was purchased to hopefully be the one that stays
 
 
inital impressions are that the silver is very beautiful
 
sound- I think the DAC part is incredible, as much detail as the audioengine d1 but far more musical, I like it a lot
 
the amp section is lacking though, it's thin, weak and just doesn't give bass in the k701's
 
 
going line out from the aune t1, to the fiio e12 with bass boost is so much better
the music I like is quite bass heavy though
 
it sounds great, I think it has great synergy with the k701 (admittedly I don't know what i'm talking about though)
 
 
couple of things I noticed:
 
1) the volume knob doesn't do anything in line out, this is actually quite annoying as the audioengine d1 did attenuate the signal over line output, meaning I have to change volume on the fiio e12
2) the blue led is a bit annoying, I have heard of people changing it to orange, which would be nicer- I want the tubes looking like this http://www.head-fi.org/t/290757/night-time-shots-of-our-tubes-glowing-post-them-here/90
3) it really sounds only about 5% (if that) better than just going straight from the super cheap asus u3 gaming usb sound card- £130 for a 5% gain seems like the worst return on investment of all time
4) not sure if it's in my head but listening to this as a DAC sending audio to the e12 constantly makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up- even if it is in my head, that's £130 well spent
 
I'd like something that sounded identical, but had spdif input, a working volume know, and maybe 2 line outputs so I could send audio to my e12 and another amp for speakers
 
I had planned to get the woo wa7, but I can't imagine it sounding better than this, and it still doesn't solve my problems
 
 
 
just a quick question- should I leave it on, or turn it off? say i'm listening to it and then I go out to the shop for 30 minutes should I turn it off or leave it on, is there a warm up time ?

Your assessment that the T1 DAC is more impressive than the T1 amp is correct. The DAC is awesome, the amp is usually adequate, but not necessarily ideal (works great for my purposes though). People drop the money on the T1 because of the great DAC and tube swapping ability. Before you dismiss the amp, however, make sure you use max gain (turn the switches under the unit to ON) since you are trying to power AKGs. The volume knob on the T1 exclusively controls the headphone amp portion of the unit. If you use an external amp like the e12, then the e12 knob will control the volume. I'm not aware of another piece of equipment that sounds like the T1 but has the other features you seek, but maybe somebody here has some input there. I like the blue light so I have no experience changing it, but maybe somebody who has done it can make a walkthrough?

 

[MrEleventy]

the amp section is lacking though, it's thin, weak and just doesn't give bass in the k701's

going line out from the aune t1, to the fiio e12 with bass boost is so much better
the music I like is quite bass heavy though

What Sal said. AKG x70x series aren't known for their bass.

E: Try getting the AKG 702 Anniversary Pads. They supposedly seal better for better bass response. That might help a bit.

I'd like something that sounded identical, but had spdif input, a working volume know, and maybe 2 line outputs so I could send audio to my e12 and another amp for speakers

Try looking up the Maverick Tubemagic D1 or D1 Plus. It covers most of what you want except for the 2 lineouts. It has 2 lineouts but they're different. One is SS and the other is Tubed buffer. It's also similarly priced at $200.

just a quick question- should I leave it on, or turn it off? say i'm listening to it and then I go out to the shop for 30 minutes should I turn it off or leave it on, is there a warm up time ?

If it's a short duration, leave it on.

 

[CoiL]

Quote:

ok, so I have a lot of audio equipment on test right now
 
the aune t1 was purchased to hopefully be the one that stays
 
 
inital impressions are that the silver is very beautiful
 
sound- I think the DAC part is incredible, as much detail as the audioengine d1 but far more musical, I like it a lot
 
the amp section is lacking though, it's thin, weak and just doesn't give bass in the k701's
 
 
going line out from the aune t1, to the fiio e12 with bass boost is so much better
the music I like is quite bass heavy though
 
it sounds great, I think it has great synergy with the k701 (admittedly I don't know what i'm talking about though)
 
 
couple of things I noticed:
 
1) the volume knob doesn't do anything in line out, this is actually quite annoying as the audioengine d1 did attenuate the signal over line output, meaning I have to change volume on the fiio e12
2) the blue led is a bit annoying, I have heard of people changing it to orange, which would be nicer- I want the tubes looking like this http://www.head-fi.org/t/290757/night-time-shots-of-our-tubes-glowing-post-them-here/90
3) it really sounds only about 5% (if that) better than just going straight from the super cheap asus u3 gaming usb sound card- £130 for a 5% gain seems like the worst return on investment of all time
4) not sure if it's in my head but listening to this as a DAC sending audio to the e12 constantly makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up- even if it is in my head, that's £130 well spent
 
I'd like something that sounded identical, but had spdif input, a working volume know, and maybe 2 line outputs so I could send audio to my e12 and another amp for speakers
 
I had planned to get the woo wa7, but I can't imagine it sounding better than this, and it still doesn't solve my problems
 
 
 
just a quick question- should I leave it on, or turn it off? say i'm listening to it and then I go out to the shop for 30 minutes should I turn it off or leave it on, is there a warm up time ?

1) Volume knob on Aune T1 IS working very well, it`s smooth and with wide range. Remind yourself this is low priced bang-for-buck product that already does more than it`s meant imho. If you definitely wanted that knob control you should have read more carefully about that piece when you bought it. I also would like to have that option to control line-out but then again - is it really needed? Separate amp should control speakers and that`s the only right way to do it imo.
 
2) Blue LED? I think it`s more blueish-white and you can easily turn it into nice glowing color in ~5sec if you have right material and you are good with scissors ...like I posted few pages ago:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/2700#post_9717729

3) Only 5% performance gain from super-cheap card? Lol! Sorry but I think it`s your ears. Not trying to attack your opinion or something but I can hear a big difference even between hyper-super-cheap ELE EL-D02 DAC (which is really good for its money) and Aune T1. Have you set up your USB output correctly for Aune T1 using WASAPI, ASIO or KSP? For me it made big difference avoiding OS based internal sound mixer. Are you even using USB input? or line-in RCA-in? Tube buffer only works if you are using USB input and it`s the main point of T1 and gives it`s sound character. 6922EH can get fatiguing with some music but seeing you are probably bass-head it really shouldn`t lack of bass (only bass tightness & kick). I think it all comes from you eq`ing things with bass boost on E12. And K701 definitely isn`t a can for bass-hungry ppl. Like Salvatore said, first get used with E12 without bass boost and then do critical comparing with Aune T1. 

Talking about E12, Aune T1 and WA7 in one sentence? You can`t imagine WA7 being better than Aune T1? Have you even heard it? I haven`t but WA7 should be totally different level audio gear that just is not comparable with things like Aune T1. What is the problem that even WA7 wouldn`t solve? I think you are asking wrong questions and are kind of lost in the land of audio gear. You should start trying other cans for your bass need imo.

 

[MrEleventy]

1) Volume knob on Aune T1 IS working very well, it`s smooth and with wide range. Remind yourself this is low priced bang-for-buck product that already does more than it`s meant imho. If you definitely wanted that knob control you should have read more carefully about that piece when you bought it. I also would like to have that option to control line-out but then again - is it really needed? Separate amp should control speakers and that`s the only right way to do it imo.

2) Blue LED? I think it`s more blueish-white and you can easily turn it into nice glowing color in ~5sec if you have right material and you are good with scissors ...like I posted few pages ago:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/2700#post_9717729


3) Only 5% performance gain from super-cheap card? Lol! Sorry but I think it`s your ears. Not trying to attack your opinion or something but I can hear a big difference even between hyper-super-cheap ELE EL-D02 DAC (which is really good for its money) and Aune T1. Have you set up your USB output correctly for Aune T1 using WASAPI, ASIO or KSP? For me it made big difference avoiding OS based internal sound mixer. Are you even using USB input? or line-in RCA-in? Tube buffer only works if you are using USB input and it`s the main point of T1 and gives it`s sound character. 6922EH can get fatiguing with some music but seeing you are probably bass-head it really shouldn`t lack of bass (only bass tightness & kick). I think it all comes from you eq`ing things with bass boost on E12. And K701 definitely isn`t a can for bass-hungry ppl. Like Salvatore said, first get used with E12 without bass boost and then do critical comparing with Aune T1. 


Talking about E12, Aune T1 and WA7 in one sentence? You can`t imagine WA7 being better than Aune T1? Have you even heard it? I haven`t but WA7 should be totally different level audio gear that just is not comparable with things like Aune T1. What is the problem that even WA7 wouldn`t solve? I think you are asking wrong questions and are kind of lost in the land of audio gear. You should start trying other cans for your bass need imo.

Whoa! Slow down there CoiL. He merely has questions and comments. No need to jump down his throat, we were all new once right? He doesn't have a problem with the quality of the vol knob, just wished that it had line level control. The WA7 doesn't either, the lineouts are preamp. And his other issues were options like optical/spdif which neither T1 nor WA7 supported. He does enjoy his T1 and I'm going to venture a guess that the 5% improvement is because he's still on the "stock" tube. He'll come around like we all have.

He is crazy tho for not thinking the WA7 isn't going to improve on things.

 

[laon]

I know some dac/amp allow for line out volume control but it's far and between, people generally expect LO to be devoid of volume pot, and I agree that he's better off with bassier cans than trying to chase those holy grail dac/amp which could turn K701 into a basshead cans.

 

[CoiL]

Sorry if my comment sounded harsh. I didn`t mean it bad way. I`m just very rational thinking and "straight" saying sometimes 

 His use of words made me kind of "defending" Aune T1 honor 

 

 

[MrEleventy]

I know some dac/amp allow for line out volume control but it's far and between, people generally expect LO to be devoid of volume pot, and I agree that he's better off with bassier cans than trying to chase those holy grail dac/amp which could turn K701 into a basshead cans.

I can fix that...

 

[CoiL]

Quote:

What Sal said. AKG x70x series aren't known for their bass.

E: Try getting the AKG 702 Anniversary Pads. They supposedly seal better for better bass response. That might help a bit.
Try looking up the Maverick Tubemagic D1 or D1 Plus. It covers most of what you want except for the 2 lineouts. It has 2 lineouts but they're different. One is SS and the other is Tubed buffer. It's also similarly priced at $200.
If it's a short duration, leave it on.

Your post made me think about buying Maverick A1 to pair with Aune T1 to amplify my external custom wood made 8Ohm shelf-speakers. Has anyone tried A1 with T1?
I suspect that may be my bang-for-a-buck-dream setup ;P
 
Edit: Btw, something from my country, Mari Pokinen - Avar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hthv2oHLpq8 Gives me goosebumps from start to end with Siemens PCC88. Really starting to enjoy vocal-centered live music with this tube ;P

 

[MrEleventy]

No experience myself but I was curious about the D series DACs. The thing that turned me off was that the D1 via USB is broken, no matter what you set it to, it defaults to 16bit 48k. So USB is useless there.

 

[Salvatore]

Quote:

Sorry if my comment sounded harsh. I didn`t mean it bad way. I`m just very rational thinking and "straight" saying sometimes 

 His use of words made me kind of "defending" Aune T1 honor 

 

 
Yeah I agree that it sounded a bit harsh. Hopefully firefly didn't get offended by our words.
 
Now to go back to that K701 amplification issue I have to agree that I sometimes feel that my K702 anniversaries could benefit from more powerful amplifier. I was heavily considering of getting M-stage to go with the T1, but then someone in this thread tested that combo and said that the M-stage didn't really make much of an improvement. I did experiment with higher gain settings, but I still prefer to use the lowest gain. Like MrEleventy said, K70X bass response can be amplified by getting the anniversary pads. They are quite expensive but gives you warmer bassier and more balanced sound while still maintaining those sweet forward clear mids and treble. In case someone is interested here is my pad comparison/review: http://www.head-fi.org/t/626971/akg-k702-65th-anniversary-edition/2670#post_9533670

 

[harshtimez]

[size=11.0pt]Mine is run from my Imac with Audirvana 1.5.6 to my Qinpu A3 and into B&W 686’s. Sounds better than I expected, that is its excellent for an easy to set-up Music Server.[/size]

 

[3t3p]

Hi all, new here and instead of starting a new thread thought i'd jump in at the deep end of this thread! (of which I've read about a third)
 
I'm relatively new in the audiophile scene and like bang for the buck (£ in my case) in life!
 
My current set up is:
 
Spotify Premium
 
Fiio E7 (via USB)
 
HD598s; stock cable
 
SoundMagic E30's (for use with 3D glasses as despite their low pressure the Senns crush the 3D glasses onto my prescription glasses)
 
This is giving me good performance and I especially like that I can bass boost with the E7 to bring the HD598s to life in that department. I am by no means a bass-head but they are very shy here IMO.
 
Always been intrigued by tube technology and stumbled across the reasonably priced T1 on a google search.
 
I like the fact I will have a volume knob instead of pressing buttons on the Fiio, plus the T1 looks very nice and can plug the 598's without using the adapter which makes the connector so long!
 
Would I notice a difference over my E7? I know the T1 has greater bit depth and sampling rate capability...but maybe I would be limited by source?
 
How am I going to boost bass if I got a T1, I think there is an equaliser app for Spotify now?
 
I am 27 years old and consider myself to have above average hearing compared to my peers.
 
Many thanks

 

[Wyd4]

I can fix that...

bahaha

 

[Salvatore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3t3p /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 
I like the fact I will have a volume knob instead of pressing buttons on the Fiio, plus the T1 looks very nice and can plug the 598's without using the adapter which makes the connector so long!
 
Would I notice a difference over my E7? I know the T1 has greater bit depth and sampling rate capability...but maybe I would be limited by source?
 
How am I going to boost bass if I got a T1, I think there is an equaliser app for Spotify now?

 
Here are some options:
 
1. If you need to EQ I wouldn't suggest to get T1. You probably do just fine with your FiiO.
2. Get T1 + bassier cans such as Fidelio X1.
3. Use T1 line out to connect it to your E7.
4. For the ultimate pleasure: T1 + HD650 (or equivalent) + high quality FLACs via player with ASIO WASAPI etc plugin
 
I have FiiO E17, but the volume control of T1 is soooo much better. T1 also enables sound tweaking via tube rolling. I think in your case you'll be mainly limited by your headphones.
 
You can use headroom to find headphones with suitable frequency response: http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php?graphID[0]=2851&graphID[1]=853&graphID[2]=&graphID[3]=&scale=30&graphType=0&buttonSelection=Update+Graph

 

[3t3p]

Hi thanks for the reply.
 
Not looking to get new cans at all so bit of a blow there.
 
Guess i'll run em into the ground and in the future look to 650's or something paired with a decent desktop amp.