Aune S6 32 bit DSD USB DAC/ Amp
March 2017
Intro...
First of all I would like to say thanks to Aune for letting me be part of this tour and getting to listen to this in the comfort of my own home for a week.
I have been heavily into my portable gear and been meaning to look at a desktop amp to go balanced with a flagship headphone at some point and must admit I had envisaged a flagship amp to go with it but with a flagship price that goes with them and other commitments keep delaying it for last couple of years it intrigued me for the money a Dacamp that had such connections as balanced XLR headphone out and pre out for use as a pre-amp with a speaker set up so curiosity killed the cat at this money to give it a try.
Specifications
SPECS:
Input: USB/COAX/OPT/AES
Output: XLR/RCA
Headphone output port: 6.5mm headphone amplifier port , four-core balanced headphone amplifier port
Headphone amplifier matched impedance: 32-600Ω
Headphone output power:
Balanced Headphone Output:
32 ohms: 8000mW (MAX)
1000mW(1khz@THD+n 0.001%)
300 ohms:1000mW (MAX)
246mW(1khz@THD+n 0.001%)
600 ohms: 500mW (MAX)
120mW(1khz@THD+n 0.001%)
Single-Ended Headphone Output:
32 ohms: 2500mW (MAX)
280mW(1khz@THD+n 0.001%)
300 ohms: 250mW (MAX)
72mW(1khz@THD+n 0.001%)
600 ohms: 125mW (MAX)
36mW(1khz@THD+n 0.001%)
Input sampling parameters:
USB:
Maximum word length:32Bit Maximum sampling rate :384K Maximum DSD rate(DOP) :DSD128
AES/COX/OPT:
Maximum word length:24Bit Maximum sampling rate:192K
Line out typical value:
XLR/RCA:
Frequency response: ±0.4dB(20 Hz to 20 kHz) Dynamic range: 116dB SNR: 115dB
THD+N: 0.0008%@1KHz Stereo crosstalk: -132dB
Output amplitude RCA: 2Vrms XLR:4Vrms
More details about the Aune S6 can be found here:
http://en.auneaudio.com/index.php?s=Home/Article/detail/id/148.html
Package Content
The Aune S6 comes in a nice solid box which has a style that is meant to look polished and sophisticated in an understated way and simply the box lid has a silver AUNE logo on the black box.
Underneath the hood of the Aune box you will find the S6 unit itself sitting in protective foam and comes with a USB stick instruction manual with drivers for the Dac and a USB cable as well as mains cable.
Design
The design of this from the get go is neat lines, very tidy in appearance and is not sporting a number of switches and lights to compete with the IIS Enterprise. The build is solid with good sturdy connectors with the balanced sockets been good quality Neutrik supplied.
The digital volume also doubles up for mode selection by pressing the in with a push so pressing once will cycle to the next input selection whilst a double quick press will change the output to line out or headphone out. Holding in for five seconds will put the unit into standby or wake it up from standby mode.
The volume dial itself rotated with a satisfying click with each step on this digital volume but would say it sometime would get a bit tedious with the amount of turns you had to do in relation to the actual volume percentage it went down or up so is more turning involved than your normal volume dial.
The display read out is a very simple yet large clear IPS display which is well laid out and gives you the info you need easily readable that even from just over twelve feet away when in my speaker set up I could see the volume level clearly thanks to also showing you via a little ball that sits on a horizon line going from low on the left hand side to higher volume the more it is to the right hand side and looks quite cool as it looks reminiscent of the earths outline from space with the moon just following it’s out edge
.
The display also shows what input and output is selected as well as the very handy and essential sampling rate and type is currently going through the S6.
Just a shame there was not an option to dim the display and turn off if wanted or when in off mode came on for 5 seconds every time you adjusted a setting on there.
The design was by a British team which has made it look nice with the arc designed top casing but maybe less practical to stack any source gear on top compared to if it was flat but maybe the more frustrating part of that was the finish of the casing which looks nice again but seemed to mark to easily.
I liked the overall design and made sense and is made so you do not need a degree in how to do the power up procedure of a Jumbo 747.
Lastly have to commend Aune in this price range bringing all the inputs and outputs which really gives this Dac/ amp an edge with a four core XLR balanced headphones socket as well as THE STANDARD ¼ inch SE headphone jack.
The back comes with two rca analogue out sockets as well as the option to do XLR 3 pin left right balanced out and then the digital inputs consist of USB ‘B’ type in, Coax digital and Optical inputs as well as an AES XLR socket. Also on the back is the main power button which is next to the 3 pin kettle style plug connection.
What is clever yet simple idea is Aune have taken the trouble to screen print the outputs with writing upside down so makes it easier if you are popping your head over it when it is set up in a rack. That was a nice touch which shows attention to small detail for me. Other than that it is hard to imagine what other inputs/ outputs they could have put on here given its price tier.
Sound Impressions...
Firstly the reason why most of us on here will want to project interest in this rather sleek good looking minimalistic designed unit is to run our Headphones or IEMS through it.
So I will be reviewing this firstly as a headphone source then as a pre-amp through my floor standing speaker set up.
I have to say at this point the only balanced XLR cable I had that I could try with the S6 at time of writing had a break in it so was not working thus could not try it in balanced mode apart form a supplied pair of Zen as part of the tour that was hard wired into a balanced plug, something don’t see every day so will only be able to give my “balanced” opinion running balanced with the VE Zen IEMS.
From now on I will be buying a back-up balanced cable from now on for such curve balls as this.
One thing I found with this been a versatile ability to pre amp for speaker set up’s also was I had quite a lot of testing to get through in a short space of time and all though the primary objective for most on here will be to use it as a headphone amp I will give my impressions of it running through a reasonable 2 channel speaker set up also as all I can say for those who buy this they have that option if wanted to can run in speaker mode will have an even better value for money set up with the S6.
Like the design and layout of this Aune S6 unit I would say it is simplistic, not in a negative manner. No far from it, I say it from a point of view the S6 Dac is uncluttered to listen to and tells you a story wit out any complications or overcooking it in any particular area.
Overall balance is quite an even keel with the S6 and seems to present bass mids and treble all in equal manner than they are presented with a well-balanced pitch and scope that does not take away your attention from one being overwhelmed by the other.
Soundstage appears to be fairly wide in dispersion, not quite HD800 scope but made a difference to narrower field sounding headphones I have like m Sony 7520 closed backs.
For the amp side of this it is meant to be powerful enough up to those cans hard to drive in the 600 ohm region but was only able to try a pair of older 300 ohm Sennheiser Ovation open backs running SE which had plenty of room left and never felt pushed to its limits from my brief couple of hours with them on.
With Meze 99 Classics…
Luckily what I started to hear with the first headphone I plugged into the S6 SE input was a the familiar Meze sound signature which I think is complimented by the AKM AK4495 dac used inside the S6 as the dac gives a smoother presentation in sound which is why it feels a more relaxed, easy going listen. No harsh treble end here or over bright signature with this dac.
The S6 is not trying to be too clever or over-elaborate in how it is trying to sound , the AKM dac inside is quite natural in tonal balance with instruments all though the S6 does side towards a warmish feel with it been smooth in delivery yet does it without been overly thick or coloured with instruments which have a good sense of timing and decay, maybe not the most snappiest or fastest response to transients compared to other amps but is hardly laying on its back struggling to keep up with proceedings.
It actually surprised me how tonally balanced the S6 did sound especially with the top end although it is never prominently forward it just plays it like it is and has a realistic reproduction with metallic sounds that symbols will come through with enough shine and sparkle to strikes and crashes of copper/ brass cymbals/ hi-hats without ever been aggressively over sharp.
It may not been the most fastest with keeping pace but is far from the slowest I have heard with it still sounding quite snappy and quick footed with change of notes without sounded muddled and kept good pace to keep the rhythm flowing with the music.
The soundstage helped what is already quite good ability to reproduce it in the Meze for a closed can had some of its most exciting experiences with stereo panning sounds were accurate and far field in the distance in travelled so made the Meze closed backs sounded a bit bigger than usual.
This helped such albums such as the Interstellar OST which relies on space, depth and timing to give the effect of listening to a soundtrack that is all about building up the stunning aural experience to match the equally stunning the IMAX picture it accompanied.
The 99 classics with its warm signature has a pleasant engaging sound that compliments the
S6. The Aune is actually sounds like it is tuned to be fairly neutral on the whole so the classic sound is still distinct to its original signature.
In all keeping the Meze signature intact and been easy to drive really suited the 99 Classics and just wish I had my balanced cable to try with these on the S6.
With Grado GS100e…
I then moved onto an open back headphones I have in my Grado GS1000e which although again is easy enough to drive and will not vex the Aune into submission for lack of power it still needs the right amount of ingredients to make a Grado sing just right so unlike the Meze been quite a natural fit with the S6 I was more apprehensive how it would pair with the GS1k’s but should have had no worries here really as the clear mids of the S6 dac come through to make the mid driven detailing GS1k’s sound at home also.
The GS1Ks are more of an analytical listen as it loves to show of detail which is its thing rather than just an all-rounder with a wall full of sound so you would think this is only suited to dac amps worth more than the S6 level it resides in. But the S6 been fairly smooth with a balanced mid-range in conjunction with the GS1KS prominent mid-section allows it to shine those nuances of detail the Grado’s can pick up on.
Even with the good bass response the S6 can go down to the Grado's never go into overdrive or turn into a pair of hard hitting HD800 bass or say the full rounded bass of the Ethers but just has the right amount of detail and control the Grado's can handle without ruining the mids the Grado does so well. Treble is again accurate in tone and right amount of sparkle to the ringing sound of hi-hats and symbols but is never dominant or recessed.
One thing I have not mentioned yet is vocals and the S6 is clear and crisp with vocals and love the forward raw edge it has makes them come across more real as there seems to be good depth at times between lead vocals to backing bands playing.
Ward Thomas Cartwheels album is handled well with the S6 and Grado's always been able to hear both vocals in harmony yet choose the distinction between both sisters singing with clarity and the S6 places the very good backing band they have well into the sound staging with acoustic guitars sounding sharp and dynamic with the S6 Grado combo.
With the GS1K the vocals excel and easily leads you to be transfixed by the singer with them been forward with a clear outline of their vocals been paramount on the GS1ks.
Over all I liked the GS1Ks with the S6, maybe not quite as good in SE mode when paired with my Vorzuge Pureii+ amp which is also a special little box of amping but I could listen to the GS1Ks a lot with the S6 as it just keeps unveiling what detail in the music the Aune has to offer in a relaxing manner yet stopping short of been too polite.
It is easy with the wrong pairing for the Grado to sound to shrill or thin on top end and the S6 does the opposite here so another good pairing here for the S6 with Grado GS1000e.
After doing two cans closed and open back I thought I would turn my attention to IEMS and start with my four year old trusty pair of JH16Pros which I still love the sound of despite hearing the improvements in the latest V2 Freqphase version. Yet it still doesn’t detract this is still a fine sounding IEM with that added bass response and headroom for those who like their concert style sound.
With JH16Pros…
Again the JH16 sounds like the Meze did and did not sound different at all keeping the JH16 signature in place and recognizable from the word go with the S6 tidy and coherent delivery really suited the way the JH16’s work with those BA drivers and maintained the JH16’s very above average headroom it has as well as a good full bottom end response all though not maybe as tightly controlled as I’ve heard it before on other occasions but in fairness apart from my Vorzuge amp this would have been with amps costing over the grand mark anyway.
Listening to the latest Yello album ‘Toy’ had a nice holographic feel with this album with very generous amount of spatial cues from all corners of the listening sphere with the way Yello engineer their albums which came through in a very effective manner and there was good definition between subtle and bigger impact sounds going on in the mix which had good timing to the ear.
The JH16’s was very familiar and the S6 made it shine in the right places with the right amount of dynamics and drive with accurate tonal clarity made this a good a match than it is with my Sony W1MA Walkman for pairing compatibility.
With Vibro Lab ‘Maya’…
I then moved onto my new found love I reviewed recently the Vibro Lab Mayas which have really struck a chord with me and is my type of sound and really wanted for these to match well as I would be crying all over my laminated flooring if they didn’t.
Why was I worrying again? The Mayas were actually pretty quick and responsive (which I think is helped by not having so many BA drivers to feed) with very concise and pitch perfect prominent vocals that you have that connection where you feel the emotion of the artist singing.
None more so than the Rag’N’Bone Man ‘Human’ album which really connected and keeps you so focused on every word he is singing as his vocal pallet in hearing the pitch changes in his voice is so close you can hear the nuances in detail with every breath he takes to carry on the next line or verse is crystal clear. This is recorded well in 24 bit but is still sampled at 44khz yet the fullness and richness of the band is very dynamic with good resonance of strings and percussion playing of the Mayas is brought out by the AKM dac in the S6 whilst the amp side helps drive the impact of sudden bass kicks and when a verse stops suddenly on a sixpence you can hear the sudden echo of the trailing sound of instruments in the room trail of into the night.
Have listening to the Mayas on here with any music was a joy with the S6 but listening to this 24 bit version showed how it can scale with well recorded high res files.
The soundstage was quite wide for an IEM with convincing imaging and very accurate panning of sounds. The S6 certainly brought out the best in the Mayas mid- range which is where the Maya really does shine that little extra to an amazing right amount of bottom end which is not too much or too little and the accurate tonal properties and shimmer of treble detail is kept with the S6.
The bass notes actually sounded better controlled, more tightly and defined than it did with my JH16’s all though the Maya bass goes nowhere near the fathomable depths my JH16 does this gave a bit more focus on lower mid-range tracking clarity with the sub bass when it came in. The Mayas had good transient through the bass response giving clarity to hearing changes easy in the frequencies and different layering of bass notes.
Having the Maya come through the other end of the S6 star was a relief as these are the IEM I would listen to exclusively from what I have at the moment and really loved this combo all day long.
With the supplied VE Zen balanced IEM’s
I tried the supplied VE ZEN Iems that were balanced and once got them in the right place as a little fiddly with the old school sponge pads design the Zen’s have it was quite a clear sound with quite full bodied signature with ever present mid-range with a solid mid bass and reasonable sub bass that is maybe not quite as tight due to lack of seal so lacking true impact with this style of old school ear buds which was a bit surreal as it took me back to my childhood days in the 80’s of how earphones were designed. The soundstage sounded just as tall also which felt nice considering it was a pair of IEMS and not headphones plugged in. They seem a fairly reasonable
With the Mr. Speakers ‘Ether’ open back…
The other bright star that shone with the S6 was the Ethers which I love also but have not heard them for a while and have to admit going by the sort of signatures of the 99 Classics, Maya and JH16’s this should be another can with its warm friendly immersive sound should be a natural pairing.
…How wrong was I?! (Once again) It was a magical pairing just like the Maya, the Ether is like it has had a light shone upon it and just excels In the areas that I already know the Ether can perform in with its vast immersive soundstage with great micro detailing cues (just like the Maya).
Listening to DSD 2.8 MHz Bluecoast All Stars Jam really gave a fuller greater extension to notes and the detail in the bass guitar was pretty nice to hear the depth of the vibration of each string.
Whilst the higher pitch sound of the violin is keeps a good amount of extension which is the nearest this gets to been uncomfortable with this higher strung string sound yet is meant to be as it tonally gets the way this dirty southern violin sound is meant to be portrayed.
Hearing some old Tori Amos remastered Little Earthquakes on the piano in 16 bit WAV made my hairs of my arms stand on end as it conveys the echoes and trailing edges of notes on Tori’s subtle to hard hits of the keys very dramatic are carried well on the black backdrop of nothing on the S6 with the Ethers.
Again the AKM DAC inside the S6 is been faithful in rendition through the Ether’s but just has a smoothness with that hint of siding on warm that invites ones ears to engage without trying but the combination is never stuffy or over warm as the S6 still has that ability to be clean and open enough with its delivery with good separation even during heavy going passages of music.
The Smooth and the Rough…
It all looks like plain sailing so far with the S6 but like any amp there is always going to be ones that don’t pair well with them and I had two in the form of the RHA T20 and my old sentimental modified Sony 7520’s with Whiplash Hybrid cable welded to both drivers as well as stock pads swapped out for Beyer DT velour pads.
The RHA T20 is or can be a fussy suiter anyway but I have heard this when paired right is a good sounding IEM despite some finding it too edgy or hot on the treble and I am one that is also treble sensitive and have to say it was not the issue with this amp as after all it has a polite top end compared to how the T20 is designed so cancels that out to a degree.
The T20 just sounded isolated with a lifeless un-dynamic cohesion going on which is anything but how I have heard this dac/ amp until now. The mids on the T20 by nature are also a little recessed but this sounded more evident with this pairing and to me the T20 would not be one I go to first for a session on the S6.
The 7520’s had a similar experience in sounding a bit dull and flat with actual lack of bass energy which is strange to say but what I was hearing from what I have experienced so far with both S6 and my 7520’s with other gear.
It was not long ago I reviewed the RHA Dacamp and could not believe the pairing with the Sony’s and was the best I had heard them even other my Chord Hugo with Vorzuge Pureii+ amp in tow so sometimes it can really be a head scratcher when you pair two items you have heard sound good but just clash due to the way they are both tuned.
There is a similarity that both the T20 and Sony both are a bit lively top end with been more raw/ stripped in their approach to the others I tried with the S6 which all coincidentally have a natural tendency towards a warmer sound so thinking all though in theory sometimes two opposites like a cold sound and warm sounding bit of kit sometimes off set each other as the RHA Dacamp did with my 7520’s it is not the case with the S6 and warmth & warmth = great things whilst colder and warm do not mingle here at the house of Aune.
I actually do not think it is so much that the Sony and T20 are maybe cold but more a case of the are not so subtle with how they strip away at the details after all the Sony is meant to be a studio monitor par sae all though it is still a musical headphone hence why I have kept it this long (four years and counting) but it at times can bit critical especially with poorer recordings not so forgiven so with this I feel the S6 dac keeping it accurate with instruments tonally this is the area that those slightly less forgiven with such headphones like my Sony 7520 or the T20.
Finally, S6 as a pre-amp in a speaker set up…
Another reason for this one been a hectic review is the S6 can act as a pre-amp with either XLR outs or analogue RCA stereo output and unfortunately I did not have the correct XLR for these as I only had male not female which was needed.
So went ahead and plugged in my two RCA left and right analogue cables to my Tag McLaren 250W Monobloc amps running into my old trusty B&W CDM7SE speakers via Chord Signature speaker cable and have to say once again the S6 does a fine job and scales well with each step up in bit rates from cd quality through to DSD, just a shame again this does not go beyond DSD128 but it holds its own as a pre-amp with a good musical friendly balanced engaging listen without ever offending or been over critical.
There is a good amount of space and air with the S6 running through the speakers with a good dynamic range and certainly sweeps low when needed with tracks that demand it when sub bass comes into play. The treble is smooth but tonally sounds real in reflection like chimes, triangles and symbols have a nice extension to a note ringing with good decay and sound audible in the mix.
The mids are once again like with listening to this with headphones are quite neutral in location, not recessed or pushed forward at all even though vocals have a closer intimate stage setting to the listener which is how I prefer it anyway. There seems to be more depth to the soundstage as compared to listening to them with headphones but is not a million miles away from the overall listening experience the S6 delivers when in headphone mode.
It may not be quite as open or quite detailed still as even my old Sharc Tag DACS but is above average for sure through my speakers that I could quite easily site there and have a good listening session with them in a speaker set up. I am sure this would just be that much more open and fuller with it running balanced but that’s for another time hopefully….
Over all sound…
It seems to me as long as you pair it with a more forgiving pair of headphones that are not too lively and not one that are either too bright or over analytical then the Aune will provide a natural interpretation of instrumental sounds with an equally balanced signature with a touch of warmth, a reasonable soundstage that allows space for the music to breath allowing the S6 to never sounding cluttered even with challenging more complex passages of music. It may not be the most sharp agile attacking Dac amp around if that is on your list for a Dac Amp but it will allow for a pleasant easy listen to music that is not over critical on detail so is set up to enjoy the music and not think about it too much.
Is there anything I would change on the sound of this, probably not the way it has such a good balanced mix of everything without one section being a distraction which is a sign of a good engineered dac and amp that has been designed by someone who just enjoys listening to music rather than analysing it which have to say surprised me as I was expecting something from the Chinese outfit here to try and be all Hi-Fi and concentrate on been a bright top end detail monster equals Hi-Fi sound but they have not.
Probably the S6 biggest test was how it managed to scale from Flac 16 bit files through to 192 and then DSD 128 files with a noticeable difference and gave the player a new lease of life each time with a more defined fuller picture to each note being played just had better leading edge detail to notes and had a fuller dynamic range making songs even more engaging to listen to.
It was just a shame this particular model seems to be capped to 128DSD and not beyond as I had some higher DSD files to try which would not play on the S6 but what I heard in the S6 when sampling at higher rates made a difference but only if the album is engineered and recorded well at source in the studio as some so called high res stuff up-sampled or not true hi-res can sound worse than just the 16bit wav version of a song.
Poorer recordings on the S6 had a similar sound experience to the T20 sound in which the sounded just flat and closed in but still listenable. Just not as enjoyable as what I was getting used to with good material on the S6.
Conclusion
I would say it is an understated sound to a degree and taking into account what is also on this feature wise with at this price is pretty impressive along with the solid build that puts some other companies in this domain asking three-four times more that this should take note a good solid build can be achieved without costing the earth.
My only main negative comes with the remote if they want to take this seriously as a pre-amp as much as a headphone amp and maybe some nit picking with the amount of volume adjustment needed and the surface finished used on the casing for the price and build quality and ease of use with the final delivery of how well the sound quality has been implemented it is hard to fault this Aune S6 and can only imagine if they apply this methodology to their other products they will be one to watch for anyone wanting cost to performance ratio with good spec list look no further.
Certainly one worth auditioning if you are looking for an affordable Desktop Dac/amp combo that ticks the boxes for being balanced outputs and a pre-amp.
I have to say I liked it that much when funds permit a bit later on I am contemplating getting this dac amp at this price for what it has feature wise with the sound as it does not take up much room on my glass coffee table beside my sofa where I sit and will soon have a new balanced cable for my Meze so hopefully when I get it I will update my review here on how it performed balanced a bit more.
Well done Aune on a solid performer that I think will surprise and impress many to come when they listen to the S6.