Foreword
I am in no way associated with Aune. This unit is part of a world wide review tour organised by Aune. I have also had a very short time with the X1S, 2 days to be exact, so you might want to take this review with a grain of salt. These two days have been one hell of a fun ride though, so you might want to continue reading!
I'll mainly be comparing the X1S to Audiotrak's Dr. DAC 2 DX Top Edition, which roughly goes for the same amount the X1s does. I'm not the best when it goes down to describing the sound, but I'll give it a try.
About Aune:
What's in the box:
The X1S arrived safely from China in a box filled with a lot of foam. Once you take off the top cover, you'll find the X1S nicely lay'd out with all it's accessories, such as the AC adaptor , USB cable and a thumb drive. I have never seen a company include a thumb drive for their DAC / AMP, which is a nice and refreshing thing to see. What's on it you ask? Aune included a copy of the driver for Windows users and the manual on it.
The first I immediately noticed is the short length of the AC adaptor cable that you actually plug into the X1S. I've already noticed this on the T1 MK2. You're out of your luck if you're planning to put the unit itself on a higher desk. I'd really appreciate it if Aune had decided to use a longer end.
Did I mention that the AC adaptor itself is quite heavy and big? It almost doesn't fit into my hands, so it's portable uses are limited. Aune have decided against using a internal PSU in favour of sound quality.
The X1S itself:
This DAC / AMP is one of the most beautiful and modern ones I've seen so far. It's sleek, minimalistic, made out of sandblasted aluminium and even sounds good. On the front you'll find your input source select button with according LED's that light up when the source is switched. On the back you'll find the AC in, RCA in- and outputs, USB in, coaxial in- and output and optical inputs. Said inputs are protected with some small red hoods. The volume knob turns smooth as butter, a bit too smooth for me to be honest, but that's just a matter of taste.
The X1S uses the known XMOS chip for it's USB input, allowing for up to 384KHz and DSD playback. A ESS 9018K2M is being used as the DAC chip. A pretty popular combination these days and if the implementation is done right, can sound wonderful.
While playing back DSD, the user has the choice of selecting different filters. This is done by holding the input selector button until the LED changes color according to the selected filter. I didn't notice any hearable difference though.
How does it sound?
Tracks used for comparison (Audirvana Plus -> Aune X1S DAC (USB) -> Aune X1S AMP -> Brainwavz HM5):
Exterminate - Mizuki Nana
count it from Zero - Kajiura Yuki
METACORTEX - WAVE
Shooting Star - KOTOKO
Shatter Me - Lindsey Stirling
In Your Pocket - Maroon 5
Dreaming of the Crash, Interstellar OST - Hans Zimmer
I was shocked. Shocked at how the X1S literally wipes the floor with my Audiotrak Dr. DAC2. Words can't describe what I was hearing, but I'll try nevertheless. The X1S is utterly resolving, I've noticed this right away when listening to Hans Zimmer's "Dreaming of the Crash". There's wind movement going on at the beginning of the track which I didn't notice on the Dr. DAC2. Not only that, the soundstage the X1S produces is simply beautiful. It's massive. It's engaging. It makes you think that you're right in there, almost holographic. I can't get enough of good soundstage presentation and the X1S does it right in so many ways.
Mids are rendered smoothly, sweet and making you want to listen some more. Compared to the Dr. DAC 2 there's slightly less emphasis on the mids. I'd say the X1S presents these fairly neutral.
On the contrary, I'm not too sure on the highs. My first impression was that they were slightly rolled off, but after listening to some Japanese vocals for a bit, I think there's a slight emphasis on them. Some tracks just hurt. Maybe that's where the detail retrieval comes from? Keep in mind that I'm very sensitive to treble.
Audiotrak seems to have rolled of the highs in the Dr.DAC2, which makes it easier for more extended listening.
Lows are rendered neutral compared to the Dr.DAC2. The Dr.DAC2 only has a slightly bit more bass presentation.
Conclusion
The X1S is a powerhouse. It combines a great price with amazing performance, DSD playback and all that in a small footprint. I have thought that such amount of soundstage and detail retrieval is reserved for units way above $700, but boy did Aune prove me wrong. Aune have put a great DAC / AMP on the market that is simply underrated right now and should be getting more attention when more people realise what a gem this truly is. I just wish that I had more time listening to it.
tl;dr: Where do I put down my order?
Yy
I am in no way associated with Aune. This unit is part of a world wide review tour organised by Aune. I have also had a very short time with the X1S, 2 days to be exact, so you might want to take this review with a grain of salt. These two days have been one hell of a fun ride though, so you might want to continue reading!
I'll mainly be comparing the X1S to Audiotrak's Dr. DAC 2 DX Top Edition, which roughly goes for the same amount the X1s does. I'm not the best when it goes down to describing the sound, but I'll give it a try.
About Aune:
What's in the box:
The X1S arrived safely from China in a box filled with a lot of foam. Once you take off the top cover, you'll find the X1S nicely lay'd out with all it's accessories, such as the AC adaptor , USB cable and a thumb drive. I have never seen a company include a thumb drive for their DAC / AMP, which is a nice and refreshing thing to see. What's on it you ask? Aune included a copy of the driver for Windows users and the manual on it.
The first I immediately noticed is the short length of the AC adaptor cable that you actually plug into the X1S. I've already noticed this on the T1 MK2. You're out of your luck if you're planning to put the unit itself on a higher desk. I'd really appreciate it if Aune had decided to use a longer end.
Did I mention that the AC adaptor itself is quite heavy and big? It almost doesn't fit into my hands, so it's portable uses are limited. Aune have decided against using a internal PSU in favour of sound quality.
The X1S itself:
This DAC / AMP is one of the most beautiful and modern ones I've seen so far. It's sleek, minimalistic, made out of sandblasted aluminium and even sounds good. On the front you'll find your input source select button with according LED's that light up when the source is switched. On the back you'll find the AC in, RCA in- and outputs, USB in, coaxial in- and output and optical inputs. Said inputs are protected with some small red hoods. The volume knob turns smooth as butter, a bit too smooth for me to be honest, but that's just a matter of taste.
The X1S uses the known XMOS chip for it's USB input, allowing for up to 384KHz and DSD playback. A ESS 9018K2M is being used as the DAC chip. A pretty popular combination these days and if the implementation is done right, can sound wonderful.
While playing back DSD, the user has the choice of selecting different filters. This is done by holding the input selector button until the LED changes color according to the selected filter. I didn't notice any hearable difference though.
How does it sound?
Tracks used for comparison (Audirvana Plus -> Aune X1S DAC (USB) -> Aune X1S AMP -> Brainwavz HM5):
Exterminate - Mizuki Nana
count it from Zero - Kajiura Yuki
METACORTEX - WAVE
Shooting Star - KOTOKO
Shatter Me - Lindsey Stirling
In Your Pocket - Maroon 5
Dreaming of the Crash, Interstellar OST - Hans Zimmer
I was shocked. Shocked at how the X1S literally wipes the floor with my Audiotrak Dr. DAC2. Words can't describe what I was hearing, but I'll try nevertheless. The X1S is utterly resolving, I've noticed this right away when listening to Hans Zimmer's "Dreaming of the Crash". There's wind movement going on at the beginning of the track which I didn't notice on the Dr. DAC2. Not only that, the soundstage the X1S produces is simply beautiful. It's massive. It's engaging. It makes you think that you're right in there, almost holographic. I can't get enough of good soundstage presentation and the X1S does it right in so many ways.
Mids are rendered smoothly, sweet and making you want to listen some more. Compared to the Dr. DAC 2 there's slightly less emphasis on the mids. I'd say the X1S presents these fairly neutral.
On the contrary, I'm not too sure on the highs. My first impression was that they were slightly rolled off, but after listening to some Japanese vocals for a bit, I think there's a slight emphasis on them. Some tracks just hurt. Maybe that's where the detail retrieval comes from? Keep in mind that I'm very sensitive to treble.
Audiotrak seems to have rolled of the highs in the Dr.DAC2, which makes it easier for more extended listening.
Lows are rendered neutral compared to the Dr.DAC2. The Dr.DAC2 only has a slightly bit more bass presentation.
Conclusion
The X1S is a powerhouse. It combines a great price with amazing performance, DSD playback and all that in a small footprint. I have thought that such amount of soundstage and detail retrieval is reserved for units way above $700, but boy did Aune prove me wrong. Aune have put a great DAC / AMP on the market that is simply underrated right now and should be getting more attention when more people realise what a gem this truly is. I just wish that I had more time listening to it.
tl;dr: Where do I put down my order?
Yy
