[miceblue]

The 600-ohm DT880 shouldn't be a problem for the B1 at all considering the B1 is current-limited rather than voltage.

 

[ESL-1]

No problem and plenty of gain to boot, more than I anticipated. I look forward to trying my AKG K340 hybrid which only really shows it's musical abilities (albeit an acquired taste) on a few amps I have heard it on.

 

[tretneo]

I just received my B1 today, just want to report a few quick impressions.

Headphones: HE-560
DAP: iPhone 5s
Other Amps: Marantz HD-DAC1, Fiio e12

First, I'm extremely impressed with the build quality and overall look/feel of the B1. It's just a good looking piece of tech. I feel it outclasses the e12 in this department and is on par with my Marantz HD-DAC1 which is also just a beautiful piece of equipment.

I'm not a fan of the sound signature of the e12, perhaps it's the HE-560 pairing but it just sounds harsh and shrill at louder volume. The B1 on the other hand sounds smooth and controlled, very similar in fact to the Marantz. In fact, I'm hard pressed to decide which of the two sounds better which is impressive considering the size/price difference between the two.

Needless to say so far I'm incredibly positive about this little (but heavy) portable amp. I recently tried the HiFi-M8 Amp/DAC but had to return it due to a hardware fault. At this point I think that might have been a good thing as the B1 is much more affordable and sounds great!

 

[avitron142]

On a whim I decided to acquire a B1, class A always held a certain attraction and the general opinion of the initial B1 reviews seemed nicely positive. The unit arrived yesterday and I decided to try my stock Beyer DT-880 600 ohm as a first exposure. Right now I am listening to a set of Grado PS1000e's. Way too early to go into detailed thoughts but I did find one thing last night with the DT-880's that I want to mention since it has been an often repeated aspect of the B1 design with not a lot definite impressions as to whether it makes a difference in sound or not. On the 600 ohm Beyers I felt that the higher current setting sounded better as it seemed to better control them. On the high setting the sound had a bit more focus and refinement throughout the frequency range. On switching to the lower current setting the highs seemed less defined, somewhat loose and the bass lost a small amount of detail. As I said it is way early for me with a mere few hours of head time with the B1 and I will be looking to begin trying more of my other phones and to eventually do some direct comparisons with some my other amps which cover a range of different design approaches and sonic characteristics. For now though I just want get more time in on my new toy. The B1 has surprised me in how well it handled the 880's, not the easiest of loads and just how good it sounds for an amp with such a reasonable price tag, got mine for $185 shipped. Next up will probably be my T1 and HE-500, something to look forward to next week. I do intend to make sure I keep it from becoming work, I do not want to lose track of the music anywhere along the line. Great hobby isn't it?

Thanks for the impressions! added to the original post.

 

[hakushondaimao]

Just posted my review. LINK.
 
Conclusions?
 
"There’s a lot to like about the Aune B1. It drives powerful headphones with authority, and has a lovely mid-forward sound that is easy on the ears and suitable for long, fatigue-free listening sessions. Design is phenomenal, with great looks and a quality build and feel. If I had the power to improve anything about the B1, it would be 1) greater range on the pot for fine volume control, and 2) slightly more extension of bass and treble.
 
In comparisons with other popular portable amplifiers, I’d equate the B1 to the Sennheiser HD650 (contolled bass, mid-forward, clean, easy on the ears) and the Fiio E12A and Cayin C5 to the Audio Technica ATH-R70x (more natural extension of bass and treble). If you’re an HD650 type, you will really like the sound signature of the B1. If you’re more into the R70x, you’ll still enjoy it, especially for longer listening sessions."

 

[hakushondaimao]

Canadian tour application thread is posted.

 

[derGabe]

One of the Photos i took of the Aune B1. Currently working on my german review for my own site, which i will also post here on headfi.
Is it possible to post a german review here on headfi? I guess there are quiet a few native speaking germans on here. I will also work
on an shorter english review.

 

[tretneo]

Quick Question, my Aune B1 came bundled with a 5V, 2.1A USB charging adapter. The Aune site says the "charging current is above 1A" whatever that means. Does anyone know if using a 2.1A USB charging adapter is safe for the B1?

 

[Loquah]

You'll be fine with higher current. It might charge faster too, but either wat it won't hurt.

 

[Loquah]

Just posted my review. LINK.

Conclusions?

[COLOR=3B3B3B]"There’s a lot to like about the Aune B1. It drives powerful headphones with authority, and has a lovely mid-forward sound that is easy on the ears and suitable for long, fatigue-free listening sessions. Design is phenomenal, with great looks and a quality build and feel. If I had the power to improve anything about the B1, it would be 1) greater range on the pot for fine volume control, and 2) slightly more extension of bass and treble.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=3B3B3B]In comparisons with other popular portable amplifiers, I’d equate the B1 to the Sennheiser HD650 (contolled bass, mid-forward, clean, easy on the ears) and the Fiio E12A and Cayin C5 to the Audio Technica ATH-R70x (more natural extension of bass and treble). If you’re an HD650 type, you will really like the sound signature of the B1. If you’re more into the R70x, you’ll still enjoy it, especially for longer listening sessions."[/COLOR]

I've just heard from Aune that they're updating future B1s to have lower low gain ouptut to pair better with a wider range of headphones / earphones so the pot range is already addressed (nice to see such responsive companies)

 

[hakushondaimao]

I've just heard from Aune that they're updating future B1s to have lower low gain ouptut to pair better with a wider range of headphones / earphones so the pot range is already addressed (nice to see such responsive companies)

Yes, I heard from them too. Now I'd love to try the B1 Rev-2  

 

[Cotnijoe]

Very glad to see that they're willing to listen to what the community thinks of their product. Now i just wonder what they plan to do about the units they have already sold.

 

[avitron142]

I've just heard from Aune that they're updating future B1s to have lower low gain ouptut to pair better with a wider range of headphones / earphones so the pot range is already addressed (nice to see such responsive companies)

I'm a bit worried that the jump between low/high gain output if switched by accident could be R.I.P. iem's. THe way it is now it isn't too much of a jump, but if they make the difference bigger...

 

[Cotnijoe]

 
I'm a bit worried that the jump between low/high gain output if switched by accident could be R.I.P. iem's. THe way it is now it isn't too much of a jump, but if they make the difference bigger...

 
Maybe implementing a better way for the gains to be switched or adding a medium gain could help. Unfortunately I feel like that'll be quite a bit of change and might change up the external design of the amp too which would b a huge pain for them to deal with

 

[money4me247]

  Maybe implementing a better way for the gains to be switched or adding a medium gain could help. Unfortunately I feel like that'll be quite a bit of change and might change up the external design of the amp too which would b a huge pain for them to deal with

the best design change IMO is changing the toggle switches (for gain, class A, and power) to a different type of switch that is harder to accidentally trigger. however, I can understand that may be difficult to accomplish without raising costs. the low cost alternative I think is using some sort of tape to hold the gain & current switches in a place if you are primarily/exclusively using this device with IEMs & concerned about moving switches.
 
if there is a revision version coming out, I would also love to see an volume indicator marking on the volume knob. A single white line would be sufficient. Those would be the two biggest design improvement that I think would be most helpful in further improving the design of this solid device.