[choronz]

 
i have 3 dac
 
chord hugo around 2300 usd
centrance mini cx around 700usd
 
aune s16 beat centrance but lose a bit to hugo.
i dont have any cd player only use computer as source connect with usb.
 
these aune in my opinion is the best dac under 700usd now . i have tried 5 or 6 dac around these price . this is the best

 
 
Got one from the double 11 sale in China. Amazing value for that price. Still burning the Dac...  

 

[Monir]

Does anyone else experience background noise at around 90 volume? With or without IEMs.

 

[kosq83]

I'm very surprised that this thread is so quiet. In my opinion S16 deserves better here.

 

[bwcgrx]

I just ordered an Aune S16 for a substantial discount and I'm about the lower the boom and order a Gustard H10 from Massdrop.
 
I'm planning for this to be my end of the line pairing, at least for the next 3 to 4 years.  From my research, the S16 arguably has just about as good a spec sheet and apparent build quality as any DAC under $800 US.  As I don't really have any plans to go to full unbalanced to the headphones I felt this combo would work well for my needs..  I'll give unbalanced from DAC to AMP a try.  I'm hoping to resolve just a bit more detail and smoothness from this combo.  My current desktop pair an SMSL M8 DAC and Shiit Asgard 2 already sound fantastic.  I really don't need to upgrade however I just can't resist trying out a bit higher tier gear.  I've spent too much on this hobby anyway so I will be taking a substantial break from equipment upgrades if this combo does what I hope it will.

 

[SCLIM]

I'm happy Aune X1 pro user here. 
 
Recently thinking for an upgrade. In dilemma of choosing few DAC/Amp as below :-
 
1. Aune S16
2 Oppo HA-1
3. Matrix Mini-I Pro
4. Yulong D200
5. Audio GD NFB-28
 
Hope anyone of you can enlightened me which one should i go for? My area don't have those headfi store to try up all the above amp listed.
 
My current cans are Senn HD650 and Beyer T90
IEM are WEstone 4r and Vsonic GR07
 
Listened to various types of musics such as Folk, Pop, Rock and Female Vocal.
 
Thanks in advance. 

 

[kosq83]

If You would like to taste holographic experience go for S16. I own D200 and got S16 for a longer loan (few months) from a friend of mine - and I personally would choose S16 if I could.
D200 has a little more aggressive AMP and more dynamic sound, but the soundstage is wider than deeper, with not so obvious holography.

The others from the list I don't know so can't tell.

Good luck Mate

 

[SCLIM]

Thanks for your sharing kosq83.
 
How's the amp part between Aune and Yulong? Which one more powerful to drive the can? I am currently using Sen HD650 and Beyer T90. 
 
Will Yulong more suitable for Pop and Rock music? I mean more punch bass.

 

[kosq83]

Not at all, finally I can help, so I'm doing it

If its about the tonality overall, the D200 wins with S16. The Amp gives slightly more aggressive sound with more punch. The differences are easily picked up, but it isn't a day and night. I would call D200 a more meaty, the S16 is more delicate.
... But holography - that's what's all about in S16. If You are looking after more punchy and meaty one I would go for D200.
I don't know about these two cans exactly, but from all I own, the D200 is amplifying tad better than S16.

 

[hugoboss]

i have s16 for almost 2 years now,  i dont want any upgrade except some new r2r dac.
for anyone interested in aune s16 i can said s16 still very good dac now after so many competitor released new dac every year
 
but s16 as headamp is not best or good enough for above 200 ohm can
s16 true power is in it's dac section.
 
and i using it to connect to a cayin tube amp a88t mk2.

 

[148124]

aune s16 is one of the best dac I have heard next to chord hugo, dcs, best 9018 implementations, old multibit dacs - have in mind this is delta sigma 'crap' based dac !! but from epic japan asahi kasei, only one that can play music (even old ak4396 in some nice implementations could play music like it should, newest ak4495 is a delta sigma revelation for me, having all the detail, realism, transient response, speed, amazing bass, texture, deep and wide soundstage +there is that amazing spark in the highs like in real world)
 
but the amp is something fuc*ed up there or maybe I demand too much from combo in this price range, yes there is some background noise even on he-4 which is 86db sensitivity which is freaking ridiculous and it needs some correction immediately, not even mention some high sensitivity cans, this is unacceptable to put something like this into a combo with such wonderful dac, aune x1s amplifier section is MUCH better in every aspect and it costs 1/3 of s16 price but the dac implementation there even though it's 9018k2m can't compare
 
btw display is so cheap, the backlight is so bad (leaking on every side of the display and in the corners), they should have used OLED - that would be epic and it's not so expensive these days, come on aune...
 
but the dac itself has amazing potential, the power supply section is perfect, epic usb interface with FIFO reclock, clocks are perfect, adum isolation, pcb is like 1 million dollar project, pga volume regulation, epic analog output stage and best delta sigma on the market - everything is done there like in the best equipment I have seen
 
if they make amp sing like it should I will buy one unit immedaitely, and it's not only in noise (it's not like the typical noise / humming, it's like some static distortion, there is something going on there that is wrong and it was in a few units I have tested and with every headphone I tested, hope it's not oscillating or something) it's also something strange in sound that extremely exhausts my hearing after short time of listening when I turn the volume up for like 80-90 to get proper SPL with my hard to drive HE-4, guess it must be awful kind of distortion, I have never had this issue before with many other amps from audio-gd, schiit lyr/asgard, hifiman ef-5/ef-6, beta22, wooaudio, rudistor, even speaker amps driving it like emotiva
 
but once you match the dac section with some resolving, fast and detailed amp that is neutral in its sound signature something wonderful is happening ... and every single music track is another adventure, so much to discover, don't use internal headamp, pair it with good amp and you will be amazed

 

[ipromesisposi]

Hi,
anyone can tell us about sinergia with Sennheiser HD 650?

 

[jamca]

How could anyone distinguise the first version of aune s16 with the s16 v2 2016 ?