[Hal X]

Except hissing is it all normal behaviour of this amp and no issue.
Even the iem hiss - check your other Headphones and if there is no hiss, throw your iems in the trashcan.

The hiss is actually the more serious issue for me, since nothing else I use, not even the laptop with integrated sound card I use at work makes them hiss. Its very faint, but it seems to me like something is wrong with the unit since it feels slightly louder on the left side.

 

[Musiccc]

You really should stop defending this obviously badly engineered product. Do they pay you for that?

The amp sounds great, yeah, no one said otherwise. But there are ISSUES with it, stop denying it.

I have ZERO phantom isues, I have REAL issues. And it's not a cheap product by any means, just to overlook them...

What qualifications do you have to determine a product as being "badly engineered". No, they don't pay me, but I DO pay them.

The "issues" are more about preferences and opinions than anything with real substants. I am so tired of a few that come here to flood the forum with whining. Some whiners do not even own the products.

If there were legitimate manufacturing issues, then they should definitely be addressed. On the other hand, if this product is functioning as designed/intended/cost then it's not a defect. We all have different preferences and financial constraints. A product is not defective just because your (our) preferences differs. We could provide feedback so that the company could tune their (current or future) product to better reflect user preferences. But stop the two-phrase wonder: "defects! bad designs".

You knew of the "issues" and why did you still buy one?
May I suggest you a Burson Audio Soloist 3GT. That product seems to be a better match for you.

 

[Musiccc]

I bought a Honda but it did not drive like a Ferrari: Defects! Bad Engineering! Bad design....

 

[Simon Patten]

May I suggest you a Burson Audio Soloist 3GT. That product seems to be a better match for you.

The fact that it's 5 times the price might be a slight issue...

 

[Dimitry188]

The hiss is actually the more serious issue for me

The hiss of sensitive in-ear headphones when used with powerful amplifiers is a very common phenomenon.
But on my S17 Pro, neither 8-ohm nor 16-ohm sensitive in-channel speakers hiss.

If there is a hiss with your headphones, you can use Ifi IEMatch adapter - it adds resistance to the circuit and thus eliminates annoying hissing.

 

[Hal X]

On a more positive note, I can confirm the incredible sound quality that this amp produces driving my beloved black screen HD600. Very holographic, lifelike and natural sound, even in 50ma mode.
I can only imagine what the results would be with a higher tier dac.

 

[bogi]

I was surprised by a couple other obvious differences such as the big differences in the sound of various USB cables into the upstream Aune X8

The Douk Audio USB to SPDIF convertor sounds better than the USB straight into the DAC

IME with USB it generally helps to use an additional isolation device.
I am using Topping HS02 > iFi iSilencer+ > USB cable
HS02 is galvanic isolator and iSilencer treats EMI from computer or other sound source (higher frequency noise).
Then you may find not only improved sound (blacker background, fuller instrument timbre, better retrieval of low level details, more focus and better localization of instrument sounds), but also that the difference between cables lowers. Basic USB cables which are known to follow USB specs (impedance incl. connectors) are OK with such a setup (Belkin Pro Series, Amazon Basics).
Others are using Intona isolator. Both alternatives do not require external power supply if your DAC is not powered from USB port.

Using USB isolation devices brings two benefits: improved sound and possibility to use higher rate PCM and DSD content.

 

[Simon Patten]

I have an ADI-2 DAC FS, a pair of Supra EFF-IX RCA cables, and I'm waiting for an Aune S17 Pro amp to arrive later this week. Is there much difference in sound quality between the RCA and balanced inputs on the S17 Pro? I can reuse the EFFs if necessary so is it worth getting a pair of XLR cables instead? Length is 1m although I'd buy shorter ones in this case.

One of my concerns is that it's such a big box and XLR plugs stick out so much that it will make it awkward and take up too much space. I was also looking at Van Dame cables with an angled male plug (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151581485010?var=450790907278), anyone had any experience of these?

 

[jinu117]

I have an ADI-2 DAC FS, a pair of Supra EFF-IX RCA cables, and I'm waiting for an Aune S17 Pro amp to arrive later this week. Is there much difference in sound quality between the RCA and balanced inputs on the S17 Pro? I can reuse the EFFs if necessary so is it worth getting a pair of XLR cables instead? Length is 1m although I'd buy shorter ones in this case.

One of my concerns is that it's such a big box and XLR plugs stick out so much that it will make it awkward and take up too much space. I was also looking at Van Dame cables with an angled male plug (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151581485010?var=450790907278), anyone had any experience of these?

Not that particular plug but since my DAC and AMP was on different level on shelf, I thought it would be better to use such so it doesn't stick out too far. What I didn't realize in my case was that my DAC was short enough that it was better not to use such (I had to get DAC further away from front of shelf by 1.5-2" more which wasn't aesthetically pleasing. I would only use those angled only if you are really out of space.

 

[Simon Patten]

IME with USB it generally helps to use an additional isolation device.
I am using Topping HS02 > iFi iSilencer+ > USB cable
HS02 is galvanic isolator and iSilencer treats EMI from computer or other sound source (higher frequency noise).
Then you may find not only improved sound (blacker background, fuller instrument timbre, better retrieval of low level details, more focus and better localization of instrument sounds), but also that the difference between cables lowers. Basic USB cables which are known to follow USB specs (impedance incl. connectors) are OK with such a setup (Belkin Pro Series, Amazon Basics).
Others are using Intona isolator. Both alternatives do not require external power supply if your DAC is not powered from USB port.

Using USB isolation devices brings two benefits: improved sound and possibility to use higher rate PCM and DSD content.

I have been wondering if galvanic isolation is worth considering given computers' notoriously noisy USB I/O (output from PC via Supra Excalibur cable to ADI-2 DAC FS here) so I've been doing some reading. The following topic from the ADI-2 forum contains an interesting exchange of views that ultimately suggests that most of the time it's unnecessary. Have you found a definite improvement in sound quality and compared with and without the HS02 and iSilencer? In theory they should help but modern devices are designed to handle the noise so I'm not sure it's worth it.
https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.php?id=34754

I don't mean to argue with you or say you're wrong, if you're happy then that's what counts and it doesn't matter what others think. It's an interesting discussion either way and I'm sure I can learn something from you.

 

[Simon Patten]

Not that particular plug but since my DAC and AMP was on different level on shelf, I thought it would be better to use such so it doesn't stick out too far. What I didn't realize in my case was that my DAC was short enough that it was better not to use such (I had to get DAC further away from front of shelf by 1.5-2" more which wasn't aesthetically pleasing. I would only use those angled only if you are really out of space.

Yes, that's the kind of problem I have, the S17 is so much bigger than the ADI-2 and it will get so hot that I dare not put the ADI-2 on top of it so it' s going to look odd with it underneath. It's going on my computer desk (which is against a wall) where space is limited so I'm not sure how it's going to work.

I too don't like the idea of the angled plugs as I doubt they'll sound as good as Supra cables and the connection inside the rotating socket is a weakness that may degrade the sound but given the depth of the S17 plus XLR and room to bend the cables, I don't think I have much choice, hence wondering if I'd be better off sticking with the RCA cables.

 

[jinu117]

Yes, that's the kind of problem I have, the S17 is so much bigger than the ADI-2 and it will get so hot that I dare not put the ADI-2 on top of it so it' s going to look odd with it underneath. It's going on my computer desk (which is against a wall) where space is limited so I'm not sure how it's going to work.

I too don't like the idea of the angled plugs as I doubt they'll sound as good as Supra cables and the connection inside the rotating socket is a weakness that may degrade the sound but given the depth of the S17 plus XLR and room to bend the cable, I don't think I have much choice, hence wondering if I'd be better off sticking with the RCA cables.

This is my setup. I am returning the amp since mine is clearly defective with 4.4mm not working. But I was waiting till last second as I really hate to go to the sh-9 as interim solution.
Maybe you won't be needing angled if you do like what I did

 

[bogi]

In theory they should help but modern devices are designed to handle the noise

That's too generalized standing. What are modern devices? 1% of new production or all new devices? Very few DACs have galvanically isolated USB inputs. Holo DACs are such an example. No chance to find that in < $1000 category. Some DACs use galvanic isolation between their digital and analog stage, like T+A DAC 200. That's also not usual in lower price category.

I don't want to continue here since here it is off topic. Create a new thread or search for a similar thread in DAC section if you are interested in this topic.

 

[Simon Patten]

This is my setup. I am returning the amp since mine is clearly defective with 4.4mm not working. But I was waiting till last second as I really hate to go to the sh-9 as interim solution.
Maybe you won't be needing angled if you do like what I did

Very nice, but that would cover my mouse pad, I'm limited for depth as it's a fairly narrow shelf (50cm). My only option is to put the S17 on a shelf attached to the wall above the ADI-2 so that it doesn't get in the way. It'll look awful but it does have the advantage that I could use a perforated or open shelf to help cooling.

Doesn't the Deny get warm there? It looks like it's sitting on a metal shelf that would attract the heat coming off the S17?

 

[Musiccc]

I think ALL class A amplifier manufacturers should implement a warning label on their class A products that reads: "Warning! Powerful Class A Amplifiers generate a lot of heat."
That might reduce misunderstandings and concerns.