Aune S17 pro

[SmartCheetah]

@Simon Patten yeah, looks like I'm sold.

@aurallychallenged this is definitely helpful. I'm aware of the temperature issue and was wondering if a simple USB fan placed under a unit could help with that.

 

[Simon Patten]

How does this sound on s17?

I guess I should answer this as I'm listening to it through an S17 Pro and HE1000 Stealths.

Not my favourite style of music but it sounds clean and bright, all notes are clear with no distorion that I can hear. The highs are sharp, the bass all there but I've heard this combination go deeper and sound better.

As a comparison I tried plugging my XS cans directly into the DAC and noticed that the bass was quite a lot more dense than with the S17/HEKS, which I must admit sounded a little bit flat with this track as the bass notes ended more quickly and were more clearly defined rather than the fairly thick resonance that I heard on the XS. I only got the HEKS last week so I'm still getting used to them (c.100 hours) but I have found that the incredible amount of detail and precision that they provide can sometimes make notes sound a little bit too clean for this kind of music when you want the bass to sound down and dirty, with the S17/HEKS it's crystal clear.

I hope that makes sense and is helpful, I'm not very good at describing sound.

 

[Simon Patten]

@Simon Patten yeah, looks like I'm sold.

Let me put it this way, I went from the EF400 to my ADI-2 DAC FS (c.1300 USD, although I bought second hand), which was a big upgrade in itself but adding the S17 took it a whole step further, it just sounds magical. It does have its drawbacks, as you've read here, but as long as you can work around them the sound quality makes up for it IMHO.

 

[SmartCheetah]

but adding the S17 took it a whole step further

I heard somewhere (possibly The Honest Audiophile review) that the S17 Pro can enhance and improve sound even with mediocre DACs. This isn't to say the EF400 is bad, but the S17 Pro is doing its job very good. Also the EF400 is generally considered a better DAC than amp I think. Even the ST-AMP in amp mode improves the sound in most aspects except for soundstage width and impact, and driving capabilities. So I'm hoping for a nice pairing.

I can confirm this. I recently upgraded from RCA to XLR and spent a while switching between them. They sounded very similar to me.

I have XLR - RCA cable connecting the EF400 to the ST-AMP. Does it mean there's no need to buy another XLR - XLR cable for Aune? What about the total headphone output difference someone mentioned. Is it not worth switching to XLR for that?

 

[Currawong]

I have XLR - RCA cable connecting the EF400 to the ST-AMP. Does it mean there's no need to buy another XLR - XLR cable for Aune? What about the total headphone output difference someone mentioned. Is it not worth switching to XLR for that?

I'd get an XLR - XLR cable set. You're going from balanced to SE to balanced (the latter conversion inside the S17) which is not ideal IMO.

 

[Simon Patten]

I heard somewhere (possibly The Honest Audiophile review) that the S17 Pro can enhance and improve sound even with mediocre DACs. This isn't to say the EF400 is bad, but the S17 Pro is doing its job very good. Also the EF400 is generally considered a better DAC than amp I think. Even the ST-AMP in amp mode improves the sound in most aspects except for soundstage width and impact, and driving capabilities. So I'm hoping for a nice pairing.

Obviously try to audition the pair if you can but I think they'll go well together. I agree that the EF400's strength is in the DAC section and the S17 has a slight warmth that should compliment it.

I have XLR - RCA cable connecting the EF400 to the ST-AMP. Does it mean there's no need to buy another XLR - XLR cable for Aune? What about the total headphone output difference someone mentioned. Is it not worth switching to XLR for that?

Your cable should work and from what I've seen the amp will be in balanced mode as I was using the 4.4mm socket when I was switching between inputs (although I confess I don't understand that, I assume the amp handles it? Edit: thanks for the confirmation, Currawong, and I agree, better to be balanced all the way.)

 

[SmartCheetah]

Obviously try to audition the pair if you can

I certainly will as I just spontaneously bought the S17 slightly used 2 month old.

And yeah, I'll order the XLR cable too.

 

[vladc]

I've added a large heatsink (90x200x17mm) to the bottom, and it appears that the temperature is staying below 60C (ambient temperature: 23C).

I'm also developing a gadget to control the S17 volume through the standard Windows volume mixer, utilizing IR for control and OCR to monitor the current amp volume.

 

[aurallychallenged]

@Simon Patten yeah, looks like I'm sold.

@aurallychallenged this is definitely helpful. I'm aware of the temperature issue and was wondering if a simple USB fan placed under a unit could help with that.

That would I'm sure help. I used taller feet underneath and this did slow down the rise in temperature. It also depends what you sit the S17 on and I used a glass shelf and a wooden shelf underneath and I seem to remember that the glass shelf made the S17 warm up quicker. As I said I had absolutely no problems using the S17 as a pre-amp and it always stayed under 60degrees. Which makes me think that the quality of your balanced headphone cable may impact how hot the amp gets and the fact I couldn't get the volume up to an average SPL of 77db without turning volume up to 56 suggests to me that the poor quality cable was likely causing the heat issue.

The S17 is a beautiful sounding well built pre-amp/HP amp and if you are interested in buying one I suggest you buy it from a company with a good returns policy rather than having to one that forces you to ship back to China.

 

[SpiritualAbies2600]

I've added a large heatsink (90x200x17mm) to the bottom, and it appears that the temperature is staying below 60C (ambient temperature: 23C).

I'm also developing a gadget to control the S17 volume through the standard Windows volume mixer, utilizing IR for control and OCR to monitor the current amp volume.

Where did you get the "feet"?

I have a small laptop cooling fan coming today and the S17 is going to be sitting on it. I shall let you know how that is going as well

 

[vladc]

Where did you get the "feet"?

I have a small laptop cooling fan coming today and the S17 is going to be sitting on it. I shall let you know how that is going as well

I got them from a different device, not sure if that helps you. Look for "Amplifier Feet" there are a bunch of offers online.

 

[SmartCheetah]

I suggest you buy it from a company with a good returns policy rather than having to one that forces you to ship back to China.

Bought it today already quite spontaneously I was planning to buy it in a local store (online), but someone just posted a 2-month-old unit for sale on another forum. A USB fan was thrown in as a bonus I expect to have it tomorrow.

And thank you for all the advice about lowering temps. I assume, the best way to do it is to place the fan under the unit. So I'll need to think how to do it.

 

[SpiritualAbies2600]

Bought it today already quite spontaneously I was planning to buy it in a local store (online), but someone just posted a 2-month-old unit for sale on another forum. A USB fan was thrown in as a bonus I expect to have it tomorrow.

And thank you for all the advice about lowering temps. I assume, the best way to do it is to place the fan under the unit. So I'll need to think how to do it.

@SmartCheetah I shall let you know how my "mini" laptop cooler works out once I get it. I normally keep my room around 74f (23c). I have been using my amp since 8am... so about 4 hours now and it is still holding at 58C in 50ma mode.

I want to see how the mini laptop fan helps with the temperature but keep the general aesthetics.

 

[SmartCheetah]

I shall let you know how my "mini" laptop cooler works out once I get it. I normally keep my room around 74f (23c). I have been using my amp since 8am... so about 4 hours now and it is still holding at 58C in 50ma mode.

Sure, thank you! I'm interested in temperatures in 100ma mode mostly, which I think I will be using as default. And that one isn't hard to push to 70C before it throttles, especially using cheaper/longer headphone cables.

 

[SpiritualAbies2600]

Sure, thank you! I'm interested in temperatures in 100ma mode mostly, which I think I will be using as default. And that one isn't hard to push to 70C before it throttles, especially using cheaper/longer headphone cables.

@SmartCheetah currently, with about a half inch elevation, no fans of any kind, in 100ma hi gain mode, I am running about 62c AFTER I started using my new Linsoul cable. The other cable, which I am returning, took it all the way to 74c, which at that point, I got worried and turned it off. So this amp is definitely sensitive to cables.