Been messing around with this for a day now and I'm quite pleased with what I hear. This is Aune's new DAC/Amp combo, called the S6. It uses an AKM AK4495 DAC chip and had both balanced XLR and SE 1/4 outputs, a feature that I find quite useful due to relying so heavily on the former. The unit itself is quite handsome, and reminds me of audio gear from the 1990s - with a modern twist and, obviously, the latest technology.
The sound is not aggressive at all. I found it to be a more nuanced and refined version of the neutral sound that I'm used to from a headphone amplifier. The DAC had characteristics that I would describe as natural and not overly pointed or pushy with its reproduction of audio. The amp itself, although I've read that the unit is meant to pair with their S7 headphone amplifier primarily, provides a good amount of power to my current full-sized headphones.
With the picky Sennheiser HD800, I achieved my optimal listening volume at 60 on the dial. It was with this pairing that I heard the honest nature of the S6, as it did not add any noticeable colour to the sound - a feature I strongly desire to tame the treble-spiking tendencies of these headphones. Not my favourite pairing, but that has more to do with the headphones than the S6.
Now this is more like it. In my review, I strongly praised the Focal Elear's ability to sound good from practically any source - and the Aune S6 is no exception to this rule, to say the least. Detail and dynamics galore, the S6 plays to the headphones' strengths quite well and provides clean amping for it to shine with whatever you choose to listen.
Overall, I'm quite happy with this and will look into it more when I cover it in my full review. I have not heard any of Aune's products before, but this is a good first impression.
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