[abhinit90]

  SS are not dry/sterile. Listen to a Violectric V200 or a Burson and tell me it is dry.

The tube in the T1 as everyone knows is a buffer, thus having no gain. So you are adding 2 amplification devices (dual triodes) , implemented in a way that they add 0 gain. As far as fidelity is concerned, those added parts can only add distortion and/or deteriorate the original signal. Compare this to a tube amp / preamp, where the tube is an essential part of the circuit, providing gain to the signal, thus being a key part of the design.

That's just my take on it, I might be wrong. But that's not the say the Aune T1 is a bad unit, it's just that some design elements are questionable.

That is exactly what I've been asking. It is mostly a gimmick imo. (P.S: Not all gimmicks are bad)
 
However I'm finding it hard to trust my ears. If it's worth anything, the amp section of the T1 and the Schiit Vali are almost 90% the same to my ears. Need to carefully compare them in order to draw a conclusion though

 

[dana789]

  That is exactly what I've been asking. It is mostly a gimmick imo. (P.S: Not all gimmicks are bad)
 
However I'm finding it hard to trust my ears. If it's worth anything, the amp section of the T1 and the Schiit Vali are almost 90% the same to my ears. Need to carefully compare them in order to draw a conclusion though

I think there's been lots of discussion on this thread that the T1 is less "tubey" than equivalent devices with no soild state components following the actual D/A circuit (anyone care to make one of those with just tubes?). But most contributors to the thread seem to think that the tube stage, even with a gain of 1, gives a measure of the unique tube sound we like. Unless 100s of us are victims of our imaginations (entirely possible!) it seems that changing tubes alters the sound. So the tube stage contributes to the acoustic signature even if it imparts no gain.

 

[abhinit90]

 
I think there's been lots of discussion on this thread that the T1 is less "tubey" than equivalent devices with no soild state components following the actual D/A circuit (anyone care to make one of those with just tubes?). But most contributors to the thread seem to think that the tube stage, even with a gain of 1, gives a measure of the unique tube sound we like. Unless 100s of us are victims of our imaginations (entirely possible!) it seems that changing tubes alters the sound. So the tube stage contributes to the acoustic signature even if it imparts no gain.

I've been mentioning in every post that using tubes only seems to act as a hardware equalizer (from what I cna understand). And if an equalizer doesn't change a sound, then I'm all out of ideas.
 
I have no detailed idea on why don't DAC's usually use tubes. I guess something to learn then.

 

[dana789]

 
I've been mentioning in every post that using tubes only seems to act as a hardware equalizer (from what I cna understand). And if an equalizer doesn't change a sound, then I'm all out of ideas.
 
I have no detailed idea on why don't DAC's usually use tubes. I guess something to learn then.

Even if a stage has a gain of 1 (usually to match impedances, gain of 1 doesn't mean it has no function), it might still not be ideal. Those non-idealities (cross-coupling between channels, uneven frequency response, phase shifts, distortion, etc) are what we like. I bet that a solid state  buffer stage could be more ideal, but we like the imperfect "musical" attributes of tubes because they sound good to us. And don't discount the aesthetic appeal of a glowing tube.

 

[spacequeen7]

  SS are not dry/sterile. Listen to a Violectric V200 or a Burson and tell me it is dry.

The tube in the T1 as everyone knows is a buffer, thus having no gain. So you are adding 2 amplification devices (dual triodes) , implemented in a way that they add 0 gain. As far as fidelity is concerned, those added parts can only add distortion and/or deteriorate the original signal. Compare this to a tube amp / preamp, where the tube is an essential part of the circuit, providing gain to the signal, thus being a key part of the design.

That's just my take on it, I might be wrong. But that's not the say the Aune T1 is a bad unit, it's just that some design elements are questionable.

if you need to compare $700~$1000 Burson/Violectric  to $160~$200 Aune that just speaks volume on how good Aune is buffer or not and as for "tube is an essential part of the circuit" it sure seems (sounds) that way to me (on Aune)

 

[NCSUZoSo]

  if you need to compare $700~$1000 Burson/Violectric  to $160~$200 Aune that just speaks volume on how good Aune is buffer or not and as for "tube is an essential part of the circuit" it sure seems (sounds) that way to me (on Aune)

 
As long as you run USB, if you run line in only, the circuit works fine without the tube inserted at all.

 

[spacequeen7]

   
As long as you run USB, if you run line in only, the circuit works fine without the tube inserted at all.

good to know as I only try to pair it with tube amps/RCA out
Thanks

 

[Rem0o]

  if you need to compare $700~$1000 Burson/Violectric  to $160~$200 Aune that just speaks volume on how good Aune is buffer or not and as for "tube is an essential part of the circuit" it sure seems (sounds) that way to me (on Aune)

I didn't compared those unit to the Aune, just giving exemple of "warm" SS amps. Matrix M-Stage fits in this category as well if you want a more closely price-matched exemple.

 

[HangzhouHIFI]

  I have Aune T1 connected to Crack and it's sweet combo ,yes you can use DAC part of Aune via RCA -in this case you will have a benefit of using  three tubes (one on Aune and two more on Crack ),the amp on Aune works if you have your headphones connected  to Aune T1,as for headphones 400s and 650s are very good choice all tho I would recommend HD650 
 
no you will still use the tube ,the only thing that's bypassed will be the amp
 

 
Why the 650s over the 400s? I don't care either way, I'm not biased towards any brands. I do love Jazz and Hip Hop. That's 95% of what I listen to.

 

[spacequeen7]

   
Why the 650s over the 400s? I don't care either way, I'm not biased towards any brands. I do love Jazz and Hip Hop. That's 95% of what I listen to.

400s are not meant to be driven by OTL all tho they sounded awesome before one of the channels give up 

 

[HangzhouHIFI]

400s are not meant to be driven by OTL all tho they sounded awesome before one of the channels give up 

So for $430 vs the He-400 for $300 it's worth it to step up to the 650s? I'll eventually add a nicer amp, probably in June when I'm home. Would be the Crack for the Sennys, not sure what I'd buy if I went for the Hifimans

 

[rodweb]

Does it has enough power to drive a DT880 @600 Ohms?

 

[HoboBob]

Does it has enough power to drive a DT880 @600 Ohms?

Short answer is, Yes the Aune can. Nothing compared to a good OTL amp, but with the gain switch at +16db, they Beyers are fine. That was the 2nd stage of my setup (Beyer 880 600ohms + Aune T1).

Although, make sure you get a warm tube for your T1 as the unit is borderline bright (depending on caps in it) and the Beyers are also bright. For me, I went with nice Mullards (or Mullards made tubes) and they paired well.

 

[HoboBob]

So for $430 vs the He-400 for $300 it's worth it to step up to the 650s? I'll eventually add a nicer amp, probably in June when I'm home. Would be the Crack for the Sennys, not sure what I'd buy if I went for the Hifimans

If you plan on getting a Crack, well there's no real competition imo. The HD650 are highly praised and pairs really well with the Crack. (See my sig for info on the setup I run atm).

 

[ElBartoME]

Just changed the last caps in my T1. I replaced the really bad Lelon main power caps with Panasonic FR 3300µF 25V caps. They also were bigger than the old ones. I didn't think that I could fit them all inside the case but I managed to do it. Everything is in place and the T1 still works.
 
Soundwise they don't make any change at all. But Lelon is famous for making very bad quality caps. No harm in changing them.