[Levaix]

Hey guys,
I've finally finished reading the whole thread, took me a week lol. Anyway, got the t1 a week ago and i like it, but have yet to be wowed. With my hd580s, recently given the once over by sennheiser, foobar with wasapi plug in, and both the eh it came with and a gold lion I'm a bit underwhelmed. Will the 7308 everyone raves about make a big difference? I listen to mostly classic rock with some newer stuff thrown in, all wavs and flaks. Any advice?

A little background, I used to have spectral components, a vintage thorens turntable with a sumiko tone arm and cartridge, theta transport and dac, and dahlquist dq20s. Sold most of it off years ago and got in to other things. Lately I've been missing the old good sounds but figured it would be much cheaper to go the headphone and amp route. Should I have bought a higher end dac/amp? Or could I possibly be happy if I order the 7308? Thanks guys.
Marc

Just a couple thoughts floating around in my head, but have you checked the audio properties on the Aune? Make sure everything is set up correctly. This might sound stupid, but you are using it with the USB cable and not the RCA jacks, right? (Sorry if that's condescending, but part of my job involves IT and I can't afford to trust people with technology, lol.)

I guess my other question is, does it sound noticeably better than the headphone jack of your computer? If not, then something might be wrong in the setup. I'm not sure what you were expecting, so I can't comment on whether this should live up to your expectations. I will say that, assuming everything else is fine, it might just take some time for your ears to adjust to what's going on. I know many times if I go back to my old setup, that's when I realize how much better my new stuff is.

EDIT: If you don't like it with the stock tube or the Genalex, you probably won't like it with a more expensive tube. I like my 7308 more than my EH 6922, but I still liked it with the 6922.

 

[SirMarc]

Everything is hooked up properly. No offense taken man, I'm an electro- mechanical tech so I feel where your coming from lol. Problems not that I don't like it per se, it sounds better than the hp out on my demon receiver. I just haven't been wowed yet, and I hoped I would. This is gonna sound weird, but even cranked up to ear bleeding levels, it sounds the way music sounds when the volume is low, but loud as hell. Can't explain it better than that. Anyone get me? Lol thanks
Marc

 

[SirMarc]

Oh, and the gold lion sounds a good amount better than the eh, just not what I was hoping for. If the 7308 is that much better than the gold lion, I think I could be happy.
Marc

 

[Levaix]

7308 is pretty nice. Very analog sounding and wide compared to the EH. I think I understand what you're aiming for, that you want a little more "thud" in your sound. I also have a thing for a more visceral, meaty sound. The way I see it, you have 3 options:

-Get a 7308. This is more of a patch, but it should help at least a little.
-Get a better amp to run the DAC portion through. I was surprised at the level of improvement I achieved by my newly acquired Purity Audio KICAS. Bass, separation, punch, and pure weight of sound are now vastly improved.
-Consider switching headphones. Sennheiser just may not be your cup of tea. If I'm reading you right on what you want in the sound, you might want to consider trying some closed headphones. I've always liked Ultrasone, but their prices have skyrocketed lately. If you can find a used HFI 700 or 780 (or Alienware Ozma), it might be an interesting experiment at least.

I definitely can relate with the sound getting louder but not bigger. I listen to my music on a much lower volume than I used to. I think on lower end setups, sometimes louder just seems better, when it might not necessarily be the case. I do think having open headphones is probably contributing at least partially, though.

 

[SirMarc]

Im actually getting decent "thud" lol, but its definitely not as big as I hoped. You hit the nail on the head with that description. I used to love these headphones on a denon 2 channel receiver from the late 80s that ran me around 1200 bucks, can't remember the model number. Also with a vintage Philips receiver that my dad gave me years ago they were awesome. Always liked the airyness of open headphones. I have a set of ath m50s that I bought for movies late at night to avoid arguments with the wife and they suck next to the hd580s. I still have the old denon in my attic. I may get it down and see. Maybe my expectations were a bit to high with the t1. Thanks man did you read my post about my old set up? Damn I wish I didn't get rid of that stuff. Still have the turntable and dq20s though...
Marc

 

[Levaix]

Maybe use the Aune as the DAC with the Denon driving the headphones? Secondary amp sounds like it might do what you want. And I can't speak for the ATH M50's, but Ultrasones are pretty spacious for closed cans. My main set are Signature Pro's.

 

[manishex]

Try increase the gain to +10, I noticed my genalex was strangely way too tame at 0 gain for my hd600/650. Try get a orange globe aswell it's much more musical than the gold lion

 

[SirMarc]

Lol, I have the gain at 16. But thanks

 

[rwpritchett]

I wonder if streaming music through Gizmo on the M8 would bypass the boomsound.

 

[SirMarc]

Tried Google play and that didn't work

 

[NCSUZoSo]

Lol, I have the gain at 16. But thanks

 
I was running gain at 16 dB+ also, but I found that 10 dB+ actually had a more natural sound and a wider dynamic.  Not sure how modded (if at all) your Aune T1 is compared to mine, but the gain setting should still have the same effect.  Of course the headphones in use make a difference, but I would just try that if I was you to see if you like it any better.  You are using WASAPI or similar to bypass the Windows audio stack correct?

 

[SirMarc]

Foobar with wasapi plug in. Hd580 300ohm headphones. 10 gain wasn't loud enough. Haven't changed the caps, wish I trusted my soldering skills enough for that lol. Gonna try the 7308 and see how it goes. For the record, it sounds really good, but I was hoping to be wowed, and that hasn't happened yet.
Marc

 

[NCSUZoSo]

BTW, I also have a nice surplus of high quality caps, from Nichicon Fine Gold (primaries) to ELNA Cerafine and ELNA SILMIC II's (the small ones fit on the amp board with only a minor bend required to clear the DAC board components directly below.  Also most of the stock caps, the ones that didn't lift a leg out during desoldering.
 
 

 

[moriez]

Hi owners,
 
I'm looking for a quick suggestion for a warm quality tube. Right now I have a Gold Lion but would like a lusher creamier presentation. What to look at please?

 

[Levaix]

  Hi owners,
 
I'm looking for a quick suggestion for a warm quality tube. Right now I have a Gold Lion but would like a lusher creamier presentation. What to look at please?

Amperex 7308 if you have the budget. Ebay is your friend if you don't.