[Roelio]

So much reply's on this Aune T1 that I will take a good evening reading all 

 
From my understanding this is almost the best Amp (tube) + Dac for my Desktop PC that still is affordable.
One question will this be a smart move with a Ultrasone Pro 900 headphone? Low 40 impedance.
 
For all the people that are active in this topic great respect and thanks !
 
ps. I love some good bass in music and listen to almost everything. For me it's important that it has great overall clarity while keeping it fun with good Bass and mid's. I don't love to much overwhelming high actually. But if it has to be there than I don't wan't it to increase it. (sorry for my bad English and explanation I'm still learning how to express out my personal taste)

 

[SpiderNhan]

  So much reply's on this Aune T1 that I will take a good evening reading all 

 
From my understanding this is almost the best Amp (tube) + Dac for my Desktop PC that still is affordable.
One question will this be a smart move with a Ultrasone Pro 900 headphone? Low 40 impedance.
 
For all the people that are active in this topic great respect and thanks !
 
ps. I love some good bass in music and listen to almost everything. For me it's important that it has great overall clarity while keeping it fun with good Bass and mid's. I don't love to much overwhelming high actually. But if it has to be there than I don't wan't it to increase it. (sorry for my bad English and explanation I'm still learning how to express out my personal taste)

My T1 shipped with the all the gain switches set to ON and I had to disable first because it was much too loud for my low impedance(32 ohm) headphones. Others have reported the same thing regarding the gain switches. If you want to tame the highs of the T1 then you'll be doing that by swapping out the stock tube with different ones. There are tons of impressions on which of tubes sounds like what. I suggest the Holland made Amperex Orange Globe 6DJ8. Really helps mellow out the highs on my AKG Q701 while have a good amount of bass body,

 

[SirMarc]

Thanks, I'll give it a listen!

problem with the porcupine tree stuff is it sounds so good, most of my classic rock stuff sounds like crap and I end up putting oone of their albums on lol. Just getting into them so its cool though. I would start with the album in absentia. Curious to see what you think...

 

[Roelio]

@SpiderNhan
 
Thanks for the info ! Changing the tube can make it even more personal I figure. 
I was looking at the Bravo Audio - V1 - Class A Tube Headphone Amplifier this is only a AMP and no DAC.
I'm still not sure if I really need to pay the extra money for a DAC... 
 
My Asus Motherboard got the AD2000B sound chip and it's one of the best on board chip's.
 
But damn.... You gotta love the looks of a small tube amp

 

[penmarker]

  @SpiderNhan
 
Thanks for the info ! Changing the tube can make it even more personal I figure. 
I was looking at the Bravo Audio - V1 - Class A Tube Headphone Amplifier this is only a AMP and no DAC.
I'm still not sure if I really need to pay the extra money for a DAC... 
 
My Asus Motherboard got the AD2000B sound chip and it's one of the best on board chip's.
 
But damn.... You gotta love the looks of a small tube amp

You need to audition yourself whether you'll need a DAC or not. Someone here and in another thread had pointed out that they're getting minimal gains from their DAC purchase. One guy had the Aune T1, and another guy was using something else I don't remember. They were both using Macbooks as source, so I assume Macbooks has good quality onboard processor. It might be that case for you too.
 
Only problem is to get a DAC home to test. Not sure how you can get people to loan one to you.

 

[Roelio]

@penmarker
 
That's the struggle I'm having the last 4 day's. I read almost everything here about DAC vs Soundcard's etz. And googled my ass off...
 
The only benefit I have now is that I can still use a equalizer and some Sonic Focus dynamic bass function's. If I use a DAC I'll loose the Fonic Focus but it would still be possible to use a equalizer while listening to music and play games right??
 
Also I get the feeling that a good quality DAC will always be better then a on board or sound card device... Just because it's made for Stereo audio only and doesn't get any interference with other hardware/noise.. You only have to be sure that there won't be any DPC latency with other USB devices.
 
Greetings and thanks for the help.
 
Ps. I just found out that it's a Tube DAC and not a Tube Amp..... HMMMMM interesting at least !
 
Roelio

 

[creatip]

  Hey peeps,
 
I've written a guide to upgrade the capacitors inside the Aune T1.
 
Here is a link via Google Drive or if you prefer, you may download the pdf here. 
 
Please let me know your thoughts!

 
Finally gave this cap upgrade project a shot.
 
Couldn't find ELNA Silmic, as specified, so I used ELNA Cerafine.
 
Took 4 hours, with my novice soldering skill. I actually managed to squeeze all the caps inside the original case (didn't have to add the space in the bottom plate)
 

 
From a few minutes of testing with songs, my initial impression is it got wider soundstage, the mid frequency range got boosted a little (I'm using HE400, which is a bit low on mids). I'll post more about this later. It's 4.30AM here, gotta get some shut eyes....

 

[Roelio]

Omg that looks insane But if it fit in the end and makes a lot of difference well good job !!!! 
 
I'm almost certain I'll buy the T1... Because I love modding and working on hardware myself too

 

[creatip]

  Omg that looks insane But if it fit in the end and makes a lot of difference well good job !!!! 
 
I'm almost certain I'll buy the T1... Because I love modding and working on hardware myself too

 
-5 for aesthetics, if I say so myself, but hey, at least it's covered up real tight in the end...
 
It sounds more like solid state device now, to be honest, and I don't know if I'd prefer this new version than the original version. I guess I'd have to give it some time, maybe to wait for the caps to break-in completely.

 

[rwpritchett]

FWIW I have both the Aune T1 (MK1) and a Bravo V1.

Both sound really good. Although at least in my setup, the T1 has a far better black, dead quiet, background. My V1 amp has a buzz to it, and it is very sensitive to interference. For example, any cell phone or bluetooth near it will get picked up.

 

[mikoss]

Great job @creatip - as for the Cerafine's, I've heard they're faster than the Silmic II's, so maybe that is why it sounds more SS? I really have a tough time with SS amps myself, and comparing the T1 with Silmic II's to the Aune X1, I much preferred the T1's presentation (same DAC chip in the T1 and X1; I found the X1 stock to be wider in soundstage, but crisper in the highs, much less refinement and sparkle). I've never heard Cerafine's myself so have no idea, but I did find the Silmic II's to take a good 100 hours to completely settle out. 
 
 
edit: Wow. I think you nailed exactly what this poster said after comparing a bunch of caps and being torn between Cerafines and Silmic II's... from him:
 
Elna Cerafine: The midrange is really pushed to the front with the Cerafine’s, vocals now sit out in front of the speakers into the room. The upper mids and high end have what I would call an open window to the music. Let me explain, there is a small jazz band playing in a building and you are standing outside the window listening, you can hear the music quite well, now you open the window now you can really hear it, there is nothing between you and the music. That is how the Cerafine’s sound in the upper midrange and out to the high end, I have not really heard better. They better the Silmics in 2 area’s and both have to do with detail, the high end of the Cerafine’s are just a tad more open and detailed giving you an even closer sound to the real thing. The other is in low bass detail and articulation, they are not as strong in the lowest octave as the Silmics but what is there is very detailed. The Cerafine’s do not have the lush smooth tube sound of the Silmics but sound like the best that solid state can offer.
 
Worth a read if anyone is interested: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-381961.html

 

[nScott89]

OK guys. Bit of a find here I think. I've found a little piece of heaven on a budget. I'm running the VSonic R02 Silver and a non-rocket Russian 6N23P. The R02 Silver is a pretty mid-centric earphone but the 6N23P recesses the mids pretty decently. to make it seem much more neutral. The bass is pretty neutral with significant impact. Anyone have this combo to verify? The highs are very nicely sparkled but they've become more recessed I think. The feel very much in line with the drums though so this is a pretty good thing. The tube and earphones are new so take that into account. Definitely fun sounding and nothing glaringly obvious to me is missing here. I think the mids were definitely brought more neutral but are still forward. (I like forward mids :3) And I love the overall soundstage and atmosphere the tube provides. Very much fun for rock. A- combination. Very nice tube decay but very pretty fast. Me like.... I feel bad that I'm not listening to my A83 though. :s
 
Edit: Also great with dubstep too by the way. Very good rumble and hard hitting when needed. Adroa - Decimation is very nicely done.
 
If you need bright presentation avoid this combo. There's definitely a dry nature to this combination. Me like. Warm and dry. Like a good Scotch.

 

[creatip]

   
 
edit: Wow. I think you nailed exactly what this poster said after comparing a bunch of caps and being torn between Cerafines and Silmic II's... from him:
 
Elna Cerafine: The midrange is really pushed to the front with the Cerafine’s, vocals now sit out in front of the speakers into the room. The upper mids and high end have what I would call an open window to the music. Let me explain, there is a small jazz band playing in a building and you are standing outside the window listening, you can hear the music quite well, now you open the window now you can really hear it, there is nothing between you and the music. That is how the Cerafine’s sound in the upper midrange and out to the high end, I have not really heard better. They better the Silmics in 2 area’s and both have to do with detail, the high end of the Cerafine’s are just a tad more open and detailed giving you an even closer sound to the real thing. The other is in low bass detail and articulation, they are not as strong in the lowest octave as the Silmics but what is there is very detailed. The Cerafine’s do not have the lush smooth tube sound of the Silmics but sound like the best that solid state can offer.
 
Worth a read if anyone is interested: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-381961.html

 
Hey, thanks for the comment. Yeah, I might be rushing too much when I shopped for the caps, getting the Cerafine instead of the Silmic. I thought they only differ in version (1 being older version). Later googling revealed the insides are using different materials, which is very logical why they would sound very different, I think. I found another local online store that carries Silmic II, but that would be another $20, even pricier than the Cerafine set. I'm still considering getting them or not. It's not so much because of the $20, but if I do get the Silmic, then I'd waste a new Cerafine set...
 
I took some step by step pictures, I'll post them after I sort and edit them.
 
1 more question, as for the Panasonic caps, I couldn't find any FR caps, so I used M caps (the blue ones), quite a lot cheaper, but that's what I could find. Do they play an important part in shaping the sounds? In other words, is it imperative that I use FR caps instead of M caps?
 
Put simply, I'm aiming at the warmness sound of tubes. Frankly, I don't really like what I got from the Cerafine. Not that it sounds bad (it's far more detailed and wider than the original caps, actually), but like you posted, sounds too much of solid state for me. 
 
Thank you. 

 

[Levaix]

  One question will this be a smart move with a Ultrasone Pro 900 headphone? Low 40 impedance.

Short answer: yes. You're not hearing the Pro 900's full power unless you have it amped. Speaking from experience, this is a good combo.

 

[Roelio]

@rwpritchett Thanks so much for your feedback, static noise from GPRS and 3G is a no go for me...
 
@Levaix You made me smile a bit, after so much searching my feeling about the pro 900 with this device get's even better.. Also I can get a second hand for 70 Euro and a new one for 120 Euro with warranty. 
 
This must be happening for a reason ^^