Aune T1 USB Tube DAC+ SS Amp Discussion Thread ***See first post for FAQ--Updated on 02/14/15***

[mikoss]

 
thanks for the info. i went for the Modi.

Cool, really don't think you'll regret that choice. The T1 is a bit of a chameleon with the ability to swap different tubes and experience their different sounds, but the Modi does do a good job. For the cost it's really a no-brainer. Also poked around reading other people's reviews and a lot of them mention the soundstage and instrument separation, so I think it does a very good job with presentation.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

 
Yes, If you will use RCA input. But T1 's amp section is not so good to use it alone.
DAC section of T1 is pretty good with a good tube. Best way to use T1 as a DAC not as a ss amp.

Thanks. My friend 's going to lend me his T1 in a few days. Too bad none of my tubes are compatible with the T1.

 

[Chs177]

  Thanks. My friend 's going to lend me his T1 in a few days. Too bad none of my tubes are compatible with the T1.

You can buy Tesla ECC88 or E88CC. Its have a reasonable pricing.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

Hey guys, I've been absent from this thread for a while, but I've run into a problem (and had an unexpected headphone change).  I have a strange issue after replacing my DIP switches with ones just like it (I assume anyway) http://www.ebay.com/itm/370879611812?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT.  I am getting all green lights from the amp PCB, but when I try to listen to anything I can barely hear anything.  It is so faint I couldn't tell you if it was guns going off or a concert.  It's like if you take out the tube, but worse (yes I tried multiple tubes).  Does anyone have any guesses on what is going on here?  I get my replacement headphones in finally and apparently I can do all this modding with caps galore, but DIP switches...  One thing I did notice that I am now going to check out after thinking about it, the socket wasn't firmly anchored when I was putting the 2nd tube in, I remember noticing that.
 
Also my SoundMAGIC HP100's started producing a rattle at a specific frequency...  There are a lot of good parts to this though, first off they have the HP150 now that has some things redesigned, but audio is untouched compared to HP100.  They have a two year warranty instead of a one year like the HP100's.  The cost of the HP150's was ~$25 less than I paid for the HP100 this time last year.  I like all the changes they made to the set, especially ditching the coiled cable and the ear pads are more comfortable.  The only real downside to having to RMA the headphones was the 6 days I was without any real headphones and the ~50 hours it will takes to break these in (but that isn't really a negative).
 

 

[creatip]

  Hey guys, I've been absent from this thread for a while, but I've run into a problem (and had an unexpected headphone change).  I have a strange issue after replacing my DIP switches with ones just like it (I assume anyway) http://www.ebay.com/itm/370879611812?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT.  I am getting all green lights from the amp PCB, but when I try to listen to anything I can barely hear anything.  It is so faint I couldn't tell you if it was guns going off or a concert.  It's like if you take out the tube, but worse (yes I tried multiple tubes).  Does anyone have any guesses on what is going on here?  I get my replacement headphones in finally and apparently I can do all this modding with caps galore, but DIP switches...  One thing I did notice that I am now going to check out after thinking about it, the socket wasn't firmly anchored when I was putting the 2nd tube in, I remember noticing that.
 

 
I think I got the same/similar problem before when changing the caps (caps mod). Desoldered old ones, but it was a very messy job. Soldered the new one, PCB got green light, sounds like I'm using a broken tube. I think there's a severed connection, or small stuffs got burnt by the solder. Ended up ordering a replacement of the whole PCB.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

I think you misread where my problem originated.  I have had the cap mod done and going for probably 9 months, but recently I had to replace my DIP switches.  When I replaced those and tried my headphones I had no sound, well not what I would call sound.
 
Can someone else look at their T1 and tell me if you can shake the tube socket?
 
 
I guess the first thing I need to do is re-hook up the line out on the T1 to my receiver and see if I can get sound that way.  If so it tells me the problem lies on the amp PCB.  Most likely something to do with the DIP switches, but I do not see how that could cause this. 

 

[mikoss]

  I think you misread where my problem originated.  I have had the cap mod done and going for probably 9 months, but recently I had to replace my DIP switches.  When I replaced those and tried my headphones I had no sound, well not what I would call sound.
 
Can someone else look at their T1 and tell me if you can shake the tube socket?

Mine has always had some play... where the porcelain connects to the connections beneath. It wiggles a bit... nothing too crazy but it is noticeable.
 
edit: try an ohmmeter from the tube socket connections to the base below?

 

[NCSUZoSo]

Good idea on checking the socket for continuity.
 
Thanks for the info on your socket, I kind of figured it was normal once I had a look again.  There is a chance that this is related to the socket though with what is going on with the sound.
 
One thing though, I thought we could pull the tube and still get sound from what I remember.  If I pull the tube now I get no sound at all which would point you back to the amp PCB wouldn't it?  I think if I can get sound out of my receiver I am going to re-flow the solder on those DIP switches.
 
 
If there is a problem with the amp section why is it displaying both green lights?  I thought that was the all clear?

 

[mikoss]

Hmm not quite sure. I can try pulling my tube tonight and let you know. Extremely low volume, I'd think would be a tube issue... at least it was for me on some other amps before (had a couple tubes go and the volume was super low afterwards) But since you swapped tubes, maybe it's the socket. If you want me to check any points for continuity/voltage, I'd be able to do that as well. Just at work and don't have the T1 with me. 

 

[NCSUZoSo]

It's the amp PCB, I am running Line Out into my Yamaha RX-V863 and I have sound with my old trusty Siemens 6922 tube.
 
So now that I know that where do I move forward from here to troubleshoot the amp PCB?  Surely I put those DIP switches in correctly..
 
Can someone tell me what the two green lights on the amp PCB mean?  In order to understand what isn't working it helps to know what is working like how I know the DAC is good. Now that I think about it the DIP switches probably could cause this.

 

[creatip]

  I think you misread where my problem originated.  I have had the cap mod done and going for probably 9 months, but recently I had to replace my DIP switches.  When I replaced those and tried my headphones I had no sound, well not what I would call sound.
 
Can someone else look at their T1 and tell me if you can shake the tube socket?
 
 
I guess the first thing I need to do is re-hook up the line out on the T1 to my receiver and see if I can get sound that way.  If so it tells me the problem lies on the amp PCB.  Most likely something to do with the DIP switches, but I do not see how that could cause this. 

 
Yes, different different part, same symptoms. I wasn't referring to the part, but the symptoms. In my case, the line out also worked normally, just the head amp pcb that was fubar. 

 

[NCSUZoSo]

I'm still stuck here guys, I was hoping to hear back from two PMs I sent out, but so far I'm at the same place as the last post I made.  I guess I am going to desolder and resolder these DIP switches.  I don't guess there is some chance the DIP switches I purchased are different from the stock ones??  They look identical to me in every way and a DIP switch is extremely simple, so simple I could solder a semi-permanent gain setting using some simple solid core wire.
 
This is a simple change to the T1 (replacing the DIP switches) and I'd like to hear at least some ideas on diagnostics to the problem.  From simple Google searches I can't find any definite info on what the two green lights mean on the amp PCB.  I am assuming one light is the left channel and one is the right, but no idea on what they actually mean.  Common sense tells me it is getting values inside of what it wants to operate correctly, but for whatever reason I can't use the internal amp of the T1, I have to use my receiver and the line out on the T1.

 

[mikoss]

  I'm still stuck here guys, I was hoping to hear back from two PMs I sent out, but so far I'm at the same place as the last post I made.  I guess I am going to desolder and resolder these DIP switches.  I don't guess there is some chance the DIP switches I purchased are different from the stock ones??  They look identical to me in every way and a DIP switch is extremely simple, so simple I could solder a semi-permanent gain setting using some simple solid core wire.
 
This is a simple change to the T1 (replacing the DIP switches) and I'd like to hear at least some ideas on diagnostics to the problem.  From simple Google searches I can't find any definite info on what the two green lights mean on the amp PCB.  I am assuming one light is the left channel and one is the right, but no idea on what they actually mean.  Common sense tells me it is getting values inside of what it wants to operate correctly, but for whatever reason I can't use the internal amp of the T1, I have to use my receiver and the line out on the T1.

Yeah, D8 and D11 are definitely per left and right channel.
 
Ohming out the stock dips, on is completely closed (has 0 ohms), and off is completely open (high resistance). (I'm ohming from the solder joints under the dip switches... from "1" across to the "On" side, and "2" to the "On" side.)
You could easily check the dips you installed the same way... I'm also reading continuity from 1 to 2 on both dips.
 
As for the DAC and RCA amp, it should operate 100% fine without the headphone amp board installed... you can pull the headphone amp portion out, and plug the RCA outputs to another amp and everything should work fine using the USB input. If that doesn't work, something is shot on the main board.
 
Kind of hard to diagnose without a schematic, and since Aune doesn't have one posted, someone would have to find a way to trace everything out and draw a schematic. You could try emailing Aune and requesting a copy of a schematic... Let me know if you want me to make any other readings that may help.
 
edit: ok sounds like your DAC/amp portion is working fine, just have a problem with the headphone amp. Order another one from Aune maybe?  @creatip ordered one for $8... 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/6465#post_11160858 

 

[Paspie]

I've had a T1 now for one year and a half now, so just to evaluate:
 
The drivers for it in ALSA (the main audio interface in Linux) are incredibly buggy, particularly when I have to use a hub or a docking station where the USB ports aren't necessarily 'separate' from a hardware perspective. I've tried it with Pulseaudio, right now I'm using it without, but ever since I added more peripherals to my laptop, ever since I couldn't have the T1 in a port directly on the motherboard, I've had stuttering problems. If only I had the cash for a proper PC.

 

[Chs177]

  I've had a T1 now for one year and a half now, so just to evaluate:
 
The drivers for it in ALSA (the main audio interface in Linux) are incredibly buggy, particularly when I have to use a hub or a docking station where the USB ports aren't necessarily 'separate' from a hardware perspective. I've tried it with Pulseaudio, right now I'm using it without, but ever since I added more peripherals to my laptop, ever since I couldn't have the T1 in a port directly on the motherboard, I've had stuttering problems. If only I had the cash for a proper PC.

Ok. I had an Aune T1 around half year and I have no problems with ALSA at all. I'm usually plug T1 directly in port in the my laptop.
What version of Linux you are using? What player you are using? What ALSA version you are using?
I'm now on Fedora 21 (was on Fedora 20), ALSA version is 1.0.28. I'm using DeadBeef audio player.