[lwrs10]

Yeah..I am getting mixed reviews online. One site says its because audio caps and power caps specs have different ripple current specs...better in the non-audio grade...others say it does not matter....sigh...LOL
 
Low ESR and better ripple current specs seem to go hand in hand...I am going to look at some data sheets..I am not in a hurry because she sounds sweet now...maybe I have real deal...LOL

Take just the bottom off and see. It's only 4 screws.

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[arcorob]

Okay, here we go. Took the bottom off and not sure I need to change anything
 
Black Nichicon 470uf 25v (cant be sure if they are fake but the font looks right)
 
Lelon 3300uf 25v RXW105C - Looked these up and they are pretty good series - Low ESR
~~ Feature                                                       Temp & Load Life Time  Sleeve Color  
04 Low Impedance & ESR for SMPS, Ballast   105°C 2000~5000 Hrs    Brown
 
Only ones suspect in the corner, Purple 330uf 35v
 
sorry for the crappy pictures ...long story but this will change soon...Now that I see, I think I may not change anything or if I do, just the purple
 

 

[lwrs10]

Okay, here we go. Took the bottom off and not sure I need to change anything

Black Nichicon 470uf 25v (cant be sure if they are fake but the font looks right)

Lelon 3300uf 25v RXW105C - Looked these up and they are pretty good series - Low ESR
~~ Feature                                                       Temp & Load Life Time  Sleeve Color  
04 Low Impedance & ESR for SMPS, Ballast   105°C 2000~5000 Hrs    Brown

Only ones suspect in the corner, Purple 330uf 35v

sorry for the crappy pictures ...long story but this will change soon...Now that I see, I think I may not change anything or if I do, just the purple

Lelon caps are garbage and bottom of the barrel. Kinda like the Soundesign of capacitors.

http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9216

http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=388

 

[arcorob]

Lelon caps are garbage and bottom of the barrel. Kinda like the Soundesign of capacitors.

http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9216

http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=388

well it would not kill me to buy a set of the 3300

 

[arcorob]

Okay, ordered the Nichicon 3300 25v
 
Already had ordered the Panasonic 330uf 35v low esr
 
I did order the ELNA 470uf 25 before but maybe just leave the existing Nichicon's in there or are the ELNA's better ? Sheesh..

 

[lwrs10]

Okay, ordered the Nichicon 3300 25v

Already had ordered the Panasonic 330uf 35v low esr

I did order the ELNA 470uf 25 before but maybe just leave the existing Nichicon's in there or are the ELNA's better ? Sheesh..

15 minute job to swap them.....why not try both?

 

[Salvatore]

 
Salvatore,
  DONT give up. First, regardless of the caps, it is a great unit. Especially in its price class.
 
If you can use a soldering iron half way decent, you can do it. If not, leave it be,,,it is still good !

 

15 minute job to swap them.....why not try both?

 
It's not that I don't like my T1. I love it. It's just that I feel like being majorly fu**ed by this company. If we all had the same inferior parts I wouldn't be as pissed, but now we need to add cap list to our tube reviews. Well good tubes are still good tubes but the synergies will be affected. I've been spreading good word of how nice this unit is just to discover this. I would have been much happier without knowing (this being said I'm very glad that lwrs brought this issue to our attention). Around €300 spend on tubes and that's only because I really like T1. I don't own or have access to soldering tools so if I want to replace any parts I need to consult an electrician that has the tools and know how. Well like I said I'll wait for your impressions first. T1 still beats many rivals in same and higher price point. I would, for example, take T1 over dacmagic any day.

 

[slovetro]

So I am now I'm Hong Kong and after not checking this thread for a few days I see a new development: caps! I am just going to completely avoid that discussion for now though. I leave to the Philippines on Wednesday and need to figure out this voltage problem before I leave.

My problem, for those who don't know, is that i bought my T1 while i was in the states, but since i plan to be traveling for the next few years, i need to find a way to safely power my t1 using 220v outlets.

Does anyone know the wattage output of the T1? Because I have a converter that I would like to use, but it has two different options, low and high, low is used for "(0-25 watts) electric shavers, radios, curling irons, etc." High is used for "(26-2000) high wattage appliances such as hair dryer, irons, steamers, etc."

This power converter is described as a dual wattage converter and reads, "input:220-240VAC output:110-120VAC" I asked a few people who work in shops in one of the electronic districts here today and most said that this converter on the low setting, would work fine. One person said I should use the high setting. I want to go with the majority if people I met today who say I should try it on the low setting, but I wanted to put the question to the thread first. Do you think this would work? Would there be any damage to the device? Would sound quality be lost by using a converter? Should I only use aune brand adaptors? (I write them an email about this problem but they haven't gotten back to be yet)

 

[slovetro]

Lots of typos, sorry about that, bear with me and my phone.

Thanks for the help people. This is a very generous and helpful group.

 

[arcorob]

   
 
It's not that I don't like my T1. I love it. It's just that I feel like being majorly fu**ed by this company. If we all had the same inferior parts I wouldn't be as pissed, but now we need to add cap list to our tube reviews. Well good tubes are still good tubes but the synergies will be affected. I've been spreading good word of how nice this unit is just to discover this. I would have been much happier without knowing (this being said I'm very glad that lwrs brought this issue to our attention). Around €300 spend on tubes and that's only because I really like T1. I don't own or have access to soldering tools so if I want to replace any parts I need to consult an electrician that has the tools and know how. Well like I said I'll wait for your impressions first. T1 still beats many rivals in same and higher price point. I would, for example, take T1 over dacmagic any day.

LOL...I hear you
 
TEAM ...LETS ALL STEP BACK A MOMENT (gee Rob, the voice of reason ?? ) lol
 
There is no NEED to change the parts in this unit. Out of the box it is pretty awesome. The caps in it may not be caps that 25 years from now are still ticking but those are the days we live in, a disposable society. Gone are the days of amps and equipment that worked on the late 60's still working good as new today.
 
My own experience, the unit is dead quiet, no gain hiss, no hum, is clearly articulate in presentation an very tailorable using various tubes to suit your system and preferences. It is by itself, regardless of capacitor type, a well made unit.
 
Now we have Lwrs10 who has graciously put the AUNE T1 through its paces and based on his very high knowledge of electronics, determined it could be better. Okay, but lets quantify that for a moment. Better how ?
 
Well, for one thing, better caps might last longer. But if they only last 10 years vs 25, is that an issue?
 
Another is he heard a distinctive sound difference? Okay, how distinctive? (not questioning you lwrs, I am making a point only)
10% Difference? 5% ? 1%?
 
I ask this because in things related to audio, sometimes it could be very high in cost just to gain a 1% difference (especially in high end). Would you put a $100 USB and $200 RCA's on your $159 AUNE ? (I hope not)
 
So what is my point?
If you had never heard about a tweak on the AUNE with the caps, you would still be loving the unit and enjoying what it does. Many of us ARE tweaker's (not to be confused with Miley Cyrus twerking)  and LWRS  is in my opinion a very knowledgeable and high-end tweaker. He can change parts and do analysis the way you or I would change a lightbulb. But that doesn't mean this is a "Only sounds good if you change the caps" product. Not at all.
 
There are products out there you can buy that ONLY sound good if you do mods to them. Some Cambridge phono stages for example (no disrespect to the Cambridge owners). The AUNE is not one of those .Like I said, if all this thread ever talked about was tube rolling, all would be well.
 
Will I change mine ? Sure, but not because I am expecting much better sound. In fact, recaps I have done in the past netted me peace of mine against aging caps and sound difference was pretty much undetectable (the M65 for example). Nope, I am changing mine because 1) I CAN 2) I love tweaking projects so I am grateful to Lwrs for the fun !!
 
Be at peace with your AUNE...LOL

 

[lwrs10]

Rob,

I agree with your post mostly. Only thing that really bothers me is some caps in this thing were bad, as in did not meet the specs printed on the side.

Will this cause a problem? Probably not for most people. Most people will be very happy without touching a thing. A friend of mine has been using his for about 6 months and knows nothing about high end audio and loved it. When I suggested he change the tube, he asked why, it sounds great right now. After a bit of "peer pressure", I got him to buy the same ECC85 I was using. He was very sceptical about it, but he received the tube yesterday. After an hour of listening to the new tube, it was a wall of text from him on his he cannot believe how much better it sounds. He was quite content on the EH6922, and it totally blew his mind that you could make it sound better.

Bet 90% of T1 owners are just like this.

I, on the other hand, am like a drug addict. I have tasted the other side with quite a bit of equipment, and always look for that "fix". That's what led to all if this.

If you are happy with the way yours sounds, then keep it exactly the way it is. Once you upgrade anything, there will always be a thought in the back of your head....."wonder if I can make it even better....".


To sum this all up, if you are happy with the way it is, stay content and forget about the last few pages.

If you are like me and love to tinker, by all means have fun, and I will continue to tweak this Aune T1 and provide that "ear crack" for the other addicts out there like me.

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[Salvatore]

Like I said I'll be waiting for more impressions. I'm not too concerned about the actual parts inside since my T1 sounds very good. It's just that we don't know what caps we have and if they really have noticeable effect to the sound it could really mess this tube rolling thing we've been having here.
 
E: Seems like there is no love towards Cambridge here, lol

 

[arcorob]

I, on the other hand, am like a drug addict. I have tasted the other side with quite a bit of equipment, and always look for that "fix". That's what led to all if this.


If you are like me and love to tinker, by all means have fun, and I will continue to tweak this Aune T1 and provide that "ear crack" for the other addicts out there like me.

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LOL..I am with you. I have been a vinyl rig tweaker like crazy and also tube amp tweaker...now I have a new toy to "play with" so very appreciative of what you have provided, really. I can't help it because I think I enjoy the playing %60 and the music %40 (the music verifies my tweaking).
 
I started my recent turntable project not because I needed another one but because I just needed something to play with...
 
Again our thanks. I just wanted to be sure people didn't get the impression that the AUNE was bad unless tweaked..it is very good..your help just makes it super excellent...

 

[arcorob]

  Like I said I'll be waiting for more impressions. I'm not too concerned about the actual parts inside since my T1 sounds very good. It's just that we don't know what caps we have and if they really have noticeable effect to the sound it could really mess this tube rolling thing we've been having here.
 
E: Seems like there is no love towards Cambridge here, lol

Try one of these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6AQ8-ECC85-GE-Germany-NOS-/261196583816?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3cd0879388
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GE-6AQ8-ECC-85-TUBE-NOS-/121188563068?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item1c3766b87c
 
As to Cambridge, the phono stages are not bad units, its just in my phono stage testing they were dull. Seems mine was not the only opinion and a member of AK has some mods (level 1 and level 2) to make them sound great. But unlike the AUNE, if you HAVE To tweak to make it sound good, I don't want it.
 
Sort of like the infatuation with the little bear amp. The buyers admit it comes with a built in hum and issues, but if you do this, that and the other thing, its great. Not for me.

 

[lwrs10]

Just one more thing....

Most people would agree the T1 has a hard time driving the 600 ohm headphones. Changing those out of spec caps added quite a bit of "umph" or power or whatever you call it on the higher impendece headphones. Since the out of spec caps were the power supply reserve, if are bad the amp will fall on it's face trying to drive headphones like this.

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