[mikoss]

Buying it from that site that shall remain nameless as it's not supposed to be posted here seems to have a 95% chance your unit will arrive after a wait without any issues. There were quite a few issues though... A lot of people posted here with them. Read the last 50 pages or so. You may also opt just to email Aune and buy directly. That would be my recommendation.

 

[Vortaku]

Buying it from that site that shall remain nameless as it's not supposed to be posted here seems to have a 95% chance your unit will arrive after a wait without any issues. There were quite a few issues though... A lot of people posted here with them. Read the last 50 pages or so. You may also opt just to email Aune and buy directly. That would be my recommendation.

Well my logic in not emailing Aune directly is price. That is why I was thinking about the site that shall not be named.

 

[milan616]

I think one reason buying it from there is their willing to help you with problems and have more power with Aune. Not infinite though as Aune straight up lied to them about the 24 bit programming on the last batch of Mk2s. At least they're fixing the following units.

 

[JasonZ10]

Should I buy this from MassDrop or elsewhere? $170 for the amp/DAC + the Gold Lion tube that OP said was his personal favourite sounds like a pretty badass deal, when the cheapest I could find the actual amp for was $160. I guess it's a no-brainer to buy it based off that, but should I be considering other tubes or will the Gold Lion do?

 

[milan616]

I went in thinking the Gold Lion would probably be enough for me. I was wrong. You could probably sell the Gold Lion for a few bucks though.

 

[JasonZ10]

  I went in thinking the Gold Lion would probably be enough for me. I was wrong. You could probably sell the Gold Lion for a few bucks though.

I'm coping with the FiiO E9/7 setup right now though, so would I see any decrease in performance/quality at all? What cans are you powering with the T1?

 

[milan616]

  I'm coping with the FiiO E9/7 setup right now though, so would I see any decrease in performance/quality at all? What cans are you powering with the T1?

 
I'm actually back to coping with my E9/E7 haha! Back with it as my T1 is packed up to send back to Massdrop. I've been running AudioTechnica's AD900x, and Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 via the RCA out (with some 12 dB attenuators). One thing I miss from the E9 was using the speakers on the pre-out and having a single volume control.
 
Never even bothered with the stock tube, and the Gold Lion was a bit bright to me on the AD900x, though the low end and mids were pretty similar to the Sylvania 7309 that I picked up on ebay. The E9/E7 really aren't that bad in comparison, but going back I can feel something missing. Just the overall body of the sound is cooler. You definitely won't lose anything in terms of performance and quality going to the T1, but you will lose the convenience of solid state electronics (I hate waiting for the T1 to power on, but hate myself even more when I leave it on overnight). 

 

[JasonZ10]

  but you will lose the convenience of solid state electronics (I hate waiting for the T1 to power on, but hate myself even more when I leave it on overnight). 

Is there a few second warm up time and does it overheat if its on for too long or? I just like the idea of being able to switch out the tube and get a new and different sound from a different tube.
 
The main reason why I'm looking to upgrade is because the E9 has no RCA line out so I'm using a short and cheap 3.5 to RCA cable with my audioEngine speakers which gives me a bit of feedback. I've been scoping MassDrop for the past month or so and this seems to be the only thing in the $100-200 range that's fits my needs and seems like it could be an upgrade.

 

[chowmein83]

  Is there a few second warm up time and does it overheat if its on for too long or? I just like the idea of being able to switch out the tube and get a new and different sound from a different tube.
 
The main reason why I'm looking to upgrade is because the E9 has no RCA line out so I'm using a short and cheap 3.5 to RCA cable with my audioEngine speakers which gives me a bit of feedback. I've been scoping MassDrop for the past month or so and this seems to be the only thing in the $100-200 range that's fits my needs and seems like it could be an upgrade.

 
It takes about half a minute to a minute for the the T1 to warm up the tube so you can use it. If you leave it on for a very long time, it will get very hot, though I haven't ever left it on long enough to know if this will damage it.
 
As for whether this is a step up over the E7/E9 combo, I would say it is. I actually haven't heard the E9, but I used to have the E7. I also have the E17, which I think beats the E7 in terms of sound quality. And I think the T1, even with the stock tube, beats out the E17 at least in terms of the DAC (I compared the E17 using its own amp and hooked the T1 through RCA line out to the E17). You get a much wider soundstage and more details in the music with the T1 using the stock tube already - and it just gets better from there when you upgrade to other tubes.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

I've run the original Aune T1 with a NOS Siemens 6922 for probably 8-10 hours or so at 70-80% volume and while the top of the case does get fairly warm it never overheats or malfunction in any way.  I can only assume the MK2 would be the same or better.
 
BTW, any current production tube is going to sound flat and less pronounced than a high quality NOS 6922 tube.  It is pretty self explanatory why this is the case if you know anything about tubes.  Shortest explanation is the materials used and the number of high quality manufacturers making tubes back then (Siemens, Amperex, RCA, GE, Sylvania, etc.), more suppliers equals better competition which equals higher quality results.  The real difference when it comes down to technically what is different though is the materials used in NOS vs current production and the assembly methods.  Now all tubes are either Russian or Chinese, not much to choose from.

 

[Kevin Chan]

Hello There, 

I got a problem here with my Aune T1. Maybe I set it up wrong and maybe my Aune T1 having a problem and I'm not sure.

I try to set up my Turntable with Aune T1 and output to my speakers. This is how I plugged all the cables;
 
Not Working
Turntable (RCA) to Phone Amp (RCA Input) then Phono Amp (RCA Output) to Speakers (RCA Input) and I got no sound.

Something wrong with my setup?


Working
Turntable (RCA) to Phono Amp (RCA Input) then Headphone socket (6.3mm to RCA cable) to Speaker (RCA Input) and I got sound.

Please advice. Thanks.

 

[mikoss]

Turntable -> Phono Stage -> Aune T1 -> headphones will work.
 
 
The T1's RCA output is just a pre-amp, so you'd need powered speakers, or a power amp to drive your speakers. There probably isn't much use putting the T1 into the chain then, considering you could do this:
 
Turntable -> Phono Stage -> Power Amp -> speakers
 
 
btw did you get the tubes I sent yet?

 

[Kevin Chan]

  Turntable -> Phono Stage -> Aune T1 -> headphones will work.
 
 
The T1's RCA output is just a pre-amp, so you'd need powered speakers, or a power amp to drive your speakers. There probably isn't much use putting the T1 into the chain then, considering you could do this:
 
Turntable -> Phono Stage -> Power Amp -> speakers
 
 
btw did you get the tubes I sent yet?

Hey! YES YES today afternoon I got it. I'm listening to the Amperex now. It is nice. I like it. Thanks again.


Power Amp same as Receiver and Amp?

 

[mikoss]

Cool! Yup, if your receiver has a phono input, that will basically be the phono stage, then you can output to speakers. The only way to get the tube buffer from the T1 is by using the DAC (through USB). If you go RCA into the T1, it doesn't use the tube, just the amp.

 

[Kevin Chan]

  Cool! Yup, if your receiver has a phono input, that will basically be the phono stage, then you can output to speakers. The only way to get the tube buffer from the T1 is by using the DAC (through USB). If you go RCA into the T1, it doesn't use the tube, just the amp.

Thanks. Now I know what to do.