[hdtv00]

I want to say I tried hooking this up using my new Nvidia Shield Tablet via USB OTG and it works fine. My question is Is hooking it up w/ usb that way all there is to it. I didn't have to do anything, on the device it said USB headphone for a sec and worked straight away. So am I getting that higher level of quality sound wise. Is it really that simple I guess I'm asking.

 

[copajohn]

Has anyone tried or will a Amperex PQ 8416 work in an Aune T1? 
 
Go here:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMPEREX-PQ-8416-VACUUM-TUBE-1966-MATCH-PAIR-12-VOLT-6922-6DJ8-LAMPIZATOR-027-/221548644951?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3395540a57

 

[nScott89]

  Has anyone tried or will a Amperex PQ 8416 work in an Aune T1? 
 
Go here:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMPEREX-PQ-8416-VACUUM-TUBE-1966-MATCH-PAIR-12-VOLT-6922-6DJ8-LAMPIZATOR-027-/221548644951?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3395540a57
 

I imagine they should work and I hear that the White PQ is one of the best options available for the T1. I'm not sure if the 8416 would match up to the 7308 White PQ though. Those tubes are 6DJ8/6922 so they should work. I can't see why not.

12 Volt... Nevermind. I didn't notice this.

  I want to say I tried hooking this up using my new Nvidia Shield Tablet via USB OTG and it works fine. My question is Is hooking it up w/ usb that way all there is to it. I didn't have to do anything, on the device it said USB headphone for a sec and worked straight away. So am I getting that higher level of quality sound wise. Is it really that simple I guess I'm asking.
 

Yes, if they are working through USB OTG then the tube should be working.

 

[mikoss]

I suspect that tubes with 12 volt heaters instead of the usual 6 volt will probably be an issue with the T1.
 
edit: 12au7's work with an adapter, so who knows.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq/4200#post_10162534
 
My T1 tonight, posing on its side, sans cover...

 

[NCSUZoSo]

  Overall Impression: The best $160 I've ever spent. Oh dear! I just had the most exciting thought: I have more tubes showing up soon! SQUEEE!
Really guys. If you're on solid state make the switch. There's an incredible difference.
Two word review: Oh my!

 
 
I'm glad you enjoy the T1, but you should know it is a SS amp with the tube only being use as a buffer, pretty much the tube is your EQ.  Everything that is driving your phones is SS.

 

[nScott89]

Alrighty then. My Genaelex Gold Lion arrived today. This tube requires some burn in from what I read so this is just my initial impression. I was a bit surprised by this tube because, well, it's not very 'tube-y'. There's really hardly any color here which is very different from the 6922EH. It's got a very balanced sound to it. The bass is very tight with a tiny hint of reverb. The mids are super clean and a little laid back and the highs are very airy and have very limited added shimmer unlike the 6922EH. But I think the highs have a bit more volume to them than the 6922EH. Basically the way I would characterize this tube is kind of like an 'de-digitizer'. I don't know how to describe this better than this is almost like the sound has become more near-field speaker-like. It has a very nice overall feel. It's pretty open as is and the instrument seperation is very nice. This supposedly becomes even more-so with some burn-in. I feel that this tube would go over pretty well for someone looking for a reasonably clean and balanced sound with the slightest tube coloration and reasonably accurate sound. Very well balanced tube. Once the magic of the 6922EH's tube distortion wears off some I am sure that I'll be using this tube quite a bit. I'll continue to use it presently for it's very non-fatiguing sound. I'm hoping the soundstage opens up even more as while it's better than the 6922EH it's not as terribly drastic a change as going from solid state to tube. But maybe that's an unreasonable expectation. This is based off of 5 hours on the tube as I just got it today. That pretty much summarizes my first impressions. I really like it, but I'm kind of missing the tube-y coloration of the 6922EH.
 
Edit: I am noticing more openess to the soundstage in electronic songs more than rock or classical, compared to the 6922EH. This has tube has a VERY smooth buttery tone.
 
Edit 2:

   
 
I'm glad you enjoy the T1, but you should know it is a SS amp with the tube only being use as a buffer, pretty much the tube is your EQ.  Everything that is driving your phones is SS.
 

Yes. I'm aware of that. I didn't mean to give a different impression. I feel that the T1 is conveying the feel of a tube amp even though it is solid state thanks to the coloration the tube provides.
 
Edit 3: Decided to revisit the first few songs I listened to with the Gold Lion to see if the limited time listening had done anything to the sound signature because I felt it had been opening up more over time. I feel like I was right. I feel the soundstage has indeed opened up by a fairly significant amount.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

Once the magic of the 6922EH's tube distortion wears off some I am sure that I'll be using this tube quite a bit.

 
Distortion?  The T1 is not using this a pre-amp or a power tube, so if you are getting distortion something is wrong here.  This is not like an all tube guitar amp where the distortion has a sweet/organic sound to it that no SS amp can ever produce, because this is a SS amp..  Maybe you are calling distortion something else, but if you think the tube in the T1 is giving you tube breakup like a true tube powered amp, something is wrong.
 
Are yall paying $45-$50 for a current production tube made in China?  Are you not interested in hearing what a NOS tube sounds like?  We could recommend an exact replacement for that price, or even two you could try for the cost of that one GL.

 

[mikoss]

   
Distortion?  The T1 is not using this a pre-amp or a power tube, so if you are getting distortion something is wrong here.  This is not like an all tube guitar amp where the distortion has a sweet/organic sound to it that no SS amp can ever produce, because this is a SS amp..  Maybe you are calling distortion something else, but if you think the tube in the T1 is giving you tube breakup like a true tube powered amp, something is wrong.

Doesn't the tube cause harmonic distortion even if it's being used as a buffer? I recall it produces even order harmonic distortion? Asking because I don't know myself, but I've also credited distortion with being the sweet tube sound. 

 

[NCSUZoSo]

 A tube buffer, also known as a voltage or cathode follower, is a circuit whereby the high output impedance of the source is lowered so that it can be properly transferred to the lower input impedance load. The tube buffer has no voltage gain. It has current gain and, therefore, power gain. In audio electronics, it is normally used when our amplifier has enough gain but we still need a volume control with low output impedance.

Vacuum tubes are primarily voltage amplifiers so they do not work particularly well under large current loads. Where there is only one active device (tube) in single-ended mode, like here, excessive output current will always result in higher harmonic distortion. Speaking of distortion, it should be noted that a properly implemented tube buffer will normally generate very little harmonic distortion, which will be predominantly even-order.

 
http://www.moxtone.com/Tube_buffer_en.html
 
Note they are talking about a tube buffer in a much larger chain than we are dealing with here on the T1.  I for one know the sound of a tube breaking up very well, I own an all tube guitar amp (minus the rectifier and reverb, which make no difference) the Fender Blues Jr with Duncan Humbuckers, the BJr. is highly modified to allow for easy power tube distortion and uses a $200 England produced G12H speaker. 
 

 
 
So maybe whatever break up you all are hearing is simply not tube distortion to someone who has listened to all tube many times.  My brother owns one of the $3000 vintage stereo all tube McIntosh receivers going into McIntosh floor standing speakers and I know how that tube breakup sounds and I have hundreds of hours with the T1 and multiple tubes, I have never once noticed anything I would slightly call tube distortion.  However nobody has perfect ears so it is possible I guess and Moxtone says even-order distortion is possible.

 

[nScott89]

   
Distortion?  The T1 is not using this a pre-amp or a power tube, so if you are getting distortion something is wrong here.  This is not like an all tube guitar amp where the distortion has a sweet/organic sound to it that no SS amp can ever produce, because this is a SS amp..  Maybe you are calling distortion something else, but if you think the tube in the T1 is giving you tube breakup like a true tube powered amp, something is wrong.
 
Are yall paying $45-$50 for a current production tube made in China?  Are you not interested in hearing what a NOS tube sounds like?  We could recommend an exact replacement for that price, or even two you could try for the cost of that one GL.

There's no heavy distortion or anything but the 6922EH does indeed add some significant texture especially noticable in the highs that indeed sounds slightly distorted but in a pleasant and enjoyable way. The Gold Lion does not do this at all. 
 
I have several NOS tubes on the way. 2 NOS Amperex Orange Globes, NOS 6N23P, pair of NOS 6N23P Voskhod Rockets, and used Philips Miniwatt E188CC SQ with gold pins. I'm just waiting on them to arrive. I couldn't afford to get the Miniwatt NOS.
 
Edit: Also I would like to point out I have no prior experience with tubes but what I'm hearing matches the idea of tube distortion which means nothing, of course. It's just a very textured sound that the 6922EH is giving in the highs. Maybe it's just a TON of sparkle? But I didn't expect that with the rolled off highs of this tube.
 
Edit 2: The best way I can describe the treble on the 6922EH is that there is some sort of harmonic excitement going on even though the volume is rolled back. It's extremely noticeable A/Bing with the Gold Lion, which is extremely clean and free of distortion or superfluous sparkle. The Lion has some shimmer to it that the E07k was very lacking in but there's no granularity to it. It's studio tame. If the bands were a bit more flat I would call it analytically. It sounds very 'digital' as joeq70 said in the first post. 

 

[Bothand Nether]

Great Thread Folx!
Long time lurker, new poster.

I am considering getting getting a T1 MK2 or a Schiit Valhala shortly, thanx to You folx...I also had a thought...
 
   *The issue with the channel imbalance on something like the Aune t1 channel imbalance may be due to one triode being stronger than the other,
   I'm only going to roll tubes with matched triodes if I get that particular circuit.
 
The one other thing I'd like to add is that I sortof take issue with a comment that NCSUZoSo made
regarding tube rectification and reverb "not making a difference" (but perhaps I may have mis-understood):
 
Tube rectification does indeed make a great deal of difference.(some like it, some don't)
..it adds more sag than solid state does, but can also be noisier (depending on the tube)...
 
I have a 1960 Gibson Titan, (often referred to as the poor man's 59 fender tweed deluxe)
and believe me it has a vastly different sound when You swap rectifier tubes in it. (I even have an octal Solid State rectifier I can put in as well-big difference)
It came with the original gibson tubes in it, but I use cryo'd Bendix 6106 rectifier & 2 5992 power tubes when I take it out.
The Bendix tubes were for atlas rockets & are extremely difficult to break (nomex glass,ceramic wafers), and are extremely quiet.

I have a 1969 Fender bassman with SS tube rectification and the attack is much faster,
lending itself to faster styles of music like most types of metal, for instance.
 
Also Tube reverb is a whole different beast than circuit board analog or digitally modeled reverb, & definitely makes a big difference.
I use them all. ..but IMO there is nothing else like a properly tubed 1961 Fender 6G15 tube reverb unit....it's where reverb was born,prettymuch.
 
And I was under the impression that even order distortion is a good thing,.... in my and many other's opinion.
-But that subject is highly subjective to one's ears & application....
It's what most people use tubes for, the warming effect on digital media... because that's what they offer, (especially pre- WWII tubes).
I have access to a fairchild 660 & 670, and that is exactly why My friend outbid Beck for them.
 
Also NCSUZoSo, I saw You have some nice tubes in Your Fender,
I wanted to suggest some tubes that You may have already looked into:
 
in place of the el84 power tubes, a direct replacement with slightly more oomph is the 7189 variant.
 
& there are many variants for the 12AX7, Stevie Rae favored the 5751...
-the Sylvania Gold Brand triple mica gold pin grey plate is the penultimate, but the 12AT7 (6201) is also quite nice.
 
I am sorry about the wall of text, but I hope this is edifying to those that are interested.
 
Here is a link to my post on My tube experiences
 
a pic of My studio & will be linked in my intro thread, fwiw.
 
/end rant 

 

 

[penmarker]

In other news:
 

 
I got myself a pair of HiVi Swans A30 desktop speakers and hooked them up to the T1. Sounds heavenly though my initial impressions when I first got them was "They sound weird."
They certainly sound bigger than they actually are. Surprising honestly.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

  Also NCSUZoSo, I saw You have some nice tubes in Your Fender,
I wanted to suggest some tubes that You may have already looked into:
 
in place of the el84 power tubes, a direct replacement with slightly more oomph is the 7189 variant.
 
& there are many variants for the 12AX7, Stevie Rae favored the 5751...
-the Sylvania Gold Brand triple mica gold pin grey plate is the penultimate, but the 12AT7 (6201) is also quite nice.
 
I am sorry about the wall of text, but I hope this is edifying to those that are interested.
 
Here is a link to my post on My tube experiences
 
a pic of My studio & will be linked in my intro thread, fwiw.
 
/end rant 

 

 
The tubes in my amp are a pair of 1964 GE 6BQ5s (EL84) that added a lot of the missing glassy sound the current production tubes lacked.  I have a 1968 12AY7 Sylvania in the V1 slot that gave me much more clean headroom and put a 1967 GE USAF 5751 (12AX7) in V2 and a 1962 GE 12AX7 to round it all out in V3.
 
My pedal chain is:  BYOC Envelope Filter -> BYOC E.S.V. 2 Knob Bender -> Visual Sound Buffer -> Modded Crybaby Classic -> Phase 90 -> BBE Two Timer -> Hall of Fame Reverb with all Mogami 2524 and Gold LP cables (made by sellers on EBay, like Pro Audio LA)
 
I was saying a tube powered reverb and tube rectifier won't have a distinguished effect on how tube breakup sounds in comparison to the discussion here.  Thanks for the links though, glad to see we have some T1 guitar players, maybe we need a separate thread haha.

 

[nScott89]

Hey guys. So I've had this Gelalex Gold Lion burning for 24 hours now. I must say that the soundstage has opened up a LOT and the instrument separation has increased pretty significantly as well. The bass has cleared up more than anything. The subbass is much more intelligible than it was. Not to say the volume has increased but I feel I can feel it better. It still feels a bit sterile but I think it has loosened up a good bit. I'm really starting to like this tube. Are there any more current production tubes that are great?
 
In NOS news, I get my Miniwatt tomorrow and my Orange Globes the day after. Can't wait!

 

[rwpritchett]

Are there any more current production tubes that are great?

I'm still waiting for someone to try out one of the new production telefunken black diamond tubes and report back. They're a bit too much $$$ to purchase blindly for me when I can get vintage tubes for less. Anyone want to take the plunge?