[joeq70]

Guys,

Anyone here uses their T1 as DAC only and pair it with a neutral/transparent amp? How does it sound?

I do (Schiit Mjolnir). I'm very happy with it. I will probably change my DAC someday but I'm not in a rush.

 

[SirMarc]

I use mine with a vintage sansui receiver and occasionally with an Asgard 2, but am thinking about upgrading to a bifrost multi-bit.
Question to joe, do you find that the T1 does a nice job with 24/48 and 24/96, but not so great with 16/44? I find that even cd's I used to love sound flat and lifeless compared to hi res and vinyl. I know these formats sound better, but it's literally night and day. That's why I'm considering the bifrost multi-bit, so I can play those files natively

 

[penmarker]

I'm pairing it with a Lehmann Black Cube Linear clone called the LovelyCube Premium. It's pretty neutral and resolving.
Seeing how you can tune the sound by rolling tubes, it's hard for me to pinpoint the sound signature of the DAC itself. But I do have no complaints unless compared directly to other >$300 DACs. Depending on your tube, it has a black background. Other than that I think the dynamic range is just ok. Soundstage and positioning is again, tube dependent, but with my best tube now (Philips Miniwatt ECC189) it's not exactly great, just ok too.
 
Treble/mids/bass - I'm not too good at describing it. I'm more to a "feeling" kind of guy. I do think the bass is a tad bit rolled off and the mid is tube dependent. 

 

[Kozic]

Guys,

Anyone here uses their T1 as DAC only and pair it with a neutral/transparent amp? How does it sound?

T1>Asgard 2 sounds great.

 

[gopanthersgo1]

T1>Asgard 2 sounds great.

I can tell no difference going from Aune T1 to Aune T1+Asgard 2 with my HE-400is, but maybe that's just me. I can tell differences is DACs though. I'm going to an audio meet this Saturday, so, I'll be able to do comparisons with other amps too.

 

[Aradea]

I can tell no difference going from Aune T1 to Aune T1+Asgard 2 with my HE-400is, but maybe that's just me. I can tell differences is DACs though. I'm going to an audio meet this Saturday, so, I'll be able to do comparisons with other amps too.

So the T1 can properly drive the HE-400i?

 

[Kozic]

I can tell no difference going from Aune T1 to Aune T1+Asgard 2 with my HE-400is, but maybe that's just me. I can tell differences is DACs though. I'm going to an audio meet this Saturday, so, I'll be able to do comparisons with other amps too.

I find the Asgard warmer with better bass and cut the brightness of the T90.

 

[gopanthersgo1]

So the T1 can properly drive the HE-400i?

You know, I felt that the bass was lacking with it always, but I have never tried anything other than the stock tube, aside from a few that I got at a garage sale but just sounded distant. The Asgard did help slightly with the bass, but I mean the difference was so small I could hardly tell.
[rule]
Okay, I'm selling my Aune T1 for an ODAC or a Modi 2 Uber, I just am looking for something more detailed. What price should I go for though?

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

You know, I felt that the bass was lacking with it always, but I have never tried anything other than the stock tube, aside from a few that I got at a garage sale but just sounded distant. The Asgard did help slightly with the bass, but I mean the difference was so small I could hardly tell.

---

Okay, I'm selling my Aune T1 for an ODAC or a Modi 2 Uber, I just am looking for something more detailed. What price should I go for though?

It's always been the case to me that sticking with stock tubes is like utilising 50% of what you got when you buy the amp... True for both my Little Dot and my T1. 
 
Anyway if you decide to go for the ODAC, I'm pretty sure it won't let you down with details.

 

[WAAM]

It's not a great DAC or amp. Jump on me if you want, but it's low resolution with poor extension on both ends and it has a microscopic soundstage. It is pretty euphonic and musical - it's definitely good at that, but it gets smashed by any half decent DAC.

It`s not a great DAC/Amp but in this price range DAC part is pretty good and amp section is just ok.
Microscopic soundstage? I definitely wouldn`t say so. Lot depends on tube being used and internal components (capacitors) which vary with batches.
This DAC turns into pretty "great" DAC when great tube is being used and some internal components changed against quality ones. After that, definitely not getting smashed by any half-decent DAC.
 
JMHSO

 
Quote:

  Most of the people here love the T1 of course. For it's retail price, I would have passed, but for $80 used, this thing is really worth every dollar. I've rolled several tubes with it and they really helped me achieve the kind of sound I'm looking for. I was expecting a lot from the 7308 based on the reviews, but it's not even on my top three tubes.
 
Also, I'm not using the T1 as a HP amp/dac. I'm using it as pure DAC to feed signal to my Yamaha CA-1010 receiver driving a pair of KEF 104/2. 
 
I'm now using a Russian 6N1P on it that I bought for $5 shipped. It is very holographic and warm without losing much detail. Soundstage is wide and airy. For the 7308, I find it to be more "solid-state" sounding. The 6N1P, 6n23P, and Siemens Halske (RCA Printed red) 6DJ8 sounded more warm to me.
 
What I've learned so far is not to purely base your gear on what you read on the internet. Cheap stuff doesn't mean it cannot make you happy and satisfied. The T1 is a great device for the money, and the tube rolling just made it more appealing to the consumers. If it doesn't sound good to you, sell it, buy a more expensive and better equipment, and move on.
 
Not everyone will like the T1, but it sure served well for the most people here.

+1
 
Quote:

 
Hansotek mentioned some good points, but no one can tell what's good for you or not. It also doesn't matter if you're using a five-digit worth of equipment. Spending more cannot guarantee that it'll make improvements to your system. What we read online are just guides and pointers. In the end, it's up to your own ears if the sound is good enough or not. And having good sound for a small amount of money is just amazing!

+1
 
Quote:

My point was, if you are going to drop $150 on a T1, $70 on a tube and $250 on another amp, you should be considering what your best option is for $470, you know? If your budget is more like $200 and you're driving a high impedance headphone, the T1 and a half decent tube make a nice all-in-one choice.

True. But there`s cheaper upgrade options which give also great result.
 

On the other hand, if you're planning on using the T1 as a DAC only, know that it is nice and musical, but poor in terms of technicality. The soundstage is small, the background is noisy, the transient attack is blurry, it lacks dynamics, it doesn't extend very far in the treble or bass, I'm quite sure THD is quite poor and it lacks microdetail.

Don`t agree on those points. Idk what is Your experience with tube rolling, upgrading T1 and other gear but I`ve listened some DAC/amp combos and DAC`s within T1 price range and T1 nicely stands up against/over.
 

T1 does offer you the ability to customize the sound of your DAC, which is rare.

True. T1 versatility is one of its great things.

On one side you can have super smooth and musical.
On the other side you get detailed and dynamic.
 

For me, subjectively, T1 (upgraded) offers middle ground - It`s not super smooth nor super musical and it is detailed and dynamic - very enjoyable musical experience and that`s all I personally want

 
JMHSO

 

[joeq70]

I'm thinking that I will prob stick with the T1 for a long while until I can afford to get an Audio-gd Master 7.

 

[NCSUZoSo]

You know, I felt that the bass was lacking with it always, but I have never tried anything other than the stock tube, aside from a few that I got at a garage sale but just sounded distant. The Asgard did help slightly with the bass, but I mean the difference was so small I could hardly tell.

---

Okay, I'm selling my Aune T1 for an ODAC or a Modi 2 Uber, I just am looking for something more detailed. What price should I go for though?

 
Comparing aftermarket amps with the terrible stock tube is a little silly.
 
My stock amp shorted when the large lead on one hit something while powered on and shorted 2 resistors that I never bothered fixing because my simple Schiit Magni 2 blew it out of the water.  I am talking about a modded stock amp with Panasonic mains and SILMICs for the rest.  You can do a quick search to see my thoughts on the differences, it has been so long that I can't remember the stock amp anymore haha. 
 
BTW guys, I am still running the one of a kind, never before seen online (quoting AudioTubes.com)  1963 Amperex Bugle Boy 7308 Holland     

 
I turned down $200 for it, because there isn't another like it and the sound is better than any other tube I have heard including CCa Siemens and I did have a Miniwatt for a short period before selling it because the Amperex I have produces an openness that is unrivaled.  Never heard such a balanced tube produce such detail.
 
Been away from these forums for a long time because I returned to school to finish my last 2 years in Electrical Engineering at NCSU.  Currently in a circuit analysis (calc based) course and I love this crap!

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

This has been said a lot but with without the T1 I think we wouldn't have any tube-buffered DAC that good for the price. I feed the T1 into my speaker systems, and even though there's some good & cheap tube amp choice out there (the LD I+, which I'm having too) I'd try to avoid double amping as the noise was clearly audible on my Denon amplifier + JBL speaker set. In comparison to the Schitt Vali (it's a tube amp, I know, but there's just no direct competitor in the price range), the T1 is clearly more tube-like to my ear. I tried the Hifiman EF2A too and found it underwhelming. So right now I'm having the ODAC+LD I+ for my headphones and the T1 for my speaker system, and I think this is a setup I'd keep until I have screwloads more money.

 

[joeq70]

I use mine with a vintage sansui receiver and occasionally with an Asgard 2, but am thinking about upgrading to a bifrost multi-bit.
Question to joe, do you find that the T1 does a nice job with 24/48 and 24/96, but not so great with 16/44? I find that even cd's I used to love sound flat and lifeless compared to hi res and vinyl. I know these formats sound better, but it's literally night and day. That's why I'm considering the bifrost multi-bit, so I can play those files natively

You know, I have  never actually paid much attention to it. Most everything I have is ripped to 16/44 and I haven't really had an issue with it. I don't really have any HD CDs to compare with, but I'll do an a/b test sometime and let you know if I can hear a difference.

 

[Baifern]

   
12AU7/6189W
 
You MUST change the heater circuit to run this tube!!!
 
1. Pilot labelled 12AU7. Siemens, Berlin plant. 
    This tube took the Aune to a whole 'nother level. Everything became very smooth, yet still detailed. From 20hz to wherever you claim you can hear, it is perfectly balanced. No one thing sticks out. Soundstage is right about what it should be without being artificially wide. Imaging is accurate. Detail is very well balanced between any note that passes through it. The only thing I find this tube does over any other I have tried is decay. With this tube I noticed a certain decay of notes I have not previously with any other tube. As in a piano playing......the notes trail off perfectly. I honestly cannot find a single fault with this tube, as it is the most well balanced and "perfect" I have tried so far. I am very hesitant to rate it a perfect 10 as there is usually room for improvement, but in this case, maybe there isn't. If you have the ability to build the adapter to run this tube, I would have to say this is the only tube you need. Ever. 
 
                           On Speakers            On Headphones(DT990)
 
Bass                             10                                          10
 
Midrange                     10                                          10
 
Treble                           10                                          10
 
Sounstage                   10                                          10
 
Imaging                       10                                          10
 
Detail                           10                                           10
 
Presence                     10                                           10
 
 

 
I have to agree on this. I've tried numerous tubes with the T1 and this is far the best that I've tried.

I'm using a Mullard 12AU7A with a modified socket saver and was surprised how the T1 has improved! Everything just sounded better, and yes, even compared to Amperex 7308.
 
I couldn't imagine how an $8 tube (won at auction site) could improve this DAC a lot!

For the tube conversion, I just followed the instructions posted by lwrs10 as well.
 

  Pinout to use a 12xx7 tube.
 
 
 
Tie pins 4 and 5 together on the 12xx7, then that goes to pin 4 on 6922 side. 
 
Pin 9 goes to pin 5.