[WilliamLeonhart]

I didn't find the X1S cold at all. IMO, it has a slightly warm, smooth signature. Since it has a Sabre chipset, some people have found its treble a bit bright, however this may depend on which cans you're driving with it.

I didn't personally find it bright with the HD-650's. I found it sounded smooth, but lacked ultimate details. I also found the amp to be underwhelming. I preferred the B1's sound, as for as tonal weight and body were concerned.

The X1S is different than the T1... I know a couple people who are quite taken with the X1S, mostly because of how they describe it as "clear and so smooth". I don't disagree with their comments, however I found the DAC to lack texture and detail. I also found the amp to be underpowered, which led to a lack of dynamics.

As far as a comparison with the T1, I think the strength of Aunes offerings are their unique presentations and pricing. The T1 fits this in that you get an opportunity to roll different tubes to EQ the sound.

I would compare the O2/ODAC combo to the X1S, as I think this is more the target audience for the X1S.

So between the O2/ODAC and the X1S, which one do you prefer? Speaking of DAC alone, is the X1S better or the ODAC better?

 

[mikoss]

Which one do I prefer? Neither.

The ODAC has a tendency to sound at very best sharp and a bit brittle. This really depends on the quality of USB/power supply (apparently), however I've always had an issue with its presentation. To me, it sounds just slightly better than a good sound card. Is it neutral sounding? Perhaps. It isn't as warm as the X1S, and it gives me the impression that it is revealing details, even if they sound brittle/overly sharp. Not glare, just the treble is wrong on this DAC. It reminds me of the DAC-1.

The X1S conversely sounds extremely smooth. It glosses over the brittle treble the ODAC pushes, and gives a slight warmth that makes me feel like everything has a polished presentation. I'm missing tonal weight, texture, micro-detailing. This makes me sad. The ODAC at least tries to reveal some layers that the X1S smoothes over.

Either way I wouldn't buy either myself. The T1 at least injects some tube texture into the mix, even if it's thick and muddy.

 

[buestad]

I just did a capacitor upgrade on my Aune T1 (MK1).
 
I bought the suggested ELNA Silmic II and Panasonic FR caps, but ended up not replacing the 3300uF. The original ones, labeled ELNA RJB, was in fact bigger than the replacement Panasonic and looked decent.
 
Some people has reported trouble removing old solder using a solder suction tool, so I used a solder remover wick in stead which worked fine.
 
The original tutorial: http://www.head-fi.org/t/633006/aune-t1-usb-tube-dac-ss-amp-discussion-thread-see-first-post-for-faq-updated-on-02-14-15/6165#post_10977354 couldn't close the chassis after the upgrade, but this guy https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/238148-diy-replacingupgrading-capacitors-on-the-aune-t1-image-heavy/ made it, so I went for that aproach but slightly different.
 
After a lot of trial and error I could juuuuuuust make it close.
 
The final cap layout ended up like this:

Notice that I had to extend the legs on one of the caps on the main board, and route the wires from the RCA connectors two different paths. Tight fit!
 
 
The amp part underside:

 
and the main board outside the case:

 
 
And, yes it works! Now for some listening to see if there is any noticable difference in sound quality! The tube I currently use is a Reflector 1974 silver shield SWGP.

 

[mikoss]

Wow, squeezed them in... That is skill. The Silmic II's change considerably in the first 100 hours of use, at least to my ears. Enjoy.

 

[buestad]

Is there any reason to change the ELNA RJB 3300uF caps to the Panasonic FR? 

 

[mikoss]

If you feel the bass is lacking impact, the Pannys may help. Probably a minimal difference, but I believe the Panasonic FRs were chosen by others as the best performers for the power circuit.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

Which one do I prefer? Neither.

The ODAC has a tendency to sound at very best sharp and a bit brittle. This really depends on the quality of USB/power supply (apparently), however I've always had an issue with its presentation. To me, it sounds just slightly better than a good sound card. Is it neutral sounding? Perhaps. It isn't as warm as the X1S, and it gives me the impression that it is revealing details, even if they sound brittle/overly sharp. Not glare, just the treble is wrong on this DAC. It reminds me of the DAC-1.

The X1S conversely sounds extremely smooth. It glosses over the brittle treble the ODAC pushes, and gives a slight warmth that makes me feel like everything has a polished presentation. I'm missing tonal weight, texture, micro-detailing. This makes me sad. The ODAC at least tries to reveal some layers that the X1S smoothes over.

Either way I wouldn't buy either myself. The T1 at least injects some tube texture into the mix, even if it's thick and muddy.

Funny thing I also tried comparing the ODAC+O2 with the soundcard on my old HP laptop using the 325is and hard as I tried I could find no difference. I brought them to my friend for him to try with his HD518 and we found none either. 
I thought the ODAC+O2 was a scam.
Then one day I plugged them into my speaker system. I was seriously wowed. In comparison to both the Creative X-Fi Go I was using and the onboard soundcard, the ODAC+O2 provided a whole lot more details. I never knew my hi-fi could sound that great. It was a whole new level of openness and clarity.
 
Even though I like my T1 a lot, direct comparison between the Aune and the O2+ODAC proved to me what perhaps a lot of people would say: the T1 is noticeably muddier. It sounds really great with my Grados, but in the end I'd miss all those details. 
 
Have you tried the Modi, Audioengine D1, DACport or other DACs as well? So far in the T1's price range, which one suits you best?

 

[mikoss]

People hear differently and prefer different things, but I found that what I heard was in line with Purrin, who did immense research with many different DACs, and eventually posted a ranked listing.
He has a way of pointing out strengths and weaknesses that really seemed to match what I heard, so I honestly never bothered with the other cheaper DACs. I do own a Modi2uber, and I also owned the original Modi, so I can comment on both of those.
The original Modi was a "side-grade" to the T1, in my opinion. It had a uniquely wide soundstage presentation, but overall I felt it was muddy sounding. Sort of along the same lines as some of the cheaper stand alone DACs using Burr Brown chips. Not really great clarity or tone.
The Modi2uber sounds completely different. It's sharp, it's precise... It has a more articulated sounding midrange. Where it falters is in the treble. I felt it had something obviously wrong with regards to how the treble came off... Overly sharp, perhaps dry and flat... Not sophisticated enough. Almost like the treble issues I heard with the ODAC.
The Modi2u would be a somewhat obviously better DAC than most soundcards, but in comparison to the "big boy DACs", it's very hard to live with. At least, this is how I feel, even with the Wyrd in the mix.
I have trouble recommending any other DACs below $500 because they mostly all sound very similar, to my ears. The best Sabre implementations I've heard are the Matrix X-Sabre and the Geek Out v2. These really are great performers for their price, in my opinion.
I would be very skeptical of DACs being released which use the same run of the mill DS chips, without any special filters or power supply implementations.
I also don't mean to knock any of those DACs... but I will admit that the differences between a lot of DACs seemed fairly minimal until I heard the others. The X1S sounds smooth, but it has very little of the details the MB Gungnir presents. Why live with a source that sounds smooth? Get a superb source and if you want smooth, use an amp that gives you some smoothness.

 

[dougwicker]

How are these likely to perform with aiaiai tma-1 young gurus? They are 32 Ohm units and I love them to bits.
They have quite a neutral sound which I love but I do have to up the bass a little on my fiio e11. Also I will
be using the lineout to go to my S.M.S.L SA60 and wharfedale 220s, am I likely to hear an improvement
through those as well? Thanks for the help guys, just trying to work out whether it's worth the extra compared
to the e10k.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

  How are these likely to perform with aiaiai tma-1 young gurus? They are 32 Ohm units and I love them to bits.
They have quite a neutral sound which I love but I do have to up the bass a little on my fiio e11. Also I will
be using the lineout to go to my S.M.S.L SA60 and wharfedale 220s, am I likely to hear an improvement
through those as well? Thanks for the help guys, just trying to work out whether it's worth the extra compared
to the e10k

I never compared the Fiio and the Aune directly, but I don't think there will be any drastic improvement in clarity, details and other stuffs like that. The greatest thing about the T1 is that it offers tube-rolling option at low price, and it's really good at that. If you goes for a bass-centric tube, like Mullards, you won't have to use the bass boost on the E11 (which I'm not a fan of, really). And of course your SMSL and wharfedale will benefit from the Aune, since it's a tube DAC. 
Also, the T1 offers the famous analog "tube sound", which a lot of people prefer than the solid state sound. 

 

[dougwicker]

  I never compared the Fiio and the Aune directly, but I don't think there will be any drastic improvement in clarity, details and other stuffs like that. The greatest thing about the T1 is that it offers tube-rolling option at low price, and it's really good at that. If you goes for a bass-centric tube, like Mullards, you won't have to use the bass boost on the E11 (which I'm not a fan of, really). And of course your SMSL and wharfedale will benefit from the Aune, since it's a tube DAC. 
Also, the T1 offers the famous analog "tube sound", which a lot of people prefer than the solid state sound. 

Thanks for that. Looks like i'll be spending lots of money on tubes soon ...​

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

  Thanks for that. Looks like i'll be spending lots of money on tubes soon ...​

Be sure to do a bit of research and buy tubes that complement others well (which means they sound have significantly different sound sig). I'm sure you'll greatly enjoy your T1.

 

[Hixs]

The Mullard ECC88 gets a thumbs up from me. Far superior to the stock Russian tube.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

I've seen no praise for the stock Russian tube. Ever. I've had 2 other Russian tubes from Reflektor and while they were cheap and served me well on certain tracks, all in all they're no match for the Philips Harleen I had.

 

[Hixs]

Have to admit I used my stock tube for 18 months....
 
I had the greatest of intentions of tube rolling when I got my T1 back in 2014, but it just never happened. Only replaced it because it started to act up. Having replaced it though, I realize just how bad it was.