Aune T1 USB Tube DAC+ SS Amp Discussion Thread ***See first post for FAQ--Updated on 02/14/15***
Nov 17, 2013 at 3:19 PM Post #3,286 of 8,309
Hey guys if you remember me from a few months back, my Aune T1 just stopped working and had a bunch off static in the left ear. Well, you guys said I should send it back and they should atleast fix it for free. I did do that and the seller was amazing, sent it to china for 30$ and they didn't fix it, they sent me a whole new case!! 
 
I will note I was 60 days in when it broke and the return was only 30 days. They still let me send it back and gave me a new one. Awesome if you ask me. 
 
Now it's sounding great but with Christmas coming up i'm deciding on a new pair of headphones since i've been using my Audio Technica ATH-M50's for about 2 years or more now. Now I know these headphones aren't very amp-dependent and although the Aune makes them sound at the their very best imo, I want something that needs a little more power that would shine with the Aune. I'm still going to use my Audio Technicas for anything less power dependent. I'm wondering what would be a solid upgrade from them in the price range of 300 - 500$ that would be suitable for my Aune T1. I'm looking at the Sennheiser HD 598 or the AKG Whites currently. They look like they would be excellent. Any suggestions with headphones in that range that pair amazingly with the Aune? I'm using the 6922 EH Tube and have an additional JJ electronic tube. Any suggestions would be great thanks.
 
Nov 17, 2013 at 3:40 PM Post #3,287 of 8,309
  Hey guys if you remember me from a few months back, my Aune T1 just stopped working and had a bunch off static in the left ear. Well, you guys said I should send it back and they should atleast fix it for free. I did do that and the seller was amazing, sent it to china for 30$ and they didn't fix it, they sent me a whole new case!! 
 
I will note I was 60 days in when it broke and the return was only 30 days. They still let me send it back and gave me a new one. Awesome if you ask me. 
 
Now it's sounding great but with Christmas coming up i'm deciding on a new pair of headphones since i've been using my Audio Technica ATH-M50's for about 2 years or more now. Now I know these headphones aren't very amp-dependent and although the Aune makes them sound at the their very best imo, I want something that needs a little more power that would shine with the Aune. I'm still going to use my Audio Technicas for anything less power dependent. I'm wondering what would be a solid upgrade from them in the price range of 300 - 500$ that would be suitable for my Aune T1. I'm looking at the Sennheiser HD 598 or the AKG Whites currently. They look like they would be excellent. Any suggestions with headphones in that range that pair amazingly with the Aune? I'm using the 6922 EH Tube and have an additional JJ electronic tube. Any suggestions would be great thanks.

tbh , sennheiser 598 don't really need an amp to power it up since its only 50ohm but it will benefit from the tube dac for sure. As for tube, I'm not as knowledgeable as coil or mhamel but it's agreed upon many others that an amperex orange globe 6dj8 will be great for AUNE T1. 
 
Nov 17, 2013 at 6:14 PM Post #3,289 of 8,309
Change of pace here, everybody seems to be stuck on rowing tubes. :)

Having a hard time deciding on the aune T1 or X1, not finding any direct comparisons of how the two sound even though they are very close in price and function. With the T1 I can row tubes to suit my taste while the x1 would be plug n and enjoy.

I listen to everything except, gangsta rap and country bar music, phones would be grado 60/125 or hd681, source would be flac>foobar>usb.
 
Nov 17, 2013 at 8:05 PM Post #3,290 of 8,309
Change of pace here, everybody seems to be stuck on rowing tubes. :)

Having a hard time deciding on the aune T1 or X1, not finding any direct comparisons of how the two sound even though they are very close in price and function. With the T1 I can row tubes to suit my taste while the x1 would be plug n and enjoy.

I listen to everything except, gangsta rap and country bar music, phones would be grado 60/125 or hd681, source would be flac>foobar>usb.


The T1 is fine to plug and play with the basic tube that it comes with (usually the EH9622). The key is tube sound which many of us like. The 9622 is a good intro to tube sound. . The X1 is only solid state and you won't get the tube "flavor." You can chose to swap or "roll" the tube to find one that suits your taste. This is what attracts many of us to the Aune to begin with. If you want a full solid state unit there are many. For the same price range you might consider the Schiit Modi/Magni combo.
 
Nov 17, 2013 at 9:47 PM Post #3,291 of 8,309
The X1 does have more inputs though. 
 
I have both, and the X1 is on my TV because it accepts USB, Coaxial and Optical. I run the optical out from the tv into it, and the usb I plug into my notebook when I want music through my home 2.0 setup. 
 
The T1 lacks that versatility. 
 
Nov 17, 2013 at 10:18 PM Post #3,292 of 8,309


The T1 is fine to plug and play with the basic tube that it comes with (usually the EH9622). The key is tube sound which many of us like. The 9622 is a good intro to tube sound. . The X1 is only solid state and you won't get the tube "flavor." You can chose to swap or "roll" the tube to find one that suits your taste. This is what attracts many of us to the Aune to begin with. If you want a full solid state unit there are many. For the same price range you might consider the Schiit Modi/Magni combo.






   Thanks, that's pretty much what my searching has said about the T1, 1)good headphone amp, 2)you can somewhat tailor the sound to your liking but I've only found one partial thread gushing on the x1 at the grotto.  Doesn't matter to me if it's ss or tube as long as the music gets my rocks off! 
blink.gif



 


   Still not sure which one to get...maybe both and give one to boy for Christmas.  
wink.gif
 


 


   Seems some posts mention the Schiit can sound a little bright, if I have to I'll give up a little detail for a smoother sound.  I'm thinking the Aune sound may be more to my liking. 


 


   Wonder how either would do as a dac/preamp on a main full size system?                              
 
Nov 17, 2013 at 10:41 PM Post #3,293 of 8,309
     Wonder how either would do as a dac/preamp on a main full size system?                              

 
The T1 works pretty well as a DAC, I've been playing around with it as a DAC to my Schiit Lyr and a vintage Pioneer integrated amp.    The line outputs are fixed, though, so it wouldn't function as a preamp on its own.
 
Nov 18, 2013 at 2:51 PM Post #3,295 of 8,309
Aune T1 and sibilance? khmmm... that`s the first one. If you are using 6922EH tube then yes, it has sparkly bright highs but no, imo there`s no sibilance.
Maybe it`s mismatch with your cans of you aren`t just used with so sparkly clear highs. Or, maybe your tube is faulty. But nevertheless I definitely wouldn`t say Aune T1 has sibilance. If I use my Superlux HD-681 reds without hw filter then yes, I hear harsh highs & SSsss sibilance but it comes only from headphone. Maybe your cans sibilance came to life because proper dac/amp reveals its true sound nature?
 
Nov 18, 2013 at 5:37 PM Post #3,296 of 8,309
Can somebody explain this 0 db, 10 db, and 16 db thing to me?? I'm pretty set on purchasing the Hifiman HE-400 headphones and I saw on this thread there were earlier posts of a member not enjoying his HE-400 as much until  he set his Aune to 10db. I'm very confused to what this does, and why you need to do it for a certain headphone type. I read the descriptions online but they are too advanced and don't really make much sense to me. Could some one go over a Sound Decibels for dummies from a stand point of why I would need to set such a thing for a certain head phone type? would be appreciated. 
 
EDIT: My friend said if my current headphones sound good on 0 DB which they do (ATH-M50's) then setting a higher decibel would distort them. So would that not happen to the HIfi or is he wrong? 
 
Nov 18, 2013 at 7:06 PM Post #3,297 of 8,309
  Can somebody explain this 0 db, 10 db, and 16 db thing to me?? I'm pretty set on purchasing the Hifiman HE-400 headphones and I saw on this thread there were earlier posts of a member not enjoying his HE-400 as much until  he set his Aune to 10db. I'm very confused to what this does, and why you need to do it for a certain headphone type. I read the descriptions online but they are too advanced and don't really make much sense to me. Could some one go over a Sound Decibels for dummies from a stand point of why I would need to set such a thing for a certain head phone type? would be appreciated. 
 
EDIT: My friend said if my current headphones sound good on 0 DB which they do (ATH-M50's) then setting a higher decibel would distort them. So would that not happen to the HIfi or is he wrong? 

Those are the different gain settings. Basically, it'll decide the volume and how well driven the headphones are; at lower gain settings it might not be driven well. 
 
Nov 18, 2013 at 8:59 PM Post #3,298 of 8,309
   IIRC, there were some posts concerning channel linearity at very low volume settings due to the volume pot.  Whichever gain setting you use I'd want the volume dial to be above it's lowest setting when listening at normal levels.  
 
   Am I on the right track guys?   
 
Nov 19, 2013 at 1:35 AM Post #3,299 of 8,309
  Can somebody explain this 0 db, 10 db, and 16 db thing to me?? I'm pretty set on purchasing the Hifiman HE-400 headphones and I saw on this thread there were earlier posts of a member not enjoying his HE-400 as much until  he set his Aune to 10db. I'm very confused to what this does, and why you need to do it for a certain headphone type. I read the descriptions online but they are too advanced and don't really make much sense to me. Could some one go over a Sound Decibels for dummies from a stand point of why I would need to set such a thing for a certain head phone type? would be appreciated. 
 
EDIT: My friend said if my current headphones sound good on 0 DB which they do (ATH-M50's) then setting a higher decibel would distort them. So would that not happen to the HIfi or is he wrong? 


That depend on your can IINM. Some comfortable with 10db and some comfortable with 16db. As for me, 16db with HD 600 gave me night and day differentm YMMV.
 
My so worst impressions linked last time. I'll fix that post and try to use common term so it's easier to understand.
 
My theory is for 300ohm, 16db is the sweet spot. Just my naked theory. I haven't try other lower impedance headphone yet but I will update again.
 
Nov 19, 2013 at 2:22 AM Post #3,300 of 8,309
Aune T1 and sibilance? khmmm... that`s the first one. If you are using 6922EH tube then yes, it has sparkly bright highs but no, imo there`s no sibilance.


Maybe it`s mismatch with your cans of you aren`t just used with so sparkly clear highs. Or, maybe your tube is faulty. But nevertheless I definitely wouldn`t say Aune T1 has sibilance. If I use my Superlux HD-681 reds without hw filter then yes, I hear harsh highs & SSsss sibilance but it comes only from headphone. Maybe your cans sibilance came to life because proper dac/amp reveals its true sound nature?

 


I really doubt that my headphones have sibilance at all in it's sound signature. The bass isn't decent and the sibilance(hissssss) manifests itself at higher volumes.

It was more emhasized in some songs are compared to others though. I have the stock-stock tube 6n23 [or was it the 6n11 or 6n1p?] (not the upgraded 6922) so maybe that is why everything is not pretty great.

Have ordered 4 6es8 (pcc189) tubes and a GE6dj8 tube so hope they sound fine. I've read somewhere that 6es8 tubes don't exactly fit right in a circuit designed for 6dj8 but I've heard some people saying that it sounds fine so I took a gamble.

The textures sound pretty great, am already wondering what my next dac will be, any ideas on what would be a worthwhile upgrade and not a minor upgrade to the Aune T1.

The Aune T1 blew me away but it should have beena lot better, it struggles to drive the Fostex T50RP at 10 gain with some songs and I sure as don't listen to songs at high volumes.

All this is based on what I felt in my initial 2 hours of listening so it may change.
 

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