[Hente]

^Already changed it to default and disabled my Realtek drivers, still not getting anything from Windows or my browser, messed around with MPC's settings and I got it to work in there.
Edit: Nevermind, when I set it to 16/44 it started working.

 

[WaveRider69]

Somebody should really put "Aune" in this thread title.  I didn't even know this thread existed for months as I randomly here there went searching around only for threads with "aune" in the title and they all were completely lacking with few posts.  This is the thread that has all the info I was looking for.  It looks like I will be ordering the AUNE, and looking for the MKII LE version.  Thanks very much to all of those that posted, I'm excited to get this.
 
Those that have compared, I have a Xonar Essence STX, do you think this will be a good upgrade?  I'm also considering a Cute Beyond, but I like that the Aune has the DAC & Amp.  What do you guys think?

 

[francisdemarte]

I PM'ed the original OP of this thread. I'm not sure if they are still around though. Someone can maybe ask the mod's to change the title or at least add "Aune" some where in it.

 

[Kevin Brown]

I still really like this guy.  I have the Mk II SE, and I'm always keeping my eye out for the LE.  I've seen the LE sometimes advertised with a beefy power supply (not the std wall wart adapter), but those seem hard to get a hold of.  (... See post 332 !!)
 
 

 

[francisdemarte]

That power supply is not an easy install. It requires modification to the Aune's circuit board that is certainly not for the faint of heart. I'm not just talking about soldering, you need to cut out a hunk of it.

It far easier just to order a nice 18V DC Regulated PSU from digikey/mouser/farnell etc.

 

[Kevin Brown]

Quote:

That power supply is not an easy install. It requires modification to the Aune's circuit board that is certainly not for the faint of heart. I'm not just talking about soldering, you need to cut out a hunk of it.

It far easier just to order a nice 18V DC Regulated PSU from digikey/mouser/farnell etc.
 

I have a link (that doesn't work now) that they actually sold these as a pair for a little while.
 
I did get one Mouser power supply, but it didn't work with the Aune.  But a 15V/1A enercell from Radio Shack does, so that's what I'm using now.
 
 

 

[Karut]

Hi,
 
after fighting my way through the 24 pages I still have two questions:
 
As for now I am plannung to priorly use the Aune to connect my CD-Player with an analog cabel to my headphones and my tuner. This works right? But it wont be the best solution, right? I mean its a D/A-Converter, but would then be using it with a analog input. Does that make any sense or do I have to buy my a CD-Player with a digital output? Will I notice it? The DAC in my CD-Player is not superb, but still good.
Are there any other incompatibilities, combinations that dont work?
 
Is there a black version the Aune? It would fit the rest of my equipment.
 
 
The amp will drive my dt-990 - if I get the Aune I will post a review how the two work together. I expect even more clarity and a bit more balance.
 
 
Thanks a lot! This thread really helped me
 
 
 

 

[devast]

It's been a while since i've been around here
As a "hi there" gift, here's the schematic of the aune, for the diyers : http://www.file-upload.net/download-1431042/miniusbmk2.pdf.html
It's been floating around for some time, but i don't think anyone linked it here.
 

 

[dpssri6]

Is it better to use the RCA inputs or the S/PDIF? 
 
Also what S/PDIF cable do I need?  My mobo has the S/PDIF output that looks like a USB.

 

[francisdemarte]

Depends on the quality of your soundcard. RCA's are analogue, meaning your computer's soundcard is doing the conversion from digital to analogue. If your using the s/pdif then the  DAC of the hifidiy is doing the conversion.
 
Try both and see which one sounds better to you.
 
Not sure about the SPDIF on your mobo, sound like you need a special adapter to make that work.

 

[dpssri6]

Cool, for you guys that have tested both, is there a sound difference between the USB and the SPDIF? 

 

[Stereodude]

I purchased a Aune Mini USB DAC Mk2 SE from a seller in China via ebay on 10/7.  It arrived on 10/19.  I was surprised to find a noticeable hiss in the audio output.  It's there but not super prominent with my Sony MDR-V6's.  It's quite obvious with my Shure E4 IEMs.  Unfortunately for me the Shure's are what I plan to use most of the time with it.

Mine came with a wall wart with the proper prongs on it to plug into a US wall socket.  So, there was no adapter as other people have noted.  The wall wart is labelled as 220V / 50Hz input 15V DC / 1A output.  I measured 24.43V open circuit on the output of the adapter.  I'm not sure what it sags down to under load.

I connected a lab grade linear power supply to the Aune to see if it really sounded different (or better) at higher voltages.  I was able to change the voltage on the fly up and down while listening to it.  The output volume increases as the voltage is increased up to about 13.0V and then seemed to hold constant.  I only tested up to 20V.  The background hiss doesn't get louder as voltage increases (beyond the initial volume increase up to about 13V) and the sound quality doesn't change as the volume increases.  Current consumption of the unit increases slightly as the input voltage increases.  It draws about .10A at 12V and increases linearly up to .12A at 18V.  The position of the volume knob and SPL produced barely changes the current draw.  Driving my MDR-V6's to max volume (with them off my head) increased the current draw to .13A at 18V.

I opened it up and poked around inside.  Everything looked okay with no surprises.

For the hiss, my plan is to replace the 1/2W 3.01ohm 1% series resistors in the output path with something around 200 ohms to eliminate the hiss by pushing it below the threshold of audibility.  I tested this out with an inline volume control and confirmed 200 ohms will remove the hiss and still leaves the Aune with plenty of output volume.  Even with 200 ohms in series on the output it's unbareably loud (with a USB source) with the knob at 12 o'clock).
 
One other thing of note is that it does not support Kernel Streaming under Windows XP SP3 using Foobar 2000.  It also doesn't support ASIO natively.  However, the volume control in the Windows mixer doesn't work for it, which as I understand it means it is bypassing kmixer (kmangler).

 

[Stereodude]

These are the two 3.01 ohm resistor I plan to replace with 200 ohm resistors to nuke the hiss.
 

 

[Stereodude]

Here's a picture of the new 1/2W 200 ohm 0.1% resistors in place:
 

 
Now, I can't hear the noise floor in the Aune anymore even with my Shure E4c IEMs.

 

[francisdemarte]

Nice job! Thanks for sharing