AUNE T1 (MK1 + MK2) discussion

Psycho Sonny

Psycho Sonny

Psycho Sonny

Caporegime
Joined
21 Jun 2006
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Just ordered the MK2 as well as a military grade NOS 6N23P.

Anyone know much about either of these?

Also my PC is far too loud (got something like 16 fans inside it). I wasn't into all this headphone malarky when i built it and the ambient noise is quite bad.

So I am planning on now using the laptop as a source for music/movies, since both my indoor cans are open.
 
Tubes are so ridiculously subjective. The differences between them can be very subtle and which is better really depends on your ears, your headphones, and what sound you prefer.

Lucid has linked some excellent threads though, I personally rate the diyaudio and audiokarma ones highly.
 
well the MK2 comes with a better tube than the MK1 as well as some slightly better internals and USB support.

so I will test both tubes (stock and the one I bought) and see if I can tell any difference before trying others with different signatures.
 
Actually the MK1 has been shipping with the 6922EH for a while as the upgrade model. What has changed is that the DAC is now asynchronous and while they made that change they also increased the maximum sample frequency from 96kHz to 192kHz. To cover these changes they increased the price $15 (£10) but it's still a bargain.

I'm still using the original 6922EH tube in mine but will probably be trying an Amperex E88CC or a Russian 6N23P (Rocket) so am very interested in how you get on with yours. Initially I had some problems with channel balance and static noise but after running it in and unplugging / reinserting everything a few times it all now works perfectly.
 
The Rocket has some excellent reviews.

A question about the T1, if you will. Can you use line-out via RCA to speakers and a 3.5mm line-out via the headphone amp and switch between them, or are both on simultaneously, or can you not do this?
 
No, sadly, it's an always on line out signal (not altered by the volume control) so an extra switch would be needed.
 
Balls. That's just shattered all my plans to invest. I currently use my Headphone Out on my amp (3020A), I'd happily use a dedi headphone amp, the problem is I want a better DAC but don't want to be switching between amps (headphone and stereo) everytime I wanted to switch my output from cans to speakers or vice versa... :( Forgive how poorly worded that is, brain isn't quite firing on all cylinders.
 
Hmmmm, I was assuming that you'd be going straight out to powered speakers.

How about this...

USB -> Aune T1 with the line out connected to the NAD (aux).

If you want to use the headphones then plug them into the T1 and either leave the NAD turned off or just switch sources.

If you want to use the speakers then unplug the headphones and switch the NAD to AUX

That should work fine.
 
Thats a good shout actually, I hadn't considered that angle. Now I just have to decide if I want to spend an extra £30 for a dedi headphone amp (T1) or just get the EPH E-DAC, which should, according to testings, be the better DAC... Tubes though, so much experimentation with sound...
 
Apparently a few members on head fi have opened up there AUNE T1 and found it has inferior components to original review units sent out. Specifically the capacitors are crap and could fail easily.

Also apparently the power supply could do with a bit of an upgrade, a cleaner input will give a cleaner sound. as well as changing the fuse to one with 0.5-2 amp (comes with 13 amp).

I'm hoping that the MK2 doesn't have the crappy capacitor issue. Guys on head fi have simply been soldering better cap's into the AUNE. They don't cost much but I don't really have the know how or equipment to pull off such a job.

As for tubes they are basically similar to light bulbs and they have a average life of around 10,000 hours if they are half decent.

That's why the price of tubes goes up year on year as when the vintage ones are gone they are gone forever and not many people are making new ones as people move onto solid state.

I know I'm focusing on the bad but I think people should know this.

The good point is that tube DAC's tend to sound a lot better than solid state stuff with the right tube. It's a really great device and you won't get better for the price.

I think I will in future pair it with a Topping TP60 (or a newer version when they come out) and some floor standers.

Then a few years after that sell it all and get a NAD D 7050 (or a newer version if they come out with one).

If your wondering about what DAC/AMP to get I think this is the best one for under £200. Also to note there is nothing wrong with the new 6922 tubes that come as stock. They are very good and easily replaceable for cheap (as they are new and in production).

If anyone is interested in buying a "rocket", I should have a spare very soon ;)


Anyone put off with some of the above should just get a EPH ODAC + O2 amp
 
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I just waded through a few hundred posts in that HeadFi thread :D

The only problem with the power supply is that it ships with a 13 amp fuse.

The capacitor "issue" got totally overblown and just seems to involve two secondary supply capacitors. Could this have been why you thought there were problems with the power supply?
Originally these capacitors were shown as a named brand in promotional photos but have since been replaced with generic capacitors. This kind of thing happens all the time in electronics, just because early versions use a certain brand doesn't mean that later editions will be the same. All it probably means is that in order to shave a bit off the cost they used generic capacitors in parts of the circuit that don't need top grade (expensive) variants. I also read about fake capacitors but that would have to include most electronics manufactured in China.

Regarding the capacitor changes COiL wrote the following...

Yes, confirmed, capacitor specs are not everything. Although those Panasonic FM & FR & AM have very high specs, they do not "sound" so good (subjective) as stock caps, although transparency, imaging and soundstage improved littlebit (for EDM these caps are actually pretty good).
Click to expand...

He replaced all of the caps with high grade Nichicon and Panasonic and discovered that it sounded worse. He then put all of the old ones back in and it sounded great again. He wasn't the only one, in fact the person that brought up the whole issue eventually came to the conclusion that the only two capacitors that he wasn't happy with were the two generics and that was mostly because he doesn't like generics. Also, the whole scare came about due to one person measuring the capacitors in a single T1 and finding the two generics to be out of tolerance (all of the others were fine) - Someone else has since measured another pair and they were spot on.

The capacitor upgrades they are doing now seem to be adding oversized ELNA Silmic II capacitors in place of all electrolytics, which some claim to improve the sound but they end up having to shoehorn them into the case because they are way too big and don't fit in place of the originals.

I think I'll leave mine as it is :D
 
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Psycho Sonny said:
The good point is that tube DAC's tend to sound a lot better than solid state stuff with the right tube. It's a really great device and you won't get better for the price.
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Very subjective, and the differences are quite subtle imo - the difference is certainly not "a lot better" in my experience. Really depends on the listener, the source and the headphones, as previously mentioned.

Psycho Sonny said:
If you're wondering about what DAC/AMP to get I think this is the best one for under £200.
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From a purely DAC POV, the E-DAC and other O-DAC variants under different monikers should be superior, but you do of curse loose the ability to 'fine tune' (via tubes) the sound to your ideals.

I dont really need a headphone amp, but I would use one if I had one, so really its E-DAC for £88 or T1 for £124 - latter is more expensive (even more so when considering tube costs, they aren't exactly cheap), larger footprint, but does offer this tuneable sound and a headphone amp. Really and EDAC suits my needs much better, but I want a T1 for the sake of experimentation.
 
rids57 said:
I just waded through a few hundred posts in that HeadFi thread :D

The only problem with the power supply is that it ships with a 13 amp fuse.

The capacitor "issue" got totally overblown and just seems to involve two secondary supply capacitors. Could this have been why you thought there were problems with the power supply?
Originally these capacitors were shown as a named brand in promotional photos but have since been replaced with generic capacitors. This kind of thing happens all the time in electronics, just because early versions use a certain brand doesn't mean that later editions will be the same. All it probably means is that in order to shave a bit off the cost they used generic capacitors in parts of the circuit that don't need top grade (expensive) variants. I also read about fake capacitors but that would have to include most electronics manufactured in China.

Regarding the capacitor changes COiL wrote the following...



He replaced all of the caps with high grade Nichicon and Panasonic and discovered that it sounded worse. He then put all of the old ones back in and it sounded great again. He wasn't the only one, in fact the person that brought up the whole issue eventually came to the conclusion that the only two capacitors that he wasn't happy with were the two generics and that was mostly because he doesn't like generics. Also, the whole scare came about due to one person measuring the capacitors in a single T1 and finding the two generics to be out of tolerance (all of the others were fine) - Someone else has since measured another pair and they were spot on.

The capacitor upgrades they are doing now seem to be adding oversized ELNA Silmic II capacitors in place of all electrolytics, which some claim to improve the sound but they end up having to shoehorn them into the case because they are way too big and don't fit in place of the originals.

I think I'll leave mine as it is :D
Click to expand...

I was speaking to Mike from Rock Grotto. This is an email he sent me last night.

"The weakest part of the T1 is the switched mode power supply...... It's ok but a linear / regulated PSU really does take it to a different level."

He is a great guy, helped me a lot and he sells tubes privately. I ordered one from him and a couple from ebay.

If you could read through this thread here

http://rockgrotto.proboards.com/thread/8297/aune-bit-valve-tube-dac

and give me your thoughts I would be very grateful. I was up quite late last night reading so I was tired and skim reading a lot of stuff. But he makes power supplies for other dac/amp's but modified one of them to work with the AUNE T1 I believe (he doesn't sell that version though from what I can see on his site) so you will either need to make your own or see if someone else does something similar.

This guy is an expert, he is well known on head fi (banned for talking against sponsors products) and even has someone who is pretending to be him on head fi (same avatar, tagline, etc but is a noob). Rock grotto is his own forum after he left head fi.
 
PapaLazaru said:
Sonny, your best bet, if you have one nearby, is to go to Richer Sounds. If you talk to them nicely they will give you a minimum 14 money back guarantee on a DAC. Normally 30 days on any Cambridge Audio equipment.

Join their VIP club and you can get further discounts like the Cambridge Audio DACMAGIC 100 for £149.00 - http://www.richersounds.com/product/dacs/cambridge-audio/dacmagic-100/camb-dac-mag-100-blk
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My local one is a hole.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.8...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sQswXR9YkXccdkgViVZ_UYw!2e0

It's also in a dodgy area full of drug dealers, brothels, pimps and ladies of the night.

The next one is over an hours drive away.
 
PapaLazaru said:
Well my point is, that they will let you take stuff home to try with a money back guarantee. Much better than ordering and returning stuff off the internet.
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I may pop into one in future and do this. But the AUNE T1 ticks all the boxes for me atm.

I have already ordered it and it is currently "Awaiting dispatch".

In the future though I will try something more expensive and see if it's worth the jump in price. The AUNE T1 is highly recommended on head fi.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
I was speaking to Mike from Rock Grotto. This is an email he sent me last night.

"The weakest part of the T1 is the switched mode power supply...... It's ok but a linear / regulated PSU really does take it to a different level."

He is a great guy, helped me a lot and he sells tubes privately. I ordered one from him and a couple from ebay.

If you could read through this thread here

http://rockgrotto.proboards.com/thread/8297/aune-bit-valve-tube-dac

and give me your thoughts I would be very grateful. I was up quite late last night reading so I was tired and skim reading a lot of stuff. But he makes power supplies for other dac/amp's but modified one of them to work with the AUNE T1 I believe (he doesn't sell that version though from what I can see on his site) so you will either need to make your own or see if someone else does something similar.

This guy is an expert, he is well known on head fi (banned for talking against sponsors products) and even has someone who is pretending to be him on head fi (same avatar, tagline, etc but is a noob). Rock grotto is his own forum after he left head fi.
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That's strange because he said this about the power supply in the thread you quoted...

the input voltage is 15V-0-15V (30V centre tapped) courtesy of a very chunky offboard transformer... far better than these awful switched mode efforts that seem to be supplied with everything these days.
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I read that thread beginning to end before buying the T1 and Mike's views were instrumental in making the decision.

From the T1 page:

Split power supply design:

Quality linear power supply, five-core external power supply interface, two-lane group, power supply, large-capacity power supply filtering, and more effective to reduce power supply noise.
Click to expand...

Looking at the large brick that came with mine and it seems to be what the web page says it is.
 
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