AUNE T1 (MK1 + MK2) discussion

RavenXXX2 said:
I see, can you compare them to the X1s for music, gaming and movies? cheers.
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"The HD600 has long been one of the best values in the headphone market. It represents one of those rare instances where the performance level is so high for the price that one may feel compelled to use it as the gold standard in terms of value; I certainly do. When I grade all other headphones' price-to-performance ratios, I consider the HD600 and how close it gets to perfection for around 400 dollars.

The HD600 is an evolution of the HD580, which debuted nearly 20 years ago. The HD600 has been in production for well over a decade and it has remained among the most recommendable headphones at its price for its entire production run. It may not compete with extreme-high-end models for the title of "best headphone"; It may not exhibit the transparency-level nor clarity-level of high-end Stax models; it may not be as emotive sounding as the R10s; it may not offer the impressive soundstage capabilities of the K1000, SR-Sigma, HD800 and T1; it may not offer quite the impact of the flagship orthodynamic models by Audez'e and HifiMan - but in its class, I know of no other headphone that is deserving of more acclaim.


STRENGTHS
EXCELLENT TONE: I adore the tone of the HD600. The bass, mids and treble are beautifully integrated. The tone is very close to neutral, featuring a pinch of extra warmth and body.

MIDS: The HD600 has a slightly forward midrange that adds weight to vocals. There are no odd peaks or dips here. Simply put, the HD600 possesses a very natural midrange.

GENRE MASTER: The HD600 is ready to serve its listener. Whether you like pop, classical, rock, hip hop, r&b, jazz, funk, blues, country, electronic, dance, world, etc. it will be a worthy purchase for you.

TRANSPARENT: While the HD600 lacks the speed and agility of electrostatic headphones, and although the HD600 doesn't offer quite the depth of several top-flight dynamic headphones, the HD600 is still a highly transparent headphone.

BASS: Some people will ultimately prefer the bass response of the HD600 to its younger sibling, the HD650. The HD600 has a leaner, yet more neutral bass response when compared with the HD650. The two headphones are largely similar, but it is in the bass presentation as well as the lower-mids where the two Sennheiser models reveal their most obvious differences.

NOT TOO AMP PICKY: With a nominal impedance rating of 300 ohms, the HD600 really does benefit from amplification. However, I have found that this headphone is not particularly amp picky. It sounds fantastic When paired with most of the amps with which I've used it. Furthermore, it sounds particularly good when connected in balanced mode.

COMFORT: The oval-shaped earpads are made of generously plush velour material. This helps make the HD600 a very comfortable headphone to wear. I prefer an oval shape to a round shape because an oval is more form-fitted to the human ear. I have used the HD600 for several hours without break. I have not a single complaint with regard to its comfort-level.

EASILY REMOVABLE PARTS: Many of the parts used in the HD600's construction, including the earpads, cable and grills are user replaceable. Parts are still easily obtainable from Sennheiser. This ensures that your headphone can look and function as new for a very long time.


WEAKNESSES
LACKS DETAIL: The HD600 has a very smooth sound that can sometimes feel slow and slightly blurred. The HD600 is not the last word in terms of detail retrieval.

TREBLE: For as long as I've been a member of the Head-Fi community, the HD600 and HD650 have been criticized by some for having what many refer to as a veiled sound; a sound lacking in both air and harmonic content. I can understand this criticism. Conversely, the HD800 has been criticized for having the treble tilted too far forward. I don't agree with this criticism as the HD800 changes drastically from amp to amp (it can sound quite warm in some setups). The HD600's sonic presentation ultimately lacks some upper harmonics regardless of with which amp it is paired. The good news is, the treble is almost complete void of grain and is not at all harsh or sibilant.


ON THE FENCE
SOUNDSTAGE: The HD600 has an open sound, yet its soundstage is not particularly wide. In my opinion, the soundstage presentation here is best suited for smaller ensembles. In particular, I really enjoy the way jazz music sounds with the HD600. But realistically, just about everything sounds good with the HD600.

IMAGING: The HD600 has the ability to image decently. However, it does not quite offer the pinpoint accuracy which some higher-end headphones are capable of offering.

DECAY: The HD600's decay is slightly slow, but at the same time is very smooth and natural. This makes for a rather engaging (and somewhat romantic) sonic experience.

CABLE: The quality of the HD600's stock cable is not too bad considering the price of the headphone. However, Sennheiser makes the cable easily removable. This makes it very easy to install an aftermarket cable replacement. I use the Moon Audio Silver Dragon when in balanced mode. I think the HD600 scales nicely in balanced mode. In the picture shown above, the HD600 is photographed with the HD650's stock cable.


FOR THE PRICE
A+
The HD600 is one of only five headphones that I have awarded an A+ value rating in this entire evaluation (the other four are Beyerdynamic's DT 880, Audio-Technica's ATH-AD900, and HifiMan's HE-400 & HE-500). Dollar for dollar, the HD600 is among the best sounding headphones I have ever heard. Therefore, I feel it deserves a place in every serious headphone collection.


QUICK CHECK
DESIGN: Full-Size
DRIVERS: Dynamic
IMPEDANCE: 300 Ohms
ISOLATION: Little to None
AMPLIFICATION: Highly Recommended
MY PREFERRED AMP: TTVJ Millett 307A / SPL Phonitor
SOUNDS BEST WITH: Everything & Anything
CABLES USED: Moon Audio Silver Dragon Balanced / Stock
REVISIONS KNOWN: None known to me
FLAGSHIP STATUS: Once Was
PRODUCTION STATUS AS OF 2012: In Production
COST: $399.95 (without aftermarket cable) $699.95 (with aftermarket cable)"

http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/bat...ompared-update-audeze-lcd-2-revision-2-6-4-13

That compares 58 hi-fi headphones and these come in the top 5 from their perspective


Cookeh said:
Meh, even with the price drop they aren't what I'd go for at £200 :p Not really a fan of their sound signature, but this is of course subjective! :D
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I'm a bit of a sennheiser fanboy tbh.

I have 558's for console gaming and HD25-1 II's for portable use this completes the set.
 
Cookeh said:
HD25-1 II's I simply cannot fault for the money, one of the best portable cans imo!
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Do you know anything about "Custom cans Sennheiser HD25 Mass loading and damping kit bass and detail mod"?

If you google that you can see it's fairly easy to do part one of the mod and it only costs £8. Part 2 of the mod is risky and harder (I may leave that part out as damaging the driver would leave me in tears).

Do you think it's worth doing? I have been meaning to buy the kit but never done it for some reason.
 
Cookeh said:
Never heard of it, will give it a Google now.
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I'm ashamed to admit I've just ordered AKG Q701's now as well because they were only £95 (before duty).

Heard great things about them when it comes to gaming. I will require to double amp them though as my mixamp cannot drive them sufficiently on their own.

I hope my topping NX1 does that without any issue.

That's me done. I'm not buying anything else. I need to find sufficient hiding places to hide all these headphones before the wife gets back.
 
PapaLazaru said:
Well I have been testing my setup with and without the NX1 and to be perfectly honest, I think it is degrading the audio a little. It is one of the reasons I bought the Arcam rPAC as it amps as well as being a DAC. I've only really noticed it at high volumes though.
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meh I paid £20 for it and I noticed a hiss when there is no signal from the line out on my ipod touch as soon as you push a signal the hiss disappears.

head fi reviews have all been really good.

it's a £20 portable amp you cannot really expect it to compete with a Arcam rPac which retails for what £150?

when you break down the fact that £20 includes shipping, packaging, a usb cable, a battery, bands, velcro, solid metal case, etc it's pretty amazing for the price.

you are right though after listening to the aune t1 mk2 today it's certainly not brilliant but it does the job.
 
Started getting clipping again when using musicbee and wasapi and a flac file.

Youtube was fine. Something weird is going on. The Brick stops humming after it has warmed up.

Could it be the brick is faulty? Something isn't right it shouldn't be clipping.
 
rids57 said:
If you can hear the brick above all your fans I'd say it's faulty, as I said, I have to literally press my ear against mine to hear anything and it never gets louder than that.
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Well I had been using the tube Mike sent me and I have switched out tubes now. I noticed there is more stuff lighting up inside the tube with the stock tube. Before I only had 2 red glowing bits now I have several.

I also noticed zero clipping on the first flac file i just played.

So far the finger is pointing at the tube. But who knows the other tube worked fine on some stuff too. If this one exhibits issues then I know it's the power brick. If it doesn't then it's the tube.


edit:

i also snapped one of those stupid protector things switching tubes out - they are very very fragile

edit 2:

clipping on the stock tube now as well - its something else

edit 3:

switched from USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 and it seems to be working now, will need more time with it and more testing. stock tube also sounds very very different. it's very neutral, no longer feels alive. i obviously need more time with it though
 
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rids57 said:
I don't understand how so many people manage to break the protectors, they just dropped into mine with zero pressure.

Does the clipping coincide with the transformer buzz or is it all random?
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transformer only buzzes when plugged freshly into a socket. once it has had time to warm up it almost disappears.

therefore if i could ask you to turn everything off unplug your brick from the socket and leave it for several hours (overnight) then tomorrow plug it in and then see how loud it is. then keep it plugged in and see if after an hour or two it's a lot quieter.

clipping seems to have been fixed by switching to USB 2.0 and the PC now picks it up as a AUNE Mk2 before it was just a generic audio device.

also the stock tube is very flat sounding. the tube mike sent me was making me want to dance this is a more laid back sound.
 
rids57 said:
Wow, so it really does make a marked difference then - I need to get me one of those :D

Also, it sounds as if Windows wasn't identifying it correctly to start with. Windows has recognized mine as an Aune since I first plugged it in, although it thinks it's a SPDIF for some reason. What sample rates show up in the Windows Playback Device properties? Mine is only 32kHz, 44.1KHz, 48kHz and 96KHz.
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I have all of those plus 88.2 khz, i think it was a windows not recognising it issue plus me using the wrong USB ports - all is well on 2.0.

there is a difference. for instance symbals and drums just sound so much livelier on this one (i'm back to the russian vintage rocket - mikes tube).

the stock tube is very very flat, feels clinical. this is just very vibrant and possibly maybe over saturated or maybe this is what i have been missing all these years.

the difference is definitely there, even on tracks off youtube and spotify (normal). adele - rolling in the deep sounds amazing with this tube, with the stock tube i no longer felt alive inside.

it's very hard to explain the music just comes alive with this russian vintage rocket from mike. bare in mind i'm using quite a "fun" headphone.

i think ultimately different tubes will suit different headphones or maybe this tube just suits me. you could always prefer the more flatter stock tube it is all very subjective after all.

all i can say is i'm glad i bought this tube the music just sounds so much better. if the 2 other tubes i have on order can better this one I would be amazed.

ultimately the best tube i like out the lot, i'll order more of (as backups/spares) the ones i don't like i'll sell them on.

my fidelio x1's don't have many hours on them either.
 
rids57 said:
Considering you'll have the X1, HD 600 and the Q701 soon, I imagine that you'll be rolling tubes like crazy trying to find the best sound for each set of headphones :D
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shhhh.... when wife finds out i've spent all my holiday spending money on headphones and this dac/amp and several tubes she will have my ears on a platter

I just couldn't resist. that's it for definite though, no more gear. The only thing I can say is that I can sell most of them on for a profit or what i paid. I bought them all dirt cheap.

HD558 - £80, Fidelio X1 - £140, HD600 - £201, Q701 - £96, HD 25-1 II - £120 currently and hopefully don't get hit with customs on the Q701. All of them brand new and all bought within the past month apart from the fidelio was the month before last and the HD25's are a few years old.

I have no idea where to put them all :o
 
ECC88 Siemens arrived today.

It's all boxed up and I don't want to open it up yet and test it out. I am loving the russian vintage rocket far too much.

I need much more time with the rocket before I try something else.
 
'Harry said:
Interesting...I'll add one of these to the list :D

Have my k550s running directly through the laptop right now, so one of these should be an improvement.

What kinda prices do these tubes run at??
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from like £3 to several hundred pounds

tbh though the russian vintage tube I paid £19 for kicks so much **** I don't think I need to spend any more on future ones.

Siemens cost me £19 as well.

i also have 2 other rockets on order which cost me £18 for both. i think they are from an inferior batch to my vintage one and 10 years newer.

who knows though until i test them all properly.

the stock tube is very neutral sounding probably why it comes as stock and probably suited more to a wider audience.

the russian one just sounds better overall but i find it is more fatiguing to listen to. i could just be cranking the volume up slightly too much or it could be the V shape of the fidelios with a more forward treble.

don't know what the culprit is yet. i imagine different headphones will pair better with different tubes. I won't be buying any more tubes unless something comes out that is very highly reviewed and is under £30. that's the top end I would pay for a tube baring in mind that they don't last forever I think it's 10,000 hours average per tube.
 
Well this review says it's better than the Schiit M and M stack

"End Words

The Thorson Combo is a real win in my book. I think most audio enthusiasts will go bananas for this setup. Unfortunately, I have already technically owned the Schiit Combo for some time. The Aune T1 DAC/amp sounds almost identically the same but due to tube customization and it being both a DAC and a very good amplifier all by itself, I am going to say the Schiit combo is a step or two behind the Aune in quality. I think the T1 offers more."

http://www.headfonia.com/schitty-magni-and-modi/2/

That stack is regarded as the best for $200 in America on head fi and from what I have heard so far it has been epic in terms of sound.
 
Unless you own a £500-£1000 pair of headphones spending £500 on just a amp would be a serious waste of money.

The DAC also IMO is much more important so for a £500 AMP I would want like a £750+ DAC.

At that kind of level your paying for a lot of snake oil due to the law of diminishing returns kicking in so low.

AUNE T1 + Vintage Rocket = good night sweet prince

i've not got anything to directly compare it to apart from my MIXAMP and my Xonar DG but it's so many levels above them it's unfair to compare.
 
Wow just used my HD600's with this and vocals are astounding. I mean so clean and crisp. Absolutely fantastic. I immediately notice bass is weak but I'm comparing to X1's here.

I think I know how to use both cans to their best. When a track is mainly about the beat and the bass i'll use the X1. When it's all about the vocals HD600.

OMG the difference in signatures is HUGE but the clarity on the vocals here is worth the lack of bass. Mainly listening to piano and adele and it's wonderful. It doesn't give me that dancing feeling the X1 gives though with this tube (one from mike) this is awe inspiring sit down and enjoy type can.

I need a lot, lot more time with everything but I find it would be hard to beat the vocals on this especially for £200.

One disappointing thing and I noticed with this and the HD558 as well is that the foam padding and build quality feels cheap in comparison to the older sennheisers, my HD 595's had a better headband (I sold them for £50 which is 1/7th of the RRP of these).

The fidelio X1's are built 10 times better than these but the vocals on this is immense. It could simply be the bass is overpowering the vocals on the X1's.

I'mg going to try a few bass heavy tracks and see what happens.
 
Tested my Siemens ECC88 today and it seems to be a slightly better version of the stock tube. Bass was tight, very neutral.

Favourite so far still is the rocket, it's more fun, better bass, vocals sound more alive.

I was planning on selling on one of the rockets I bought from Ukraine but I've changed my mind since it's my favourite tube there is no way I would want to sell my spare ones.

They are cheap enough to get off a certain auction site.

The ones I ordered from Ukraine are 78's so 2 years older than the 80 I got off Mike.

So they should be even better (not tested them yet). Will do tomorrow hopefully.

I'll keep the Siemens and Stock tubes just as backup. But I don't really plan on using them much tbh.
 
rids57 said:
yeah, I'll have to start looking for tubes soon - I probably have new glasses to pay for first though.
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The one's i got from Ukraine were like £18 for 2 (matched pair) including shipping. They came wrapped in a tiny bit of bubble wrap and some ukranian newspaper/magazine.

I would say it's the best one to go for. You will get 2 tubes for under £20 which should last you a lifetime.
 
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