Have you tested the Aune X8 dac also?I heard this as a DAC with JDS atom. It was breathtaking combo. As a bonus you have possibility to change digital filters built-in in 9018k2m "on the fly". As another bonus there is quite nice headamp in it. For dt880 600 & fostex th610 i much preferred atom, there was no question about it. But for instance for something like hd600, liked aune's headamp better.
As a DAC, it's measurements amongst the best ever tested here. Especially THD, low level linearity & Dynamics. Not even mentioning how clean is the jitter. Look at the average level, this is almost impossible (most at -150dB). Don't even mention reliability and years of great reputation of this company. Great USB separation.
Stacking atom on x1s is superb even though x1s is a bit curved on the top. Checked that twice. Rubber on the bottom of atom does great job to keep it in place.
The only thing I missed so much after the review is TOSLINK jitter test by Audio Precision. Then I could have my ultimate DAC if it is immune on optical input.
I am so interested how that measures. It could be the ultimate combo with the Atom. So the X8 uses the dac chip that has the ESS hump also?
Does anyone know if the reason it is as expensive as the X1s is because of the opamps? And do those opamps make a difference?
The reason why I ask this is because it would be a waste if I buy the X1s for dac and also the atom amp , because I would be paying two times for a headphone amp. While with the X8 it is only a dac.
I use a Beyerdynamic DT250 250 Ohm by the way. (and the only thing I don't like with it, is that the treble is not 100% refined, the rest is spot on).
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