Review and Measurements of Aune X1S DAC & Amp

[nhatlam96]

Did you compare under double blind level matched conditions?

that was a while ago and I learned about voltage/volume matching now, so I can not vouch for the differences between aune x1s and sp200 anymore, but the hiresfi usb dac seriously made my dt1990 sound like a broken 5€ headset.

 

[Exirion]

 

[Headchef]

If it helps anyone I had the x1s (pro I think?) and the X8 with the 3xp psu and there’s a definite improvement over the x1s in terms of soundstage, separation and hi/low response. I also tried the two supplied opamps, the one installed when shipped was my preference (I think it was the burr brown?) the other was a little more laidback. I had ordered a burson opamp for it but they made a mess of my payment and it didn’t materialise. I then made a jump up in DAC’s and A/B tested a Chord Cutest vs Aune S8… my preference during extended a/b blind tests surprised even me!

 

[Jgcajas]

If we compare the Aune X1S with the Cambridge CXN (V2) streamer, wich Dac is better?

 

[Kate_Mills]

Hi everyone. I am new to the forum, just wanted to day hi and ask you gentlemen a question.

I will be buying this DAC in a few weeks and read the review (thank you very much for it). My technical knowledge is quite limited but I noticed that the DAC is criticized for its high output impedance (headphones)
From what I understand it is relevant when connecting the headphones- i.e. the input impedance of the headphones should be 10x higher then output imp of the dac, so in this case it should be at least 59 ohms. Please correct me if I am wrong.
2. questions:

1. In this case we are talking about headphone output impedance so the author in the below table stated that we should be careful with headphones bleow 60 ohm. Could you please tell me what are the dangers of using this dac with headphones with lower impedance (lower than 60).

2. does line out also has an impedance so that it has to be matched to the amplifier it will be connected? I am guessing yes. Is it the voltage matching that some people talk about? Meaning my amp should also have a magnitude larger impedance than the output of this DAC ? What happens if it doesn't?
Thank you very much,

Regards,
Kate.

View attachment 21199

 

[Killingbeans]

Could you please tell me what are the dangers of using this dac with headphones with lower impedance (lower than 60).

No danger (?). Just a risk of the frequency response being altered.

 

[Jimster480]

Hi everyone. I am new to the forum, just wanted to day hi and ask you gentlemen a question.

I will be buying this DAC in a few weeks and read the review (thank you very much for it). My technical knowledge is quite limited but I noticed that the DAC is criticized for its high output impedance (headphones)
From what I understand it is relevant when connecting the headphones- i.e. the input impedance of the headphones should be 10x higher then output imp of the dac, so in this case it should be at least 59 ohms. Please correct me if I am wrong.
2. questions:

1. In this case we are talking about headphone output impedance so the author in the below table stated that we should be careful with headphones bleow 60 ohm. Could you please tell me what are the dangers of using this dac with headphones with lower impedance (lower than 60).

2. does line out also has an impedance so that it has to be matched to the amplifier it will be connected? I am guessing yes. Is it the voltage matching that some people talk about? Meaning my amp should also have a magnitude larger impedance than the output of this DAC ? What happens if it doesn't?
Thank you very much,

Regards,
Kate.

Welcome to the forum! There is no "danger" it is just that your headphones may not perform to their fullest. Or you may not like how they sound if their response is altered.
It also depends on the type of headphones as Planar headphones often don't have an impedance response curve. Meaning that output impedance doesn't matter for response, but it might for power output. I don't remember the exact math for how that works though.
Maybe someone else can chime in.

 

[Fleuch]

Welcome to the forum and the usual range of opinions.

The review of this DAC is dated February 2019 with the price then of USD $260 - quite expensive when put up against DACs that currently cost less and may have improved headphone performance and specifications. Attached is a copy of Amir's most recent ranking of measured DAC performance. The Aune is "long in the tooth", and still in the "blue" zone, but there is better "value for money" to be found. The headphone amplifier graphs for the Aune are not particularly great. As a guide look at the Topping site and then search out the product reviews on ASR. This is a good first step, and there are products from other manufacturers that offer similar DAC performance with improved headphone amplifier performance at less cost. In the Aune review Amir writes "ideally we would want to see 2 ohms or less" for the output impedance of the headphone amplifier.

 

[Jimster480]

Welcome to the forum and the usual range of opinions.

The review of this DAC is dated February 2019 with the price then of USD $260 - quite expensive when put up against DACs that currently cost less and may have improved headphone performance and specifications. Attached is a copy of Amir's most recent ranking of measured DAC performance. The Aune is "long in the tooth", and still in the "blue" zone, but there is better "value for money" to be found. The headphone amplifier graphs for the Aune are not particularly great. As a guide look at the Topping site and then search out the product reviews on ASR. This is a good first step, and there are products from other manufacturers that offer similar DAC performance with improved headphone amplifier performance at less cost. In the Aune review Amir writes "ideally we would want to see 2 ohms or less" for the output impedance of the headphone amplifier.

Yeah definitely not a bad device from some years ago. But definitely not worth the full MSRP today considering what is on the market. This is especially true for the amp section as you had mentioned.

 

[Dibster]

I'm wondering which filter mode to use. It's difficult to really compare them properly with how clumsy the switching is, but is there any mode which could be considered the most transparent?

EDIT: I found a page explaining different filters.

 

[Abracken]

I have a quick question for you guys. I have the Aune T1 and the Aune x1s 10th. The power supply on the Aune T1 seems to be having issues. Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but do you know of any after market power supplies that would work?

Would splitting my Aune x1s power supply with this work?

https://smile.amazon.com/rhinocables-Splitter-7-8inch-Extension-Headphone/dp/B075CTQFKH/ref=sr_1_16?crid=AAZRZ8BWWYQS&keywords=5+pin+din+connector+male&qid=1557856899&s=gateway&sprefix=5+pin+DIN,aps,234&sr=8-16

Or would these PSU's work?

https://www.jameco.com/z/GP25A13D-R...ndustrial-Table-Top-Power-Supply_2254160.html
https://www.jameco.com/z/MKD6612340...-Table-Top-Power-Supply-12V-3-4A_2197898.html

Super late addition to this but I discovered that a Mixer called Stranger SM6 has the same AC adapter without the Din connector. I am in need of a Power supply for the x1s so I'm ordering one of those psu's and soldering the Din connector. I'll leave a message when i get it to confirm it works. might take a while as shipping from India