Schlippwhip68
Addicted to Fun and Learning
This is not really any suggestion in the advancement of any particular idea concerning this little but powerful micro stack from Aiyima, I suppose this is just a post of appreciation that others may share if they own one or some light for those looking into acquiring an ultra affordable class d micro stack. There is no shilling/sponsorship here either, this is my own equipment.
For the size of this little system there is plenty of power on hand even just using my favourite power brick of 36v 6a. It certainly drives my Wharfedale 12.2 speakers with 88db sensitivity very well.
Over Bluetooth the output is a little less than wired with the latter allowing a far bigger and bolder sound and output. Resolution over Bluetooth using the iPhone is very good. Aiyima in my experience implement Bluetooth in their devices with mastery particularly the later models in their line up giving a clear and detailed sound that pleases me enough to almost forget wires over the sheer convenience of turn on, connect and play. Soundstage width suffers a little with Bluetooth but it still remains relatively spacious and an acceptable centre image. Remember this is Bluetooth and not the T1 Pro limiting performance here. It’s certainly far, far better than a few years ago where Bluetooth was just a garbled mumbling to my ears in general use for music.
Wiring the T1 Pro from my PC using a Creative Audigy FX2 soundcard allows far more power, bigger, bolder and greater width to the soundstage with enough height and bettering the Bluetooth's center image giving greater accuracy with more centered vocals. Bass notes are much more defined and instrument separation is greatly improved and plenty of punch, this hardware combination has my Wharfedale 12.2 speakers bass cones rattling the windows with ease at much less than full volume. The Bluetooth is still very good and enough probably to take presidency for those akin to ease and convenience when more pressing duties are afoot.
Running the T1 Pro through the AO7 Max is a fun and engaging listen perhaps with a little novelty , it's certainly not 'frying pan flat' dynamically with the valves adding some flesh to the bones. I put both AO7s into mono mode and with the stock tubes and op amps the sound is full and clean, nothing edgy or harsh conveying here for this combo. It is not the last word in sonic subtlety, refined nuance etc and comparing it with any such amplifier that may allow the sneeze of a Flea to be heard would be unfair but it still delivers a fine performance and one that is very easy to live with daily.
I switched out the stock tubes and op amps replacing them with some of my favourite tubes and op amps namely the Mullard EF95 valves and the Philips NE5532, in my opinion the better version of the NE5532 over the JRC and TI versions.
The difference in sound quality as a result was notable. Out of the box this stack sounds excellent but if you are like me then you will adventure a little and experiment with other parts. I replaced the stock tubes/valves with the Mullard EF95 and the difference is notable. Better soundstage, better center imaging, more robust bass, better grip on the notes and vocals, sounds tighter more controlled, better instrument separation. The Mullard EF95 (CV4010) and the Philips NE5523 op amps are a very good affordable and notable upgrade to this combo, hands down!
The build quality of the T1 Pro is no different to the AO7 Max and has the same dimensions making it a very sweet uniform indeed for a space saving micro stack. I would have liked to see the same venting on the T1 Pro as Aiyima used on the AO7 Max just to add that little extra cooling but it does not get overly warm as it is and the valves have space around them to let heat escape.
I did remove the the stock rubber feet and replaced them with 22.3 x 10.1mm rubber feet (Amazon) which are a balanced size for these dinky units and allow extra air to circulate underneath all three components without looking hacky. I would also recommend replacing the soft alloy M3 x 8mm screws with stainless steel as soon as you can if you are regularly swapping op amps as the stock screws do thread easily and you do not want a threaded screw on the heat sink. Placing this mighty little rig in direct competion to my SMSL A0-300 I rather (somewhat smugly to be honest) thought the AO-300 would outclass the Aiyima stack in every way...I was wrong. The Aiyima set up proved to sound a fair bit more vibrant, cleaner, even more exciting! This comparison was via analogue connection only. I was admittedly a little disappointed by this outcome as I just purchased the AO-300 thinking it would be a fairly measured end game desktop solution nevertheless I will keep the AO-300 as although the Aiyima rig provides more verve, more immediacy, a livelier approach, it is still nice to have a little back up amp sitting pretty. The SMSL seems to have a slight edge when connected via USB as the signal is cleans up a little more but it's a more reserved sound signature but with a little more air whereas the Aiyima has a little less air but is certainly more jump up and go and the bass notes coming from the Aiyima rig are still more defined, more musical. The SMSL has a little more accuracy in regards to soundstage and an darker background but not by alot, it's fairly marginal to my ears. Attaching a dac to the PC preluding the T1 Pro will however could take Aiyima another step forward and in my opinion possibly over the AO-300.
Isn't it a fine looking finish on these products from Aiyima, the black body and Smokey blue grey plain facia just looks classy and is quite eye catching compared to the standard black box we are inundated with these days. On the T1 Pro we find the silver toggles for the inputs and direct mode which are notably longer than previous iterations using this kind of switch. I found this very helpful and much less of fiddle to switch. You can actually grip the toggle with two fingers rather than the single finger flick that belongs to the shorter switch, The direct mode is good to see and works very well, its a great option for the purists among us. I do not have anything that requires a 12v trigger and the AO7 Max does not have one so I could not test that feature but I am sure it would work as expected given the appropriate equipment, Aux in is just that, an Aux in so connecting anything with a 3.5mm jack is a breeze. As I mentioned earlier adding a dac into the line may improve leading egdes of notes and generally tidy things up even further coming from the PC, so I did just that. I added the Fiio K11 to the chain which brought no dramatic difference sonically, the K11 is quite a neutral dac but the addition to the chain of the extra inputs such as optical and coaxial could come in handy later. The optical maybe be used for a Wiim Mini which I have not in my possession at the moment so I cannot comment on performance but its not going to be hard to guess what it will be by this time as the Aiyima has handled everything else very well indeed. So yes, this is a hit for me from Aiyima with the T1 Pro/AO7max and although I cannot measure and mathematically prove any of these components I can say that organically at least that at the price that Aiyima asks for this set up, the sound quality truly delivers a little more than this money would have got you a decade or two ago. Would I replace a solid class a/b amp with this rig…no, but for an easy, space saving convenience it is a nice addition or solution that delivers enough to keep the music appealing. I am struggling to find better value for convenience and footprint on planet earth presently, how about you?
For the size of this little system there is plenty of power on hand even just using my favourite power brick of 36v 6a. It certainly drives my Wharfedale 12.2 speakers with 88db sensitivity very well.
Over Bluetooth the output is a little less than wired with the latter allowing a far bigger and bolder sound and output. Resolution over Bluetooth using the iPhone is very good. Aiyima in my experience implement Bluetooth in their devices with mastery particularly the later models in their line up giving a clear and detailed sound that pleases me enough to almost forget wires over the sheer convenience of turn on, connect and play. Soundstage width suffers a little with Bluetooth but it still remains relatively spacious and an acceptable centre image. Remember this is Bluetooth and not the T1 Pro limiting performance here. It’s certainly far, far better than a few years ago where Bluetooth was just a garbled mumbling to my ears in general use for music.
Wiring the T1 Pro from my PC using a Creative Audigy FX2 soundcard allows far more power, bigger, bolder and greater width to the soundstage with enough height and bettering the Bluetooth's center image giving greater accuracy with more centered vocals. Bass notes are much more defined and instrument separation is greatly improved and plenty of punch, this hardware combination has my Wharfedale 12.2 speakers bass cones rattling the windows with ease at much less than full volume. The Bluetooth is still very good and enough probably to take presidency for those akin to ease and convenience when more pressing duties are afoot.
Running the T1 Pro through the AO7 Max is a fun and engaging listen perhaps with a little novelty , it's certainly not 'frying pan flat' dynamically with the valves adding some flesh to the bones. I put both AO7s into mono mode and with the stock tubes and op amps the sound is full and clean, nothing edgy or harsh conveying here for this combo. It is not the last word in sonic subtlety, refined nuance etc and comparing it with any such amplifier that may allow the sneeze of a Flea to be heard would be unfair but it still delivers a fine performance and one that is very easy to live with daily.
I switched out the stock tubes and op amps replacing them with some of my favourite tubes and op amps namely the Mullard EF95 valves and the Philips NE5532, in my opinion the better version of the NE5532 over the JRC and TI versions.
The difference in sound quality as a result was notable. Out of the box this stack sounds excellent but if you are like me then you will adventure a little and experiment with other parts. I replaced the stock tubes/valves with the Mullard EF95 and the difference is notable. Better soundstage, better center imaging, more robust bass, better grip on the notes and vocals, sounds tighter more controlled, better instrument separation. The Mullard EF95 (CV4010) and the Philips NE5523 op amps are a very good affordable and notable upgrade to this combo, hands down!
The build quality of the T1 Pro is no different to the AO7 Max and has the same dimensions making it a very sweet uniform indeed for a space saving micro stack. I would have liked to see the same venting on the T1 Pro as Aiyima used on the AO7 Max just to add that little extra cooling but it does not get overly warm as it is and the valves have space around them to let heat escape.
I did remove the the stock rubber feet and replaced them with 22.3 x 10.1mm rubber feet (Amazon) which are a balanced size for these dinky units and allow extra air to circulate underneath all three components without looking hacky. I would also recommend replacing the soft alloy M3 x 8mm screws with stainless steel as soon as you can if you are regularly swapping op amps as the stock screws do thread easily and you do not want a threaded screw on the heat sink. Placing this mighty little rig in direct competion to my SMSL A0-300 I rather (somewhat smugly to be honest) thought the AO-300 would outclass the Aiyima stack in every way...I was wrong. The Aiyima set up proved to sound a fair bit more vibrant, cleaner, even more exciting! This comparison was via analogue connection only. I was admittedly a little disappointed by this outcome as I just purchased the AO-300 thinking it would be a fairly measured end game desktop solution nevertheless I will keep the AO-300 as although the Aiyima rig provides more verve, more immediacy, a livelier approach, it is still nice to have a little back up amp sitting pretty. The SMSL seems to have a slight edge when connected via USB as the signal is cleans up a little more but it's a more reserved sound signature but with a little more air whereas the Aiyima has a little less air but is certainly more jump up and go and the bass notes coming from the Aiyima rig are still more defined, more musical. The SMSL has a little more accuracy in regards to soundstage and an darker background but not by alot, it's fairly marginal to my ears. Attaching a dac to the PC preluding the T1 Pro will however could take Aiyima another step forward and in my opinion possibly over the AO-300.
Isn't it a fine looking finish on these products from Aiyima, the black body and Smokey blue grey plain facia just looks classy and is quite eye catching compared to the standard black box we are inundated with these days. On the T1 Pro we find the silver toggles for the inputs and direct mode which are notably longer than previous iterations using this kind of switch. I found this very helpful and much less of fiddle to switch. You can actually grip the toggle with two fingers rather than the single finger flick that belongs to the shorter switch, The direct mode is good to see and works very well, its a great option for the purists among us. I do not have anything that requires a 12v trigger and the AO7 Max does not have one so I could not test that feature but I am sure it would work as expected given the appropriate equipment, Aux in is just that, an Aux in so connecting anything with a 3.5mm jack is a breeze. As I mentioned earlier adding a dac into the line may improve leading egdes of notes and generally tidy things up even further coming from the PC, so I did just that. I added the Fiio K11 to the chain which brought no dramatic difference sonically, the K11 is quite a neutral dac but the addition to the chain of the extra inputs such as optical and coaxial could come in handy later. The optical maybe be used for a Wiim Mini which I have not in my possession at the moment so I cannot comment on performance but its not going to be hard to guess what it will be by this time as the Aiyima has handled everything else very well indeed. So yes, this is a hit for me from Aiyima with the T1 Pro/AO7max and although I cannot measure and mathematically prove any of these components I can say that organically at least that at the price that Aiyima asks for this set up, the sound quality truly delivers a little more than this money would have got you a decade or two ago. Would I replace a solid class a/b amp with this rig…no, but for an easy, space saving convenience it is a nice addition or solution that delivers enough to keep the music appealing. I am struggling to find better value for convenience and footprint on planet earth presently, how about you?
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