Written by: JRA

The Aune has been playing music none stop since I got the unit. I feel like I can now post a quick review.

So I decided to sell my Musical Fidelity X-Can and decided to purchase one of a popular USB headphone amp from China thru Ebay. Here is what I got.

AUNE Mini Headphone USB DAC

$149.00

Internal component. *Nichicon capacitors *Muse Capacitors *Wima Capacitors *Alps attenuator *Headphone amplifier built-in. *USB controller chip Burr-Brown PCM2707. *Digital input receiver chip DIR9001 with (This chip has better sound quality than the popular CS8412/4/6 commonly used in other DACs. It can play sound with much more detail and accuracy.) *Main DAC chip is Burr-Brown PCM1793 with 24bit/192kHz Sampling Advanced Segment Audio Stereo DAC *Dynamic Range: 113 dB and THD+N: 0.001% *8x Oversampling Digital Filter *OPAMP chip: Burr-Brown OPA2134 *Headphone AMP: Burr-Brown OPA2604+TIP41C*2+TIP42C*2 (Referencing the SOLO headphone amplifier) *Digital Coaxial/USB input, RCAx2/6.35mm stereo analog output.

As far as internal components go, everything looked too good to be true. But I’d decided to pull the trigger anyway. What do I have to lose, really?

The unit arrived from China well packed and everything seem to be in place. No external abuse by the carriers. The only problem was the power supply it came with. The box came with a cheap step-down converter. The output was supposed to be 12V, but it had actually putout 20V instead. Couple of scary sparks and nothing more.

With a proper PS, everything sounds great so far.

It will be interesting to see if it’ll compete with a unit priced at 3 to 4 time more.

1.
iTunes Apple Lossless=>USB (cheap 15′)=>Aune=>Tube integrated amp=> Tyler Acoustics Reference Monitor

I really like the combina\tion of this DAC and my setup. The Marantz SA8001 sounds sloppy in the current setup, but the added clarity and speed from the DAC really opens up the sound stage thru tube integrated amp. Not big or wide sound, just sounds effortless. When the signal is buffered thru my tube integrated, music is very enjoyable. I don’t even hear digital glare buffered or tamed thru my tube integrated. Currently my records are collecting dust…

2.
iTunes Apple Lossless=>USB (cheap 15′)=>Aune=>ATH-AD1000

The digital glare is overwhelming for my 30 year old ears, and I don’t care to listen for more than 30 minutes. What I usually do now is to decrease the treble output on iTune’s equalizer setting by 2-3 decibles. Bass control and depth is very good. Midrange is okay but still shows a bit of digital glare. I’ve read reports on how OPA2604 can pierce ears, but have also read how 2604 sounds more analog than 2134. I’m not sure what to believe… except for my ears. I might try swapping out OPA2604 for OPA2134 and see what happens. I defintely need warmth of tubes from the headphone amp.

3.
Marantz SA8001=> Digital Coax=>Aune=>EAR 834 integrated amp=>Tyler Acoustics Reference Monitor

The output level is fixed so the volume control is only good for heaphones when plugged in. This really helped me compare the RBCD capability between the Marantz and Aune MiniHeadamp DAC. When switched from the Marantz to the Aune, the overall sound became focused. Music is no longer sloppy and it truly reminds me of the importance of synergy. I’m sure the Marantz is a great unit and works great for others, but it just doesn’t work out in my setup. I didn’t feel the need to compare the Marantz as a transport. Currrently, the only reason why I have the Marantz is it’s SACD function…., but the Marantz offers slightly bigger sound stage.
The Aune performs well as a DAC.

4.
Marantz SA8001=>Analog Interconnect=>Aune=>ATH-AD1000

Aune sounds much more authoritative than the Marantz’s headphone amp. Marantz sounds a tad bit warmer, but the sound is somewhat fuzzy. Does JRC 2114D Opamp inside of the Marantz has anything to do with it?
But as far as its listenability goes, I would still prefer the sound of Marantz’s headphone amp. Looks like I need to get a IC puller and a handful of Opamps. Overall sound is much warmer than the 2nd combination (iTunes=>iTunes=>Aune=>ATH AD1000) with a hit of digital glare.

5.
TT=>VTL TP-2.5=>Analog Interconnect=>Aune=>ATH-AD1000

I can listen to this setup all Day and Night. If any of the Hybrid Integrated amp sounded this good, I wouldn’t regret to replace my EAR integrated amp. It has the warmth and forgiveness of vacuum tubes, but the overall sound has strong grip of SS amp.

Conclusion:
Basically……

* I just simply love tubes.
* As always, Synergy is important.
* The Aune is simply too cheap for what it offers, and I’m keeping the unit unless I make major changes to my setup. Again, Synergy is very important.
* Opamps need to be swapped for upcoming business trips.
*It’s amp may be better suited for other headphones such as the Sennheiser HD-650.

Have Fun,
JRA

original thread found here.

Where to buy? On ebay or google search “Aune Mini Headphone DAC”.  You’ll find something

Have you been looking for a great and non-expensive way to get clearer music from your computer? Pacific Valve’s new Fathom DAC can help do that for a great pocket book friendly price of $229.00. Computer headphones pre-amps/DAC tend to be so harsh on the ears when using good or hi-fi headphones/earbuds, it is worth the investment to clean up that signal and reduce some of the harsh or thin sounds from a cheap equipment.
- audioREVIEW

Enjoythemusic has some great news on a new hi end USB DAC from Pacific Valve for $299.  The USB interface on this model has been designed have an I2S conversion which Fathom has addresses issues with the I2S USB interface, and improved power supply regulation.

Read more on Enjoythemusic.com…

A sale price already for $229.00 from www.pacificvalve.us

From Pacific Valve:

Pacific Valve has been the leader in offering a variety of DACs to the market. Recently, we had the
opportunity to design our own NOS DAC. The process was extensive and involved several hours of
listening tests. The problem that we had was that most NOS DACs were bright in the upper midrange
and lacking in detail. We did not feel that we could bring a DAC to market until we addressed some of
these issues. For USB, the design must have an I2S conversion because we did not like the sound of
the latest conversion DACs.

Enter the Pacific Valve Fathom. The Fathom addresses these issues with an I2S USB interface, an
advanced circuit topology and improved power supply regulation. The digital conversion process starts
with a DIR 9001 receiver that is re-clocked by a 1PPM 12 MHz TCXO ( this is the same clock that is used
in our legendary Vanguard transport) . The rest of the circuit uses top of the line Rubycon caps and high
voltage low tolerance resistors. The power supply uses a 10W sealed transformer for low vibration, a
high grade IEC plug, and a high end voltage regulator.

The sound of the Pacific Valve Fathom exceed our expectations on USB and S/PDIF connections. The
music flows like a vinyl with a tube rectified preamp. There is a sense of realism the midrange, yet the
Fathom has the dynamic range that NOS DAC freaks are so fond of. Dollar for dollar, the Pacific Valve
Fathom is destined to become a classic.

Reviewed By: blackraven

After doing in home Auditions of all 3 Van Alstine DAC’s I thought I would post a review on each one.

VA offers a Solid State DAC called the Insight for about $900, an all Tube DAC called the T8 for about $1400 and a hybrid tube/ss DAC called the Ultra for about $1700.

Let me say this first. I liked all 3 and they all had a similar sound to some extent because they use many of the same electronics. Frank VA’s philosophy is to produce music as naturally as possible without distortion or coloration and this can be found in all his equipment. In addition, his equipment does not come with all the bells and whistles that you may find on other brands. He keeps things simple as possible.

Now for the reviews-

1. Insight SS DAC - Price: $999

This DAC is a real bargain. It produces excellent tight bass with out muddiness. Treble and high frequencies are crisp and clear with out any congestion. Midrange is very smooth. It has great transparency and presents a large sound stage. It sounded much better than my Cambridge Audio 840c CDP which was my reference player. I was able to directly do AB comparisons. Out of the 3 DAC’s, this one produced the deepest bass and most pronounced treble but it did not have the same depth of transparency, resolution or sound stage as the other 2 DACs. The sound was very neutral and natural. There was no grain, digital glare or fatigue.

2. Transcendence Eight DAC - Price: $999

This was the most analog sounding of the DAC’s but it was not overly warm. It still had more of a neutral sound but was definitely warmer than the Insight. It had greater transparency and a larger sound stage than the Insight but treble was softer as you would expect from an all tube design. Bass was tight but not as powerful (but not anemic by any means) as the Insight. The sound was very smooth and liquid with good detail and resolution. You could listen to this DAC all day and not get tired of it. My only complaint about it is that I like more prominent treble. This would be a great DAC if you had a brighter system or you liked to listen to a lot of older Cd’s that tended to be on the bright side.

3. Ultra Hybrid DAC - Price: $1699

This is the most expensive of the 3 DAC’s and is well worth it. It gives you the best of the other 2 DAC’s. Its a neutral sounding DAC with a hint of warmth. It has tight bass, better than the T8 but not as pronounced as the Insight. Treble is excellent, not as soft as the T8. It is also extremely liquid. The virtues of this DAC are its dynamics, clarity, resolution, detail, quietness, huge sound stage and transparency. The sound stage is so large that I thought I was sitting in a concert hall listening to music. It also has the most transparent sound that I have ever heard. You feel as if you could reach out and touch each instrument. It also had the most natural sound and made music sound live. Now part of this could be my Magnepan MG1.6’s which make just about all music sound like a live performance, but all 3 DAC’s, especially this one, made the music sound like a live performance.

Inside the Ultra DAC

One last comment, I got an email from a guy on the Audio Circles forum the other day asking me about my Magnepans. We got to talking about DAC’s and CDP’s. He owns the Insight DAC. He said he had owned the Benchmark DAC, the PS Audio Digilink III DAC and the Cambridge Audio 840c CDP but that the Van Alstine Insight DAC blew them away. I still have his Email if any one is interested in talking to him.

www.avahifi.com