By now I have practically followed many reviews from many reviewers, there are reviewers who are passionate, kind and helpful but whose reviews have not proven to be reliable to my ear, others who do not have great descriptive skills and others one in particular, and quite popular (he uses always a susvara for reviews and is a lover of meze headphones) who is in my opinion a total cheater and whose reviews are worth nothing, while you after my many tests with various DACs are without a shadow of a doubt the most reliable with a capacity excellent descriptive and also quite passionate. Keep it up!
Very nice review, especially thanks for the chord mojo 2 comparison. And it's a good idea to give examples of how the device sounds with different headphones.
Another great review, love your presentation style and insights. You've never lead me astray on anything Ive purchased. I just pulled the trigger on this Aune to replace my Ifi zen Can/dac combo
Great review! I actually got one last night. Do you have any insight on the SC1 clock that can connect to this? I'm finding little information and no reviews. I just wonder if it's worth it when it costs as much as the DAC itself. I only had a short amount of time to play with DAC last night. I have it hooked up to Eversolo DMP A6. I was going to buy the Eversolo Z8 DAC but this was the same price and had a linear power supply. Between Eversolo Z8 and the Aune S9C do you prefer one over the other? Keep up the good reviews!
Aune has also recently released the S17 Pro, a dedicated (no DAC) discrete and balanced Class A headphone amp with about half again as much power as the S9C. It also costs $700 USD and apparently uses the same chassis as the S9C. (Just guessing, but looking at Aune's promotional material for the two units, I'd bet the S17 Pro is an upgraded version of the amp in the S9C with true Class A operation). There are zero reviews of the S17Pro yet and I'd love to see one since I am seriously considering getting one to pair with my Denafrips Ares 12th-1.
Great review as always. I have Focal Radiance and Sennheiser ie900 driving them with Fiio M11 plus LTD. Will it be an upgrade in sound quality if I switch to Aune Sc9 pro ?
I always have to giggle, when you pull out this candy-dispenser design small box and start "but Chord mojo 2..." 😁 Watched this great review only anyway, to look over my budget what I would get for a few hundret € more... shopping for my first DAC/amp Upgrade to drive a Beyerdynamics Amiron Home ... 700€+ is over budget. Topping DX5, SMSL DO400 or Sabaj A20d are the most I'm willing to invest at the moment... and still unsure, if I will hear a significant difference in my mostly Spotify-streamed music compared to the Soundblaster AE-7 (ESS 9018 based) card I currently use... propably will try to lend a decent DAC/amp from somebody first.
Take a look at my SMSL RAW MDA1 review ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xXR2eWn80d4.htmlsi=UUgpRJyMJXo5J4dK Killer value that's in your budget that puts serious question on any decision to spend more.
But.. as I just got a very good offer for an "open box" Fiio K9 AKM... this will now be my first external DAC ... hope I can hear a noticeable difference to the internal soundcard. (oh damn... why did I automatically put "first" in this sentence 😯)
I recently tried just the DAC sections of dual AK4493, dual CS43131, onboard realtek ALC897 and ES9038Q2M connected to a class A amplifier. The best sounding among these is ESS Sabre, 2nd is Realtek, 3rd is Cirrus logic, last place is AKM. This is on my devices but other products with the same DACS may sound different. Depends on implementation
As a DAC only, X8 with Sparkos is roughly on the same level. As a headphone amp, S9C is noticeably more resolving and just cleaner sounding than SH-6, there is no real competition on that front.
@@johncallaghan3097 I have the 9v XP2 for Aune X8. I believe so, my quick comparison when I first got the XP2 seemed better. Do you have it? Is it better for you as well? I was so thrilled with the X8 + Sparkos + XP2 combo, I didn't do any additional detailed comparison between the XP2 and the switching PS. 😀
@@ehong123 Yes, I have the same three components, and I do think it appreciably better than with the provided bog standard switching power supply. Like you, I didn't do an extensive comparison because the improvement was immediately apparent. The thing about the combo for me is its outstanding soundstage with tactile imagery, detail and tonality using the fixed-level line output -- not so much with the variable ouputs (TRS and RCA) governed by the large control knob. Providing the analogue signal for my pre/power and open baffle speakers, this DAC combination provides an emotionally very satisfying experience. Seeing as it cost me only around £450 all told, I think it's tremendous value.
@@johncallaghan3097 hmmm... I never tried the RCA Pre out. I just connected the line out to my Cambridge cxa60 integrated Amp. With my Klipsch RP-500m Mark II and an inexpensive 12" Klipsch sub for a small 2.1 listening room in the basement with plenty of sound absorbing material, I'm floored every time I listen to my system. I concur, this Aune X8 combo is really a tremendous value. There is some kind of magic going on with Aune's FPGA DAC and Sparkos op am. 🙂
I sold my Burson conductor 3r and will be getting another Burson or maybe will try something else . How would you compare it to Burson conductor 3r soundwise , I have 32 ohm lsa hp 2 headphines so all that extra power is not important to me rather then good dynamics and clean sound with strong bass ....
Hi, l have a Wyred 4 sound dac2 15 year old. Do you think that buying a Topping velvet would be an improvement? I like this Aune too but I can't afford it now. Amazon has a Velvet for 350 dollars now. Thanks
No standby feature or power on/off switch in the front, no auto-on on signal detected ... This device would be real pain to use on daily basis. In order to make it user friendly, owner needs to drill hole in the front panel and put on/off switch and wire it to the power supply thus voiding warranty.... I will wait for an updated version if it ever comes.
How do you think the DAC in S9C compares to the Aune X8 with Sparko Opamp? I already have the Aune X8, so thinking of putting the money into the S17 which I can also use as a preamp into my Parasound A21+.
I haven't compared them directly but X8 with Sparkos should offer slightly better deteil retrieval and more airy sound. S17 should be a great pairing with it.
Hi Srboljub, How good is the preamp of this DAC compared to yours? I have the Ifi Neo iDSD DAC/Preamp on my desktop setup and I wonder if it has sense to insert a separated preamp to the system.
Hi Srboljub, thank you for the review! I would like to ask how does this dac/amp stack against Topping D30 Pro/ A30 Pro. I remember you used to have the stack a while back and regarded it quite highly. As I am also using the stack, would S9c be a meaningful upgrade to it or not really? Thanks much for any kind of insight!
Thanks for your support! S9c can retrieve more deteils and separate all tones better. It sounds cleaner in general. But it has a different tonality too. It's leaner, sharper, and more forward. D30 pro and A30 pro are warmer in the bass region but more relaxed in the midrange. They are more veiled in general but if you like their tonality, you might not enjoy S9c as much even though it's technically superior. So as you can see it's not easy to give a straightforward advice in this case.
Please take a look at my next video about xDuoo XD05 Pro (coming next week)... It is of the same price but brings some fantastic features that make it worth consideration.
I wanted a good AIO and was split between Fiio K9 Pro Ess and Aune S9c Pro, I ended up buying the Aune unit. I am upgrading from Ifi Zen Can and Ifi Zen Dac Signature V2 stack, hope I did the right purchase, currently waiting for the delivery 😁😁😁
@@vonjuergen Aune S9c Pro is an upgrade over my Ifi stack setup. It has a wider soundstage, better mids and better highs, the Ifi Zen Can treble is a bit hard when using Hifiman headphones, Aune S9c Pro treble is more controlled. Also, from what I can hear the separation and detail are slightly better too. The overall sound is really lively and engaging - musical. I have Hifiman Edition XS, Sundara Closed and HE-R9 headphones. Regarding the low end, it is good, there is no Xbass button but I can compensate with EQ.
Hello. Need your help cause i am lost in choice. Got a 600 dollars ( euros ) budget to buy a portable dac/dongle and iems. My librairy ( london grammar charlotte cardin ) is on a smartphone. Much thanks to you.
I would probably go for Moondrop Blessing 3 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QZ2KP9IGaUE.htmlsi=3L-bl5Fkl7HA2N0I and Hiby FC6 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5OxukKR45Pk.htmlsi=3Du4xNSnkT0m2Boc Great music choice btw. 😎🎶
I purchased the SC1 clock for my S9c and WOW if you want to take your experience to the next level go for it. Amazon had the dac and clock on a Black Friday deal for $549 each I snagged both, the dac arrived first and I was really impressed,sounded better than my Ares II in my system. The clock arrived two days later and I am amazed at how good this pairing performs for the money. The clock takes it to Pontus level fidelity. Now I know folks are going to think hogwash but I promise you if you take one in (the clock) you’ll keep it…it’s that good. I can only imagine how much better this will sound after 100+ hours on it. This is the sleeper dac deal no one is really talking about.
@@FukemStudios Both modes improve greatly simply lifts the entire boat! The background will become inky black, deeper bass, more sparkle in the treble but not at all bright simply more defined treble has real shimmer for example cymbals are life like with proper decay. I only have about 60 hours on the pair and I am blown away. whatever mode you prefer this dac/clock is an abosolute bargain! BTW, I really prefer mode 2 ;)
Its all nonsense!!! The older DIY DAC with 2 x ES9038 Pro is a MUCH BETTER DAC!!!!!!! Even with changeble OP Amps!! At ebay for 500 Dollars!!!!! Its much better than the ES9068 Chip!!
@@radicalturkey Nonsense again.... also the ifi NEO iDSD is MUCH better! It has the newest burrBrown Chip with true Native. The ES9068 chip is a very cheap chip, There are other DACs from Topping with this cheap chip for 200 dollars! And the Es9038 Pro chip is the best and most expensiv chip! This chip costs about 70 dollars! You only make advertisment for money!!!
@@AttilaBalla87 No! The power supply make no diffrence in sound (because its low current power) and the op chips are always the good opa1612 in the most models. No sound diffrence! Ths sound always will be adjusted with an Equalizer!!!! The DACs are always ONLY LINEAR!!!!
