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Nephtys
11
Apr 11, 2018
So I'm looking to buy my first DAC/Amp and I would need some advice. I read that on the T1 it's only the RCA output that goes through the tube? It might be good for my use case since I will mostly use it with my Monoprice studio monitors. I listen mostly to EDM / Wave, do not watch movies on my PC but I do game quite a bit on it. I do not have good headphones yet but I'm planning on getting the Sennheiser 6XX. Between this vs the Schiit stack, considering my use will be mostly through speakers, what are your recommendations? Thanks!
MattTheSasquatch
49
Apr 11, 2018
NephtysBoth the Schiit Stack and this will be good choices. I have the HD600’s, which are close to the 6XX and I love the way the T1 pairs with the 600’s. I don’t own a Schiit Stack personally, but it’s one of the most popular and recommended “budget” systems out there, being great value for the money. You won’t go wrong with either, but the T1 will sound a little warmer than the Stack.
MarcSpence
180
Apr 11, 2018
NephtysThis is a tube dac with ss amp. you can use it as a dac and feed to another amp and it will use tube. Only time u bypass tube is if you just want to use it as an amp ( switch from usb to line ) it is warmer than magni/modi and not as warm as vali2/modi. People praise the tube dac and poo poo the ss amp in the aune. I will tell you my aune drives all my cans well. 6xx, alpha dogs, 4xx, ect... I set the aune gain on 2. It has 3 gain settings on bottom. IMO...this is a great dac amp for sub 200.00. Something to note. The stock tube is really good. I dont think you will hear much difference from tube swapping, thats something for a good SET or OTL amp.
Nephtys
11
Apr 11, 2018
MattTheSasquatch@MattTheSasquatch @MarcSpence Thanks for the replies! I think I'll go with the T1 as I feel like I would prefer its warmer sound, too bad I can't listen to them before making the purchase. Pretty sure I'll alway be using it through USB and never with the line in. Btw it's the first time I ever hear about a tube dac, I always thought that tubes only use was with amps. I can't get my head around how a tube dac works lol
MattTheSasquatch
49
Apr 11, 2018
NephtysBasically, the Tube works as a pre-out going to both the line out and internal amp. It might be used some in the conversion of digital to analog, but I’ve heard it more being as like a pre-out from the DAC. And tube DAC’s aren’t very common, mostly in very high end, expensive gear.
MarcSpence
180
Apr 11, 2018
NephtysYou will like it, don’t worry...just dont get caught up in people telling you to change the tube. ;)
YaBoyRob
136
Apr 12, 2018
NephtysJust be sure to get a better tube!!!!!NEVER go with stock! Oh and make damned sure you spend about 40-60% of the purchase price on said tube, or you're not a true "audiophile"
Jackula
1746
Apr 12, 2018
MattTheSasquatchActually the tube in the T1 acts as a buffer to color the sound only. I agree with what you stated previously, that tube DACs are high-end, however this is only true when we're talking about DACs with tube output stage, not as buffer. This is also why changing the stock tube to something more premium won't actually improve the sound quality, it will simply color the output slightly differently.
The only other DAC that I know uses tube buffers are the Peachtree DACs, particularly their Nova's. They're not exactly high-end though.
MattTheSasquatch
49
Apr 12, 2018
JackulaSo, it is sort of the same sort of thing, but not quite. As it really isn’t a part of the conversion stage of the digital go analog conversion. I’ve just had it explained that it works like a pre-out from the DAC, but a buffer may be a better term.
Jackula
1746
Apr 12, 2018
MattTheSasquatchThe tube buffer is part of the D/A stage, if you feed a line-level signal to the T1, it will bypass the tube. Also, the RCA output is line-level, they are not pre-outs. So if the OP wants the buffered signal going to his monitors, he may want a preamp in between.
This is a better design choice than having pre-outs, since headphone amplifiers are basically integrated amplifiers with both pre and power stages, it lets you hook in any headphone amplifier to take advantage of the tube DAC.
MattTheSasquatch
49
Apr 12, 2018
JackulaOk, that was better explained than what I was initially told, but I had the same idea in my head, just thebwrong term.
Nephtys
11
Apr 13, 2018
JackulaSo if I plug in my monitors directly into the RCA output the volume knob will have no effect?
Jackula
1746
Apr 13, 2018
NephtysYes that's correct, the volume pot is in the preamp stage, line-out is fixed to 2Vrms. You can always use the software volume control before D/A but it won't be bit perfect.
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