I got the X1S, it arrived sooner than I expected it to by more than a month, and came in really nice packaging. The USB manual wouldn't work for me, but I was able to find a copy of the manual online, plus the DAC/Amp itself is pretty simple to operate.
I'm very pleased with the X1S in the few weeks that I've had it. This is my first standalone DAC or amp, so I didn't really have any expectations going in, but music sounds great coming through my desktop speakers or my 6XX. If the volume knob is at 7:30 at min volume, I never turn it past 10 when I'm listening, so it's plenty loud.
The black X1S I got looks really sleek in person, and it fits perfectly underneath my monitor riser. Audio comes in from my MacBook Pro via an optical cable, and goes to my powered desktop speakers via the RCA out. This amp doesn't automatically mute the pre-amp outs if there's a headphone plugged in, but that's not a huge issue since I can just turn off my speakers if I don't want to listen through them.
The only complaint I have is the same one that Zeos had in his review: the power cable sucks. The power supply is right in the middle of the cable, which means if I keep it up on the desk, it can barely reach the outlet, but if I keep it on the floor, the X1S has to be right at the edge of my desk. If you can get a short extension cable, that would be ideal, but Aune really needs to move the power supply to one end or the other.
All in all, I'm really happy with the X1S. The price was a huge bargain compared to similar setups, and it's been a great entry-level DAC/Amp for me so far.
I'm very pleased with the X1S in the few weeks that I've had it. This is my first standalone DAC or amp, so I didn't really have any expectations going in, but music sounds great coming through my desktop speakers or my 6XX. If the volume knob is at 7:30 at min volume, I never turn it past 10 when I'm listening, so it's plenty loud.
The black X1S I got looks really sleek in person, and it fits perfectly underneath my monitor riser. Audio comes in from my MacBook Pro via an optical cable, and goes to my powered desktop speakers via the RCA out. This amp doesn't automatically mute the pre-amp outs if there's a headphone plugged in, but that's not a huge issue since I can just turn off my speakers if I don't want to listen through them.
The only complaint I have is the same one that Zeos had in his review: the power cable sucks. The power supply is right in the middle of the cable, which means if I keep it up on the desk, it can barely reach the outlet, but if I keep it on the floor, the X1S has to be right at the edge of my desk. If you can get a short extension cable, that would be ideal, but Aune really needs to move the power supply to one end or the other.
All in all, I'm really happy with the X1S. The price was a huge bargain compared to similar setups, and it's been a great entry-level DAC/Amp for me so far.