Aune Audio - X7s

Pros:
-Build quality
-Small size.
-Absolutely transparent, holographic, powerful output.
-Pairs well with any DAC I throw at it. Similarly pairs well with almost all headphones.
-Ability to drive IEMs
-Notch on the volume pot (perhaps the best volume knob you will come across).

Cons:
-Not true "balanced".
-Humongous wall wart.
-Cumbersome to set gain.
-very mild hiss with certain high sensitivity IEMs.

I was on the lookout for a desktop amp. I auditioned quite a few amps and amp/dacs.
If you are looking for just an amp and have a good dac, blindly go for this. Infact first buy this if you wanna buy a seperate dac.
Also (I know you will ask) the Jotunheim from Schiit is very sharp and has a sound signature (bright). Also the X7s has a much much better sounstage. The jotunheim sounds crystalline and compact.
Good service by Headphonezone as always!
Cheers!

I am using these with HD800. Tried both the SE and balanced outputs , definitely more power on the balanced and sort of opens up a bit more than the SE.
Build quality is excellent. I was using a Magni2 Über earlier this is definitely an upgrade to it.
Gain setting is at mid (12 db)
No hum or hiss when music is not playing,doesn’t get too hot.
More than enough power , I hardly turn it up more than 40% and I like to listen at higher volumes.
Soundstage seems a bit reduced but I am not going to say the amp is the cause for it .
Please do use with higher impedance phones with balanced to get the best out of this amp.

The all metal build is nice & compact with a beautiful mild curve on the top and an inward scoop on both sides. The controls are the power button at the back and the volume dial at the front with a nice step for you to see your dial positions. The gain switches are at the bottom with three levels 0 db, 12 db & 20 db, ships with 12 db and you may not require to change it as 12 db itself is more than enough even for the most power hungry ones like my HE560.

To feed the Aune X7s I tried my Schiit Bifrost Multibit DAC and the ifi micro idsd BL as a DAC and finally settled on the Schiit Bifrost. Now I can appreciate the big sum I spent on the Bifrost more now as it sounded more smooth, natural & felt like the voices had more texture than ifi DAC.

I am no audiophile to dissect the sound into the bass, mid & treble region but all I can say is that it has a wonderful tonal balance which is very pleasing to the ears. The only high end full sized headphone I possess as of now is HE560 and I was extremely pleased with the tonal balance of this combo. The website claims it has been specifically tuned for Beyerdynamic T1 (Tesla) & DT880, Sennheiser HD650 and some popular AKG models. Having tasted the smooth sound of Sennheiser through HD598SR recently I am just thinking of getting a HD650 soon to test it with the Aune X7s can’t wait for it.

The first time I picked the Hifiman HE560 (my first and only planar) was in an audition in Malaysia. I drove it through my Samsung Galaxy S6/ifi micro idsd/Neutron with a specific eq pattern (ibasso DX50 dance eq settings) and never got that perfection on a desktop set up (foobar2000/Schiit Bifrost/Schiit Lyr2 with LISST tubes) even though it sounded good in a different way (more bass body & heft), I never got what I wanted. With the Aune you don’t need any eq at all, just lift the low end a few dbs at 55Hz, 77 Hz & 110 Hz if needed and that’s all I need to do! As easy as it can be, thanks Aune for implementing the tonal balance...