Golden Ratio!?!?! OMG Iām sold.
Thereās also this part about the FPGA. No where on the product page does it mention the use of the ESS DACāWhich I have to say is rather misleading.
Golden Ratio!?!?! OMG Iām sold.
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So all the fpga is doing is actually handling the usb signal is what Iām reading (somewhat common actually), itās not actually acting as the dac nor does it seem to be handling dac filters or dsp (but it could be doing something like that I just donāt know for sure). Which makes sense as off the shelf usb implementation can be ass, using a fpga and designing your own can yield better sound quality most likely. But calling this a FPGA dac is misleading at best imo (well I mean technically it has one but not for a/d conversion). Nonetheless I am still eagerly awaiting mine
Edit: also now time to measure my other dacs and see if they are a golden ratio. Might measure something else to see if it has a golden ratio while Iām at it
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When you find nice PCB shots, let me know 
Anyone wants to find out what happens to sound when you stick a 0-drift Op-Amp in the thing? Only $114 a piece!
Edit: Might want to check the voltage the X8 runs the Op-Amp at first.
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lol I want one of these so I can op amp roll it and buy a whole bunch of the accessories to change the sound. I wonder if the op amp changes will be as dramatic as changing the tubes on my Lyr.
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It will most likely change the sound for sure, but I am not sure if it will be a drastic change, it will most likely be noticeable but not transform the dac or anything
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These are just some short thoughts/impressions with less than a day of listening, this aināt a review, and donāt treat it as one lol.
So Iāve been listening it to the dac for a bit now (actually picked it up pretty early this morning). I decided to be overkill I started off using the pinnacle 2 ultra with the mdr 10, and then later on tried out more reasonable amps and headphones with it. So far itās pretty nice, and I do like it, but right off the bat, I do have to say you can hear itās an ess chip, but itās a good implementation, and doesnāt really bother me here, not to common that you get a more laid back and smoother ess.
So far my preferred filter is slow minimum, I do find the brickwall and hybrid interesting, although not something I would say is my preferred, and apodizing just sucked in this instance lol, other filters were good but average. Running using usb with the aune driver, power brick works well and no issues there. Preamp out worked fine from my like 1 min test to make sure it worked, nothing sounded off there.
Sound wise, itās solid, perhaps a bit more fun and interesting tuned than most of the dacs in the price range, but not that unusual. The sound changed a bit depending on the opamps used, I got mine with the extra opamps + my own v5i:
OPA2134 (stock): Sounded fairly neutral and average, pretty decent and not bad stock, still enjoyable and gave a more laid back and slightly relaxed sound
OPA2604: Sounded a bit dry and lifeless bit more detail though than the 2134, also a higher noise floor imo but a bit better staging, prefer stock here actually
MUSES01: IMO an improvement over the 2134, more refined and neutral but a bit less smooth, a bit better at recreating space, good for neutral yet engaging
NJM5532: More aggressive than other options, a bit more narrow, kinda v? shape, not sure how to feel about this one atm, I really want to get ahold of a higher quality NE5532 and see though, this felt like a slight dip in quality almost felt broken
V5i: More āmusicalā, warmer yet maintain clarity, wider, almost more spacious, enjoyable fun choice for me at least
So I pretty much like the v5i for fun and muses01 for neutral, but I would want to spend more time of course lol. Stock aināt bad though and you arenāt really missing out that much by not messing with op amps imo
Going off my experiences with the v5i, if you are looking for a fun and more āāmusicalāā dac, this is pretty good for the price, as imo if you were looking for fun in this range your options are limited. The muses01 is still enjoyable, so neutral with a hint of fun, also solid, but imo if you wanted something clean and neutral I would perhaps consider something else as it would get the job done for cheaper. Also these op amp changes arenāt drastic, but are noticeable, but I doubt they will make or break the sound for someone, just tweak it to your liking a bit better.
I do think this is a solid dac so far, but I would question how good it actually is. I think itās good for the price, but imo not actually stand out stock, and a bit better with the muses or burson, but even then I still donāt think it lives up to the name of āmagicā dac. A main competitor would be the el dac ii I would say, which is neutral with a hint of smoothness and sweetness, but I donāt have these side by side, but imo they are on a similar tier and I like both, the el dac ii is closer to the x8 with the muses imo, I think it would come down to amp pairing for which one I prefer.
Comparing to the e30, I do think the aune is better at detail, recreating space, a bit better timbre, and overall a bit higher performer, but that being said, IMO the e30 is close, and itās really hard to justify the price jump imo, because once you get into the range of 300 usd for the aune, I would say it would be worth it instead to save for a higher tier of dac where the differences are way more apparent like a bifrost 2 or ares ii, also a dac1421 (which can typically be found used in the 500-600 range), which imo I think is really worth it over the aune even though it costs a fair bit more if you are looking to make a significant upgrade
That being said this is pretty solid, and I do like it, but it doesnāt really stand out to me as much as I thought it would. The fpga thing is mainly marketing imo, but I donāt really know what itās doing in there (most likely handling usb or perhaps dac filters but idk) but itās not really acting as a dac so calling it a fpga dac is misleading, and doing a really unfair comparison with higher end fpga dacs I have, itās a multitude of leagues apart but again not fair comparison lol. A closer comparison with a real fpga dac would be the chord mojo, but I donāt have one of those on hand, and I donāt really rec using the mojo as a dedicated dac as there is not a true line out (double amping).
I would consider it if you are looking for something different yet good in the 300 range, but only if you donāt think you would be able to shell out the dough for some of the higher end more substantial dacs in the future (like the aforementioned b2, ares ii, 1421 etc), and the idea of opamp rolling appeals to you. But if you already have something like a d10, e30, or something along those lines with a single ended setup, I think it would be more worthwhile to save up for the aforementioned higher tier dacs that will actually offer you more for your money here if you plan on upgrading in the future.
Some good pairings that I tested with amps that I had on hand in the appropriate range would be the asgard 3 + x8 (this was overall solid, harshness was not an issue and it was pretty fun), the Gilmore Lite mk2 + x8 (I liked the burson here as it toned the highs of the gilmore a tad to a nice level, good detail too), hagerman tuba + x8 (I liked the muse here, was very reference sounding with the tuba, neutral), rnhp + x8 (with the burson this was pretty nice for timbre and spatial recreation for an ess). I would def prefer the higher end dacs I mentioned though with these amps as imo it would take them to another level, where the x8 would slightly upgrade them (currently on hand for what I would call midrange dacs I have the dac1421, ares ii (this one came today), and the parasound Zdac v.2, waiting on the bifrost 2 to come back in stock)
If stuff changes on how I feel, Iāll just update on that, and also eventually on if I am going to end up keeping this dac or not. Overall itās good for the price and is different, but I donāt think itās a class leader in performance or anything, but a nice outlier for ess dacs in terms of sonic signature and implementation, but I donāt think it does anything to place it in the realm of the higher end dacs in terms of performance, nor does it offer as much value as the topping e30 imo. Itās in a weird range price wise, I would be more enthusiastic about it if 200 was the price tag imo, but itās a decent buy at 300 for what it is if you like what it has to offer and wouldnāt consider saving for a higher end dac in the future imo.
Edit: The closest actual fpga dac comparison I have at the moment is the chord hugo 2, and while I personally wouldnāt get it for the dac only, I do think itās easily a higher class and the aune just doesnāt compare in most of all aspects, although that being said I think with the burson or warmer op amps itās more fun for casual listening perhaps, but I would easily still pick the hugo 2 if I had the chance. But really not a fair comparison of course. Also to be clear here, I donāt think having fpga makes something better, but it does offer a different sound, I am more pointing out the mildly misleading marketing of the aune calling itself a āfpga dacā
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Not what I was hoping for, but pretty much what I was expectingā¦
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Apologies if I made it sound less than positive, I do like the dac and will spend more time with it of course, again these are first thoughts. I just kinda have to consider that you could save up a few hundred more than the aune and take a fair bit larger leap in performance, which imo will get you more for the money than the aune. I typically wouldnāt post impressions this early as typically I like to spend more time with it, but imo I would say that I feel like my opinion on this wonāt change as much as it would with other components. And of course if it does I will update here. Iāve been listening nonstop for around 8 hours now with various components and matches, so will continue
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Will your DAC accept V6 Burson op amps? They are pretty tall.
It most likely would but you would have to flip it upside down with the cover off to do so. I donāt have any v6 on hand atm
I think youād need stilts for the x8 with a v6 lol
You just use the v6 as the stilt lol, see if you can get it to balance somehow. You can get those burson op amp extender cords though so that might also be reasonable
im sure itāll balance just right 
Sounds like exactly what I was expecting. I donāt think Iām gonna want anything higher since my cans arenāt exactly analytical (HP-3ās) and the RebelAmp isnāt as well. Unless you think they would benefit from an R2Rā¦
So if I assume the rebel amp is in the same tier of stuff like the liquid platinum, Gilmore lite mk2, rnhp, I think that grabbing an ares ii of bifrost 2 would improve it overall more than you would expect (def worth the money imo). That being said you do already have the x8 which is solid imo, and also personally I think your next step would be to go for higher end headphones, as imo where you are at that will make the biggest difference. The aune is solid and the rebelamp looks solid too (I really want them to come back in stock lol), so I would focus on a higher tier of headphones for now for the most sound for the money
HP-3ās are $1379 lmao. Love the v-shape, would the next set up be worth the jump?
Imo yes, going for more of a direct upgrade, imo the zmf eikon is a great pick, or the auteur for a bit more neutral sound. The fostex th900 mk2 also sound up your alley imo
Personally I would rate the hp3 in the 700-800 dollar range, which they can typically be found for used if you want to value something off of price.
There are many other options of course, and it doesnāt have to be a more direct upgrade either, stuff like the Arya, focal clear, lcd x range perhaps, and more, but those arenāt really v shaped or anything
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I actually got them during Adoramaās sale for $700, so Iām pretty happy with what I paid. Thanks for all the info.
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An nice, that was a pretty dang good deal they had on them for new, glad you are liking them 
. In this case though, I would say just stick with your current amp and dac, that sounds like a solid pairing imo
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Yeah I would restrict it to smaller op amps here lol
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