[Penf]

Bonjour
My Heart swing between the Aune and the new Cayin IHA-8...it's a little more expensive but perhaps it remove the faults of the S17 ? What do you think ?

 

[MaxMini]

I received my S17 pro last week but haven’t had time to unpack und install it. Good that the weekend is here….
Today, I finally had the time to get a proper listening to my new S17 pro. Lets share my first impressions:

Build Quality:
I like the look and the haptic is also pleasing. All good and a positive first impression. Not to mention the small remote control, who need more than that

Sound Quality:
At the moment my chain looks like that: TITAL -> USB Cable -> RME ADI-2 DAC FS -> balanced Inakustik Excellence XLR -> S17 pro -> Headphones
For my first listening session, I used my 109 pro and my Arya Stealth. My HD 800S are still untouched so far.

I would describe the overall sound as full, dynamic and rather on the pleasing side. That is, in my opinion, a good thing especially for the Aryas, because it takes away the harshness of the tremble. So to my ears the Ayras work really well with this amp.

On the other hand, since the 109 pro is already a slightly V-shaped headphone with good body, the additional fullness is not really needed. I think, the 109pro combo still works, but not on the same level as the Ayra. To be honest, I most like the 109pro just out of the RME without any additional amplification. The RME Adi-2 DAC/Amp is neutral as hell and to my ears just perfect for a headphone like the 109 pro. Anyway back to the S17 pro….

I was surprised that it adds quite a bit of extra soundstage. That is again a good thing for those two headphones, but I still have to check if it also works for a headphone like the HD 800s.

I use it in the 100mA mode, because I believe that the amp was designed for that. I haven’t tested the lower one so far. Temperature wise it stays at 64 C, up until now no issues with that…

As you can see the first impression is quite good. It could be because I am leaning lately towards warmer sound signatures with more body. And yes, I’m still in love with my OTL tube amp

Single ended output can perfectly support melatonin secretion, especially in the evenings.
But the real impressions come primarily from Aune's balanced outputs.
The feeling of "being there", great dynamics, space, chiseling of each note, or even control and definition of the bass = balanced outputs.

 

[Temudschin]

Single ended output can perfectly support melatonin secretion, especially in the evenings.
But the real impressions come primarily from Aune's balanced outputs.
The feeling of "being there", great dynamics, space, chiseling of each note, or even control and definition of the bass = balanced outputs.

So true...

Wow, I really love what this amp does to my Arya Stealth! To further test the S17pro I just listened to:

goosebumps!

And the mids are also quite convincing. For example on this track with female voices only:

 

[gullivero]

Hi.. i know somewhere in forum is reply to my question but is it on Aune s17 a very big difference (if any) through single ended vs 4,4 and balanced output ? I dont know if a single ended worth upgrade to balanced cable....( two headphones that i have is Senn . 560 ovation -1990 - i think and Hifiman Sundara but i collect ching-chings for Arya stealth - but before Arya i will go for Aune and so far i have OTL that is single ended and works very nice espec. with Senn.

 

[Lexington99]

Love the Aune S17 Pro both as a headphone and as a preamp. I use it mainly as a preamp these days though.

Im thinking of upgrading to a preamp north of $2k so I'm selling my S17 Pro.

DM if interested.