The Aune S17 Pro is a very powerful discrete Class A headphone amplifier it can also act as a preamplifier in a speaker setup. It arrives in a black cardboard Box with Aune branding.

Beside the A17 there is a nice remote, a standard power cord and some basic documentation. The retail price for the unit is 739€.

The S17 Pro is well built and has some heft to it when holding in the hands. 2 colour options are available (black & silver) when checking out. 

Looking at the front of the unit from left to right there are 3 Headphone outputs Balanced 4Pin -XLR, Single Ended 6.35 and Balanced 4.4mm. In the middle there’s is an LCD screen showing some basic information, volume, gain, current modes & temperature inside the unit. Finally on the right there is a nice big R2R ladder volume control knob for perfect precision and balance between the left and right channel even on low volumes.

On the back we have the RCA and XLR connections for inputs and outputs. The power switch is also on the back of the unit, so to switch off the unit you have to reach on the back keep that in mind.

The remote that comes with the S17 is small but surprisingly heavy, the finish is excellent like the S17 itself, no plastic has been used here, it has all the necessary buttons needed to operate the amp, volume up & down, button to switch between low & high gain, 2 current modes and input selection.

The volume knob on the unit can also be used to switch between the inputs, gain & current modes but with the remote it is more convenient 

How does it sound?.... Well at first you have to give it some time to heat up, be patient and let it cook so to say…..  it’s class A so it needs some time to get to its full potential, don’t get me wrong it sounds already quite good after an hour of warm up but it will even get better days, weeks after the initial listening sessions. Describing the sound profile of this unit i would say that it is well balanced it’s definitely leaning to the warmer side, it is very detailed in it’s

delivery but never getting too harsh or too bright, the low end is very impactful but always in perfect control. Soundstage, layering and separation is also excellent for this price point. Regarding the 50 and 100 Ma mode does this really make any difference? To be honest it was difficult for me to hear a noticeable upgrade in sound quality, on the Hifiman Planars it seemed to have a slight impact on the control of the drivers as the low end was a hair more controlled and maybe there was a bit more airiness on top but you have to switch back & forth to really notice this small improvement.

Pairing with headphones and IEMS? Well i had no issues with anything i tried with it, for my taste i liked it very much with the Hifiman HE1000 Stealth Edition and DCA Noire X headphones, with IEMs the Aful Performer 5+2 and the Thieaudio Monarch mk2 was a very good fit. With Dacs it is a very good match with the onboard dac of the Eversolo DMPA6MA and with the recently received D70 Pro Octo from Topping. 

Comparisons with other Headphone Amps i have on hand, well very quickly the only one that touches it, is the Feliks Audio Echo mk2 OTL (899€)  tube amp but it also a slightly different experience the Echo is also definitely more picky with headphones, the other solid state amps the Singxer SA-1 and Topping A70pro are both excellent amps (around 499€) but not quiet on the same level, while the SA-1 also being a Class A amp, it is outclassed  by the Aune in almost every category, it’s not a night & day difference but audible, the A70 on the other hand has a completely different signature it is a neutral amp although very good but a bit behind in dynamics, low end impact and is less holographic than the S17 pro.

Conclusion:

The Aune S17 pro is an excellent piece of equipment, it is not cheap but you get great built and sound performance, for sure one of the very best in the sub 1000€ category to date. If you are looking for a more neutral analytical sound this maybe not the right Amp. If you are looking for highly efficient eco-friendly piece of gear this is not the right amp as this one needs to heat up before getting to it’s full potential. If you are looking for sheer “musicality” and some goosebumps from time to time and don’t care about the unit getting hot then this is definitely one to take into consideration.