Soon after the launch, my inner music lover was crying to try Aune M1P, as I have a keen for this kind of music player where the main focus is music. Dethonray DTR1 was my all-time favorite and then Xduoo x2s. It’s tough to get such types of basic players nowadays, that’s why Aune M1P drew my attention. Thankfully I had the chance to participate in the M1P review tour and it’s in my hands now. So let’s do a compact Aune M1P Review. 

Specifications

• Output – 8-600Ω,
• THD+N – 0.00021 %@1kHz 3. 5mm,
• Power – 130mW@32Ω, BAL: 280mW@32Ω,
• DNR – 120dB,
• Noise – 2. 5μVrms,
• MAX level – 4. 57Vrms@BAL 2 5mm, 4. 4mm; [email protected],
• Supported formats-WAV: Max /32 Bit 768K, FLAC: Max 24Bit 192K, DSD: 512,
• Bluetooth – 5.0, receiving and transmitting both support aptX HD
• Battery – 6 hours + (16Bit/44.1k; screen locked),
• Maximum charging current- 1.3A,
• Outputs – 4.4. 2.5 and 3.5mm,
• Display screen – 2.4” IPS screen,
• microSD Card – Up to 1Tb ( exFAT, FAT32),
• Language – Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean.

Package

• AUNE M1P,
• Type C Charging Cable,
• 128 Gb Micro SD Card,
• Leather Case.

Purchase Link – Here

Presentation

Aune M1P comes in a well-designed box with the device itself and all the accessories. Aune has supplied a 128 GB SD card in the box which is a bonus. The supplied Ugreen type C cable is also well-packed. Overall the packaging is good. 

Build quality

Here comes the interesting part. I have mixed feelings about build quality. The device is very well made no doubt. As It’s made out of metal and weighs almost 150 grams it feels solid in hand. No imperfections on the device. The matt finish on the device gives it a stealthy look. Edges are smooth and the corner of the device is rounded which gives it a comfortable grip in hand. The rectangular design of M1P also gives it a very comfortable grip.  The Front click wheel and side buttons are well built yet a small rattling sound can be found if shaken. 

Aune M1P has all the 3 possible audio outputs. Having both 2.5 and 4.4 balanced output is useful for different uses. The 3.5 mm output also works as a line out which is a bonus but no software option to turn it on/off. 

Everything is good in this player besides the placement of the buttons. The back button should be near the click wheel or at least in place of the power button. Whenever you need to go back into the menu or change a folder, you have to reach that side button which was quite annoying for me. By long pressing the center click wheel button the back function can be achieved but still, the placement of side buttons could be better.  Again the power button is too sensitive, therefore always interrupts while changing volume. 

The second thing is the Bluetooth antenna (In the Bluetooth version). It looks like a plastic sticker on the device and affects the overall design profile. Aune could have done it differently. 

Leather Case

The third issue is not in the device but in its supplied leather case. The case is no doubt good in quality but once you put it in, it becomes impossible to access the power button somehow. As the device wakes up only by the power button, with the leather case it becomes harder to operate it. 

Battery

The charging time of the battery is almost 2 hours with a 2amp charger and the charge lasts around 5 hours in moderate usage. The device doesn’t show battery percentage, hence difficult to keep on key on the charging and discharging status. 

Display 

That 2.4-inch TFT display on Aune M1P is bright enough for day-to-day usage. As it only shows character, the viewing angle is also good. 

Heating issue

Aune M1P has a heating issue no doubt. It doesn’t heat up that much while changing but as soon as you turn on the device, it starts heating a bit even without any load. 

User Interface

The OS in Aune M1P is very basic. I have seen more features than M1P’s OS in devices like it. For me, more is less and I’m quite happy with it. The user interface is fast and responsive. Booting time is fast and music scanning time is also fast. In my 1 week’s usage, I never faced any lagging or hanging issues on it. But the OS is still not stable and needs more optimization. The major update in file sorting & tagging should be done as soon as possible.

Like sometimes it doesn’t detect the SD card and needs a hard reset to use it again. Aune should also need to update the device with some other features like configuring buttons for more easy operation. 

Output Power and Noise

Aune M1P is a powerful device. With 130mW and 280mW output power, it can run almost every headphone/ earphone in your possession. For AUNE M1P Review with all my gears I didn’t have to cross 50% of total volume. A very faint background noise is present with very sensitive IEMs.

Bluetooth

I am not a big fan of Bluetooth wireless playback but still use Bluetooth sometimes. This device also has Bluetooth and works bidirectional. That means it can receive Bluetooth audio and work as DAC+AMP and even can transmit signals to wireless headphones/earphones. In my AUNE M1P Review, it worked well without any problem and the connection is pretty strong. The aptX HD codec used in M1P gives it an edge over other digital music players. Switching between Bluetooth and local playback is very easy in M1p. You just have to long press the down click wheel and it will switch the playback. I liked this feature.

Sound

Now this is the part, everyone is waiting for. For this review, I have mainly used my CA Andromeda, BGVP DM9 & HD6XX and let the unit burn in for 25 hours before any serious listening. The main focus of Aune M1P is music as it is the result of years of research and development. And after trying it I can say that Aune has managed to create something astonishing by sound.

The sound signature of the Aune M1P is close to neutral, still neither too flat nor too bumpy. And M1P is very guest dependent. It doesn’t have any particular focused sound signature, it doesn’t add any color to the sound of your connected gears. The output is transparent. Aune M1P is a monster when comes to delivering details and resolution too. I have never got so many details from my old gear before. Aune M1P pushes the gears to their utmost potential and creates a highly detailed and immersive sound.

Sound Signature

Explaining a source, especially DAP’s sound is complicated because the sound you getting is the sound of your Earphones/headphones. So separating the sound of the source is tough. With my old gears which I have used a lot before with different sources, I can say the lower frequency response is fast and accurate. Super tight yet punchy. The midrange is natural and the higher frequency part is super delicate. If your gear is lacking bass, M1P will add that speed. If the midrange is cloudy, it will add sharpness and clarity. The treatment towards the higher frequency part has been tricky and beautifully handled by M1P. It even doesn’t add any shimmer to highly bright IEMs. The added soundstage and Imaging are also highly appreciable.

In wireless mode, it is surely not up to a wired connection but still doing a lot better than other Android DAPs. The 3.5mm single-ended output lacks some details and separation that those balanced outputs.

Conclusion

For 400$, Aune M1P is a must-buy for someone who stores and plays music locally. Sonically it is hard to match the performance of M1P in this price range. If you ask me, better get the non-Bluetooth version.  There are a few OS bugs present but I think, Aune will patch them as soon as possible. After briefly trying in AUNE M1P Review tour, I can proudly say that it is the ‘PERFECT DAP’, that should exist in terms of sound. I loved it.

Palash

Graphic Designer by Profession, and Music is my hobby. Can’t recall when I had started digging the Audiophile rabbit hole, but this Website was created in 2019 to showcase my passion for music. I am not an Audiophile, I call myself a Music Enthusiasts and my goal is to pass that enthusiasm to my readers.