I haven't heard the AE-2 with the PK1, but what I have heard of the AE-2 I didn't like. I was actually rather shocked at how poorly the AE-2 fared on a track I use to check for preservation of low-volume detail, and in general I didn't feel the SQ was up to par. (All of which I hate to say because I am otherwise a tremendous fan of Justin's amps.) This was listening on Etys, and using the front miniplug input. Lots of people have reported far, far better impressions of the AE-2, so I can't really account for why my own impressions are so different. But, for what it's worth, I did get to compare the AE-2 and Pico side by side in this same session and with the same earphones and material, and to me the Pico seemed clearly superior.

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My AE2/PK1 combo gives me very polite balanced sound which is very nice rig for my classical genre. If you like more aggressive sound signature, probably other amp is better suited for you. The amount of bass out of this combo is very satisfying for me but I am not basshead either. And I like my PK1 without any cover. AE2 is well suited for desktop purpose also.

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Haha