The New iRiver AK100: A High-End DAP - Page 9

Well, most of us care more about sound quality.  I had all the Sansa Clip versions too, but I much prefer the sound of my Sony Walkman.  

 

I'm super excited about the new iRiver player.  Time to put my IHP-140 on ebay I guess.

.... there are always a premium alternative in any products and they all have buyers for them.

Even thought the Clip measures flat doesn't mean its comparable to higher-tier DAPs. That's just a joke if I ever heard it. Not pointing this comment at you though but people who generally make those assumptions are generally envious and have tin ears ;).
 

I'm pretty concerned by the output impedance specification of the AK100.

It's often advised to have a less than 2 ohms output impedance, and the AK100 states an outstanding 22ohms output impedance !

 

Is/could it be an error? I can't believe such a terrible design choice was made to this high end DAP ?

Will it be a problem for low impedance headphones and multi-BA IEMs ?

 

 

Any advices from technical gurus will help.

 

Edited by GourouLubrik - 10/10/12 at 4:05pm

Hmm if that's the case then this may have made my decision that much easier. I'm more so looking for a one unit solution and would rather not have to carry around an extra amp if possible.
 

Just look at the Altmann Tera Player... Some people have bought them. If the sound is THAT good, I would buy one if I had the money.

22 ohm OI? Argh!!!

people said that in the dx100 thread... look at them now, they all use a portable amp with it xD

 

-o-

 

BTW, is 22ohm output impedance good? or bad? i dont really look at those things as long as it sounds good =)

22 is very bad for sensitive IEMs ;). Yea we may all use a portable amp at times but not when on the go usually :). That is what makes the DX100 really good. It doesn't really need the amp but it still can benefit from it. I'm more so leaning towards the Hifiman 901 at this time unless ibasso can finally redeem it's self and stop making excuses (fix the damn UI!)...
 

Edited by lee730 - 10/10/12 at 5:17pm

o.O saaaywhat. ("headphones' impedance should be 8 times the output impedance of your source"). Sooo it's suitable for what... 160 ohm HP ?
Edited by svyr - 10/10/12 at 5:16pm

indeed, 22ohm is really crap, like seriously bad and inexcusable, but OMG its tiny! earlier photos made it look a bit monolithic. given I will not be using the dac or amp section, i'm still tempted, that comparison pic to the iHP has me thinking about it again. I think i'll wait for the price to go down a notch, or buy one used, but its definitely still on the radar. where can I find out if they have killed the remote feature? I wonder if it can somehow be controlled over wifi with a phone...

With regards to the battery life, the japanese pages are quoting the following :

 

FLAC/192kHz/24bit : 12Hrs

FLAC/96kHz/24bit : 15hrs

FLAC/44.1kHz/16bit : 16hrs

MP3/128kbps : 20hrs

 

Looks like they tested quite thoroughly. Maybe you actually get as much as they say.

If you read carefully the review about the guys said that iRiver AK sound very clean with sensitive IEM, and knowing nealry all iRiver products i belive they took their time to come up with an original design and preminum sound, and yes it does work with anything from 16-300 ohm.

Anybody want to give them a call to find out when AK 100 will be released or sold in UK?

Distribution

NTP (UK) Limited

Address

Ashridge Manor, Forest Road, Wokingham,
Berkshire, RG40 5RB, United Kingdom

Tel

+44 (0) 118 989 3434

Fax

+44 (0) 118 989 3435

Email

info@ntpuk.com

Web Site

www.ntpuk.co.uk

www.iriveruk.com

Well I do hope the impedance is a typo because if its over 1 ohm is a no go for me for sure.