The New iRiver AK100: A High-End DAP - Page 127

Bit the bullet and ordered one of these RWAK100.  Will let you all know what I think of it.  Hoping this ends the search for a quality portable DAP.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by goodvibes 

They did it on purpose, It's made specifically for that unit and the klipsch x10. LOL

:)

Quote:

Originally Posted by toads 

 

...or you need to up the visits to the therapist...;-)

 

i did not say there was 'no lag'...let's not go down that road...i said it was inconsequential, in fact i measured it against my iDevice and found it less than half a sec from drilling down top folders to track start...

 

my time is valuable i admit, but i can handle a 3 or 4 tenths here and there...lol

LOL hysterical bro!

Quote:

Originally Posted by icefalkon 

LOL hysterical bro!

Or maybe he's the one seeing the therapist for lacking sensitivity ;)....

Anyways I'm on 80 plus hours now on the unit and it is still improving some. So it's getting harder and harder to justify getting ride of it lol. Let's see if it continues to get better. That emphasis in the lower treble, upper mids (treble spikes) seems to have settled down now and I'm back to EQ off. What I'm liking in particular on this player is the black background, and the drum detail in songs is superb. Very detailed and textured in these areas. Reminded me of the W3000 ANVs again.... The sound stage has gotten a bit wider and there is good depth. The Studio V 3rd ANV still has the wider and more spacious/airy sound stage. But they both sound quite good to my ears now.

Curious to know what volumes you guys listen at ;). I tend to stay around 28.5.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lee730 

Not the case for me. Sometimes but this is rare. It will take up to 3 seconds lol. Usually in folder view is where it takes the longest.

Need to dump those masses of dodgy 128kbps mp3's and start loading some "real men's" 24/192kHz FLACs, buddy ;-).

Regarding the "Format Unsupported" message, got those a couple of times, but mostly after playing around files, playlists etc. so the message is a bit misleading in some cases since it seems to be more about an out-of-sync database vs. what's on the drive(s). Be aware that if you use two cards and accidentally swap slots, that's enough to throw things off...

I would strongly suggest to erase the two database files (something.db3 & AlbumArt.dat) in the System folder (via computer), then do a fresh Library Scan, then try again. If the error persists after that, then indeed there might be an issue with the (FLAC) file(s) specifically.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnakChan 

 

Need to dump those masses of dodgy 128kbps mp3's and start loading some "real men's" 24/192kHz FLACs, buddy ;-).

lol I use 99.9% FLAC, 128kbs files have all been deleted ions ago... ;). I have a 64 GB card and a 32 GB card both filled to near max capacity (about 3,000 songs). The 24 bit files didn't really sound worthy of using so much on this player. It sounded noticeably better on the DX100 IMO. I think even iRiver has admitted having issues with not getting the full quality out of these songs in earlier statements :).

Quote:

Originally Posted by WNBC 

Bit the bullet and ordered one of these RWAK100.  Will let you all know what I think of it.  Hoping this ends the search for a quality portable DAP.  

The end draws near =)

Quote:

Originally Posted by uelover 

The end draws near =)

So how are you enjoying your player? How many hours do you have on it? Initially I was extremely disappointed. Goes to show how much burn in can have an impact on equipment lol. At least for me it didn't sound much better than a well used Sansa Fuze fresh out of the box :P.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/irivers-astell-and-kern-ak100-what-does-a-700-ipod-sound-like/

We'll see, there's always the Tera Player 

Quote:

Originally Posted by uelover 

The end draws near =)

I hated the CLAS -dB right out of the box but then after a while I could hear why people love the Cypher Labs sound.  Really night and day for me on that one.  Now my thinking is pocket-sized portability so in comes the RWAK100.........  

Quote:

Originally Posted by lee730 

So how are you enjoying your player? How many hours do you have on it? Initially I was extremely disappointed. Goes to show how much burn in can have an impact on equipment lol. At least for me it didn't sound much better than a well used Sansa Fuze fresh out of the box :P.

I bought Vinnies RX100 demo unit from the Home Entertainment show. I did not like it in the beginning. I had to equalize the upper bass because of the lack of weight and  the upper mids because of the thinness and brightness. I now have about 60 hours on it and it is starting to improve. I no longer have to equalize it. I think the DAC in this unit may be better than my DX100 which can come across as thick. Even though I don't have the bass weight of the  DX100 I have more texture and a cleaner balance. It still sounds better going through my ALO RX Mark 3B amp. This may turn into a beautiful swan. Vinnies room sounded great. He was using Harbeth 30.1 speakers and his new battery hybrid products. He had very clear and organic sound. I sent Dick Olsher into his room and I think he wants to review some of his products. The best sound at the show was Rockport Altair speakers with Absolare parallel single ended 845 tube amp and their preamp. They were using the four stack MSB dack over 50,000.00. This was the closest yet I have heard to analog and is way better than DCS, Meitner, Esoteric, Wadia. They had the best sound I ever heard and this is under show conditions. I also liked the full Siltech set up, big Wilsons with Lamm, and Acoustic Zen speakers. I have been to CES for 25 years and this show was the best.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jwm48324 

I bought Vinnies RX100 demo unit from the Home Entertainment show. I did not like it in the beginning. I had to equalize the upper bass because of the lack of weight and  the upper mids because of the thinness and brightness. I now have about 60 hours on it and it is starting to improve. I no longer have to equalize it. I think the DAC in this unit may be better than my DX100 which can come across as thick. Even though I don't have the bass weight of the  DX100 I have more texture and a cleaner balance. It still sounds better going through my ALO RX Mark 3B amp. This may turn into a beautiful swan. Vinnies room sounded great. He was using Harbeth 30.1 speakers and his new battery hybrid products. He had very clear and organic sound. I sent Dick Olsher into his room and I think he wants to review some of his products. The best sound at the show was Rockport Altair speakers with Absolare parallel single ended 845 tube amp and their preamp. They were using the four stack MSB dack over 50,000.00. This was the closest yet I have heard to analog and is way better than DCS, Meitner, Esoteric, Wadia. They had the best sound I ever heard and this is under show conditions. I also liked the full Siltech set up, big Wilsons with Lamm, and Acoustic Zen speakers. I have been to CES for 25 years and this show was the best.

Jwm I think its not really the Sabre chip that give you that sound you speak of. More so the amp section with the Op Amp they chose. I wouldn't be surprised if indeed it is Op Amp 627 used in the DX100. I swear it sounds quite similar to my UHA6 MKII with that very same Op Amp. Using the DX100 via its LO through my Tralucent T1 amp gave me the sound that I really would desire from a DAP. If I could get that sound in a portable package I'd be extremely happy as well.

But I agree with you that the unit definitely has improved for the better. Wait til you get to 80+ hours. I think you're gonna really like it then.

What is strange is I thought the unit would only last for 5 hours at max volume? I put it at 75 with a 75 ohm impedance adapter and left it that way for about 8 hours I think. The battery was barely drained at all when I came back to check it.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnakChan 

 

Need to dump those masses of dodgy 128kbps mp3's and start loading some "real men's" 24/192kHz FLACs, buddy ;-).

I agree! xD

Been going to HDtracks and getting some over there :) Great selection!

Quote:

Originally Posted by VisceriousZERO 

 

I agree! xD

 

Been going to HDtracks and getting some over there :) Great selection!

Be careful with HDTracks, I bought a bunch of albums over there only to find out later that the quality is misrepresented for many selections.  I had mixed results with my initial purchases.  If you haven't already, check out the thread at computeraudiophile in which people discuss the various options.  Everything I bought after discovering that thread has been top notch and sounds fantastic on the AK.