anthony1 said:

 
Lets just agree to disagree.. I'm in the camp that is hunting for a pure transport device only and Id say based on the amount of headfiers (Rudi comes to mind) with multiple portable amps and portable dacs there is a huge market waiting to be tapped who want the same. There is a market who, like opamp swapping, swap devices to match their cans/IEMs. I for one, hate starting the chain locked to stupid iTunes

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audionewbi said:

If iriver did not advertised the AK100 as a high fidelity DAP than i would not be a harsh judge on it and I would understand why people are pairing it with external DAC and amp but considering the amount of people who have purchased this and paired with external amp that tells me that there might be something serious wrong with it. 

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jude said:

 
Since before CES (2013), I've been using an AK100 (stock) with the Sennheiser IE 800, FitEar MH334 (custom), and JH Audio JH13 Pro (Freqphase), and I think it sounds fantastic with those headphones, especially with my high-res files from HDtracks, and the many FLAC albums I've downloaded from Bowers & Wilkins' Society of Sound (which I strongly recommend you join and support, if you haven't already).
 
I haven't heard any modded versions of AK100, but I'm not inclined to send it in for a mod, as I'm quite happy with its sound as is, with what headphones I've so far used with it.
 
As strong as its user interface is, though, it's still hard for me to put down my iOS-based devices whose UI's I'm in love with (and still, to my mind, set the standard for intuitive ease of use). But, because none of my iOS-based rigs support 24/192, the AK100 has become one of my primary portable rigs, especially when I know I'm going to want to listen to my high-res stuff.

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gintaras said:

funny, people complain that audiophile equipment does not play angry birds LOL

as a matter of fact i have Mac Mini dedicated exclusively for playback with all other features deactivated and all non-essential programs deleted. no updates of software, airport switched off, ports disabled, Audirvana Plus pure without integer mode and all USB ports and else disabled in playback mode. i would kill anyone who would want to play games on my Music server...

for this reason i could not be more happier to hear that AK100 is dedicated sole for music playback purpose, no stupid video, games and etc garbage which i would not tolerate on my hifi device

tell me what AK100 cannot do and the more faults you find the more appealing this will be for me, because the only thing which counts is playback of music, rest is not important. i can stand even mediocre UI if that will improve sound quality.

and have suffered with using iTunes to activate another iPhone 5 for my girls so i confess i never want to have this smartphone garbage. i use old simple phone for calling and iPad mini for internet. why would i want silly iPhone to do everything? and again iTunes is worst thing i ever experienced in Apple. wish Apple stops using iTunes for updates so i can delete it from all Macs in my house.

viva all players which are dedicated to sole quality sound playback ))

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jamato8 said:

To me Jude, there is a very important difference musically. The true nature of the Wolfson comes out, being natural and fluid, which in the stock form of the AK100, to me, is restrained and almost brittle sounding. The depth to the presentation is truncated and bass is not nearly as good as the bypassed version of the AK100. IMO

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kenz said:

While on the move outdoors, the AK100 sounds just fine stock.
I guess our senses are just spread out while moving about, the little niggles go unnoticed.
 
However, having spent a good 7 months on the DX100 with my JH13pro (old version), could catch the subtle lack of dynamics when switching to the AK100. The AK100 is good on its own, just found lacking in presentation when matched up to the DX100.
 
However, as a standalone player, in terms of portability, memory expansion, design and capabilities, it's truly a great device on its own.
 
If iRiver were to release a successor to the AK100, with a better in-built amp, sabre ess9018 dac and a dedicated line out (just for the heck of using it as a transport), it would probably be the dream portable player for many including myself.

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gintaras said:

Mimo, i deleted my rant (this was abstract anyway) and i apologize, perhaps too much good wine during yesterday's dinner inflamed my brain (in a good mood) 

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audionewbi said:

Amazon japan is selling them for 497 AUD which seems to be the price we can find this in Japan and yet in Australia it is 690 AUD. Anyone knows any cheap reliable forwarding services?

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kenz said:

While on the move outdoors, the AK100 sounds just fine stock.
I guess our senses are just spread out while moving about, the little niggles go unnoticed.

However, having spent a good 7 months on the DX100 with my JH13pro (old version), could catch the subtle lack of dynamics when switching to the AK100. The AK100 is good on its own, just found lacking in presentation when matched up to the DX100.

However, as a standalone player, in terms of portability, memory expansion, design and capabilities, it's truly a great device on its own.

If iRiver were to release a successor to the AK100, with a better in-built amp, sabre ess9018 dac and a dedicated line out (just for the heck of using it as a transport), it would probably be the dream portable player for many including myself.

Click to expand...