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The Astell & Kern AK240
Jan 7, 2014 at 5:57 PM Post #376 of 9,131
Ted from Headphone Lounge actually has made some balanced HD800 cables for the AK240 launch at CES. Not certain if anyone saw or tried them? :-
 

 

 
Jan 7, 2014 at 6:05 PM Post #377 of 9,131
2,5 mm is really soo tinny and FRAGILE !  WHY not use a "normal" 3,5mm jack 4 pods balanced !! Just to irritate us even more ?
 
Jan 7, 2014 at 6:13 PM Post #379 of 9,131
bmichels said:
  2,5 mm is really soo tinny and FRAGILE !  WHY not use a "normal" 3,5mm jack 4 pods balanced !! Just to irritate us even more ?
Click to expand...

Well, it would be to stop people from using a standard jack and shorting the device, as standard jacks are 3.5 they know at some point someone, if not the owner then someone just trying to use the device if its laying around will 100% GUARANTEED stick a standard jack in it at some point in its life time.
Its clever really.
 
Jan 7, 2014 at 6:17 PM Post #380 of 9,131
goldlion973 said:
Well, it would be to stop people from using a standard jack and shorting the device, as standard jacks are 3.5 they know at some point someone, if not the owner then someone just trying to use the device if its laying around will 100% GUARANTEED stick a standard jack in it at some point in its life time.
Its clever really.
Click to expand...


A mini-XLR will have been way way more professional and rugged !!!
 
Jan 7, 2014 at 6:19 PM Post #381 of 9,131
goldlion973 said:
  Well, it would be to stop people from using a standard jack and shorting the device, as standard jacks are 3.5 they know at some point someone, if not the owner then someone just trying to use the device if its laying around will 100% GUARANTEED stick a standard jack in it at some point in its life time.
Its clever really.
Click to expand...


hirose and iris serve the same purpose, too.... another way to look at it , it is to make you stuck with their product only...
 
Jan 7, 2014 at 6:38 PM Post #384 of 9,131

 
Astell & Kern has announced the launch of its new AK240 high-resolution portable audio player at CES 2014 – currently taking place in Las Vegas, US. MORE: CES 2014 The unveiling of the AK240 marks an expansion of A&K's range of portable audio players and builds on the success of the AK100 and AK120 - introduced to the UK late last year. In addition to a brand-new look, the AK240 includes a series of new features not currently offered by any other high-res portable players on the market. MORE: High-resolution audio - all you need to know The new features include 256GB internal memory and one microSD card slot supporting up to 64GB of microSD card storage – resulting in a total of 320GB of music storage. A dual-core processor allows the AK240 to handle requests and play high-res audio files with no lag time, while users will also be able to connect to music download sites directly from the player. Other features of the new player include a 3.31in AMOLED touchscreen with 800x480 resolution; Dual Cirrus Logic 4398 Digital-to-Analogue Converter chipsets and native DSD support – including DSD64 and DSD128 files. The AK120 can play DSD files natively, not having to convert to PCM as is the case on other hi-res music players. It's also the first Astell & Kern machine to have WiFi. This allows you to download files directly to the player via the Store section of the interface. This will be stocked with relevant HD audio suppliers for your territory, such as HDtracks. We were told Linn would most likely be one such store in the UK. Henry Park, CEO of iriver, says: "With the launch of the AK240, Astell & Kern has once again raised the bar in the portable high-resolution audio field." It is expected the A&K AK240 will be available from early Q1 2014 at a range of high-end audio retailers, as well as online. We were told the price could be around $2400 in the US, so expect a UK price to be somewhere in that ball-park. Astell & Kern is not the only manufactuer set to unveil a new high-res player in 2014, with Sony NWZ-ZX1 poised to enter the European market this year
 
Jan 7, 2014 at 6:38 PM Post #385 of 9,131
If form is anything to go by A&K will send out dozens of AK240's to shills, who will then go on to tell you this is the best DAP since burnt-toast & they've just rediscovered their music collection. I expect to read further improvements by external amp'ing a week later by 10%... I will then read of UI issues from the few gullible customers who have invested their hard earned sobs into the device & they'll probably question if the SQ was a upgrade, obviously they will be shouted down by the shills in some form or another, it's the way it is in A&K threads.
 
Never has a company raised the bar so much in the last year, the AK100 was a 10% increase in SQ over the best DAP, followed by another SQ increase of 10% with the arrival of the AK120, I expect a minimum SQ increase of 15% with the arrival AK240, 35% increase in SQ over the market in the past year is not to be scoffed at... it kinda makes you wonder why so many are ditching their AK's for the likes FiiO, iBasso et al, obviously it leads me to believe downgrading is the new Head-Fi nirvana.
 
Lets be honest there ain't much  difference between the new breed of DAP's it's all about the sound you seek and I personally wouldn't invest in a AK240 until RWA have taken it to task... I need decent porn from a £2k device, that's the minimum I'd expect.
 
Jan 7, 2014 at 6:40 PM Post #386 of 9,131
amberozl said:
iriver is becoming more and more disgusting. There, I said it. Shoot me down.
Click to expand...


Unfortunately, this is how you stay on top. When common people scream 'outrageous price', rich people will immediately buy two. This is common human nature. It is their drive to continue to gather more wealth.

Price aside, I suspect this one may actually sound good. They did make an effort to give balance out and more powerful amp section. Still a brick tho.
 
Jan 7, 2014 at 6:44 PM Post #387 of 9,131
We were told the price could be around $2400 in the US, so expect a UK price to be somewhere in that ball-park.
Click to expand...

 
 

 
 
UK price will be way more than the US equivalent - of that you may be quite certain. It's not even an AK thing; it's a UK thing.
 
 
 
 
Jan 7, 2014 at 6:45 PM Post #388 of 9,131
ok-guy said:
  If form is anything to go by A&K will send out dozens of AK240's to shills, who will then go on to tell you this is the best DAP since burnt-toast & they've just rediscovered their music collection. I expect to read further improvements by external amp'ing a week later by 10%... I will then read of UI issues from the few gullible customers who have invested their hard earned sobs into the device & they'll probably question if the SQ was a upgrade, obviously they will be shouted down by the shills in some form or another, it's the way it is in A&K threads.
 
Never has a company raised the bar so much in the last year, the AK100 was a 10% increase in SQ over the best DAP, followed by another SQ increase of 10% with the arrival of the AK120, I expect a minimum SQ increase of 15% with the arrival AK240, 35% increase in SQ over the market in the past year is not to be scoffed at... it kinda makes you wonder why so many are ditching their AK's for the likes FiiO, iBasso et al, obviously it leads me to believe downgrading is the new Head-Fi nirvana.
 
Lets be honest there ain't much  difference between the new breed of DAP's it's all about the sound you seek and I personally wouldn't invest in a AK240 until RWA have taken it to task... I need decent porn from a £2k device, that's the minimum I'd expect.
Click to expand...

Do you mean professional reviewers?
 
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