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Brand Spanking New A&K AK120II and AK100II
Dec 26, 2014 at 9:12 PM Post #2,746 of 6,668
I just got the 400i for xmas, I have the AK100ii. Love the AK with my se846. Not enough juice for 400i though, pushing about 65 on the volume. Can you guys give me a few recommendations for  portable headphone amp under 500.00?   A desktop tube amp would be fine also as I don't think I will be mobile with the 400i.  Maybe the new hifiman tube? I will use the AK as the dac. Cheers, Dan
 
Dec 26, 2014 at 9:25 PM Post #2,747 of 6,668
jeremylaurenson said:

And just in time, I'm glad this happened outside the AK

These smaller jacks are a really terrible, terrible idea
Click to expand...


That is some serious adults-only violence there.   Please answer two questions :
 
1.  What does that 2 pin adapter actually do that is different from just using the 2.5 balanced out ? 
2   What the H E L L happend to the 2.5 post ? ? ? 
 
Dec 26, 2014 at 9:36 PM Post #2,748 of 6,668
Hey Dan.. that is it you're finding lacking?  Pushing the volume to 65-70 with the HE400i is no problem.  I'm listening to Becoming Insane by Infected Mushroom right now with the volume at 67.5 and for me, I really wouldn't want to go much louder. Bass kick sound just about right for me and is nice and tight. My preference is a more neutral sound so YMMV.
 
On another note.. just got my AK100 II today and they included the remote.  Selling off my AK100 MkII.  Loving the new interface, bigger screen, extended top end and a little tighter and deeper bass.  Not a huge difference is SQ but definitely a small step up.  I found that the MkII took a while to break in and smooth out.. I assume the same for the II.  Worth the upgrade for me.
Just reading over the past 40 pages or so.  Setup and OTA update to 1.12 was flawless for me and the remote is just wonderful.  I can definitely see this as satisfying me for a long time to come.  Any future funds will be going to HiRez music.
 
Dec 26, 2014 at 10:29 PM Post #2,749 of 6,668
dopaminer said:
 
That is some serious adults-only violence there.   Please answer two questions :
 
1.  What does that 2 pin adapter actually do that is different from just using the 2.5 balanced out ? 
2   What the H E L L happend to the 2.5 post ? ? ? 
Click to expand...

1) IIRC the 3.5mm is not strictly necessary as it's only for XLR shielded wiring.
 
Dec 26, 2014 at 10:52 PM Post #2,750 of 6,668
mickeyvee said:
  Hey Dan.. that is it you're finding lacking?  Pushing the volume to 65-70 with the HE400i is no problem.  I'm listening to Becoming Insane by Infected Mushroom right now with the volume at 67.5 and for me, I really wouldn't want to go much louder. Bass kick sound just about right for me and is nice and tight. My preference is a more neutral sound so YMMV.
 
On another note.. just got my AK100 II today and they included the remote.  Selling off my AK100 MkII.  Loving the new interface, bigger screen, extended top end and a little tighter and deeper bass.  Not a huge difference is SQ but definitely a small step up.  I found that the MkII took a while to break in and smooth out.. I assume the same for the II.  Worth the upgrade for me.
Just reading over the past 40 pages or so.  Setup and OTA update to 1.12 was flawless for me and the remote is just wonderful.  I can definitely see this as satisfying me for a long time to come.  Any future funds will be going to HiRez music.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but at 67  the unit is pushing to hard. I never said "lacking",  its grainy at that volume. Its very noticeable. 
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 12:20 AM Post #2,751 of 6,668
pekingduck said:
  1) IIRC the 3.5mm is not strictly necessary as it's only for XLR shielded wiring.
Click to expand...


Thanks.  
I have a cable which I bought for running my DX50 to my Denon PMA-1 speaker amp : it has 3.5mm male plug on one end and 2 male XLR3 plugs on the other.  Assuming the cable has 4 wires all the way to the 3.5, my plan is to have it reterninated to male 2.5mm TRRS, so that I can play my 120ii through my speaker system.  
 
I am wondering if I need this 2.5 + 3.5 DIY adapter, or if the balanced output from the 120ii is enough.  
Opinions ? 
 
(I know I should write those words as, `need` and `enough`, because there is absolutely no justifiable need, and I think we all there will never be enough, in this hobby.) 
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 12:22 AM Post #2,752 of 6,668
danelmix said:
  Sorry, but at 67  the unit is pushing to hard. I never said "lacking",  its grainy at that volume. Its very noticeable. 
Click to expand...

 
What do you mean by `pushing too hard`?  `Line Out` mode fully maxes the volume at 75.
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 12:43 AM Post #2,753 of 6,668
I am just an audio engineer. If there's one thing I know it's this , if my attenuator /volume pot/ etc has to operate at almost max to drive something just to reach normal levels(a guitar, a microphone, a headphone) the it's underpowered. If you think it sounds Ok, then it's good for ya, for me the 400i sounds way better when I amp it than straight out of the AK100ii.
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 1:30 AM Post #2,754 of 6,668
thor777 said:
I noticed that my AK100II doesn't remember track position after shutdown. Does anyone else's do that?
Click to expand...



Just tried it. Playing track 5 of 10, turned the 100ii off, waited a few moments after logo went away, turned it back on and it was queued up at track 5. Wasn't at the exact playing position/time as when I turned it off - started back at 0:00 but was definitely track 5.

Playing off internal memory, FW 1.12
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 1:38 AM Post #2,755 of 6,668
So I guess it doesn't bookmark the exact position of the track during power off, just the track number. You'd think such a high end player would have something as simple as bookmarking....:frowning2:
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 1:42 AM Post #2,756 of 6,668
mmet said:
how many steps that the eq goes up and down in the new AK players ... i know that it is 10 band eq and people says it is implemented well but i want to know how much it is effective as i like playing with eq with some songs and genera ... and is it degrades the sound volume when on or not ?
Click to expand...


+/- 5.0 in 0.5 steps for all bands

Is it effective? Yes, as much as any eq can be I guess. It's certainly better than the DX90's eq IMO. But I'm not a big fan of eq. The drawing of a curve is pretty neat, though.
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 2:11 AM Post #2,757 of 6,668
thor777 said:
So I guess it doesn't bookmark the exact position of the track during power off, just the track number. You'd think such a high end player would have something as simple as bookmarking....:frowning2:
Click to expand...


Agree, that would be nice. Not sure if any other portable player does that? Just did same test on my iPhone 6 iOS 8.1.2 and it works the same way as the AK100ii. I can try it on the DX90 tmrw.
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 2:42 AM Post #2,758 of 6,668
kt8509 said:
Agree, that would be nice. Not sure if any other portable player does that? Just did same test on my iPhone 6 iOS 8.1.2 and it works the same way as the AK100ii. I can try it on the DX90 tmrw.
Click to expand...

 
 
Android phone is the same, it remembers the track. No exact position.
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 5:34 AM Post #2,759 of 6,668
kt8509 said:
+/- 5.0 in 0.5 steps for all bands

Is it effective? Yes, as much as any eq can be I guess. It's certainly better than the DX90's eq IMO. But I'm not a big fan of eq. The drawing of a curve is pretty neat, though.
Click to expand...


and I like how you can save to custom EQs. It would be really cool if you could assign custom EQ's to individual tracks, kind of like album art, so the player would adjust the EQ on the fly depending on the track.
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 6:06 AM Post #2,760 of 6,668
dopaminer said:
Thanks.  
I have a cable which I bought for running my DX50 to my Denon PMA-1 speaker amp : it has 3.5mm male plug on one end and 2 male XLR3 plugs on the other.  Assuming the cable has 4 wires all the way to the 3.5, my plan is to have it reterninated to male 2.5mm TRRS, so that I can play my 120ii through my speaker system.  

I am wondering if I need this 2.5 + 3.5 DIY adapter, or if the balanced output from the 120ii is enough.  
Opinions ? 

(I know I should write those words as, `need` and `enough`, because there is absolutely no justifiable need, and I think we all there will never be enough, in this hobby.) 
Click to expand...


The 2.5mm by itself was not stable enough for me - I was getting scratchiness when the cable swiveled a touch in the socket. Binding to the 3.5 stopped this and also provided a lot of stability.

In this case I had the adapter in my pocket and despite the 3.5 it still bent twice in the last week.. Bending it back the 2nd time had it snap off. I hope it was just crappy quality, but I'll be sure to baby the official am adapter. The 2.5 mm plug as well as the fact that the AK does not mount as a disk natively on a mac are the two flaws with these players

I also have two Eidolic 2.5s coming to try: http://www.eidolic.com/Eidolic-Hifi-Audio-Headphone-Connectors-2-5.html
 
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