I had actually had my case pre ordered from a physical shop, e-earphones in Tokyo. Therefore, it may just be a Japanese thing that they included the SD card holder...
hey mr. gavin, how did you go about completing that purchase of the dignis case at e-earphone.jp? having a hard time completing a purchase from yesterday as i seen the micro sd card hold from you.
hey mr. gavin, how did you go about completing that purchase of the dignis case at e-earphone.jp? having a hard time completing a purchase from yesterday as i seen the micro sd card hold from you.
@Apina, thank for your thoughts on the RWA mod. What did you replace your K10u with? The capacitance issue was one of the mod for the 240 also and surely AK is aware of that issue. I am disappointed in AK that they did not improve that area in their next release in the 380/380cu line and leaving their precious customers spending another 1k to do what they should have done to improve on an otherwise very beautiful product. It just goes to show how much they want to make a perfect product and to meet customers satisfaction.
According to the reviews in Inearspace on the 240 and 380, the reviewer really like the tighter, faster, and cleaner sound signature of the 240 but the 380 is better in sound stage, warmer sound signature if one prefers. Are the changes before and after the mod very much noticeable according to the descriptions of RWA? Or does it requires thoughtful observation to notice them?
I do like the 380 especially the cu version very much. In fact when I audition the 380cu and amp, I am much more impressed by the 380cu/Hugo combo than the 380cu/amp combo by a long shot. I don't think the amp section add too much to the power output specially when one uses mainly iems for listening and in balance mode. What do you think?
Exactly what what I thought as well. With all due respect, while 380Cu is the best DAP in the world, the amp is mediocre at best and the only upside I can think of is having it fit snugly to the 380Cu - otherwise it is nothing more than a very very cheap portable amp that would cost less than $100 sound quality-wise.
mmm......well, my experience with the ak 380 cu amp is different: it is an excellent add-on to the ak 380 cu with both ciems/in-ears and headphones in my small collection. I expected no less from an amplifier: to amplify and to properly drive headphones. At the very least, It stays out of the way, which is what a good amp does or is supposed to do. I do not see the need to add a third-party amp . Having said that, there is nothing wrong with experimenting or using the cu with other amps.
@Apina, thank for your thoughts on the RWA mod. What did you replace your K10u with? The capacitance issue was one of the mod for the 240 also and surely AK is aware of that issue. I am disappointed in AK that they did not improve that area in their next release in the 380/380cu line and leaving their precious customers spending another 1k to do what they should have done to improve on an otherwise very beautiful product. It just goes to show how much they want to make a perfect product and to meet customers satisfaction.
According to the reviews in Inearspace on the 240 and 380, the reviewer really like the tighter, faster, and cleaner sound signature of the 240 but the 380 is better in sound stage, warmer sound signature if one prefers. Are the changes before and after the mod very much noticeable according to the descriptions of RWA? Or does it requires thoughtful observation to notice them?
I do like the 380 especially the cu version very much. In fact when I audition the 380cu and amp, I am much more impressed by the 380cu/Hugo combo than the 380cu/amp combo by a long shot. I don't think the amp section add too much to the power output specially when one uses mainly iems for listening and in balance mode. What do you think?
The RWAK380 and 380Cu sounds very different to each other. Both improves significantly on the stock 380.
Where the Cu is very lush, musical, effortless and non fatiguing sonically, I would say that the RWAK is more generic sounding in the world of portable audio while the Cu is more niche and in it's own space currently...
For me the Cu amp adds grip and control to the transducers...
@Apina, thank for your thoughts on the RWA mod. What did you replace your K10u with? The capacitance issue was one of the mod for the 240 also and surely AK is aware of that issue. I am disappointed in AK that they did not improve that area in their next release in the 380/380cu line and leaving their precious customers spending another 1k to do what they should have done to improve on an otherwise very beautiful product. It just goes to show how much they want to make a perfect product and to meet customers satisfaction.
According to the reviews in Inearspace on the 240 and 380, the reviewer really like the tighter, faster, and cleaner sound signature of the 240 but the 380 is better in sound stage, warmer sound signature if one prefers. Are the changes before and after the mod very much noticeable according to the descriptions of RWA? Or does it requires thoughtful observation to notice them?
I do like the 380 especially the cu version very much. In fact when I audition the 380cu and amp, I am much more impressed by the 380cu/Hugo combo than the 380cu/amp combo by a long shot. I don't think the amp section add too much to the power output specially when one uses mainly iems for listening and in balance mode. What do you think?
Regarding IEM replacements to the Noble I have the Empire Ears Zeus Universal on order at the moment..... just a game of patience while they manufacture them now
Apina, enjoyed your impression, most music players increase sound stage at the expense of sound imaging. Sound stage is not the same as sound image. Sound stage refers to the sense of space and the relationship of each instrument to one another whereas sound image refers to the integrity and the realism produced by each instrument. I still remember my very first experience of hifi. I was at a high end store in a dedicated room looking around when the salesman put in Holy Cole Trio's "I can see clearly now" and a pair of Wilson Watt Puppy started to sing behind me. This is a song where the singer will just start to sing without much leading music. I was startled and almost jumped as i thought some live person was singing behind me. Since then I have become enamoured by the kind of music presentation where all instruments will disappear or fade into the background leaving a coherent hologragic singer floating in front of me.
To me, the 240ss is a little more focus than the 380cu. The 380cu definitely has a bigger sound which make me feels like I am enveloped by the music. I wish I can have both feature in one dap.
Gavin, it sounds like the cu is more musical than the RWA380. I wonder if we have a RWA380cu and RWA380CU amp in our midst? By the way, are you still in Japan? I wonder if we will have more announcement this week end from AK?
Apina, the Empire Zeus with its 14 drivers configuration is a much harder monitor to drive than the K10u. Please add your impression when you receive your Zeus with the 380.
Man I can feel I am getting pull over to the dark side ever so slightly with each post I read.
Gavin, it sounds like the cu is more musical than the RWA380. I wonder if we have a RWA380cu and RWA380CU amp in our midst? By the way, are you still in Japan? I wonder if we will have more announcement this week end from AK?
Apina, the Empire Zeus with its 14 drivers configuration is a much harder monitor to drive than the K10u. Please add your impression when you receive your Zeus with the 380.
Man I can feel I am getting pull over to the dark side ever so slightly with each post I read.
I am back in Hong Kong from Tokyo, but may travel to HCMC, Vietnam. Are you in Hong Kong, you mentioned you were coming this week?
Well I do believe that the Cu is in it's own space at the moment simply because you can not replicate it's sonics with other portable gear, whilst perhaps I can achieve a similar sound to the RWAK with different Dap, amp, mini I/Cs etc., etc.
I hear what you say regarding soundstaging and imaging, I think imaging remains in the domain of the transducer and at present not many IEMs can recreate .....The signal is there, I am sure...
There should not be any more announcement from AK in Munich besides perhaps for their home gear range, but let's see........The new products in Tokyo were the AK300 and DSD recorder, in which the AK300 seems good value.
Apina, enjoyed your impression, most music players increase sound stage at the expense of sound imaging. Sound stage is not the same as sound image. Sound stage refers to the sense of space and the relationship of each instrument to one another whereas sound image refers to the integrity and the realism produced by each instrument. I still remember my very first experience of hifi. I was at a high end store in a dedicated room looking around when the salesman put in Holy Cole Trio's "I can see clearly now" and a pair of Wilson Watt Puppy started to sing behind me. This is a song where the singer will just start to sing without much leading music. I was startled and almost jumped as i thought some live person was singing behind me. Since then I have become enamoured by the kind of music presentation where all instruments will disappear or fade into the background leaving a coherent hologragic singer floating in front of me.
To me, the 240ss is a little more focus than the 380cu. The 380cu definitely has a bigger sound which make me feels like I am enveloped by the music. I wish I can have both feature in one dap.
Gavin, it sounds like the cu is more musical than the RWA380. I wonder if we have a RWA380cu and RWA380CU amp in our midst? By the way, are you still in Japan? I wonder if we will have more announcement this week end from AK?
Apina, the Empire Zeus with its 14 drivers configuration is a much harder monitor to drive than the K10u. Please add your impression when you receive your Zeus with the 380.
Man I can feel I am getting pull over to the dark side ever so slightly with each post I read.
To be honest I prefer a speaker based solution and in the past I use to have an amazing system that was built up over several years.
Due to room size problems that had to go
and I was left with headphones being the only way to go for my audiophile fix.
There was one set of speakers that I had that changed the way I listen to music and they were made by a company called wilson benesch.
Very neutral but natural sounding speakers that were completely transparent so it was only the rest of the equipment that dictated how the speakers sounded.
The RWAK380 Combo Meal reminds me of this setup which is why I am happy with the solution, ticks all boxes when I'm out travelling.
At home I run the Decware Taboo MK3 balanced mode with the HE1000 (nordost cable) using the RWAK380 + Cradle as the source.
From this solution I get the lovely warm sound that a decent tube amp provides and with the tube selection I have it provides the holographic sensation you mention unbelievably well.
Soon as I get the EE Zeus I will post some impressions.
I think it would be interesting if someone had the luxury of providing RWAK380+Amp and AK380+Amp CU comparisons.
At the end of the day different people have different tastes in how they want to listen to music so for some the RWAK will be more to their taste and for others the AKCU.
Its not that, I read nice reviews about jhaudio angie's but all I can say is I am not feeling the enjoyment of what i am hearing maybe due to my player. I thought I would have this amazing experience by buying what I have but I feel the sound lacks in dynamics and the bass is a bit flat
I listen to alot of electronic music
I think I need another iem or dap or both even
I am reading about AK players all over the net but I never heard one, so I thought why not ask here in the flagship forum of AK players
Can i ask in meetings like canjam when you get to meet AK, do you guys share with them that you would like to see a more powerful amp for the ak380. And whats their opinion on your remark, assuming you tell them your thoughts about the amp
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