[bflat]

  Thanks - why is this so complicated?! -next stupid question - for simplicity, can I copy the entire 'Ripping' folder onto my Mac and then copy it whole to 'SD Card' or do I have to open it and copy only the contents? 

Whole folder should work fine.

 

[Uncle Monty]

Thanks - in process of doing it just now - 3hrs to go - you'd think A&K would find a smoother, faster way to do this, or even put a 1Tb internal memory in the device - it's a bit of a faff......

 

[rbalcom]

Thanks - in process of doing it just now - 3hrs to go - you'd think A&K would find a smoother, faster way to do this, or even put a 1Tb internal memory in the device - it's a bit of a faff......

It is more an issue with Mac not playing nice with Android than an AK issue. The AK Jr and AK120 can both connect directly to a Mac, but the more TOTL players need Android File Transfer or a similar application to copy the files between a Mac and the player. I use SyncMate, but the easiest and fastest method is to use Windows 10 File Explorer running Windows 10 as a virtual machine on my Mac using Parallel Tools. When you delete the music from the internal memory you will have to leave the Ripping directory to use the Ripper. I'm not sure if the Ripper would create it if it was not there.

 

[Uncle Monty]

I've become so used to just plugging my old iPod in to my Mac, iTunes opens and everything just happens as if by magic - all this AFT palaver seems like a step into the past.
 
I transferred some files from iTunes using AFT before I got The Ripper (sounds like a Judas Priest song) - the reason I got it (don't laugh) was to avoid the need to store music on my laptop / EHDs and simplify - Ha!
 
I don't remember seeing the 'Ripping' folder before now, so the Ripper might have created it but I can't be sure. In hindsight, I reckon it would be easier and more straightforward just to use the AFT with iTunes or similar, dragging and dropping files wherever you want them.

 

[rbalcom]

I'm not a big fan of using the Ripper. There is no simple way if moving the files to the Music folder or the SD Card and the FLAC files it produces have no compression at all so they are twice the size of the FLAC files ripped using XLD on my Mac. I used it to do about ten CDs and then went back to using The Mac.

 

[TaylorDawe]

  I've become so used to just plugging my old iPod in to my Mac, iTunes opens and everything just happens as if by magic - all this AFT palaver seems like a step into the past.
 
I transferred some files from iTunes using AFT before I got The Ripper (sounds like a Judas Priest song) - the reason I got it (don't laugh) was to avoid the need to store music on my laptop / EHDs and simplify - Ha!
 
I don't remember seeing the 'Ripping' folder before now, so the Ripper might have created it but I can't be sure. In hindsight, I reckon it would be easier and more straightforward just to use the AFT with iTunes or similar, dragging and dropping files wherever you want them.

I don't use an apple computer so perhaps shouldn't comment. However, it seems a little unfair to me to slate the ripper as I have never had the least problem with it. I use a Windows computer. I simply connect my 380 using the provided USB cable, open my file application, show the 'ripper' folder in one pane, the 'destination' folder in the other, highlight the file(s) I wish to move/copy, drag them between the panes (en masse if there are many) - and that's it. It really is that simple. The destination can of course be anywhere - another folder on the 380, on a card connected to the 380, on a card in my PC, or somewhere on the network. So perhaps there is room for criticism, but I don't think it lies with the 380 or its software. I apologise if this upsets you, Monty, but this really is my personal experience of using the AK Ripper - I love it.

 

[rbalcom]

@TaylorDawe, why do you love the Ripper? What makes it more lovable than the many ways to rip CDs on your Windows computer and copy them to the AK380? Help me to understand what I am missing about the benefits of using the Ripper.

 

[TaylorDawe]

@TaylorDawe, why do you love the Ripper? What makes it more lovable than the many ways to rip CDs on your Windows computer and copy them to the AK380? Help me to understand what I am missing about the benefits of using the Ripper.

Perhaps it's just me but... here goes. Before buying the ripper I used to rip from CDs using software on my computer. For some reason this software did not recognise when the 380 was attached (just didn't see it) so all rips were stored in a directory on my PC. So, lets say I have a few CDs to rip. I sit there with the software, watching it rip, waiting... now it's ripped. Go to the ripped file, search online for the mp3 tags - Album art. Rip another... rinse and repeat. Now using my file software copy all the ripped tracks to the 380. With the ripper. Take the ripper and 380 and plug into a convenient power socket. Put a CD in the ripper. Get on with my life (usually on my PC which is now not tied up or slowed down with ripping - I make my living using the PC). At some point, check that the CD is ripped and put another in to be ripped. And so on. When the last CD is ripped simply put the ripper away until next time. All the ripped tracks are in the ripping folder on my 380. If I want to I can do as mentioned in my post and copy them somewhere else or (which I usually do) just make playlists of whatever I want to listen to right from the ripping folder. Never need to touch the PC in the entire process. Neither do I need to even be present except to pop in from time to time to change to the next CD. And album art is automatically added during the ripping process. I'm not tied up. The PC isn't tied up. And once ripped there is nothing more for me to do except enjoy the music. I guess for me an analogy would be the difference between washing clothes by hand or just popping them in the washing machine and let IT do all the work. As I say - I love it.

 

[Uncle Monty]

That's exactly why I got the Ripper and I have to say it's been great right up to the point where I realised that I still need to use AFT to copy ripped files onto the SD card. Neither AFT nor the AK380 is very stable using my Mac - the player doesn't appear in Finder (whereas an EHD will) and AFT often 'loses' the player, asking for the USB to be removed and then re-inserted or the player to be switched off then on again. Often this doesn't work and I have to force quit AFT (it freezes and won't quit normally) and start again. I'll maybe have a look at Syncmate for future use - I take it this is just another version of AFT? Maybe I should just pick up a cheap Windows laptop for using with the AK380 - in the scheme of things the expense would be but a drop in the ocean of A&K outlay...

 

[Uncle Monty]

One extra question - once I've filled the player with files - internal storage and SD card - should I move the files in the Ripping folder (in the internal memory) to a 'Music' folder or just leave them in 'Ripping'? The player obviously recognises the files and artwork in 'Ripping' and plays then with no issue, so is there any advantage in moving them?

 

[TaylorDawe]

  One extra question - once I've filled the player with files - internal storage and SD card - should I move the files in the Ripping folder (in the internal memory) to a 'Music' folder or just leave them in 'Ripping'? The player obviously recognises the files and artwork in 'Ripping' and plays then with no issue, so is there any advantage in moving them?

Sorry, Monty, I think I'm misunderstanding your question. If the internal memory is full then clearly you need to move some files - whether from ripping or somewhere else. I find the only advantage of moving files from ripping is to keep like with like in my 'music' folder. So all ripped 'Yes' albums to the music/yes folder. etc. Other than this I find no advantage in moving them out of ripping. Not sure if you're asking but, everything is still ok after moving them - album art and so on just stays with the relevant file. Re-reading your posts, Monty, it almost seems to me that you are confusing two issues - one is the ripper and how it works (you seem fine with this) and the other is difficulty with file transfer using your 380 with your apple computer. It seems to me that your only issue is with file transfer. There must be a more simple solution to this than buying a PC. I mean, lots of people on here with 380s must also use apple computers surely? I have only ever used windows computers so have no experience with your computer I'm afraid. But I think that focusing on the 'real' issue (file transfer) would probably be more productive. Just my two-penneth (and you did ask

 

[jonstatt]

Decided to take our hands at adding modifications to refine the sound of the SS. For the moment, all we did was contact enhancements at the connectors (both inside and out) and that it itself added considerable body to the depth of the soundn. The most effects were felt from the amp+player 4pin interface. 

Curious to know which contact enhancement applicator you used so I can apply it to the outside of my player+amp 4-pin connection.

Mines been redwine modded so I've had the ribbon cable you see at the bottom replaced with copper litz wire on both the player and the amp sections. I always suspected that that was the cause of the increased amount of detail I was hearing after the mod since the rest of the redwine mod is basically caps to help with current delivery, e.g quicker, tighter bass with more depth. The increased amount of detail was probably the bottleneck of the ribbon cables being removed. Just my guess.

That ribbon cable is basically the interconnect between the player and the amp and when you combine the ribbon cable from the player section output and the amp section input, it's probably 2-3 inches.

Any chance you have the skills to replace it with silver litz wire. Curious how much of a difference it would make over the copper litz I have.

My personal belief from numerous tests in the past is that a cable of 2 inches can be made of practically any construction as long as it has the right impedance characteristics etc. I believe the reason you hear more detail is totally because of the tightening of the bass due to the capacitor modifications. Lexicon proved back in about 2001 that by correcting bass issues only that the rest of the frequency spectrum improves significantly. This is largely because a woolly bass with imperfect timing stops our brains from correctly perceiving detail in higher frequencies. I have tested so many cables and found audible differences only when I started to approach 12 inches in length. Headphone cables of significant lengths like 8 feet can have fairly noticeable differences.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Uncle Monty]

 

  One extra question - once I've filled the player with files - internal storage and SD card - should I move the files in the Ripping folder (in the internal memory) to a 'Music' folder or just leave them in 'Ripping'? The player obviously recognises the files and artwork in 'Ripping' and plays then with no issue, so is there any advantage in moving them?

Sorry, Monty, I think I'm misunderstanding your question. If the internal memory is full then clearly you need to move some files - whether from ripping or somewhere else. I find the only advantage of moving files from ripping is to keep like with like in my 'music' folder. So all ripped 'Yes' albums to the music/yes folder. etc. Other than this I find no advantage in moving them out of ripping. Not sure if you're asking but, everything is still ok after moving them - album art and so on just stays with the relevant file. Re-reading your posts, Monty, it almost seems to me that you are confusing two issues - one is the ripper and how it works (you seem fine with this) and the other is difficulty with file transfer using your 380 with your apple computer. It seems to me that your only issue is with file transfer. There must be a more simple solution to this than buying a PC. I mean, lots of people on here with 380s must also use apple computers surely? I have only ever used windows computers so have no experience with your computer I'm afraid. But I think that focusing on the 'real' issue (file transfer) would probably be more productive. Just my two-penneth (and you did ask

Oh, I was joking about buying a Windows laptop - it's just the AK380 / AFT on Mac seems a bit 'unstable', if that makes sense. 
 
Thanks for all the advice from everyone btw.
 
Re the Ripping folder, I've transferred all the files to the SD Card using AFT (the internal memory was full) and I'm now going to delete all the files from 'Ripping' to free up the internal memory before filling it up again with new music, therefore got internal memory and SD card both full. All I wondered was, when I get everything full of music files, should I use the AFT app to move the files on 'Ripping' into the 'Music' file on the internal memory or does it not matter if I just leave them in 'Ripping'. Apologies but I was born slightly too late to be a wizard at different apps and moving files around etc and sometimes I just get confused and want to throw the laptop out the window and drink whisky. I'm also a luddite at heart...

 

[TaylorDawe]

 
Oh, I was joking about buying a Windows laptop - it's just the AK380 / AFT on Mac seems a bit 'unstable', if that makes sense. 
 
Thanks for all the advice from everyone btw.
 
Re the Ripping folder, I've transferred all the files to the SD Card using AFT (the internal memory was full) and I'm now going to delete all the files from 'Ripping' to free up the internal memory before filling it up again with new music, therefore got internal memory and SD card both full. All I wondered was, when I get everything full of music files, should I use the AFT app to move the files on 'Ripping' into the 'Music' file on the internal memory or does it not matter if I just leave them in 'Ripping'. Apologies but I was born slightly too late to be a wizard at different apps and moving files around etc and sometimes I just get confused and want to throw the laptop out the window and drink whisky. I'm also a luddite at heart...

If I understand you correctly, Monty, then it's really a matter of personal preference. I tend to like to keep my music in some sort of order (usually by band) and the ripper doesn't do this - it just dumps everything in ripping. So my ripping folder becomes somewhat messy. My music folder is organised as I mentioned (by band/singer) so I will probably eventually move stuff from ripping into 'music/band' just to make stuff easier to find, really. But no, other than that, it doesn't matter if you just leave it all in the one folder (in this case 'ripping'). As I say, it's personal preference. I would like to see the option of where the ripper dumps files to be addressed in a FW update at some point, though. Be nice to be able to pick the 'ripping' folder.

 

[Uncle Monty]

Everything I ripped is in the Ripping folder and the AK380 has it all organised into Band / Album / Songs all alphabetical.
 
Would just be nice if a £3k player ripped to an SD card without you having to sort it yourself - or, even better, had a 1Tb internal memory - I've got an iPod Classic with a 1Tb flash, so how hard could it be? How does it work with other players - say iBasso - do they rip files straight to SD cards?
 
Somebody made an interesting comment re AK Ripper Flac file size being larger than it should - with 2 x 256Gb storage on my player and half that storage capacity now full, I seem to have have just under 7,000 music files (songs). So, with the whole thing full eventually I'll have approx 14,000 songs. I have a full 500Gb iPod Classic with just under 17,000 songs, so maybe the AK Ripper Flac files are larger.