[lin0003]

Come on, surely you didn't expect it to be on that level for $419?

 

[M-13]

  Come on, surely you didn't expect it to be on that level for $419?

What's the difference other than the price? Sometimes you need to know what you're paying for and I don't see anything on paper or design that makes these two "better."
 
In fact I hear the 901 is pretty colored DAP that is overly warm. The 240 is supposedly "boring," although it does nothing wrong and is fairly neutral, but pretty much sounds like the 120 when not playing DSD.
 
I also prefer Sabre over the Cirrus Logic, provided they are implemented correctly. Cirrus Logic kind of has a reputation for sounding very very clean and very very boring.
 
I will be auditioning the AK240 two weeks from now along side the DX90. If it's WAY better or even noticeably better I'll be happy to eat crow and let everyone here know that it's way better. What I know now is that it's WAY WAY more expensive.

 

[lin0003]

 
What's the difference other than the price? Sometimes you need to know what you're paying for and I don't see anything on paper that makes these two better. In fact I hear the 901 is pretty colored DAP that is overly warm. The 240 is supposedly "boring," although it does nothing wrong and is fairly neutral, but pretty much sounds like the 120 when not playing DSD.

I do expect the DX90 to be very good, besting the AK120, but the specs of the HM-901 are better and from what people hear the AK240 is around on par. Anyway, audio is very subjective and I'm sure there will be some people who prefer the DX90 to the HM-901. 

 

[hkppl]

Seems production beta testings have started/would be started soon, I have a few test cases that would like beta testers to try:
1. put more than 10000 files on the micro sd card, can the dx90 complete scan the files? how long would it take for it to complete?
2. make a playlist with more than 50 songs and let it play under shuffle mode, would some songs repeat more often than others during playback?
3. make a playlist with a mix of tracks with different bit rate/resolution, would the player play this list smoothly while changing the bit rate/resolution across the tracks?
4. when playing an album, can the player play the songs in order of the track number?
5. after restarting the player, would the player resume from the position of the track that was last play before stopping the player?
6. would the player stop playing automatically after unplug the earphone (HO or LO) from it?

Please point out if some of the tests are already done, and let me know the results.
Thank you very much in advance.

 

[M-13]

  I do expect the DX90 to be very good, besting the AK120, but the specs of the HM-901 are better and from what people hear the AK240 is around on par. Anyway, audio is very subjective and I'm sure there will be some people who prefer the DX90 to the HM-901. 

Fair enough. Who knows maybe when I hear the AK240 I will say it is way better. I'll be happy to admit that. In that case instead of saving up for the AK240 I'll just wait for Ibasso or Fiio to release their next DAP or their next. They will catch up pretty soon. AK has no where to go unless they invent alien technology. I think they have hit the ceiling for now.

 

[M-13]

  Seems production beta testings have started/would be started soon, I have a few test cases that would like beta testers to try:
1. put more than 10000 files on the micro sd card, can the dx90 complete scan the files? how long would it take for it to complete?
2. make a playlist with more than 50 songs and let it play under shuffle mode, would some songs repeat more often than others during playback?
3. make a playlist with a mix of tracks with different bit rate/resolution, would the player play this list smoothly while changing the bit rate/resolution across the tracks?
4. when playing an album, can the player play the songs in order of the track number?
5. after restarting the player, would the player resume from the position of the track that was last play before stopping the player?
6. would the player stop playing automatically after unplug the earphone (HO or LO) from it?

Please point out if some of the tests are already done, and let me know the results.
Thank you very much in advance.

That's a big list of things to do... are you paying us in Pizza and Beers? I'll send you my PayPal info.

 

[lin0003]

BTW in case I look like I'm defending AK, I should say that I am very much against their marketing strategies and ridiculous pricing. Even if it sounds better than the HM-901, it costs 2.5x as much, so it's really nothing to brag about. 

 

[hkppl]

 
That's a big list of things to do... are you paying us in Pizza and Beers? I'll send you my PayPal info.

Sure, bears here for you 

 

[M-13]

  BTW in case I look like I'm defending AK, I should say that I am very much against their marketing strategies and ridiculous pricing. Even if it sounds better than the HM-901, it costs 2.5x as much, so it's really nothing to brag about. 

For sure brother

 
I don't mind paying for high quality, but sometimes it's just too much. I'm pretty sure AK240 could have been priced at $1250 and they would have still made a very good profit margin.
 
This is why I cheer for companies like Ibasso and Fiio. I want them to catch up fast and put pressure on the market. If you want to charge us 5 times the price of the DX90 you better build a damn good product and better bury the DX90 under a bus in terms of sound and UI.

 

[M-13]

 
Sure, bears here for you 

Good enough! I will call you up next time I'm in Hong Kong. You can listen to the DX90 in person too while I drink my beer. Haha.

 

[kkcc]

Fair enough. Who knows maybe when I hear the AK240 I will say it is way better. I'll be happy to admit that. In that case instead of saving up for the AK240 I'll just wait for Ibasso or Fiio to release their next DAP or their next. They will catch up pretty soon. AK has no where to go unless they invent alien technology. I think they have hit the ceiling for now.

My early impression (~10hr listening time) shows that dx90 is indeed very good. As I said I like it better than all DAP except HM901/AK240. Note I didn't said I like HM901/AK240 better over DX90 as I am still forming my view on that. I won't yet say dx90 is on par, but with my brief time (I have had it for 2 days only), dx90 seems to be the closest to them, closer than say the X5 or zx1 imho.

Also, I think AK240 would never be "the choice" if SQ:$$$ is your key decision criteria. Iriver had been very consistent in that aspect. Neither AK100 nor AK120 were good value nor top sound when they were launched. Personally I bought my AKs more for the overall combination of appearance, size, design, built, and features. AK240 did deliver top sound plus all that, but at a pretty irrational (for most people) price.

 

[M-13]

My early impression (~10hr listening time) shows that dx90 is indeed very good. As I said I like it better than all DAP except HM901/AK240. Note I didn't said I like HM901/AK240 better over DX90 as I am still forming my view on that. I won't yet say dx90 is on par, but with my brief time (I have had it for 2 days only), dx90 seems to be the closest to them, closer than say the X5 or zx1 imho.

Also, I think AK240 would never be "the choice" if SQ:$$$ is your key decision criteria. Iriver had been very consistent in that aspect. Neither AK100 nor AK120 were good value nor top sound when they were launched. Personally I bought my AKs more for the overall combination of appearance, size, design, built, and features. AK240 did deliver top sound plus all that, but at a pretty irrational (for most people) price.

Sounds like the DX90 is doing pretty good so far. Haha.
 
I'm not a big SQ/$$ guy. I will pay $$$$ for very little SQ improvement, but there are limits. I will buy an LCD-3/HD800 or spend $3500 on an Auralic Vega, but I just can't get myself to get interested in the AK240. It's kind of like the Apex Pinnacle. I'm sure it's great, but 10k? really? I think I'll go with the Balancing Act or GSX MKII or even the Taurus. I somehow still look for relative value, as crazy as that sounds.
 
I do look forward to playing with the AK240 in two weeks on my trip to Asia. I will try to spend several long long sessions with it to see how good it is.

 

[musicheaven]

It's getting interesting, wish I could hear the AK240 to see if it's that good. I would have tought that the DX90 would beat it. I am not so sure about the HM901.

My question: if you clear your mind and just listen to all three in succession without thoughts about UI and price, which one sounds top sq wise listening to a variety of music genres?

I still think that one needs about a week of sound famiarity with the player before evaluating it but that's just IMO.

 

[headwhacker]

Sounds like the DX90 is doing pretty good so far. Haha.

I'm not a big SQ/$$ guy. I will pay $$$$ for very little SQ improvement, but there are limits. I will buy an LCD-3/HD800 or spend $3500 on an Auralic Vega, but I just can't get myself to get interested in the AK240. It's kind of like the Apex Pinnacle. I'm sure it's great, but 10k? really? I think I'll go with the Balancing Act or GSX MKII or even the Taurus. I somehow still look for relative value, as crazy as that sounds.

I do look forward to playing with the AK240 in two weeks on my trip to Asia. I will try to spend several long long sessions with it to see how good it is.

same here, I can't see myself spending too much on DAP. But headphone I don't mind coz you can easily hear the difference/benefits.

 

[Jeff Y]

I tried the AK240 at an audio show with the LCD-3, LCD-XC, HD800, momentum, some beyers that I don't know the name of, etc and it impressed me a lot.