[wilman0527]

Hello I am recently testing dap's and wanted to know which would be better and some of my impressions.
 
I currently have the dx90 and ak240 with the ak120 coming in on in on tuesday,
 
I would really like to hear from people who had the 120 and 240 models and what the difference sound wise was between them as I feel that the functions of the 240 may not be for me since I like a lengthy battery. I hate playing a song and look away for a second and see that the 240 has already lost 1% of its battery life with wifi/bt off.
 
I considered the dx90 first and I really like everything about it besides the slow cache time of songs on the sd card,lack of internal memory and the ui that's why I want to go with the ak120 since it seems like it would be about the same cache time as the 240 or I hope.
 
I will listen and evaluate all 3 players but If you guys could give me suggestions on what I should stick with it would be appreciated.
 
My top list of necessities
 
1.sound quality that's a given.
2.battery life
3.song cache time
4.ui
 
I will be returning 2/3 daps on Friday so this should be enough time for some suggestions.
 
Thank you.

 

[kantana]

  Hello I am recently testing dap's and wanted to know which would be better and some of my impressions.
 
I currently have the dx90 and ak240 with the ak120 coming in on in on tuesday,
 
I would really like to hear from people who had the 120 and 240 models and what the difference sound wise was between them as I feel that the functions of the 240 may not be for me since I like a lengthy battery. I hate playing a song and look away for a second and see that the 240 has already lost 1% of its battery life with wifi/bt off.
 
I considered the dx90 first and I really like everything about it besides the slow cache time of songs on the sd card,lack of internal memory and the ui that's why I want to go with the ak120 since it seems like it would be about the same cache time as the 240 or I hope.
 
I will listen and evaluate all 3 players but If you guys could give me suggestions on what I should stick with it would be appreciated.
 
My top list of necessities
 
1.sound quality that's a given.
2.battery life
3.song cache time
4.ui
 
I will be returning 2/3 daps on Friday so this should be enough time for some suggestions.
 
Thank you.

I would stick with the AK240 purely for SQ.  If you need more than 10 hours of music time get an external USB battery pack.  I have both the DX90 and AK240, now listening exclusively on AK240.  I've auditioned the AK120 and found the DX90 was better.  The AK240 was my most recent purchase, great SQ and supports all files including natively.  I also use a Chord Hugo and the AK240 can output DSD over PCM (DoP) from optical out reliably, something the DX90 struggles with, frequently skipping for a second in the middle of a song.
Storage wise the AK240 can carry max 256GB+128GB=384GB which is a lot more than other players.

 

[goodvibes]

Kantana, I don't doubt your take at all. There were some trade offs (from memory of my AK120) before it settled in. DSD is not important to me.
 
 Does your DX90 have a few hundred hours on it? The only AK240 I heard was with unfamiliar files so I'm asking for perspective. The DX90 has qualitatively, moved more during burn in than any other DAP I've owned.

 

[kantana]

  Kantana, I don't doubt your take at all and have come to the same conclusion of DX90>AK120 now that my DX90 is run in. There were some trade offs (from memory of my AK120) before it settled in. DSD is not important to me.
 
 Does your DX90 have a few hundred hours on it? The only AK240 I heard was with unfamiliar files so I'm asking for perspective. The DX90 has qualitatively, moved more during burn in than any other DAP I've owned.

My DX90 has had about 200 hours burn in.  The AK240 has had less burn in.  I switched to balanced output once I got the custom cables.  Initially I was running the DX90 by itself then connected to a Chord Hugo.  The DX90 by itself has nice bass and mids, wide staging.  However the AK240 has so much detail, layering and is only beaten by the Hugo because the Hugo sounds so natural.
I use the AK240 when I go out, the DX90 if I'm going to rough it since it's built like a tank and no need to baby it.  The Chord Hugo feeds my speaker amps as a dac from my notebook.

 

[goodvibes]

I wish I kept track of how many hours I have on the DX90 but it really got faster and more layered sounding with time. Also lost that sense that it was holding on to energy.  Just lets go and delineates now. 

 

[kantana]

If it helps I was using my DX100 as a yardstick for SQ.  The DX90 got closer than the DX50, it had better staging and layering but for pure clarity the DX100 laid the music out clearly and precisely.  I have had foot tapping moments on certain tracks that the DX90 never gave me.
Until I listened to the AK240 and I found there were details I missed even on the DX100.  I was about to dismiss the AK daps as pricey only so so daps until I heard the AK240.  Then I emptied my wallet.
To be honest synergy plays a big part as well so examine your earphones and what goes best with them.  I ordered the JJH Roxannes since I felt my UE18s were holding the AK240s back.  And to think 2 years ago I thought my music days would end with the DX100 and UE18s, sure shocked my wallet in the last month ;p

 

[mannkind246]

Have anyone compared the sound signature between AK 240 and Colorfly C4?

Both players use Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chip.

Which one sound natural, cleaner and transparent?

Which one has a wider soundstage and separation?

 

[Sefelt103]

To quote JamesFiio:

"Under current technology, a player’s sound quality is proportional to its power consumption. Many famous DAC chip on the market go with 5V power supply since desktop device has very large operating current. Meanwhile, the high quality headphone amplifier also requires high voltage and current supply.

Therefore, the sound quality is a contradiction to its playback time on the basis of limited dimension. For former FiiO music players, we set 10hrs as a standard since I personally think 8hrs of playing time is the basic requirement to any portable devices. Considering that not so many people would listen to the music as long as 8hrs per day, it seems that a little shorter playback time can be accepted as well."

To the OP necessities 1 & 2 conflict with each other. If you like a lenghty battery then you have to lose sound quality.

 

[SilverEars]

  My DX90 has had about 200 hours burn in.  The AK240 has had less burn in.  I switched to balanced output once I got the custom cables.  Initially I was running the DX90 by itself then connected to a Chord Hugo.  The DX90 by itself has nice bass and mids, wide staging.  However the AK240 has so much detail, layering and is only beaten by the Hugo because the Hugo sounds so natural.
I use the AK240 when I go out, the DX90 if I'm going to rough it since it's built like a tank and no need to baby it.  The Chord Hugo feeds my speaker amps as a dac from my notebook.

Hi K, can you give us your impessions on the differences between the 240 and the DX100?  240 is out of my price point.  I am considering the 100.  I am looking for details, clarity, and realism in the sound without the warmth, but not cold analytical.  I like variations in textures, and having micro details.
 
Is the 100 unbearable to use?  Can it be used as desktop DAC via usb?
 
Thank you,
SE

 

[SilverEars]

I could not distinguish between AK120 and the 240.  100 and 120 or 240 I can tell apart.  Can you guys distinguish between 120 and 240?  This is based on audition of course.

 

[kawaivpc1]

iBasso R10 has the best sound... it's better than HM901. 
I haven't heard AK240. 

 

[Mit49]

Difference between ak120 and ak240 is quite minimal.  I recommend ak120 which is best buy considering the price gap.