[harmonix]

Great read and thanks. Looks like a Layla is in my future. Also I do wish jh would have nailed this down sooner as in before the Roxanne lol.
But your views are well taken and very clear to me.
Agin thanks.
Al

I hope you got elephant sized ears because that's what it will take to fit a Layla into them!

 

[ALRAINBOW]

[QUOTElol no I am a old fat guy little ears. Anyway I have the roxannes can they bigger than that ???

 

[DrSheep]

 

[goodvibes]

I didn't feel the Angie lacked detail vs my jh13s or Layla. Just a slightly different presentation than either. I find it a little odd that these are being referred to as mastering units because I found them very listenable and non-analytical while informative. Sort of smooth, focused and dynamically delineated presentation. Controlled yet revealing and both better than the JH13 on stock cables. The cable they use on these is better than what I got with my 13s a couple years back. I've got a cable that I like on my 13s so it's still competitive but you can probably tell I really liked both of these new models. I'm more impressed than when I heard both the Roxanne and K10 last year.

 

[jwbrent]

 

Thanks for the post, DrSheep. I want an SS!

 

[DrSheep]

to be honest, I am thinking about it too.

 

[harmonix]

I don't doubt that this will be a nice DAP, but I'm not going to 'admire' this choreographed publicity offensive.

Putting glossy, pretentious ads in 'Absolute Sound' basically sums up what this is about - employing an advertising agency, at great expense, to attempt to 'condition' the minds of the DAP-buying public into believing that a product is worth substantially more than the hardware actually is. And that all began with creating a contrived 'posh'-sounding name.

The big joke of all this is that while iRiver are trying to charge the earth for their DAPs, their engineers are producing, for the most part, some really nicely-engineered hardware that could make iRiver a small fortune if only they'd stop being greedy and sell it at fair market value. They'd sell like hotcakes, iRiver's customer base would expand dramatically, and both iRiver and customers would be in a happy situation.

Before anyone accuses me of 'sour grapes' - that would be both incorrect and missing the point. There are plenty of very wealthy individuals who refuse to pay inflated prices for goods, but you just don't notice them because they're not the ones 'flashing the cash'. Many a millionaire buys secondhand cars, for example, but you only ever hear about the ones flashing the cash for new ones in fancy dealership showrooms.

Will I look at the AK240 and wish I had one? - Maybe.

But will I look at it and think "If I had the money, I'd buy that"  - No, not necessarily.

No matter how much money a person may have, it is not nice to be overcharged, just because of expensive, orchestrated, glossy marketing of a supposed 'High-end brand name'.

I'm not knocking the DAP - I'm sure it will be a wonderful piece of engineering, and congratulations to the engineers working behind the scenes to produce a mini masterpiece.

What I'm knocking is the pretentious marketing and probable exorbitant price tag.    ...and if, by some stroke of genius, iRiver surprise us all and offer this at a fair price, I'll very happily eat my words. Really, I will.

I have been victim of the "PR offensive" twice. Once when the 240 first came out and then recently when I looked at the various daps in the market on offer. HOWEVER both times I was tempted and listened to it I come away wondering what is it that makes people like it so much t. I didn't get it then and I don't get it now - not for those prices. So far the only portable device that makes the "hi end" cut is the Hugo. Unfortunately it is not a one piece dap. In the mean time go cheap or go IPhone 6+ running onkyo and put that money on a good iem. I'm running dap less and hugo less currently waiting for the next thing.

 

[Jeff Y]

[QUOTElol no I am a old fat guy little ears. Anyway I have the roxannes can they bigger than that ???

Yes, they are even bigger than the Roxanne. Roxannes quite comfy compared to the Laylas. If someone's capable of paying that sorta money, it's pretty much a no brainer to get customs unless you're an elephant.

 

[dsincere]

I have been victim of the "PR offensive" twice. Once when the 240 first came out and then recently when I looked at the various daps in the market on offer. HOWEVER both times I was tempted and listened to it I come away wondering what is it that makes people like it so much t. I didn't get it then and I don't get it now - not for those prices. So far the only portable device that makes the "hi end" cut is the Hugo. Unfortunately it is not a one piece dap. In the mean time go cheap or go IPhone 6+ running onkyo and put that money on a good iem. I'm running dap less and hugo less currently waiting for the next thing.

+1 should try Hugo with 6+along with Onkyo app.....

 

[Jeff Y]

  I didn't feel the Angie lacked detail vs my jh13s or Layla. Just a slightly different presentation than either. I find it a little odd that these are being referred to as mastering units because I found them very listenable and non-analytical while informative. Sort of smooth, focused and dynamically delineated presentation. Controlled yet revealing and both better than the JH13 on stock cables. The cable they use on these is better than what I got with my 13s a couple years back. I've got a cable that I like on my 13s so it's still competitive but you can probably tell I really liked both of these new models. I'm more impressed than when I heard both the Roxanne and K10 last year.

I felt like Layla = LCD-3, Angie = LCD-X
 Layla's lush with Angie's being almost a bit (I dare say this) shabby  less  in comparison (maybe because of the bass tuning who knows).

 

[harmonix]

[QUOTElol no I am a old fat guy little ears. Anyway I have the roxannes can they bigger than that ???

Roxane's were fine for me but Layla's are in another category size wise...

 

[kkcc]

I didn't feel the Angie lacked detail vs my jh13s or Layla. Just a slightly different presentation than either. I find it a little odd that these are being referred to as mastering units because I found them very listenable and non-analytical while informative. Sort of smooth, focused and dynamically delineated presentation. Controlled yet revealing and both better than the JH13 on stock cables. The cable they use on these is better than what I got with my 13s a couple years back. I've got a cable that I like on my 13s so it's still competitive but you can probably tell I really liked both of these new models. I'm more impressed than when I heard both the Roxanne and K10 last year.

I am guessing our different views re Angie vs jh13 is becoz of the difference between the original JH13 which I think you have vs the new FreqPhase version I had. And I wholeheartedly agree I like Angie better than either Roxanne of K10.

Having said that, on AK240 (which is slightly on the warm side of neutral), especially with lighter pop/jazz/soft rock type materials that aren't particularly challenging or involve complex, large dynamic range and busy layers (4th movement of Saint-Saëns Symphony No.3 came to mind), the differences between Angie and jh13 (either version) and even Layla becomes smaller.

 

[goodvibes]

I am guessing our different views re Angie vs jh13 is becoz of the difference between the original JH13 which I think you have vs the new FreqPhase version I had. And I wholeheartedly agree I like Angie better than either Roxanne of K10.

Having said that, on AK240 (which is slightly on the warm side of neutral), especially with lighter pop/jazz/soft rock type materials that aren't particularly challenging or involve complex, large dynamic range and busy layers (4th movement of Saint-Saëns Symphony No.3 came to mind), the differences between Angie and jh13 (either version) and even Layla becomes smaller.

I do have FPs. I agree the AK240 is a touch warm which may have been some of it but it wasn't Rock. I'll need to listen again at some point with other kit and my own files as well but as setup, the Angie actually had the least sig. Not saying that you're wrong as I need more time with them and to adjust the pots. Just my take from a short compare.

 Seems that the consensus is that the Layla is a clear upgrade so I'll defer but can only comment on what I heard under admittedly limited conditions. The Angie, whether as good or not, seems like a steal to me.

 

[high-fidelity]

 

[MadGTI]

Quote:

I don't doubt that this will be a nice DAP, but I'm not going to 'admire' this choreographed publicity offensive.

Putting glossy, pretentious ads in 'Absolute Sound' basically sums up what this is about - employing an advertising agency, at great expense, to attempt to 'condition' the minds of the DAP-buying public intobelieving that a product is worth substantially more than the hardware actually is. And that all began with creating a contrived 'posh'-sounding name.

The big joke of all this is that while iRiver are trying to charge the earth for their DAPs, their engineers are producing, for the most part, some really nicely-engineered hardware that could make iRiver a small fortune if only they'd stop being greedy and sell it at fair market value. They'd sell like hotcakes, iRiver's customer base would expand dramatically, and both iRiver and customers would be in a happy situation.

Before anyone accuses me of 'sour grapes' - that would be both incorrect and missing the point. There are plenty of very wealthy individuals who refuse to pay inflated prices for goods, but you just don't notice them because they're not the ones 'flashing the cash'. Many a millionaire buys secondhand cars, for example, but you only ever hear about the ones flashing the cash for new ones in fancy dealership showrooms.

Will I look at the AK240 and wish I had one? - Maybe.

But will I look at it and think "If I had the money, I'd buy that"  - No, not necessarily.

No matter how much money a person may have, it is not nice to be overcharged, just because of expensive, orchestrated, glossy marketing of a supposed 'High-end brand name'.

I'm not knocking the DAP - I'm sure it will be a wonderful piece of engineering, and congratulations to the engineers working behind the scenes to produce a mini masterpiece.

What I'm knocking is the pretentious marketing and probable exorbitant price tag.    ...and if, by some stroke of genius, iRiver surprise us all and offer this at a fair price, I'll very happily eat my words.Really, I will.

 
In my opinion, nowadays people have to spend a lot of time taken public transportation to and from work. They don't have too much time used at home Hi-Fi. So portability is a priority for them. Among them there are a lot of audiophiles which prefer one piece Hi-End DAP than 2/3 pieces of DAC/AMP in the pocket. AK240 and other TOTL
DAP can provide them superior SQ (although not as good as Home HI-End setup.) They also like new DAP and swap/trade in newer and higher model frequently (same as Iphone users). This is especially true in big city like New York. and some Asian countries like Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. So this will support Iriver's DAP products. Iriver is the first HIFI company to research and develop such a nice product nicely sound tuned  to satisfy us. So they can demand such a price tag as competition is very few now. Could Flytothemoon and CosmicHolyghost express the HI-Fi culture in Hong Kong. I would like to know. 
I want to clarify I own AK120 II but not AK240, I like the smaller size of 120 and a lower price.