[bmichels]

AK100II: .... High res App Store download - Groovers & Qobus, Bluetooth

 

 
Where did you read that the AK100II can do App Store download and also  Groovers & Qobuz ????  

 

[musicheaven]

I think the AK100II would be a good comparison to the M. Price is around the same , however differences would be:

M: bigger size and highe res screen, much more storage, native DSD, 32 bit and full USB DAC playability.

AK100II: Much smaller size, Wifi streaming, High res App Store download - Groovers & Qobus, Bluetooth

I'm sure most hard up audiophiles would prefer M's features, but I'm leaning towards AK100II for convenience sake and feature wise. I'm sure SQ wise will be more or less the same with just a difference in sound signature.

Where did you read that the AK100II can do App Store download and also  Groovers & Qobuz ????  

I would even say do you have a link that shows what you are claiming will be available for this updated version?

 

[Levanter]

I would even say do you have a link that shows what you are claiming will be available for this updated version?

For Groovers somewhere in AK website, change the time zone to Korea.
For Qobus, http://www.whathifi.com/news/qobuz-app-brings-direct-high-res-downloads-to-astell-kern-players

 

[bmichels]

For Groovers somewhere in AK website, change the time zone to Korea.
For Qobus, http://www.whathifi.com/news/qobuz-app-brings-direct-high-res-downloads-to-astell-kern-players

 
well this is GREAT news for AK Owners.  thank for the link

 

[Levanter]

well this is GREAT news for AK Owners.  thank for the link

No prob. One of the reason why I'm looking forward to this more than M

 

[musicheaven]

For Groovers somewhere in AK website, change the time zone to Korea.
For Qobus, http://www.whathifi.com/news/qobuz-app-brings-direct-high-res-downloads-to-astell-kern-players

Thanks for the info and links, interesting about the two new AKs, sounds like they have switched entirely to the Cirrus Logic DAC chip now with the AK240 success. They have both balanced mode, one slot microSD card and a new look, 64gb mem for the 100 and 128gb for the 120, sounds promising my only issue is going to be pricing (no surprise there ). There are enough features for the daps for them to ask for quite a bit. You have to pay tribute to their R&D staff, they come up with attractive designs. I am still hoping to see volume control started with a push and a swipe to move.

The Qobus link talks about an alliance with the online music store as they have to substantiate their wireless download ability on the AKs.

D&A will have quite a bit to do to catch up.

well this is GREAT news for AK Owners.  thank for the link

And the new owners to be, that's starts looking like a game changing event.

 

[doublea71]

Thanks for the info and links, interesting about the two new AKs, sounds like they have switched entirely to the Cirrus Logic DAC chip now with the AK240 success. They have both balanced mode, one slot microSD card and a new look, 64gb mem for the 100 and 128gb for the 120, sounds promising my only issue is going to be pricing (no surprise there

). There are enough features for the daps for them to ask for quite a bit. You have to pay tribute to their R&D staff, they come up with attractive designs. I am still hoping to see volume control started with a push and a swipe to move.

The Qobus link talks about an alliance with the online music store as they have to substantiate their wireless download ability on the AKs.

D&A will have quite a bit to do to catch up.
And the new owners to be, that's starts looking like a game changing event.

I think AK planned the timing of this release to outflank the Calyx M (maybe more so for the Korean market, not sure), and it strikes me as a very shrewd move, business-wise. These 2 new products came out of nowhere, sort of like a big reveal a la Apple. AK seems to be a fairly aggressive operation these days, eh?

 

[Levanter]

Thanks for the info and links, interesting about the two new AKs, sounds like they have switched entirely to the Cirrus Logic DAC chip now with the AK240 success. They have both balanced mode, one slot microSD card and a new look, 64gb mem for the 100 and 128gb for the 120, sounds promising my only issue is going to be pricing (no surprise there ). There are enough features for the daps for them to ask for quite a bit. You have to pay tribute to their R&D staff, they come up with attractive designs. I am still hoping to see volume control started with a push and a swipe to move.

The Qobus link talks about an alliance with the online music store as they have to substantiate their wireless download ability on the AKs.

D&A will have quite a bit to do to catch up.
And the new owners to be, that's starts looking like a game changing event.

No prob
Not official but i heard in Euro (poor folks) it's gonna be Euro 999 for 100 and Euro 1799.

In Korea 1,090,000 won for 100 and 1,980,000 for 120,
In USD, based on past trend and Korea pricing should be around 999 USD and 1799 USD.
Looks like I'll only be able to afford the 100 at most

 

[musicheaven]

I think AK planned the timing of this release to outflank the Calyx M (maybe more so for the Korean market, not sure), and it strikes me as a very shrewd move, business-wise. These 2 new products came out of nowhere, sort of like a big reveal a la Apple. AK seems to be a fairly aggressive operation these days, eh?

The proof is in the pudding. Honestly I agree with you 100% but if they can deliver, the reason won't matter. I usually have problems with companies who want to take over the world, in this case the audio world but can't deliver. If they can deliver something good and enjoyable I'll be happy with, I can become more understanding and patient. I highly value smart designs over greed but to a certain limit, that's usually set by the competitive market out there, I am talking about pricing. Until they face other companies (iBasso, FiiO, D&A etc..) that will nip at their buds, eventually and hopefully they'll pass beyond them and then the game will quickly change and turn around. So far they seem to win the design battle but not the audio war. To be a the top require lots of design efforts and energy, marketing blitz and lots of money hence those high prices. Being at the top is no easy sailing, to stay there require constant rebirth so we shall see. For us consumers it can only be good, it brings the best out of all of them and hopefully a rest to our wallets or so we hope.

No prob
Not official but i heard in Euro (poor folks) it's gonna be Euro 999 for 100 and Euro 1799.

In Korea 1,090,000 won for 100 and 1,980,000 for 120,
In USD, based on past trend and Korea pricing should be around 999 USD and 1799 USD.
Looks like I'll only be able to afford the 100 at most

I can only say :eek: :eek: :eek:

 

[gracky]

Has anyone considered maybe the M just needs a huge amount of burn in to sound good and the sound impressions were from unburned or semi burned Ms? If its anything like the DX90 it will need minimum 200 hours to sound decent, with 400 hours making it sublime. My dx90 sounded downright bad untill 100+ hours, when it started sounding only ok ish, it really needs huge amount of burn in. M could be the same?

 
Maybe it could be better with burn in, but I think M out of box sounded really good. 
 
BTW I neglected necessity of re-burn in after not using my amp and cans (HP100/HD600) for some months. So I'm afraid I made a wrong impression about sound signature of M with HP100/HD600. After two days now the combo sounds fabulous. Bass is firm, full, weighty and treble is clean and liquid. Images are completely out of head. Although HD600 has a reputation of being laid-back, I never heard such a non-headphone representation from my old cans. After checking the polarity of the wall power to M, I don't find any complaint of the sound from the combo, but suddenly came to be interested in having a more modern cans such as HD800 or LCD3.
 
Today I A/Bed M and AK240 at a shop called Scheherzade shortly. But I felt listening to longer unnecessary. I'll write down my impressions later. I have to leave my desk right now.

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

The latest news of AKs price increases is making me think the infamous 5 grand AK480 is quite probable in the near future 

 

[gracky]

AK240 vs M, a short impression
 
Today I've A/B tested AK240 (demo of the shop) and M (mine) at an audio shop Scheherazade near to my home. The time I've listened to each other was not so long, because I could quite certainly tell the difference between two players. Not so different to my expectation based on the manufacturers' earlier products (AK100 I've listened to at the same shop, D&A 24/192 dac I've used with HP100/HD600). 
 
I've used only my IEM, FI-BA-SS. Because I had no time, it is very sensitive, low impedance (current hungry) and it is the most musically satisfying IEM to me (others what I like are ER-4 and E-Q7, I prefer FI-BA-SS to TG334 and K3003). The shop provided me with a quite silent room without any BGM, so listening was satisfying. There were some air conditioning noises but listening to IEM it was not a problem.
 
I've copied some of my most familiar tracks to my sd card, but I didn't know AK240 has only a micro sd slot, so I had to use tracks in my micro sd card only. So I couldn't compare them as I planned, also I couldn't listen to any hires/dsd track, but I think I can know their difference nevertheless.
 
Listened tracks are:
 
Korngold's violin concerto, 1st mov (with Kent Nagano, DSO Berlin) from Portrait of Hilary Hahn
The Well from The Well, Jennifer Warnes
A patriot song from Death of the Prophet, Sabreen
Contrapunctus I from Die Kunst der Fuge, Emerson String Quartet
Prime Directive from Extended Play, Dave Holland Quintet
Beethoven's Piano Sonata no.21 'Waldstein', 1st mov. from Alfred Brendel's Philips digital recording.
 
Put shortly, my conclusion is; AK240 : M = Luxury Walkman : Palmtop Highend. 
 
First impression of AK240 was exceeding my expectation. Very normal and good sounding. Highs are sweet and bright. Low extension is no problem (but I couldn't listen to many's bass test track, "Way down deep" by Jennifer Warnes). Very 'pretty' sound. It has charms with pop music especially. Female vocals sound very sweet. 
 
IMO its problem is that the sweet tone dominates every musical expression. For example, Hilary Hahn's violin is also heard sweet. But her tone is very cold and analytic in audio terms. Her performance brings cool eroticism over her cold tone always, and it is a very mystical point in her music. So sweeter tone here is wrong IMO. M brings her tone very accurately, very similar to what I've heard at live performances.
 
The Sabreen track is not a very professional recording IMO. (Look for Sabreen, very interesting music!) But apparently it is recorded with small number of mics and if it is properly played, sound staging is marvelous. I believe AK240's representation is more plane than M. 
 
The same thing can be said about Dave Holland. Moreover, in both tracks agogic and interplay of each player are very important. I can hear apparently easier when a player enters and goes out the playing with M than AK240. In other words, I think M is far faster than AK240.
 
Also micro-dynamic is more precise with M than AK240, this can be heard well with piano recordings. Brendel's 'Waldstein' is my all-time favorite recording. So you can recognize more easily the nuances of music and player's intention with M.
 
In summary I think M is superior to AK240 in every audio term, especially in terms of speed, micro-dynamic, sound staging and bringing various textures of music. M is a far more musical player than AK240 IMO. 
 
Well, one AK240's merit over M is response speed of UI. I didn't have time to assess AK240's conceptual UI design. Both UI's visual designs are not great or elegant, but if I choose one, I'd pick M's graphics. I don't know AK240's battery life, but M's battery life is never great. However I think M sounds better with wall power even if it is a switching power, I'm using an ipod power and it sounds great. For example sound stage becomes deeper with wall power. You can use wall power safely at your home even if battery is not sufficient.
 
I hope this help some colleague audiophiles.
 

 

[Mython]

  The latest news of AKs price increases is making me think the infamous 5 grand AK480 is quite probable in the near future 

 
Yeah, well, they've done their 'market research' now, and there were people trampling each other in the rush to get one, in that infamous thread, so yeah... we all know it'll be on the cards, in spite of the official protestations to the contrary...

 

[Levanter]

AK240 vs M, a short impression


 


Today I've A/B tested AK240 (demo of the shop) and M (mine) at a audio shop Scheherazade near to my home. The time I've listened to each other was not so long, because I've quite certainly tell the difference between two players. Not so different to my expectation based on the manufacturers' earlier products (AK100 I've listened to at the same shop, D&A 24/192 dac I've used with HP100/HD600). 


 


I've used only my IEM, FI-BA-SS. Because I had no time, it is very sensitive, low impedance (current hungry) and it is the most musically satisfying IEM to me (others what I like are ER-4 and E-Q7, I prefer FI-BA-SS to TG334 and K3003). The shop provided me with a quite silent room without any BGM, so listening was satisfying. There were some air conditioner noises but listening to IEM it was not a problem.


 


I've copied some of my most familiar tracks to my sd card, but I didn't know AK240 has only micro sd slot, so I had to use tracks in my micro sd card only. So I couldn't compare them as I planned, also I couldn't listen to any hires/dsd track, but I think I can know their difference nevertheless.


 


Listened tracks are:


 


Korngold's violin concerto, 1st mov (with Kent Nagano, DSO Berlin) from Portrait of Hilary Hahn


The Well from The Well, Jennifer Warnes


A patriot song from Death of the Prophet, Sabreen


Contrapunctus I from Die Kunst der Fuge, Emerson String Quartet


Prime Directive from Extended Play, Dave Holland Quintet


Beethoven's Piano Sonata no.21 'Waldstein', 1st mov. from Alfred Brendel's Philips digital recording.


 


Put shortly, my conclusion is; AK240 : M = Luxury Walkman : Palmtop Highend. 


 


First impression of AK240 was exceeded my expectation. Very normal and good sounding. Highs are sweet and bright. Low extension is no problem (but I couldn't listen to many's bass test track, "Way down deep" by Jennifer Warnes). Very 'pretty' sound. It has charms with pop music especially. Female vocal sounds very sweet. 


 


IMO its problem is that the sweet tone dominates every musical expressions. For example, Hilary Hahn's violin is also heard sweet. But her tone is very cold and analytic in audio terms. Her performance brings cool eroticism over her cold tone always, and it is a very mystical point in her music. So sweeter tone here is wrong IMO. M brings her tone very accurately, very similar to what I've heard at live performances.


 


The Sabreen track is not a very professional recording IMO. (Look for Sabreen, very interesting music!) But apparently it is recorded with small number of mics and if it is properly played, sound staging is marvelous. I believe AK240's representation is more plane than M. 


 


Same thing can be said about Dave Holland. Moreover, in both tracks agogic and interplay of each player is very important. I can hear apparently easier when a player enters and goes out the playing with M than AK240. In other words, I think M is far faster than AK240.


 


Also micro-dynamic is more precise with M than AK240, this can be heard well with piano recordings. Brendel's 'Waldstein' is my all-time favorite recording. So you can recognize more easily the nuances of music and player's intention with M.


 


In summary I think M is superior to AK240 in every audio terms, especially in terms of speed, micro-dynamic, sound staging and bringing various textures of music. M is far more musical player than AK240 IMO. 


 


Well, one AK240's merit over M is response speed of UI. I didn't have time to assess AK240's conceptual UI design. Both UI's visual design is not great or elegant, but if I choose one, I'd pick M's graphics. I don't know AK240's battery life, but M's battery life is never great. However I think M sounds better with wall power even if it is a switching power, I'm using an ipod power and it sounds great. For example sound stage becomes deeper with wall power. You can use wall power safely at your home even if battery is not sufficient.


 


I hope this help some colleague audiophiles.


 

One point to note is that SS is quite a musically colored IEM which IMO may have affected your impression on the AK240. Did you test the DAPs with any neutral type IEM?
Did you find M sound signature very warm compared to the 240?

 

[Sauntere]

gracky,
 
You mean that the AK 240 is a luxury walkman and that the M is a High End device ? Just to be clear.
 
Thanks for posting.  Your impressions are quite different from others but certainly more in line with what i was hoping the comparison would be. I just wonder why the perceived SQ is so different. I believe you listened to a Demo too didn't you a few weeks ago ? Does yours sound different than the demo ?