ACTIVO P1 Digital Audio Player - Coming Soon
Sep 4, 2024 at 12:00 PM Post #242 of 458
I was interested in that before the P1 was announced. Hiby R4 is chonky and weighs a whole 80g more.
Activo P1 is the perfect modern day iPod, despite it's limited Software.

Glad it's a good option for some!

I'd much prefer the software myself, as well as a manufacturer willing to actually cite proper specifications for power output.

But if I was just gonna use IEMs that wouldn't matter.
 
Sep 4, 2024 at 1:00 PM Post #244 of 458
The DCA Aeons are difficult to drive to loud volumes. My A&K PA10 doesn’t drive them any louder than my Go Blu or HC4. Anyway, off topic a bit.

Still enjoying the P1. Will having the DAR option on use more battery? I’m assuming it will as it’ll be using more processing power.

Anyone know what the G symbol (with a line above & below) is in the status bar? I come from Apple so excuse my ignorance.
 
Sep 4, 2024 at 1:03 PM Post #245 of 458
Still enjoying the P1. Will having the DAR option on use more battery? I’m assuming it will as it’ll be using more processing power
Yes, this will use more battery.

Anyone know what the G symbol (with a line above & below) is in the status bar?
Gapless playback enabled.
 
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Sep 4, 2024 at 2:23 PM Post #247 of 458
Thank you. I turned on gapless right away so never realised. đź‘Ť
That “G” icon is for Gapless playback when using the built-in player. It does nothing when using Apple Music or any other apps as these apps have their own Gapless playback setting. You can turn it off in the device Settings and the “G” will disappear.
 
Sep 5, 2024 at 2:34 AM Post #249 of 458
, you can't access the SD card by connecting the P1 to a computer (you have to take it out and use a reader)
So does this mean, after the internal memory is full, I have to take out the memory card, put it something else like my phone and connect the phone to my PC, simply to add new music or playlists?

I dont even have a card reader, its always been my preference to dump everything on to the SD, as the internal is usually so small.

On my Sony both internal and SD show up on the "Music Center for PC" app and I just drag and drop. Popping SD cards in and out of devices each time I want to add one new song is ridiculous. :xf_mad:
 
Sep 5, 2024 at 3:07 AM Post #250 of 458
So I have been doing some sleuthing online on the P1 as there are alot of sites announcing it. There is an early review on techradar on it, as with most A&K DAP reviews gushing about the sound quality and glossing over the software and UI. I recently had lunch with a couple of friends who work in the Toronto Audio sales scene like I did many years ago. We got talking about the P1 and A&K's attempt to enter the mass market. The theory is that Chinese DAP makers like Shanling, iBasso and Cayin have eaten heavily into A&K's high end DAP market share. This is forcing A&K to move into the lower end DAP market. They are clearly targeting the A306 with the design of the P1. Choosing a compact design with a small battery and excellent 20 hour battery life. Like Sony they have apparently chosen to sacrifice power for battery life. Like Sony they even have some inhouse tech using their own Teratron Amp chip like Sony with the DSEE HX amp/dac chip. Because it is proprietary the power output specs are not readily available.

I can remember back when Sony first released the A10 series DAP's they were reluctant to report the power output. It was later disclosed to be only 10 mW per channel into 16 ohms I believe as my first DAP was an A17. Sony was concerned people would immediately be turned off by the low power output and not buy it. As it happens their Class D digital amp design is very efficient and could power iem's and low impedance headphones quite decently. I suspect A&K is reluctant to disclose the power output specs because they too are concerned it might keep people from buying the P1. Now more than ever power specs seem to be mostly what people talk about and does the DAP have enough power for hard to drive headphones. Like the A306 the P1 is clearly for driving iem's and easier to drive headphones. My A55 can drive all my portable headphones just fine so I am not to concerned about the P1 power output.

I have demoed a few A&K DAP's but not in the last few years. Like most I found the sound quality stellar but the software and UI not so much. Now that they are entering into the mass market the software and UI will need to be much better. In the mass market usability is as important if not more important than sound quality. Audiophiles might overlook A&K sofware issues for the sake of sound quality but the mass market won't.

I am interested in the P1 assuming the software and UI has been improved. As well for the A&K sound quality, compact size, excellent battery life and relatively decent price.
I am only interested in local file playback and not streaming. How is the user experience playing local files and is the A&K music app any good? I was locked in on a Shanling M1 Plus but the larger screen and battery life along with the A&k sound has me thinking now about the P1. Neither DAP is readily available yet and reviews are scare but I would love to get some feedback from current owners of the P1.
 
Sep 5, 2024 at 3:10 AM Post #251 of 458
So does this mean, after the internal memory is full, I have to take out the memory card, put it something else like my phone and connect the phone to my PC, simply to add new music or playlists?

I dont even have a card reader, its always been my preference to dump everything on to the SD, as the internal is usually so small.

On my Sony both internal and SD show up on the "Music Center for PC" app and I just drag and drop. Popping SD cards in and out of devices each time I want to add one new song is ridiculous. :xf_mad:

Well, as things stand and as far as I can tell, yes. I don't like it either, I like to keep all my equipment updated when I download new stuff. And while the SD card is readily accessible now, it probably won't be once I get a case for it. On the other hand, this could be something that could change with a firmware update I suppose. In fact, I'd like the ability to add songs by wifi too, like some other players do.
 
Sep 5, 2024 at 3:22 AM Post #252 of 458
Received mine today, barely started playing around with it, but first impressions are very positive. The interface is very responsive and clear to use with plenty of nifty options, the size fits perfectly in both my hand and my pockets, the buttons feel nice. My playlists got recognised without a hitch, usually a sore point for me on many devices. A few minuses though: not a fan of the buttons being distributed on two sides (it makes it difficult to know what your thumbing when it's in the pocket), you can't access the SD card by connecting the P1 to a computer (you have to take it out and use a reader), and there's no unified interface for online and offline music (it weirdly bothers me a lot for play history, which will only displays the latest offline track, not anything you might have played in the apps).

I certainly haven't tried it enough, nor in conditions good enough, to comment on the sound, but the device itself certainly feels very qualitative, I'm very happy with the build. It's definitely not the most powerful of players, it won't get really loud on my Aeon 2 even on balanced and it might end up getting paired with IEMs instead, but for me it's a keeper.
What Operating System do you use?
 
Sep 5, 2024 at 3:24 AM Post #253 of 458
I am interested in the P1 assuming the software and UI has been improved. As well for the A&K sound quality, compact size, excellent battery life and relatively decent price.
I am only interested in local file playback and not streaming. How is the user experience playing local files and is the A&K music app any good? I was locked in on a Shanling M1 Plus but the larger screen and battery life along with the A&k sound has me thinking now about the P1. Neither DAP is readily available yet and reviews are scare but I would love to get some feedback from current owners of the P1.

So the question would be, what exactly are you looking for? For me, the interface works really well, but then my last experience with A&K dates back to the 240, and I haven't been impressed by the interfaces of either my R3 or my WM1.

First it's really snappy, there's no delay as I go from screen to screen. Speed seems to have been on the designers' mind: when I add my SD card, there is very little wait time before my songs become available. The device is still scanning mind you, and playlists and genres might not reflect the actual number of tracks in them as this is happening. But you can go to any song and play it right away.

Obviously you have your usual sorting options by songs, albums, artists, genre, playlists, and also a folder view. You can access this by either an icon or swiping left from the edge of the screen from pretty much anywhere. Accessing the settings is really easy: you swipe down and get icons for most of the stuff you might want to change on the fly: equaliser, cross feed, wifi and bluetooth, DAC options... The last icon on the right will bring you straight to the actual settings screen, so it's easy to access during play.

On the playing screen itself, you'll get your usual options of repeat and shuffle. You also have a three dots submenu to directly go view the album, the artist or the folder, as well as adding to the playlist. That makes it easy to find your next tune as you're playing.

For the external controls, it's fairly basic. You have volume up and down, and power/turn screen off and on. There's a fourth button that uses multiple clicks for added functionality. I'm not a fan of that type of design, but I guess it works well enough: one click for pause, two for next song, three for going to the beginning of the song and than to the previous one.

The one thing I don't like is that if you're back on your home screen and click on the picture of the album that is now playing, it'll restart the song from the beginning. I haven't figured out yet how to go to "now playing" from that home screen.
 
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Sep 5, 2024 at 3:39 AM Post #255 of 458
I've plugged it on Mac OSX. If you're asking in relation to the player not being recognised, note the manual mentions nothing of being able to access the SD by plugging the P1. I guess I can try it on my PC to see later on.
macOS is horrendously bad in recognizing anything that is not from Apple. People in the Sony Threads and other DAP Threads also have tons of issues too as Apple seems to hate standards even more than Microsoft does.

They want to punish you for not buying an Apple device by giving you the least support absolutely possible.

But this could just be an coincidence and not related to macOS at all. Cross-testing with an PC would be highly appreciated to rule out any Apple weirdness =)
 

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