[teletinandrei]

Hey guys,

This is my 1st post here, so i'm ready to be kicked in the balls

I've been reading and watching reviews like crazy for the past 2 weeks and have gathered some very precious info but the more i read the harder it gets to filter.

I'm looking for a dap and a pair of good iems. I enjoy listening to high quality music but this would be my 1st serious portable gear.

My current dap contenders are:

- Fiio x7ii
- Ak70ii
- Ak320

I incline for the ak series mainly because of looks tbh, so i'd be happier with an astell and kern product.
Ak also has a bundle promotion going on so that's anoter plus for me.

I know the new ak70 is more powerfull than the ak320 for ex. and can drive bigger cans. But does the 320 sound better than it's newer sibling ? I've read a review about the ak300 and have learned that it's lacking bass. Is this true for the 320 as well ?

Not much info about thw new ak70ii so the decision is hard.

Or should i go for the single dac fiio x7ii ?

As for iems, is the JH Rosie worth the money ? I'm asking about these just because ak included them in the ak70ii bundle.

The extremly wide variety of iems out there is overwhelming. I also find reviews for expensive products often misleading. I feel by now that every expensive iem review i watch ends in "this is the best pair i've ever listend to" and this gets me even more confused about what to choose.

Bottom line is that i have a budget of around 1.2k usd and am looking for a hair raising sound experience.

Any advice would be highly appreciated. Thx guys!

 

[SilverEars]

Personally, I think the sound gets warmer as you go up in the 2nd digit number. Originally, there were AK100ii, 120ii, and 240. And then AK300, 320, and 380(missing the 340). The quality of the sound does get better within the 3 digit models, but the middle digit dictate likely the rise in warmth of the sig and just overall sound performance in terms of resolution, etc.. 320 should be better than the 70ii, and also not much of a Fiio guy as I never ran into a Fiio DAP that sounded on the level of what I consider Hifi.

Instead of AK320, I'd go for the Opus #2. Opus #2 should perform better, but this is only for iems. If you have some serious headphone, I wouldn't expect them to be driven well out of a DAP.

 

[teletinandrei]

Personally, I think the sound gets warmer as you go up in the 2nd digit number. Originally, there were AK100ii, 120ii, and 240. And then AK300, 320, and 380(missing the 340). The quality of the sound does get better within the 3 digit models, but the middle digit dictate likely the rise in warmth of the sig and just overall sound performance in terms of resolution, etc.. 320 should be better than the 70ii, and also not much of a Fiio guy as I never ran into a Fiio DAP that sounded on the level of what I consider Hifi.

Instead of AK320, I'd go for the Opus #2. Opus #2 should perform better, but this is only for iems. If you have some serious headphone, I wouldn't expect them to be driven well out of a DAP.

Hi @SilverEars ,

Thanks for your input ! So glad that a guy with so many posts took the time to reply my thread.

I've read many great things about the opus#2 and on paper,to me, judging by specs it should be better indeed. The only dowside imo is the form factor that doesn't appeal to me at all. I know i'm derailing from my objective here but this is the truth.

And how would you feel about the 320 or opus#2 in comparrison to chord mojo ? Do they get close in terms of sound quality, instrument separation, stage size etc ?

There was a point when i was considering mojo/play, but that thing looks soo ugly . I'd hate to carry that thing around with me.

 

[SilverEars]

Hi @SilverEars ,
And how would you feel about the 320 or opus#2 in comparrison to chord mojo ? Do they get close in terms of sound quality, instrument separation, stage size etc ?

Mojo would be the preferred choice if you want something portable and to be able to be able to drive headphone as well. DAPs are recommended for iems primarily. So I think you can get the most out the Mojo for lower bucks compared to an Opus #2. Mojo can sound particularly good depending on the headphone, but I find that the Opus #2 is the better quality sound output device of the two, but at twice as much in cost(but it also comes with a display, user interface, large storage, balanced output).

So, your considerations should be price, sound quality, and weather or not driving headphones out weight the better sound quality for iems out of the Opus #2.

 

[teletinandrei]

Mojo would be the preferred choice if you want something portable and to be able to be able to drive headphone as well. DAPs are recommended for iems primarily. So I think you can get the most out the Mojo for lower bucks compared to an Opus #2. Mojo can sound particularly good depending on the headphone, but I find that the Opus #2 is the better quality sound output device of the two, but at twice as much in cost(but it also comes with a display, user interface, large storage, balanced output).

So, your considerations should be price, sound quality, and weather or not driving headphones out weight the better sound quality for iems out of the Opus #2.

@SilverEars thanks again for your advice mate ! Tried and did my homework as much as i could during the spare time i had left between work, another forum and some sleep
The conclusion is that the dual sabre dacs are more rafined than the dacs used in the ak players and i also learned that their implementation was pretty well done by the korean maker.
The battery life is certainly a plus, tidal support and native dsd as well but I'll be honest again and say that, to my eyes, the opus is not the prettiest player, and i still prefere the ak players more in terms of design. On the other hand i love watches and this has crownguards ) .

As for the mojo, i just can't get myself to like the design and have also read that iems have quite a hiss when used with this dac.
So, despite of all said above, the most tempting choice is the ak70ii . But since there aren't many opinions/reviews on it and you having 4146 posts, i decided to go for the oppus#2 .

So with that out of the way, for now at least, i'd really appreciate some further help on what iems to choose. Even though is far more than my budget allows, i was thinking about the Shure SE846. All the reviews i've seen and read describe this as being basicly the "end of the search" . Do you have any experience on these ? Do you share the same opinion as the reviewers ?Are theese worth the hefty amout of money they still go for ?