[ILyaX]

Can someone eleborate more on sem4 sound?

There appeared one review stating that sem4 is more on the warm side, which i definitely hope isnt true.

 

[Noonanstein]

Can someone eleborate more on sem4 sound?

There appeared one review stating that sem4 is more on the warm side, which i definitely hope isnt true.

Had sem4 now for about two weeks. It's probably got 50 hours on it now. In standard mode (DAR off) I wouldn't say it's particularly warm, there is a hint of warmth to the mids and bass, so it isn't strictly neutral either. Compared to Sem1 the sound stage is broader, although it is pipped to the post for width by sem2 (dont have sem3 so cant comment on this). The treble isn't quite as noticeable on Sem4, which contributes to the perception of stage width. Placement of instrument/vocals is good. With DAR on my perception is that presentation is warmer, more relaxed, a bit more organic. Bass note decay seems to be a tad slower. Placement of instruments is still very good. Sound stage is a tad wider than with DAR off. Dynamic range seems to be better in DAR mode also. Just my view anyway hope it helps. Impressions done with Fiio fh9 in high gain, balanced output

 

[3388]

Had sem4 now for about two weeks. It's probably got 50 hours on it now. In standard mode (DAR off) I wouldn't say it's particularly warm, there is a hint of warmth to the mids and bass, so it isn't strictly neutral either. Compared to Sem1 the sound stage is broader, although it is pipped to the post for width by sem2 (dont have sem3 so cant comment on this). The treble isn't quite as noticeable on Sem4, which contributes to the perception of stage width. Placement of instrument/vocals is good. With DAR on my perception is that presentation is warmer, more relaxed, a bit more organic. Bass note decay seems to be a tad slower. Placement of instruments is still very good. Sound stage is a tad wider than with DAR off. Dynamic range seems to be better in DAR mode also. Just my view anyway hope it helps. Impressions done with Fiio fh9 in high gain, balanced output

tks, great review, I can't hardly tell the difference with DAR on or off, hope to see more comments on this topic

 

[JasonNYC]

New firmware expected to be released tonight for the SE180 around 11 pm ET, morning of July 20th in Korea with additional Bluetooth and Wi-Fi stability fixes.

 

[KindofBluer]

Can someone eleborate more on sem4 sound?

There appeared one review stating that sem4 is more on the warm side, which i definitely hope isnt true.

I have SEM1 and 2, and 4 should arrive this week. I’ll post my impressions after I’ve been listening to it for a while.

 

[qsk78]

After 3 weeks of SEM3 experience I went back to SEM1. There is a certain "magic" in this module I like...
Actually I appreciate the SEM3 technicality (instrument separation, etc) but I don't really like the bass which has a certain mid-bass emphasis in my opinion.
I prefer the bass of the SEM1.

 

[KindofBluer]

I received the SEM4 module 4 days ago and have been listening pretty much round the clock with my ie900s, mainly with the Digital Audio Remaster (DAR) up sampling function on. I listen to mostly rock (I.e. Steely Dan, early Chicago, Santana, Fleetwood Mac), jazz (Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans), singer/songwriter (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell), some roots, folk and classical. Mainly hires audio files on my DAP.

First impression was great soundstage, and a good mix of warmth and technical detail, but the vocals were buried in the mix. After two days either my ears or the sound adjusted, now the mix sounds well balanced across the frequency spectrum. Effects such as reverb and echo seem to jump out. Not a huge difference to my ears with DAR, but I definitely prefer it on.

Early days, and I haven’t gone back to modules 1 or 2 yet, but the SEM4/ie900 (and Dali Katch-APTX Bluetooth) is my new happy place.

 

[paggio]

Hi, folks. I was looking for a last firmware file. Does anybody have one?

 

[shwnwllms]

Looks like I’ll be joining the SE180 club next week sometime. SEM1 & SEM2 for now but SEM4 interests me esp the DAR feature (I use HQPlayer in my desktop rig)

 

[Virtu Fortuna]

Hi, folks. I was looking for a last firmware file. Does anybody have one?

The device can download the update automatically over WiFi.

 

[558698]

Has anyone else ever had issues with their SE180 seemingly producing cracking/tearing sounds artifacts?
I've been noticing it a couple days after the most recent software update, which I installed a little over a week ago.
Songs of which I'm fairly sure never had any form of tearing or rasp to them, suddenly gained these, what I assume to be, artifacts.
The noise appears to be consistent with specific songs & timings within said songs, and it applies quite widely across various albums, artists and genres.
I also made sure it was the player by trying my player with my partner's IEMs, which also had the artifacts present, and by using her Shanling M3X with both her and my IEMs, where the artifacts appeared to not be present.

Very strange. Is this at all a known issue (perhaps with the current firmware version)?
Has anyone else experienced this?

Note: I have tried cleaning the audio ports, to no avail.

Edit: Does anyone know if there's still a way to roll back firmware versions with the SE180?

 

[Noonanstein]

Has anyone else ever had issues with their SE180 seemingly producing cracking/tearing sounds artifacts?
I've been noticing it a couple days after the most recent software update, which I installed a little over a week ago.
Songs of which I'm fairly sure never had any form of tearing or rasp to them, suddenly gained these, what I assume to be, artifacts.
The noise appears to be consistent with specific songs & timings within said songs, and it applies quite widely across various albums, artists and genres.
I also made sure it was the player by trying my player with my partner's IEMs, which also had the artifacts present, and by using her Shanling M3X with both her and my IEMs, where the artifacts appeared to not be present.

Very strange. Is this at all a known issue (perhaps with the current firmware version)?
Has anyone else experienced this?

Note: I have tried cleaning the audio ports, to no avail.

Edit: Does anyone know if there's still a way to roll back firmware versions with the SE180?

I have come across this and I using thr se180 daily at the moment. I actually don't think I'm on the most recent firmware though. What's the firmware version please?

 

[558698]

I have come across this and I using thr se180 daily at the moment. I actually don't think I'm on the most recent firmware though. What's the firmware version please?

However miserable it is that this appears to not be an isolated issue, I'm at least glad I'm not going insane, haha.
The lastest firmware version is 1.60, the previous one is 1.51.

 

[JasonNYC]

New promo starts today for Astell&Kern customers in the US and Canada. Purchase the SE180 and get the SEM2, SEM3 or SEM4 module and a case for free. This promo is valid only for purchases at us.astellnkern.com and participating authorized Astell&Kern retailers in the US and Canada and not available in other countries or regions. For more information, please visit - https://us.astellnkern.com/blogs/news/astell-kern-limited-time-promotion

 

[shwnwllms]

My SE180 showed up the other day, been running it exclusively with SEM4 ever since. DAR is incredible. (Coming from someone who uses HQPlayer in my “desktop” system)

I didn’t even have a chance to audition SEM2 yet. For those with SEM2 & SEM4 is it worth keeping both?