Firts the Ak has not 1200mw the 6.3vrms are no load is not 32 ohms load,believe me is quite less, second the rate of distortion of the 250mw of the sony are very low, you can go to 120 of volume with 0 distortion,that means a great state of the art power supply, also 1200 in 32 ohms dont allways means double in 16 ohms, see fiio daps specs for exampleThere are always pros and cons. I was interested in the Sony WM1ZM2 until I read 250mW into 16ohms which seems very low? I think the SP3000 can do about 1200mW into 32ohms and you can double this value for 16ohms. Probably not correct in electrical terms but from a pure numbers perspective 10x the power with the A&K. I don't think the Sony could drive my Grand Maestros. Let alone the ridiculous European version that probably can't even drive some Apple EarPods.
With great power comes great responsibility (and greater battery drain)
Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000
- Thread starter JasonNYC
- Start date
CharlyBrown
Headphoneus Supremus
I stated that what I wrote is probably not 100% correct in electricity/scientific terms. I read about SP3ks output power output and it was stated it delivers that amount of power. In real life, it can drive the HD800s for example, so I guess these numbers are not too far off.
Anyways, where did you buy your Sony from? I guess you don’t use the nerfed Euro version?
Mine is Japan version, the stated power of the sp3000 in mw i never saw, the sp2000 was 6vrms no load and no load and 32ohms are not the same thing, so the almost 1200mW that was in the sp2000 thread are not correct, i am not talking about sound quality, the sp2000 was awsome i am sure that the 3000 is even better
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bussola
100+ Head-Fier
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So no one has noticed a change in sound quality with the new firmware?
I am honestly puzzled
I am honestly puzzled
I have to agree with Denis as I compared the M9+ and SP3000. M9+ has a specified max power delivery of 1200mW and I can get a loud enough volume with about 50/100 (with DCA Stealth). For the same piece, SP3000 requires about 105/150 (which is about 70/100) volume setting. SP3000 is definitely not as powerful as the 1200mW M9+.
CharlyBrown
Headphoneus Supremus
Did you buy on eBay or other source? Great to see It's possible to get the real product despite those useless regulations!
Then I stand corrected but I still think my joke was awesome haha
I bought it from a headfier has new that imported it from JPDid you buy on eBay or other source? Great to see It's possible to get the real product despite those useless regulations!
Then I stand corrected but I still think my joke was awesome haha
Thought I’d chip in since I own both. Agree with you. The Shanling DAPs are spectacular when it comes to driving power. The SP3K, whilst not as powerful, do seem to do an excellent job driving my FitEar DD based customs. I could not say the same about the SP2K unfortunately, which was when I had started exploring Chinese DAPs. I think the improvement in implementation has helped the SP3K in being more efficient.
I do also recall @Whitigir once explaining in the Sony thread that digital amps tend to be much more efficient and so even though the numbers may not appear to be as impressive, they work just fine with more difficult to drive transducers. For example, my 1ZM2 and 1AM2 do not have any issues with my FitEar DD based customs. For that matter, neither did the OG 1A/1Z.
For IEM users there are no issues for both players but things are different with full sized HPs. Luckily, I don't listen with high volumes, so I have no issues or complaints with most of the DAPs, even driving a DCA Stealth, and the music I like doesn't need huge amounts of bass. I like neutral detailed bass, so I am covered most of the time. Even DCA Stealth sounds satisfactory for me with SP3K. But for others, the requirements might be different.
For what it is worth, I have stated many times in this thread and other AK threads for years. For IEMs I have always been fine with AK. For HPs I have had to be careful of my HP pairings. The SP2000 and SP3000 lack the "authority" to drive certain HPs properly. I like the sq of AK players so I purchase my HPs accordingly. If there would happen to be a HP that piques my interest and the SP3000 wouldn't drive it properly, I would have to add a portable amp or choose another brand of DAP. It has happened to me a couple of times. I recently had the iBasso DX320 Max Ti and it had driving authority and I was at a toss up of which DAP to let go, and I chose to sell the iBasso.
There are two choices if you are going to buy a DAP, buy gear it will drive properly or buy a portable amp. I don't think people ask enough questions about their future purchases and then complain when it doesn't meet their expectations and expect the company to "fix" something that it wasn't suppose to do in the first place.
AK is a closed Android interface, you must download apk's if you are a streamer like I am. The baked-in apps have never been great IMO.
I never really paid attention to my battery, but based on my usage, I have no issues. Also, for the most part, leave my $3600 DAP at home, so a charger is always near me, your usage needs may vary.
Fortunately, I have had no real issues as many here point out, maybe I am lucky or maybe I don't expect something the player was never going to do. Also, I cannot count the number of TOTL DAPs I have been fortunate enough to have owned and each one has their peculiarities and Gremlins. It depends on your tolerance for those disparities that don't meet your personal expectations and what you be willing to forego whether it is UI, sound quality, size and build quality, etc.
Sometimes I think it is simpler to whine than it is to find something that suits your usage and expectations.
I detect zero perceivable sound difference since the last F/W update.
@DarginMahkum none of this was directed at you I just responded under your post.
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kong08
New Head-Fier
Man… the black SS is looking more and more tantalizing, versus the copper.Here’s some more audioporn without the case and the Elysian Acoustic Labs Xalso a fantastic pairing with SP3K
Speaking of the copper, is it brushed or polished?
DEL
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Hi all,
I’ve done some searches but can’t see any mention of an issue I’m having.
I have both qobuz snd tidal subscriptions and this is only happening with qobuz.
The issue is with downloaded albums, random tracks just disappear for no apparent reason. It happens quite regularly and just now I’ve found that 5 tracks disappeared from an album I downloaded from Qobuz about a week ago.
Also it only seems to be on the SP3K, I also have a Cube and although I don’t use it often, I haven’t noticed this on that unit.
Has anyone else heard of this? I’ve seen a message to Qobuz asking this as well.
Thanks
I’ve done some searches but can’t see any mention of an issue I’m having.
I have both qobuz snd tidal subscriptions and this is only happening with qobuz.
The issue is with downloaded albums, random tracks just disappear for no apparent reason. It happens quite regularly and just now I’ve found that 5 tracks disappeared from an album I downloaded from Qobuz about a week ago.
Also it only seems to be on the SP3K, I also have a Cube and although I don’t use it often, I haven’t noticed this on that unit.
Has anyone else heard of this? I’ve seen a message to Qobuz asking this as well.
Thanks
Hello i had a simular issue with tracks i could listen earlier with Qobuz and several weeks ago not. But my track was still in the favorite list. It was because of rights of the mhsuc owner. That a also saw on the screen when i wanted to play. A month later it worked again? Not exactly your problem but maybe helps you.
Question, is the sound quality better with Qobuz or Tidal with their best output 24_192 or 24-96?
Thanks Joebas,
I’ll see if any of these are still in the favourites list as a check.
I certainly think qobuz has better sq, however Tidal has the benefit of lyrics on the screen as you play tracks, which is one reason I kept it. The other is they have a larger library, but so far I haven’t found too much need to use Tidal for that though.
Qobuz also has higher volume so this helps battery life when using a dap as you don’t need to have the volume as high to get the same listening level.
Also qobuz is less expensive and you can buy albums/tracks in hi res at about 50% of the price (sublime subscription only)
Hope that helps you decide
I’ll see if any of these are still in the favourites list as a check.
I certainly think qobuz has better sq, however Tidal has the benefit of lyrics on the screen as you play tracks, which is one reason I kept it. The other is they have a larger library, but so far I haven’t found too much need to use Tidal for that though.
Qobuz also has higher volume so this helps battery life when using a dap as you don’t need to have the volume as high to get the same listening level.
Also qobuz is less expensive and you can buy albums/tracks in hi res at about 50% of the price (sublime subscription only)
Hope that helps you decide
