[harryb]

Quote:

It matches my impression on the IE800 pairing and really scratching my head why iriver would sell a bundled package with IE800 giving people an impression it is a great pairing. Not that IE800 pairs better than TG334 in any combo I tried but AK120 with IE800 the mids just really doesn't sound right to me on any tracks. Well YMMV.

 
I will certainly give the TG334 a try, but i've had a somewhat different impression re the IE800.  I bought a pair from Crutchfield to test because of their 60 day return policy thinking there was about a 95% I would return them.  Instead, I have found the sound with the AK120 to be quite outstanding.  I'm using the user equalization in the AK120 to dial down the lows and highs by a few notches and I dial up the mids by a few notches....which fits with Silverlights experience.  Somebody told me that the JH16's are out of this world with the AK120....i'll need to check that out too.  I've often found with headphones that what sounds great to one person sounds not so great to another to a greater extent than source equipment or amps.

 

[kkcc]

Quote:

 
I will certainly give the TG334 a try, but i've had a somewhat different impression re the IE800.  I bought a pair from Crutchfield to test because of their 60 day return policy thinking there was about a 95% I would return them.  Instead, I have found the sound with the AK120 to be quite outstanding.  I'm using the user equalization in the AK120 to dial down the lows and highs by a few notches and I dial up the mids by a few notches....which fits with Silverlights experience.  Somebody told me that the JH16's are out of this world with the AK120....i'll need to check that out too.  I've often found with headphones that what sounds great to one person sounds not so great to another to a greater extent than source equipment or amps.

 
I suppose you can get the IE800 to sound better with EQing.   If you're looking for the best, you should give the 1plus2 a try instead.  The AK120 sounded best with it among my IEMs.  I demo'ed the JH16fp and also agree it makes a good pairing, as do the MH335.  But for universals, 1plus2 is absolutely the best.  I even like how RE600 paired with AK120 more than IE800 but they have quite different sound sig so it may be my personal preference there.

 

[VisceriousZERO]

You also can semi-mod the IE800 by adding a comply's inner filter over the IE800 driver and keeping it there with the IE800 tips... it gracefully tones down the super crazy treble on that thing.

 

[StimulatedBoy]

Got hold of the AK 120 today and have to admit that I love this player. Absolutely beautiful, perfect size, nice UI, and stunning SQ wise. All in all, a nice upgrade from the iMod and Headstage 12HE 4G.

So far it also seems to play nicely with Heir Audios 8.A. Will try out the UE 18 Pro later today or tomorrow, and will post some impressions when the player has some more mileage under the hood.

Although first expectations with the AK 120 is way above expectations, I have to admit that the accompanying iriver software is the worst POS I have ever run into. Baffled by the fact that AK actually have used rescources to develop this...

Cheers

 

[DrSheep]

Quote:

Got hold of the AK 120 today and have to admit that I love this player. Absolutely beautiful, perfect size, nice UI, and stunning SQ wise. All in all, a nice upgrade from the iMod and Headstage 12HE 4G.

So far it also seems to play nicely with Heir Audios 8.A. Will try out the UE 18 Pro later today or tomorrow, and will post some impressions when the player has some more mileage under the hood.

Although first expectations with the AK 120 is way above expectations, I have to admit that the accompanying iriver software is the worst POS I have ever run into. Baffled by the fact that AK actually have used rescources to develop this...

Cheers

True, the iriver Plus 4 is really a POS.  However, Sony Media Go works and you can rip CD to 16/44 FLAC and it's a decent alternative, if drag and drop isn't enough for you.

 

[Jason36]

Got hold of the AK 120 today and have to admit that I love this player. Absolutely beautiful, perfect size, nice UI, and stunning SQ wise. All in all, a nice upgrade from the iMod and Headstage 12HE 4G.

So far it also seems to play nicely with Heir Audios 8.A. Will try out the UE 18 Pro later today or tomorrow, and will post some impressions when the player has some more mileage under the hood.

Although first expectations with the AK 120 is way above expectations, I have to admit that the accompanying iriver software is the worst POS I have ever run into. Baffled by the fact that AK actually have used rescources to develop this...

Cheers

I Would be interested in hearing your further opinions of the 8.a and AK120 and how they pair together. I have an AK120 and looking for either a high end universal or Custom IEM, and the 8.A is one of the options I'm considering. Would you mind Messaging me your opinions and conclusions on how they pair?

Jason

 

[Vinnie R.]

Quote:

 
I talked to Vinnie about this.  My understanding is that it is really just a duplicate jack.  If you have a second amp, you can play through both at the same time.

 
Hi harryb,
 
Thanks for posting your impressions of the RWAK120-S, and more are shipping out every day now...
 
Yes, I needed to remove the volume wheel (or I could have left it on, but it would be confusing since it has no influence with the RWAK120-S), and found
that there was just enough space to add a higher quality output jack.  It looks better than a hole, is better quality, and adds some redundancy in case the stock
jack were to ever wear and lose a good connection.
 

When you insert the plug into this jack, it has a nice "snap" sound and it grabs the plug better, IMO. 

 
Vinnie 

 

[Jazzyfi]

Hi Vinnie,

How long is the playtime of RWAK120S playing a standard 16/44.1? I expect lighter load from an input of external amp but the 8741 consumes more than 8740.

 

[Jazzyfi]

-

 

[audionewbi]

Hi Vinnie,

How long is the playtime of RWAK120S playing a standard 16/44.1? I expect lighter load from an input of external amp but the 8741 consumes more than 8740.

yes more info on battery life will be great under different condition, flac,was,DSD.

 

[Vinnie R.]

Quote:

yes more info on battery life will be great under different condition, flac,was,DSD.

 
All,
 
Whatever the play time of the stock AK120 is, you can expect the RWAK120 to be the same.  The RWAK120-S is about 20% reduced (due to the higher
current consumption of the WM8741) , as mentioned on the website.
 
Best regards
 
Vinnie

 

[goodvibes]

Quote:

 
All,
 
Whatever the play time of the stock AK120 is, you can expect the RWAK120 to be the same.  The RWAK120-S is about 20% reduced (due to the higher
current consumption of the WM8741) , as mentioned on the website.
 
Best regards
 
Vinnie

 
Vinnie, I would think not having a current load on the amp would mitigate the difference. The -S isn't asked to deliver any current. I suspect your 20% assumes that both are used with an amp but I suspect most using a stock player or a RWAK sans -S will not use an amp. I bet the play time is vary similar under most common use conditions depending on load.
 
This would not be important to me as I'm a PCM guy but since the FW is unchanged, I suspect that DSD conversion is still software based.

 

[Jason36]

Vinnie, I would think not having a current load on the amp would mitigate the difference. The -S isn't asked to deliver any current. I suspect your 20% assumes that both are used with an amp but I suspect most using a stock player or a RWAK sans -S will not use an amp. I bet the play time is vary similar depending on load.

You have to use an amp with the RWAK120S.....that is the point of the -S Conversion it turns the headphone out to a pure line out and removes the volume knob completely.

Also the lower hours per charge on the 120s is due to the extra power draw the changed DAC requires

 

[goodvibes]

Quote:

You have to use an amp with the RWAK120S.....that is the point of the -S Conversion it turns the headphone out to a pure line out and removes the volume knob completely.

Also the lower hours per charge on the 120s is due to the extra power draw the changed DAC requires

Totally missed my point. Since most will use the internal amp on a stock or rwak120, it will consume additional energy driving headphones that the rwak120-s will not. The usage difference will likely mitigate the play time difference so those getting the -s upgrade may not be losing much if any real world play time. If they used their stock AK120 with an amp, Vinnie's 20% estimation would hold true.

 

[Jason36]

Totally missed my point. Since most will use the internal amp on a stock or rwak120, it will consume additional energy driving headphones that the rwak120-s will not. The usage difference will likely mitigate the play time difference so those getting the -s upgrade may not be losing much if any real world play time. If they used their stock AK120 with an amp, Vinnie's 20% estimation would hold true.

Ahhh my apologies now I see and understand what you were trying to say and actually agree.