Astell&Kern AK380
May 14, 2015 at 2:20 AM Post #301 of 9,039
From what I learned from lotoo they will not produce a new product if they don't have a proper innovation. Releasing products left and right without much innovation looks silly. The ak380 is essentially using centrance idea, they saw a market for attached amp and they implemented themselves.
 
May 14, 2015 at 2:20 AM Post #302 of 9,039
can someone comment on the dac of the ak380 is it more musical than the one they used in ak240
 
would it have better bass ?
 
May 14, 2015 at 2:23 AM Post #303 of 9,039
on another note will the amp securely fit the ak380 as i see that it might not be a secure fit and any sudden movement might disconect it from the ak380 unless a certain attaching mechanism is used
 
May 14, 2015 at 2:28 AM Post #304 of 9,039
on another note will the amp securely fit the ak380 as i see that it might not be a secure fit and any sudden movement might disconect it from the ak380 unless a certain attaching mechanism is used

You'll notice from the picture that the top left corner of the amp has a small dial. It's the locking screw that goes into the golden hole on the back of the ak380
 
May 14, 2015 at 2:33 AM Post #305 of 9,039
can someone comment on the dac of the ak380 is it more musical than the one they used in ak240

would it have better bass ?
the English translation from Google wasn't that bad, hope it helps you
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fvaiopocket.seesaa.net%2Farticle%2F418862472.html
 
May 14, 2015 at 2:51 AM Post #306 of 9,039
the English translation from Google wasn't that bad, hope it helps you
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fvaiopocket.seesaa.net%2Farticle%2F418862472.html

dam man i think i am so eager to buy it, it has everything i look for a parametric eq that is a huge deal that i was waiting for a long long time
 
also an external amp module
 
i am getting ready for it, thanks i waited so long before i buying a high end, but now this is it for me i am getting this ak380
 
May 14, 2015 at 4:17 AM Post #308 of 9,039
The AKM chips are interesting. As far as I know, AKM is used in some crazy high end players like Esoteric, except those companies use like 8 or 16 chips in one channel (not sure if that's doable in a portable player like iRiver) instead of just dual chips . Now I am a bit more interested to hear the AK380 with my Layla.
 
May 14, 2015 at 4:39 AM Post #309 of 9,039
dam man i think i am so eager to buy it, it has everything i look.,,,


But "only" 256 Gb ! :frowning2:( and ..., NO mention of QOBUZ or TIDAL " on board"
 
May 14, 2015 at 6:25 AM Post #311 of 9,039
From what I learned from lotoo they will not produce a new product if they don't have a proper innovation. Releasing products left and right without much innovation looks silly. The ak380 is essentially using centrance idea, they save a market for attached amp and they implemented themselves.

 
And they know there are a couple of thousand people who will throw their money at any new flagship AK DAP, regardless of price, regardless of specs. It's like a never-ending cash-cow for them.
 
 
yea. I'm curious how Lotoo will react.
ak240 <> paw gold
Ak jr <> paw 5000
Ak380 <> ? (Hopefully with balanced hp and line out and even more battery and parametric bands)

 
 
Many will think I'm joking about this, but I'm not: I predict the AK380 won't sound substantially better than the PAW 5000.
 
A&K are so busy price-gouging, that they're forgetting that the sub-$1000 audiophile DAP market is rapidly improving. Gone are the days (not so long ago) when SQ differences were larger between mid-market and high-end DAPs.
 
 

 
 
Actually. I was idly thinking about something else yesterday...
 
If a company had, say, a few hundred DAPs manufactured, but sales were slowing and the company had a new, unannounced, model nearing completion and release (which would inevitably slow sales of the older model even further), what could they do to stimulate sales of the older model, a few hundred units of which they were struggling to shift, just a couple of months before the new model was due out?
 
Well, it 'suddenly occurred' to me that one simple idea could be to simply repackage those few hundred DAPs in a shiny new casing, to appeal to bling-seekers. Stainless steel could be one material option.
 
 
Then, once those units had been shifted, the new model could be announced.
 
It would leave a few hundred customers feeling aggrieved, but hey - they're only faceless individuals with yet more money to throw at their audiophile obsessions when the newer model is released, just around the corner...
 
 
Anyway, this was all just day-dreaming in my mind, yesterday. I'm sure no real-life company would be so cynical as to do something like that.
 
May 14, 2015 at 6:52 AM Post #313 of 9,039
  Well they are also selling a CD player for it, so they are going all in!

 
Tom Dickson might say they are going all in a Blendtec?
 
ej8dTAn.jpg

 
May 14, 2015 at 7:13 AM Post #314 of 9,039
It is smart of AK to think of their DAP as an integrated platform like a quasi 500N with their new dock, CD ripper, and DLNA software.  The only one missing piece, assuming they are not going to have a MQS store, is a way to ensure the accuracy of the CD rips.  dBpoweramp and AccuateRip has been good to me, and it is the only reason I still have my Blu-ray drive in my computer.
 
May 14, 2015 at 7:21 AM Post #315 of 9,039
It is smart of AK to think of their DAP as an integrated platform like a quasi 500N with their new dock, CD ripper, and DLNA software.  The only one missing piece, assuming they are not going to have a MQS store, is a way to ensure the accuracy of the CD rips.  dBpoweramp and AccuateRip has been good to me, and it is the only reason I still have my Blu-ray drive in my computer.
AK is accurately ripping us alright :D
 

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