[onlychild]

Wondeful !  I am happy for you.

 -Did you considered the WooAudio WA8 before buying the CDM ?  I tried the WA8 with my HE-X and really liked it a lot (but only when using it's own internal DAC).
- Is the AKAmp really necessary when you connect the AK380 to the CDM ?  Isn't this "tri" amplification overkill ? 
- Also does the CDM really bring that much to the AK380+AKAmp ? 

Didn't consider wa8 cause I wanted balanced.



The amp is not in use. The IC is connected directly to the balanced out of the player, not the amp. The amp balanced out is at the bottom. I travel with the amp so I just leave it attached

What the CDM does for me is round out the highs enough (while emphasizing the bass) for Some albums that are too painful to listen to for extended time. With the 8 wire coppers Plus Sound IC, I lost too much detail. The silver comp4 with the CDM gave me the right amount of "softening" to the sound I was looking for while still maintaining detail. Also the CDM is slightly more powerful than the RWAK amp.

I actually prefer to use my black dragon balanced cable straight from the Rwakamp.

Edition X is my only HP right now. Had the HP1000 but sold it cause I actually prefer the sound of the Edition X over the he1k when played from my portable setup. EditionX are much easier to drive and scale nicely.

I don't any desktop equipment cause I'm rarely at my desk.

 

[bmichels]

Didn't consider wa8 cause I wanted balanced.



The amp is not in use. The IC is connected directly to the balanced out of the player, not the amp. The amp balanced out is at the bottom. I travel with the amp so I just leave it attached

What the CDM does for me is round out the highs enough (while emphasizing the bass) for Some albums that are too painful to listen to for extended time. With the 8 wire coppers Plus Sound IC, I lost too much detail. The silver comp4 with the CDM gave me the right amount of "softening" to the sound I was looking for while still maintaining detail. Also the CDM is slightly more powerful than the RWAK amp.

I actually prefer to use my black dragon balanced cable straight from the Rwakamp.

Edition X is my only HP right now. Had the HP1000 but sold it cause I actually prefer the sound of the Edition X over the he1k when played from my portable setup. EditionX are much easier to drive and scale nicely.

I don't any desktop equipment cause I'm rarely at my desk.

 
thanks for your answer.
 
After longctests, I also choosed for the HE-X instead of the HE-K. It's good to hear you feel the same; I feel less alone 

 
NOTE : It is incredible how a 2" long analog interconnect can change the sound !!!

 

[onlychild]

thanks for your answer. 

It is incredible how a 2" long analog interconnect can change the sound !!!

When the rest of the system is resolving enough, every little bit makes a change (not necessarily better or worse).

I think at this level it's more about tuning/preference vs better or worse.

 

[LouisArmstrong]

USB cables make a big difference. It really can be night and day - the difference is so big that no one can ignore. Beats me why, I was a non-believer too. A three-year old knows there should be no difference to digital signals so you guys don't need to repeat it here. Whether it is USB cable, or the difference between AK380 and AK380Cu, there is no use whining about your all great theories and skepticism (again, which a three year old would know already). Go hear. 

 

[Jalo]

Didn't consider wa8 cause I wanted balanced.



The amp is not in use. The IC is connected directly to the balanced out of the player, not the amp. The amp balanced out is at the bottom. I travel with the amp so I just leave it attached

What the CDM does for me is round out the highs enough (while emphasizing the bass) for Some albums that are too painful to listen to for extended time. With the 8 wire coppers Plus Sound IC, I lost too much detail. The silver comp4 with the CDM gave me the right amount of "softening" to the sound I was looking for while still maintaining detail. Also the CDM is slightly more powerful than the RWAK amp.

I actually prefer to use my black dragon balanced cable straight from the Rwakamp.

Edition X is my only HP right now. Had the HP1000 but sold it cause I actually prefer the sound of the Edition X over the he1k when played from my portable setup. EditionX are much easier to drive and scale nicely.

I don't any desktop equipment cause I'm rarely at my desk.

Only child, that is a $10,000.00+ portable systems that you have there very beautiful and congrats. I think you hit the nail right on the head when you say "with the coppers ic, I lost too much detail". For me I think the 380cu is on the warm side. My 64audio u12 is also on the warm side, so I have to use a 8 cores silver cable otherwise I will loose too much detail also.

 

[Jazzi]

  Try contacting them on their Facebook page.  Only thing that worked for me.

My experience was the opposite -- I got absolutely no response from their Facebook page, but an email to their customer support got the ball rolling and my unit repaired and returned quickly.  I was very pleased with the response from Iriver.

 

[Sound Eq]

Ok my head i spinning now and I am not happy at all
 
As you remember from my earlier post, I bought an ak380 from Dubai on a business trip. However I live in Israel and the ak380 volume wheel is acting up and I can not send it back to Dubai because there is no post or mail service between Israel and Dubai whatsoever. I sent AK emails , emails to the company in Korea and AK in USA and Canada and messages on their facebook, the only ones that replied where the AK US and Canada and they told me to contact the Israeli dealer and they even sent him an email to help, but the Israeli dealer refused simply because I did not buy it from his store and told me to contact AK in Korea and that he will not help at all. I sent many emails to AK in Korea iriver@iriver.com but no answer from them at all.
 
Honestly I am now just looking at the ak380 and the price I paid for it, and wonder how can this even happen. When I pay so much money and I can not get my right to get covered by warranty its just a big lesson for me for the future.
 
I need anyone please to try to help me get in touch with AK in korea to solve this issue. 
 
Thanks

 

[raypin]

mmm...try their other email address: webmaster@iriver.com

 

[Sound Eq]

  mmm...try their other email address: webmaster@iriver.com

I did as well but no answer from them at all

 

[fattycheesebeef]

I'm sure HD800 goes well with CDM? 
 
I'm looking for a nice mid-fi tube amp.. 

 

[bmichels]

I'm sure HD800 goes well with CDM? 

I'm looking for a nice mid-fi tube amp.. 

You should also investigate the WooAudio WA8 It is supposed to pair beautifully with the HD800 (see Jude video at 4"35 and read other head-Fiers comments)

 

[Dillan]

So my initial impressions with the AK380 are disappointing.
 
Does anyone else hear a light hiss/distortion in the background always? The noise floor is not silent whatsoever. I tried with the amp and without the amp and using 3 different file formats. There is ALWAYS a light distorted hiss in the background no matter what. Is there a way to get rid of this? Its especially apparent at lower volumes. When I turn it up it will get drowned out, but I still would like to know that the background is silent when playing music.

 

[TaylorDawe]

  So my initial impressions with the AK380 are disappointing.
 
Does anyone else hear a light hiss/distortion in the background always? The noise floor is not silent whatsoever. I tried with the amp and without the amp and using 3 different file formats. There is ALWAYS a light distorted hiss in the background no matter what. Is there a way to get rid of this? Its especially apparent at lower volumes. When I turn it up it will get drowned out, but I still would like to know that the background is silent when playing music.

I don't have this, Dillan, and I especially looked for a similar effect after changing my 240 for the 380, because with the 240, if I had the screen 'active', there was a kind of 'ripping' sound whenever the song title scrolled, or whenever I changed screens. So, as I say, I worried that the 380 would have a similar effect but (thankfully) mine doesn't. I absolutely sympathise with you as I found the effect on the 240 to pretty much ruin the listening experience even though I couldn't hear it (the ripping sound) except between tracks. On a side note, my 380 swaps channels (left for right) after around a couple of hours of constant play. Switching off/on sorts this, but it's annoying. I do wonder at A&K's quality checks. 

 

[Dillan]

  I don't have this, Dillan, and I especially looked for a similar effect after changing my 240 for the 380, because with the 240, if I had the screen 'active', there was a kind of 'ripping' sound whenever the song title scrolled, or whenever I changed screens. So, as I say, I worried that the 380 would have a similar effect but (thankfully) mine doesn't. I absolutely sympathise with you as I found the effect on the 240 to pretty much ruin the listening experience even though I couldn't hear it (the ripping sound) except between tracks. On a side note, my 380 swaps channels (left for right) after around a couple of hours of constant play. Switching off/on sorts this, but it's annoying. I do wonder at A&K's quality checks. 

I am hoping I can figure out any sort of fix tonight. I am going to try turning off wifi and a few other things. I was already kind of upset at AK for charging so much for unremarkable specs (for the price), but was hoping the sound quality would blow me away. I was (and still am) completely open to changing my mind about iRiver, but so far I am disappointed.

 

[TaylorDawe]

 
I am hoping I can figure out any sort of fix tonight. I am going to try turning off wifi and a few other things. I was already kind of upset at AK for charging so much for unremarkable specs (for the price), but was hoping the sound quality would blow me away. I was (and still am) completely open to changing my mind about iRiver, but so far I am disappointed.

Well, I can only wish you good luck with it.