Astell&Kern AK380
May 14, 2015 at 9:49 PM Post #391 of 9,052
  Maybe you guys should summarise all the questions you hope answered. I'll see what I can try to ask. There's a closed presentation tomorrow of which Currawong & I are invited to (thanks to Sasaki-san) before the Fujiya Spring Festival doors open. If the presentation doesn't cover the questions you have, we can ask after in Q&A or private session with AK.

When your reply, please quote my post here. I'll use it for tracking. I've been busy with work and haven't had time to read through all the past posts before this morning.

 
1) If you could get the specs for the amp addon and SRP. Whats the point of the amp addon if it cant power a HE-1000 right ? :p
2) Any improvements in terms of software for this flag DAP? Can we see spotify/tidal on this DAP?
3) Any changes to the AMP on the 380 in comparison to the ak240? We know the DAC has completely changed.
4) Streaming audio from ios/android - Is this via WIFI with temp transfer of audio data with no SQ loss or is it going to be something like streaming involving something like bluetooth transfer?
 
May 14, 2015 at 9:49 PM Post #392 of 9,052
Posted on A&k's Facebook page, this Absolute Sound article says $3,499

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/astellkern-announces-new-flagship-portable-hi-res-audio-player-the-ak380/

Also talks of cd-rom attachment


The cd-rom option is interesting ... all the more reason they should have upped the storage capability. I wonder if they are coming out with a module for just storage. 
 
May 14, 2015 at 10:25 PM Post #393 of 9,052
Also I really would like to know more about the CD and dock setup, as it almost like AK is trying to mirror the AK500N with the AK380 but do it piece by piece.
 
May 14, 2015 at 10:37 PM Post #394 of 9,052
Pleas ask the following:
#1 "How much are the USB cradle and the amp card?"
#2 "Does the amp card improve sound quality?"
#3 "Does the amp card have an extra battery inside? If not, does it drain AK380's internal battery faster?"
#4 "When can we see them on Amazon?"
#5 "How long is AK380's battery life?"

 
I'm not going to ask Q#2 for really obvious reasons. For Q#4, I whilst I can ask, their response would most likely be for Amazon.co.jp, not Amazon.com
 
May 14, 2015 at 10:49 PM Post #396 of 9,052
Thanks.

Also, please ask them:
#6 "Will we see Blue Note, SS, Gold AK380 in the near future?"
#7 "Do you have any plan on expanding its storage to 512GB?"

 
I'm going to be honest and think those are pointless questions. They're not going to kill their potential AK380 sales by giving the audience an opportunity to wait (of whom there is no guarantee those customer would buy if/when these "tailored" models get released) when the AK380 itself hasn't even been released/sold yet. Remember tomorrow is just an announcement.
 
May 14, 2015 at 10:59 PM Post #397 of 9,052
How about just more pricing (380 + accessories) and release date for US or other region?
 
May 14, 2015 at 11:02 PM Post #398 of 9,052
I bet in 1~2 years the AK480 will come out, asking for around $5,000 and leaving AK380 in dust.......
 
May 15, 2015 at 12:01 AM Post #399 of 9,052
the 3000 pound price included vat.  so 3000/1.2= 2500 pounds without vat.  x 1.58 dollars/pound = $3950.  of course they can adjust price in different regions depending on distribution costs, size of market and so on, but that's a rough value to start your thinking at.  i wonder how big a market is being estimated by their marketing department.
 
you would also hope that if a higher end model comes out they would lower the prices a bit on the older models.  but i'm not holding my breath on that.
 
May 15, 2015 at 12:10 AM Post #400 of 9,052
  Maybe you guys should summarise all the questions you hope answered. I'll see what I can try to ask. There's a closed presentation tomorrow of which Currawong & I are invited to (thanks to Sasaki-san) before the Fujiya Spring Festival doors open. If the presentation doesn't cover the questions you have, we can ask after in Q&A or private session with AK.

When your reply, please quote my post here. I'll use it for tracking. I've been busy with work and haven't had time to read through all the past posts before this morning.


1.  Is the connection to the external amp made from a true line out of the AK380? more detail about the 4 pin connection would be great.
 
2.  Is the external amp dual mono balanced like the ak380?
 
 
thx
 
May 15, 2015 at 1:12 AM Post #402 of 9,052
The price is lower than I expected but still incredibly close to the price of SR-009. Yes you'll need a dedicated amp and a good source for a 009 - but that's just one example of what other items that kind of money can get you (besides an iRiver). When in doubt, I would compare DAPs with my graphics cards and feel more comfortable when I think that my graphics cards mostly become obsolete in 6 months (my latest is Titan X in SLI). But compared with any other head-fi or hi-fi equipment, the value of digital gadgets and in the worst case, DAPs, depreciate fastest in the whole audio chain. That's where the money lies - and that's the reason why we see tons of DAPs being made by unheard-of manufacturers in recent years yet there are very few notably good portable headphone amps out in the market which can compare with the few classics.  
 
Digital products get depreciated really fast. If you haven't yet, invest in a pair of good headphones, a pair of good speakers or lush IEMs like the Layla. At least they don't get old every 6 months. If you already have them and want to drive them to the max with extra money, by all means get the AK1080 or whatever is the latest. I am not teaching people how to spend money but I see some of my friends become obsessed with DAP and portable amp upgrades, eating up all the marketing stuff (e.g. naming a product with no western connection at all to X&Y) and yet using not so great IEMs or headphones. I often tell them to cool their heads - go get a pair of Kaiser 10, Layla or even just the SE846 and drive them through an iPhone would improve the sound quality a whole lot more than driving their IEMs (I won't name which) with a $10,000 portable 4-hit combo stack (how to make 4? Portable battery obviously).
 
May 15, 2015 at 1:43 AM Post #403 of 9,052
  Maybe you guys should summarise all the questions you hope answered. I'll see what I can try to ask. There's a closed presentation tomorrow of which Currawong & I are invited to (thanks to Sasaki-san) before the Fujiya Spring Festival doors open. If the presentation doesn't cover the questions you have, we can ask after in Q&A or private session with AK.

When your reply, please quote my post here. I'll use it for tracking. I've been busy with work and haven't had time to read through all the past posts before this morning.

This isn't strictly about the AK380, but I would like to know if they are working on firmware updates for the earlier models (AK120II specifically).  One feature that is very frequently requested, and applies to all their players, is adding the ability to sort by "album artist".  There is also a buffering issue where the player sometimes skips the first fraction of a second when starting play back at the start of a track, which means you sometimes miss the first note of a song.

A larger-scale general question would be what their development calendar is like for supporting previous products with continued firmware updates.  I don't have a problem with A&K issuing new products and continuing to innovate.  But I would have a big problem if that meant they stopped development on "older" products that are still only a few years from release and have outstanding issues to resolve.
 
May 15, 2015 at 2:01 AM Post #405 of 9,052
Are they a Japanese company and that's a translation? It reads like a really bad one.

I'm a professional J to E translator. Someone tell them I'll competently translate their page for a single AK380. :)
 

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