[LouisArmstrong]

Theory is theory - just like the notion of different USB cables making a difference in sound made no sense to me - as a kindergarten student can tell, it's all 1010's inside. But once you have listened to a good system with different USB cables - wham, the theory is just shattered. Up till now I still don't understand why, but it is not important - the importance is that there is a discernible difference in sound that not only I can hear. Try not to make sense out of it, just use your ears to honestly listen and compare. You will be astonished by the difference between the AK380 and the AK380Cu. 

 

[Jazzi]

  mmm......let's just agree to disagree and move on. Whether you believe the cu is better than the rest or not is immaterial. Some will say it is, Some will say it isn't. It is a zero sum game since none of us here knows how many cu units iRiver has sold since launch. Did it outsell comparable DAPs in the market? Did it outsell the previous AK flagship? Did it sell all 500 units of the cu? In other words, how did the market vote with their wallet?
 
I do agree with @louisarmstrong that the 380 cu is the best of the best of the best, in terms of SQ in the (unmodified/stock) DAP market. The only real competitor is the AK 380. If you look at the DAP market and setting aside the price tags, there isn't any finer. Not the Sonys. Not the iBasso. Not the Cayins. Not the Fiios. Not the  Luxury and Precision. Of the DAPs, I've auditioned or owned, the only non-AK DAP that comes close in terms of SQ would be the super-ugly Lotoo Paw Gold and the qualitative difference is not even close. If given a free gift from Santa Claus, I bet you that 9 out of 10 headfier would choose the cu.
 
A large part of the dislike for  the  AK players is due the huge price tag. I can understand that and I do agree that iRiver is dangerously close to pricing itself out of the market, specially if its competitors step up their game in the luxury DAP segment.
 
I am not trying to persuade anyone here to get the cu. I don't care if iRiver sells 10 or 10,000. That's not my problem. I am just being honest as a headfier would really fancies high-end DAPs.

Raypin, couldn't agree more!  Of all the Daps I've tested and heard, I've held on to two - the AK380 and the LPG.  I find your results exactly as mine.

 

[raypin]

  my ak380 is suffering from erratic volume issue, I bought it from Dubai on a trip, while I live in Israel
 
Sending the ak380 to Dubai is not an option as there is no mail from Israel to Dubai
 
I was wondering how can fix this as its still under warranty as I bought it in Jan-2016
 
Who shall I contact to solve this issue 
 
Your help is appreciated

mmm......if your 380 was sourced from a dealer or reseller, communicating your issue  with the dealer would be your best bet in resolving the problem. iRiver is not known for its steller after-sales  service but you can try their customer service here:
 
http://www.iriverinc.com/support/support.asp

 

[Sound Eq]

  mmm......if your 380 was sourced from a dealer or reseller, communicating your issue  with the dealer would be your best bet in resolving the problem. iRiver is not known for its steller after-sales  service but you can try their customer service here:
 
http://www.iriverinc.com/support/support.asp

I got an email from the store I bought it in dubai from and they referred me to my local dealer in Israel informing me AK is aware of this issue, lets see what happens as I need to get the volume wheel fixed

 

[Bengkia369]

Tried ak380 regular and ak380cu side by side, difference is there but not day and night.
To me, it dun worth tat kind of money for that little bit of improvement.

I still using my good old ak240 with my mojo + cypher lab trio stacks and to my ears it still sounds better than the best of the best simply sublime ak380cu and I don't have to spend so much money for that.

 

[LouisArmstrong]

Tried ak380 regular and ak380cu side by side, difference is there but not day and night.
To me, it dun worth tat kind of money for that little bit of improvement.

I still using my good old ak240 with my mojo + cypher lab trio stacks and to my ears it still sounds better than the best of the best simply sublime ak380cu and I don't have to spend so much money for that.

I used to do that kind of stuff. A three-stack thingy... You really carry that around though? 

 

[bmichels]

FYI, on Facebook Astell&Kern just answered me that USB Digital-out (like the AK70) will be made available on other AK's Daps through firmware upgrade.  
 
Of course the question becomes..."when", because A&K also promised TIDAL streaming by Firmware upgrade ...1 year ago ! 

 

 

[420204]

FYI, on Facebook Astell&Kern just answered me that USB Digital-out (like the AK70) will be made available on other AK's Daps through firmware upgrade.  

Of course the question becomes..."when", because A&K also promised TIDAL streaming by Firmware upgrade ...1 year ago ! :rolleyes:  

I asked the same question got the same response

 

[LouisArmstrong]

To those who couldn't hear a difference between AK380 and AK380Cu - please try it with JH Audio Layla. The difference is so big that you won't believe your ears. Yes the difference is that big. And I am just using the original Layla, not the Full Metal Jacket Layla II, which may reveal the difference even further. The best deserves the best - please pair your AK380Cu with JH Audio Layla. 

 

[sawrym]

  To those who couldn't hear a difference between AK380 and AK380Cu - please try it with JH Audio Layla. The difference is so big that you won't believe your ears. Yes the difference is that big. And I am just using the original Layla, not the Full Metal Jacket Layla II, which may reveal the difference even further. The best deserves the best - please pair your AK380Cu with JH Audio Layla. 

Did u try it with other TOTL C/IEMs or headphones? This big difference u're hearing is probably from good pairing of JH series with AK products. I've heard from a lot of people that it  they're having a blast with their Laylas but when it comes to other setups the difference is marginal. 

 

[Bengkia369]

To those who couldn't hear a difference between AK380 and AK380Cu - please try it with JH Audio Layla. The difference is so big that you won't believe your ears. Yes the difference is that big. And I am just using the original Layla, not the Full Metal Jacket Layla II, which may reveal the difference even further. The best deserves the best - please pair your AK380Cu with JH Audio Layla. 

I am not using Layla so I can't be bothered.
With my IE800, Inear SD2, JH Angie, Grado GS1000i, PS500. I only notice the ak380cu is just a little more refined than the regular one. Like wat I said before not worth the premium price to purchase ak380cu for just little bit of refinement.
I rather use my ak240 as a transport and feed it to mojo, that sound alone already surpassed ak380cu.
And mojo really made all my iems and headphone sing.

 

[Ultrainferno]

  I seem to be having a different problem, my AK keeps (r)ejecting the microSD card automatically (64GB Samsung), when it doesn't I can access all files via Folder but not anything is showing up in the album/songs, etc.
It just starts scanning the library and then says SD card safely removed at the same time. This is a demo model on 1.24
 

 
For those who come across this post on a later time, this is solved.
As the internal memory was also acting up, I contacted AK who immediately arranged a pick up and sent another unit

 

[Sound Eq]

  mmm......if your 380 was sourced from a dealer or reseller, communicating your issue  with the dealer would be your best bet in resolving the problem. iRiver is not known for its steller after-sales  service but you can try their customer service here:
 
http://www.iriverinc.com/support/support.asp

well I talked to the local dealer in israel, and I do not know how I feel about it, he said he will check with AK.
 
I need to know one thing, when you buy an item that is under warranty, why do i have to act through the official dealer and not directly with the company and they simply send me instructions where to ship it to for repair.
 
My situation is complicated because I bought mine from Dubai and I live in Israel and there is no mail service between Israel and Dubai what so ever
 
the email above simply told me to contact the local dealer here in Israel. In a way I feel he will not do anything, because when I called him and told him about the situation he asked me why I did not buy it from his store and bought it from Dubai
 
I am starting to get worried to get this issue handled professionally 

 

[raypin]

mmm.......for what it is worth, it is not only an AK thing. With iPhones bought abroad, we (in the Philippines) have to send it to Singapore for repair or replacement while iPhones brought locally will be taken care of by the Apple-authorized reseller or the Telco. But, at least with Apple, we can call a 1-800 number for issue resolution. I wish AK has a similar set-up since they are selling their products worldwide. In my case, I have no problems with AK players since I sourced them from a reliable dealer here. It seems that you need to communicate your concern directly and repeatedly with iRiver to have your problem resolved. If worse comes to worse, a flight to Dubai is out of the question?
 
Worth a shot, if you haven't already: factory reset the cu.

 

[Iron-Buddha]

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