AK 70 MK II... what are you for me?
Inside the box:
- 2x screenprotector sheets
- 2x protection sheets for the back
- USB Type A to Micro USB cable
- Micro-SD card dummy
- Warranty booklet
- Quick Start Guide
- The Device Itself
Build Quality:
Yes. Awesome. Too awesome. I feel like i dont want to touch it with my naked human fingers. They are not worthy.
Experience:
I really touched it. There was another micro-sd card dummy inserted in the card slot. So whats next? Maybe just push the button of power. Oh this satisfying precise middle soft clicking feel. Maybe exclusive click/feel-sounding from selected AUDI engineers.
If i were totally new to daps i would say just from the look and build of the AK70 MK II that it will probably sound like cutting the best musicians of the world into small pieces, putting them into your ears and bring them back to life with Voodoo Magic. Voodoo... pushing our hobbit... erm hobby to the limit.
Black & white themed screen appears asking for:
- language
- time zone
- name of the device
all done... start Astell & Kern
akku is at 46%
128 GB (with only 230 songs) Sandisk Music Card carefully inserted.
The Headphones for the test:
- Philips Fidelio X2
- AKG K 712 Pro
The in-ears for the test:
- Yamahe EpH-100
- Pioneer SE-CH9T
Sadly i dont have any balanced options.
Listened just to a few songs. Now the Ak70 is at 23%. The battery is draining very fast. 2 songs later the accu is nearly empty. I give the MK II the chance to convince me that its capable of doing better witch a fresh loaded and conditioned battery.
Heres my first impressions:
Pros:
- the device looks awesome
- the build is awesome
- the ui is very easy to use and i like using it
- the display is sharp and its a pleasure looking at it
Cons:
- it gets warm, i dont like the feeling. Its like you hold someones hand too long in a hot summernight and its not the hand of your girlfriend its the the hand of your girlfriends dad.
- battery consumption out of the box starting at 46% and after zapping through a handful of songs you are at 12%... Maybe if its fully charged it will last for over an hour.
Sound impressions (compared to the Hidizs AP 60 II):
Switching between the two devices (i really have to get a Sescom a/b switch for convenience) playing songs i hear nearly every day and in know very good i have to say that i wont ever be able to tell the two players appart in a blind test.
Testing the two devices not being ... blinded by the light... i say/wish that the AK 70 is about 0,000000001 % less harsh sounding than the small Ap 60. But i guess thats only imagination.
So whats the deal for my ears with the AK 70 MK II:
It really sounds good, but no audible differences to the AP 60. Nice detailed not harsh highs, great mids and well defined lows. I guess its more up to the quality of the recording and earphones what you hear. Using the 3,5mm jack it has no remarkable louder output/better control for the AKG 712 pro than the AP 60. Theres no extra driving power for bigger headphones in this mode. (trying the chord Mojo next i really doubt that there will be any audible changes in better sound or better control of the music played on the headphones with the greater power of the Mojos amp section)
*** i will do some more listening when the battery is fully charged ***
Conclusion:
The AK 70 MK II doesnt sound better than a 5 times cheaper dap like the Hidizs AP 60 II. I have to ask myself if the nice look/build and ui of the A & K is worth the additional 500$. If the fully charged battery would perform well i might think twice. No... i guess its just too big. Better take a small one that performs as good. Thats what she...
So... Mojo (beaming the audio performance and headphone driving power to eternity?) and Shanling M0 (still cant decide between black, titan and red) are the next toys to test.
** Ak 70 loading connected via USB cable to Pc. After 30 mins the battery percentage went up about 6%. Maybe i wont be able to test it again before falling asleep ***
Audiophile People talking about all the differences between sound quality of daps in the thousands of threats. It really must be talking about little nuances some people cant even hear.