[Master619]

b) There's an urban legend floating around that someone, out there, got their DAC function to work on a PC and or a Mac. Considering there doesn't appear to be ANY sort of video with the AK Jr's DAC actually working, file this one under UFO's and Bigfoot sightings. But AK never has addressed this nor does it appear it will. Nice work AK!

Pretty sure it's sarcasm, but just in case you were seriously asking, I got the DAC function work fine on my PC (windows 8 64 bit, USB 2.0 port of course). If you need a video let me know.
Agreed on point (a) and (c) though, just a shame.

Got this one hoping it would be a worthy upgrade from my X5i, but guess it's not the case. Wish these criticism came out a bit sooner. Now I'm considering the X5iii but from the last few pages of its thread seems like there is a wide spread issue of file recognition and stuff. Guess Fiio got the hardware right but their version of Android kinda sucks

 

[Necron99]

[@]Master619 that's good. i tried Windows 7, 8, and 10 to no avail. [/@] I wish you had read through this before you took the dive. The sound quality ALMOST makes you ignore the faults, but with other more polished and equally or less priced options, it's a tough sell.

 

[Master619]

[@]Master619 that's good. i tried Windows 7, 8, and 10 to no avail. [/@] I wish you had read through this before you took the dive. The sound quality ALMOST makes you ignore the faults, but with other more polished and equally or less priced options, it's a tough sell.

Yeah agreed. Do you have anything on top of your mind that would be a good alternative for the AK Jr in the ~$500 price point? SQ is first priority then maybe compactness.

 

[Necron99]

[@]Master619 i went with the Pioneer XDP 300R. I also looked at iBasso, Cayin, and Opus models. Bear with me I don't remember the particular models, but they were in the price range of the Jr err I mean Stepchild. These were in a store here in Shanghai along with the Pioneer so I was able to test them in person. Do the same, with your preferred head/earphones, if you can. The Pioneer sold me on its sound and Android UI. [/@]

 

[Badsam]

I have some Sennheiser iE8's and am looking for a player to use them with (headphone out, no amp) to replace my 5th gen 2005 iPod video. I had a Sony player in about 2008 and it was far too bright, had a Sansa clip and it was no better than the iPod, had an iPod touch and it was worse than the iPod video, bought a Fiio X5ii recently and returned it because it had a really bad UI and scroll wheel plus the "Engrish" all over the device was frustrating (even though it was the best and most analogue/non-digital sounding device I've heard)

I wanted an AK jr but it too seems to be full of issues and flaws. Thought about an iBasso DX90 but it looks like a breeze block and just seems clunky.

At this point I'm almost ready to give up on owning a niche audiophile DAP in 2017 and might just say screw it, buy a Sony NWZ-A15/A17 and be done with it. Yeah the SQ isnt going to be the best there is but it's actually going to be well built, work properly, have 40hr battery and be a 200gb+ update to a hard drive based iPod and should at least be on par with a Fiio X3ii (which itself is almost practically the same as an X5ii)

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

I have some Sennheiser iE8's and am looking for a player to use them with (headphone out, no amp) to replace my 5th gen 2005 iPod video. I had a Sony player in about 2008 and it was far too bright, had a Sansa clip and it was no better than the iPod, had an iPod touch and it was worse than the iPod video, bought a Fiio X5ii recently and returned it because it had a really bad UI and scroll wheel plus the "Engrish" all over the device was frustrating (even though it was the best and most analogue/non-digital sounding device I've heard)

I wanted an AK jr but it too seems to be full of issues and flaws. Thought about an iBasso DX90 but it looks like a breeze block and just seems clunky.

At this point I'm almost ready to give up on owning a niche audiophile DAP in 2017 and might just say screw it, buy a Sony NWZ-A15/A17 and be done with it. Yeah the SQ isnt going to be the best there is but it's actually going to be well built, work properly, have 40hr battery and be a 200gb+ update to a hard drive based iPod and should at least be on par with a Fiio X3ii (which itself is almost practically the same as an X5ii)

Well the AK Jr sounds good and has a great build quality, and I think the flaws have gotten a bit overblown in the last few posts. I have very few problems with mine.

 

[Badsam]

Well the AK Jr sounds good and has a great build quality, and I think the flaws have gotten a bit overblown in the last few posts. I have very few problems with mine.

I think the reason I've loved my iPod video (and 1st gen nano before it) is down to the Wolfson chip in them. No matter how much cleaner or clearer or neutral any other player has sounded I still like the iPods the most. I should probably just get the AKjr since it's one of the only players that even use Wolfson anymore.

 

[gr8soundz]

I think the reason I've loved my iPod video (and 1st gen nano before it) is down to the Wolfson chip in them. No matter how much cleaner or clearer or neutral any other player has sounded I still like the iPods the most. I should probably just get the AKjr since it's one of the only players that even use Wolfson anymore.

 
Agreed. After getting the Jr. I searched for and bought two more devices (another DAP and a sound card) both with Wolfson (WM8741) chips. The implementation is great with all 3 and now I use them much more than my other equipment with different DAC chips.
 

 

[the diode]

The only real issue  I have with mine is that the UI is slow and sticks at times. Other than that no complaints from me. I love the sound.

 

[Badsam]

Does anyone know if the black AKjr ever actually got released in the end (specifically in Europe/UK)? All I can ever find is the silver one, red one and occasionally on eBay an Asian purple one with signatures printed all over the back. I'd really rather get it in black but it doesn't look like it even exists.

 

[daulagiri]

It's there.. but a bit rare. Just stalk ebay/your local classifieds, one'll pop up once in a while.

 

[mitchmurder]

Does anyone know if the black AKjr ever actually got released in the end (specifically in Europe/UK)? All I can ever find is the silver one, red one and occasionally on eBay an Asian purple one with signatures printed all over the back. I'd really rather get it in black but it doesn't look like it even exists.

 
Like you I was looking for the black version but they're impossible to find, and when you find a used one it's price is way high due to the rarity/demand
 
I would just settle for the silver AK JR and get the black case

 

[linux4ever]

I've got it working as an external dac on my 2013 MacBook pro retina. The supplied cable didn't do the trick. I used the USB cable that came with my one plus one smartphone.

I use folder browsing and haven't noticed any issues of lag. AK ignored this product for sure. But no problems with the daily usage of this device.

 

[gr8soundz]

I've got it working as an external dac on my 2013 MacBook pro retina. The supplied cable didn't do the trick. I used the USB cable that came with my one plus one smartphone.

I use folder browsing and haven't noticed any issues of lag. AK ignored this product for sure. But no problems with the daily usage of this device.

 
With an older Mac and the right usb cable the Jr's dac feature works most of the time. With Windows its more difficult to say exactly what works.
 

 

[ulver777]

It is available on aliexpress also the rose gold one.