[kimvictor]

   
 
They did not made a mistake...
 
22ohm is absolutely OK for a recommended headphones by AK..
 
They add a 3ohm model just because many users use a  IEM  with it and wants it's 3ohms...but actually, the sound quality is the same, and I can't hear the difference in every day use...
 
Charging 100$,  but they provide a superb leather case and two SunDisk 32GB cards...

Hmm but I don't get it. Why would they do that? They want to limit the use of a DAP to only their recommendations? Some IEMs were practically unusable with the AK100...
Besides, all the AK's recommendations would have worked just as fine with 3ohm. Besides, few Korean audiophiles took RMAA measurements of AK100 with DIY 3ohm, and found it to be actually more stable on louder volumes, meaning that it was likely a really poor choice made by AK(or the company that provided the base design for AK100's amp).

 

[Juan Virgo]

  ^ Fair enough on the cost, but really they still should have come out with the 3 ohm model to begin with, it's a dap, it's bloody obvious many people would want to use it with iem's and 3 ohm would not affect it's use with headphones, there is no excuse for coming out with the 22 ohm model.

 
 
Again... there is completely no difference in terms of sound when using IEM...
the 3 Ohm version Its just 2-5% louder... that all.

 

[Buddhahacker]

  ^ Fair enough on the cost, but really they still should have come out with the 3 ohm model to begin with, it's a dap, it's bloody obvious many people would want to use it with iem's and 3 ohm would not affect it's use with headphones, there is no excuse for coming out with the 22 ohm model.

If you are in the asia or the O'hare airport you will see all sorts of people wearing headphones connected to DAPs and phones. This isn't a new trend but with Beats becoming a fashion accessory you certaining see more of it today.  Further, in the workplace I see primarily headphones used and not IEMs.  This is an observation and I draw no conclusions from it. All of this being said, it isn't "bloody obvious" that the DAP should be 3 or 22 ohm.  What is bloody obvious is that AK with its focus on marketing released the 22 ohm model for a reason and that model was very successful in the market place. 

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

I'm out of here, bye bye all.

 

[Buddhahacker]

And now back to our regularly schedule programming:
 
Do we have any impressions with using the AK Jr. as a DAC?

 

[bloodydoorknob]

I just got my AK Jr in to replace my iphone 6 as my main portable solution.  The lifeproof case I have for the iphone, which requires that I screw in an extension/adapter to the headphone jack to use headphones was getting cumbersome .  Aside from that,it served me well as a dap--sounded great and itunes worked great.  
 
The  Ak Jr sounds better than the Iphone 6, but not greatly so, unless you're listening to hi-res files (you can download apps to play hi-res on the iphone as well).  
 
It is nice to have expandable memory.  I popped in a sandisk 128 gb micro sd and it works fine.  
 
My biggest gripe with the AK jr is that the UI is sluggish, even with the latest firmware update.  When tapping on folders or categories, you get a loading symbol.  When browsing through songs by sliding/dragging songlists with your thumb, there is noticeable lag.  

 

[kimvictor]

Again... there is completely no difference in terms of sound when using IEM...
the 3 Ohm version Its just 2-5% louder... that all.

huh? Clearly you have no idea what you're saying here...single driver iems do ok with higher impedance, but multi BA is very likely to mess up with high impedance(anything above 5 really). If you don't believe me, look at measurements of UERM with added impedance. There is a significant(over 5db) loss in treble when paired with 22ohms, which is unacceptable for monitoring use.

 

[kimvictor]

And now back to our regularly schedule programming:

Do we have any impressions with using the AK Jr. as a DAC?

hmm measurements from ohm image suggests that ak jr has a very good line out(unlike ak240) and should perform better than its bigger brothers as a DAC to external amp. Other aks distort a lot once set to line out mode. Jr has the cleanest line out, so it should work nicely as a DAC.I have an O2 coming in soon, so I'll report back on how Jr sounds as a DAC.

 

[quantx]

if anybody has multiple disc albums ripped by dbpoweramp, this may be of use.....


 


after a slightly longer play with the junior, I noticed when album browsing a lot of my albums weren't showing correctly and the junior seemed to have lumped everything in album 1


 


I'd click on album one and within there would be all the missing songs from the missing albums - very odd


 


I started playing with tags and couldn't find anything initially to remove the rogue tags and getting the tunes where they should be


 


Anyways, the solution....


 


Add to directory


Edit & select all files


View


Extended Tags


 


In the box which opened up, removing the tag/label "compilation" did the trick - re-scan of the card and the albums are all sorted correctly

 


Oh, and a week ago you were announcing imminent payment to buy my AK 120.
Since then, you did not pay, and you did not have the minimal correctness to say it.

 

[Buddhahacker]

hmm measurements from ohm image suggests that ak jr has a very good line out(unlike ak240) and should perform better than its bigger brothers as a DAC to external amp. Other aks distort a lot once set to line out mode. Jr has the cleanest line out, so it should work nicely as a DAC.I have an O2 coming in soon, so I'll report back on how Jr sounds as a DAC.

Great. I can't wait to hear your impressions.  Thanks.

 

[cj3209]

 
The  Ak Jr sounds better than the Iphone 6, but not greatly so, unless you're listening to hi-res files (you can download apps to play hi-res on the iphone as well).  

 
Curious as to what kind of IEMs or headphones you are using?  Or someone correct me here as perhaps the iPhone 6 actually has decent sound output; my last iOS player was the 5th gen. iPod touch.

 

[bloodydoorknob]

I rotate between er4p, asg 2.5, and the shure 846.  All of them sound great with the AK jr, but I find that the ASG 2.5's pair well with the jr.  The iphone 6 sounded great with all three as well.  The biggest difference I can discern is that the AK jr has a brighter sound. I haven't tried any full sized cans with either.  

 

[Mark-sf]

I've had the AK Jr now for about 10 days and would like to add my experiences both pro and con. To cut to the chase it is a keeper though not without flaws. To begin with I have used it with Westone W40, Phonak PFE232, and ER4S IEMs and Sennheiser HD700s.  My principal comparison was between the DX90 w/ Lurker0 and iPhone 6 w/HA-2.  
 
To begin with, it is extremely well made and appears to be quite durable though I have not drop-tested it intentionally or unintentionally.

 I love the form factor as it is very pocketable, much more so than my DX90 or the IPhone combo. I also enjoy the UI as compared to the DX90. While Lurker's firmware make the screen readable, it is really too small vertically for touch use. I like that I can easily access the controls from my shirt pocket without removing it. The DX90 is too big and heavy to carry that way for me. I have upgraded to fw1.03 and with 5000 songs on a combination of onboard and 128G card find the speed faster than my DX90 but slower than the iPhone. I like the righthand fast nav feature that I  wish the DX90 had.
 
One tip I discovered if running on OS X is to ensure the internal and card drives are excluded from Spotlight as it will double the number of files on your device if connected as storage by adding a hidden 4K file of the format "._<title>". Besides taking up space they can impact scan performance. If this has occurred open a terminal and navigate to your music dir. Then enter "rm -rf */*._*" and "rm -rf */*/._*" without quotes assuming you are using artist/album storage convention.
 
What I do not like regarding the firmware is its sensitivity to music files. As previously reported, it can fail to complete and scan or loop if it finds a file it doesn't like and won't let you know which one. I have also discovered to my dismay that it will not display files with embedded png formatted covers 

. In this case MP3Tag is your friend and has worked in all cases for me  using JPGs even though I had to launch Windows. TidyMyMusic and Yate on Mac were not nearly as reliable for reasons I have not yet determined. Of course the DX90 is also picky about displaying art but is more tolerant when it finds a file it can't display.
 
To round out the negatives, I have yet to successfully get it to make a sound on my mid-2013 Macbook Air as a USB DAC even though it is recognized as such. I have tried various cables down to 4" and still no go. Would like to hear if anyone has been successful.  Works fine on my Mac Mini. Both are running Yosemite.
 
On the plus side, while some have reported lockups, it has been rock solid for me thus far. I like the switchable line out and digital volume though I would like the ability to have a selectable taper as it does not appear to implement a loudness contour and thus can be arduous to make large changes. Battery life has be fine for my usage pattern as it has never failed to last throughout an entire day.
 
Onto the sound, I like a clean neutral sound with extended but not emphasized extremes. I have enjoyed the DX90 especially with the Phonaks. However, found it didn't have the toe-tapping flow with my WD40s which are significantly more efficient. I do believe the DX90 drives my HD700s with more control that the AK but both can generate sufficient volume for my tastes. Where the AK excels for me is in combination with the WD40s on well recorded/minimally processed music as it becomes an immersive experience. I literally feel the music below my head and around me. Listening to 24/96 AIX recordings that I have has sound simply "right" with excellent low level resolution. Excellent examples include albums by Atrium Musicae de Madrid, Laurence Juber, Stephane Wrembel, Jesse Cook, Sharon Isbin, Ejii Que & Miinn Orch, and Katie Melua to name a few.
 
As far as scaling up, I find with my HD700's it does sound better when running through the HA-2 which as a hell of an amp for its size. Its line out is excellent. While I briefly considered foregoing the DAP for the iPhone/HA-2 combo, I find that for portable use I don't like giving over my phone entirely to music and like the flexibility of the combinations. Now if I could get the MBA to work with the AK (the HA-2 does) that might change.
 
Hope everyone finds this useful. 

 

[iKhaos]

 
To round out the negatives, I have yet to successfully get it to make a sound on my mid-2013 Macbook Air as a USB DAC even though it is recognized as such. I have tried various cables down to 4" and still no go. Would like to hear if anyone has been successful.  Works fine on my Mac Mini. Both are running Yosemite.

I haven't been able to get it to work on my 2015 rMBP either. I read somewhere that apparently it's just not compatible with 3.0 ports on SSD Macbooks.
Bummer.

 

[kimvictor]

   
Curious as to what kind of IEMs or headphones you are using?  Or someone correct me here as perhaps the iPhone 6 actually has decent sound output; my last iOS player was the 5th gen. iPod touch.

It does. A simple RMAA search would have shown you that iPhone has entry level DAP sound quality, which isn't that far off from mid-upper level DAP's SQ.