[jamato8]

  Pretty disappointed in the A&K Jr overall-I think the X3ii is more powerful and sound quality at the very least is equal. Certainly not $200 better than the X3. Very nice to look at and the UI I think is much better.

Maybe you should get the AK380 and the amp module. ? :^)

 

[gr8soundz]

  Pretty disappointed in the A&K Jr overall-I think the X3ii is more powerful and sound quality at the very least is equal. Certainly not $200 better than the X3. Very nice to look at and the UI I think is much better.

 
X3 shouldn't even be mentioned with the AK Jr. I had an original X3 for about 2 weeks before returning it due to its good but lackluster sound.
 
This reviewer also compared the Jr. to it's much more expensive siblings:
http://www.headfonia.com/astell-kern-ak-jr-who-you-calling-junior/2/
 
"By the numbers, I would expect players costing thousands more to walk all over Jr. And while both the AK240 and AK380 can and do outperform Jr in a number of measurable areas, I’ll be damned if you, or I, can hear most of them."
 
The AK Jr. is (imo) close to my iBasso R10 in overall sound quality.
 

 

[kimvictor]

  Have any of you tried the Pro Eq? I think it adds a little weight.

I think Pro EQ is a roll off filter, so you might feel like it gets tiny tiny bit warmer.

 

[macdonjh]

I was able to put some subconscious knowledge to use tonight: I experimented with different IEM tips, got a good seal and suddenly angels were singing.  I think I knew that a good seal is critical to IEM performance, but now I also have experience.  Bass appeared, over tones could be heard, no more hollow music.  So now I like my AK Jr / Westone W3 pairing.  The AK Jr sound quality is, in my opinion, equal to the HifiMan HM650 it replaced and the AK firmware is much more stable.  I need to get a cable so I can connect it (via line out) to my amplifier so I can listen to it as a source with my HE-500, too.
 
I do have a couple of frustrations:
 
The Jr has an EQ, doesn't it?  Where the heck is it?  Not that I'd use it as I generally don't like equalizers.  But I'd sure like to play with it.
 
How the heck do you make a play list on the Jr?

 

[gr8soundz]

 
The Jr has an EQ, doesn't it?  Where the heck is it?  Not that I'd use it as I generally don't like equalizers.  But I'd sure like to play with it.
 
How the heck do you make a play list on the Jr?

 
Offhand, I believe the EQ is an icon (with sliders) on the bottom right of the now playing screen.
 
For playlists whenever you're browsing music/albums/files each one has a little grey dot next to it. Touch and hold the dot then select the icon with a "+". Then you can add that song or album to a new or existing playlist (the Jr. will show you a green check mark confirmation once its added). Repeat steps to add more tracks then go to playlists on the home screen to select/play it.
 

 

[philk34]

Touch the jacket of the track let you access to "nom playing" menu.
 
First row, backward, play/pause, forward.
Second row, Track list, lyrics, Options.
 
Type Options (three dots).
On bottom left, you find the icone of EQ.

 

[macdonjh]

Got it, thanks.

 

[NoAlCastor]

Couple of quick questions. I have an x3 Mark ii currently that I use in two ways. Firstly I use it on the go with either phonak 232, b&o h3 (don't judge me I think they are very underrated) or Shure 535.

More often though I use the x3 as a source and use the line out via the coaxial adapter to a Sennheiser HDVD800 powering a set of 650hd's.

Will I notice a difference in sq in either or both of those set ups with the JR. I am not sure how the JR would connect to my hdvd800 and if it would be by analogue line out or not.

 

[SashimiWu]

Couple of quick questions. I have an x3 Mark ii currently that I use in two ways. Firstly I use it on the go with either phonak 232, b&o h3 (don't judge me I think they are very underrated) or Shure 535.

More often though I use the x3 as a source and use the line out via the coaxial adapter to a Sennheiser HDVD800 powering a set of 650hd's.

Will I notice a difference in sq in either or both of those set ups with the JR. I am not sure how the JR would connect to my hdvd800 and if it would be by analogue line out or not.

 
From what I understand, the AK Jr does not have a true lineout meaning that you would be double amping.  While I have never had an issue with this personally, people report that it not desirable.
 
Additionally, the X3II is already a great sounding player.  I would say that both are equal when it comes to sound quality meaning things like clarity/detail retrieval and so on.
 
However, I will say that the AK Jr beats it handily in the form factor, UI, tonality, and if its important to you aesthetics.  I much prefer how the Jr sounds since I thought that the X3II was too bass heavy and fatiguing to listen to.  It had a lot more bass impact but I didn't really enjoy that.  The AK Jr sounds a bit smoother, and slightly warmer making it more enjoyable to listen to for myself.
 
I would only get the AK Jr if you want something lighter on the go without having to attach an amplifier to it.  Otherwise stick with you current setup since I doubt you will be gaining much improvement if any of the things I mentioned do not appeal to you.  Hope that helps.

 

[NoAlCastor]

Thanks. I'm not a big fan of bass so I am still torn

 

[Nqstv]

I gotta admit, I like the form and sound of the AKJr, but until I can get a player that supports M3U, I'll have to stick with my Pono.  Otherwise, it's a nice little piece of technology.

 

[kimvictor]

   
From what I understand, the AK Jr does not have a true lineout meaning that you would be double amping.  While I have never had an issue with this personally, people report that it not desirable.
 
Additionally, the X3II is already a great sounding player.  I would say that both are equal when it comes to sound quality meaning things like clarity/detail retrieval and so on.
 
However, I will say that the AK Jr beats it handily in the form factor, UI, tonality, and if its important to you aesthetics.  I much prefer how the Jr sounds since I thought that the X3II was too bass heavy and fatiguing to listen to.  It had a lot more bass impact but I didn't really enjoy that.  The AK Jr sounds a bit smoother, and slightly warmer making it more enjoyable to listen to for myself.
 
I would only get the AK Jr if you want something lighter on the go without having to attach an amplifier to it.  Otherwise stick with you current setup since I doubt you will be gaining much improvement if any of the things I mentioned do not appeal to you.  Hope that helps.

TBH, the no line out has no issues whatsoever. In fact, the AK Jr. set to line out mode has better SNR than most other DAPs with an actual line out. So it's actual better.

 

[macdonjh]

Another question, general this time: does no DAP support metadata with .wav files?  My Jr has no idea who recorded what or what an album cover looks like with any .wav file I sync to it.  Is that a property of .wav, or something peculiar to the Jr (and the HM650)?

 

[gr8soundz]

I've yet to come across a DAP that supports .wav metadata. Resorted to using playlists for all my wav albums on players without folder browsing. Thankfully, the Jr. has folder playback.
 

 

[corius]

Hi, first post, but I've been lurking for a couple of years.
 
I've just got a AK Jr, and have also had an AK100II. I've had quite a few problems in the past getting album art and metadata working correctly, but I think I've now sorted most of it out by searching in lots of posts.
 
I thought I'd write down what I've discovered in one place as it might be useful to others. It probably also applies to other AK models as well
 
1) Editing metadata
 
Use mp3tag for fixing metadata. It's very powerful, free, and also works fine on a Mac if you use the version prepackaged with Wine.
 
2) Missing Metadata e.g Album Title, Artist etc
 
You probably have a FLAC file with ID3 Tags. Check in mp3tag to verify, you'll probably see something like FLAC(ID3....). This isn't correct as FLAC files should really have FLAC metadata. 
 
Drag the album into mp3tag and "select all" then do a "Cut" followed immediately by a "Paste". Mp3tag will fix the tags and you should then see that all tracks now have FLAC(FLAC).
 
I've seen advice saying you can transcode to ALAC and back. This will also work, but is a huge amount of work!
 
2) No Album Art
 
Make sure that embedded art is "jpg" and not "png". Again you can see this in mp3tag. If so, select all the tracks, remove the art and add new art from the web. Google is your friend. Use "images" tab in google and go for around 500x500
 
3) Multiple Discs
 
Albums with multiple discs aren't supported properly. To play in correct sequence you need to use Folder View, and then you have two options. (i) Different folders for each disc, or (ii) Prepend the Disk number to each track name. This is easy to do in mp3Tag using "Convert" -> "Tag - Filename" and also tidies up all your files.
 
I use a format string that names all my tracks as "D-TT - Track Name". e.g. "2-03 - Hurricane.mp3". By having the disc first all your multi-disc tracks can be in the same folder and play in sequence.
 
The format string I use is "$num(%discnumber%,1)-$num(%track%,2) - %title%" . Once you use the string it will become the default, and you won't have to keep re-entering it.
 
Make sure that you assign the Disc Number correctly first in mp3 Tag by using the "Discnumber" tag box.
 
Again you can do this to multiple files at the same time by loading a whole album, or multiple albums, into mp3 tag and then "Select All" , "Convert"->"Tag - Filename" . Keyboard accelerators also help!
 
4) Strange Track Names
 
AK doesn't like the "COMPILATION" tag. Load your tracks into mp3tag, select all, choose "View"->"Extended Tags" and select the "COMPILATION" entry. Finally delete using the red "X" and click OK.
 
Please see if this helps and add more tips. Perhaps we could create a new thread with this info in it?