[justinmakhk]

Never seen that before. Do you have the line out option on because that's what it does when you press that button from the volume screen.

Haven't turned line out function on. Is like all a sudden the volume boosts to either max or to zero when I turn the volume knob slowly. It's weird. Also the touchscreen is so annoyingly slow

 

[hifistarter]

 wanted to ask all owners that have had their jr. for a while.  Given that the UI can be difficult / lagging at the end of the day do you feel that the Sound Quality of the Jr. justified its purchase for you?  To some extent I am looking at the Jr. as that perhaps it was rushed through to final production so that they could get a piece of the Fiio / iBasso slice of the market. 
 
From what I may have taken from the thread thus far is that the persons who may own an X3ii, X5 or DX90 would have been just as happy with their old rig or even happier than the Jr.
 
But then again with the evolution of its firmware things may change and turn around.

 

[goodvibes]

  I've had one for about a 2wks now. So here's my impression(I have quite a lot of experience with DAPs, including AK240, DX90, DX50, X3, and ZX1). IMO, it's an upgrade over the AK100(which I used to have, RWAK100, actually) It's definitely a good move for AK to improve it's product line and lower the price. Is it worth the full price in terms of SQ? No. It's in between DX50 and DX90, or X3 and X5. TBH, but costs more than all of them. Though does it sound good? **** yeah. It has a fairly typical AK tuning(slightly warm), low noise(X3 and DX50 has some issues with noise), and decent power, especially for a device this size. However, the firmware is still bit laggy, and battery life isn't terribly attractive. I honestly bought it because I couldn't handle carrying a brick with me, and didn't have money to buy the ZX2.


 

I think that's fair though my take was a bit different. I don't own it but on audition I slightly preferred my AK100 mk2 which should be similar to your RWAK but I use an earlier FW (2.1). If I listened to DSD I'd use 2.3. Haven't tried the just released 2.42 yet. The jr was a touch drier which some may find more neutral and the 100 mk2 had a hair more tonal color and perspective. I also personally prefer the mk2 to the dx90 I had and would put the JR in the same league as the 90 depending on preference.

 

[goodvibes]

   wanted to ask all owners that have had their jr. for a while.  Given that the UI can be difficult / lagging at the end of the day do you feel that the Sound Quality of the Jr. justified its purchase for you?  To some extent I am looking at the Jr. as that perhaps it was rushed through to final production so that they could get a piece of the Fiio / iBasso slice of the market. 
 
From what I may have taken from the thread thus far is that the persons who may own an X3ii, X5 or DX90 would have been just as happy with their old rig or even happier than the Jr.
 
But then again with the evolution of its firmware things may change and turn around.

I think one might feel there is some lag in all those units if you're coming from a modern smartphone but it's similar to other DAPs. The JR FW is more finished than any of those others were when they appeared. AK already had a template. I found all the above mentioned DAPs quite useable though the control setup for the FiiOs weren't my cup of tea.

 

[kimvictor]

  I think that's fair though my take was a bit different. I don't own it but on audition I slightly preferred my AK100 mk2 which should be similar to your RWAK but I use an earlier FW (2.1). If I listened to DSD I'd use 2.3. Haven't tried the just released 2.42 yet. The jr was a touch drier which some may find more neutral and the 100 mk2 had a hair more tonal color and perspective. I also personally prefer the mk2 to the dx90 I had and would put the JR in the same league as the 90 depending on preference.

RWAK is a bit drier IMO compared to MKII, which I think is due to the lower output impedance(all my IEMs react to added resistance with slightly lowered treble, making the 2ohm MKII warmer for me). So your claims are quite likely. And yes, I think that depending on the preference, you could place the Jr pretty damn near the 90.

 

[wwyjoe]

Haven't turned line out function on. Is like all a sudden the volume boosts to either max or to zero when I turn the volume knob slowly. It's weird. Also the touchscreen is so annoyingly slow

I had the same issue. The volume will suddenly shoot up to the max when i adjust the volume and this happens durimg playback when the display is 'awakened' from sleep

 

[dbdynsty25]

  From what I may have taken from the thread thus far is that the persons who may own an X3ii, X5 or DX90 would have been just as happy with their old rig or even happier than the Jr.

 
I agree with this statement.  For me, I had the DX90 and the X3II prior to getting the AK, and outside of it's gorgeous design,  I just don't find it that much better than the other options I had.  I sold the DX90 because it was by far the biggest of the bunch and have just been going head to head w/ the X3II for the past two weeks and ultimately I decided the 300 dollar price jump over the X3II just wasn't even close to being worth it as far as my use case goes.  As far as usability goes, the EQ and the true line out on the X3II are ultimately what won out.

 

[kimvictor]

Does anyone have this issue? My AK Jr's screen won't turn on at times. All the buttons work, so it's not really a hardware issue(i hope), and the screen will turn on if I connect to a usb cable. I have to force shut down my AK jr(by holding down the power button) and reboot it for the screen to turn on again, or connect it to usb cable. It's annoying as hell. I'm running 1.02.

 

[Richsvt]

Are there any state-side retailers selling the leather cases for the Jr? The only one I see that is selling it is a UK vendor. Anyone purchase this one or any other case thus far? I hate carrying it around naked (the player, not me). Figured someone would have have come out with a variation by now...

 

[kimvictor]

Are there any state-side retailers selling the leather cases for the Jr? The only one I see that is selling it is a UK vendor. Anyone purchase this one or any other case thus far? I hate carrying it around naked (the player, not me). Figured someone would have have come out with a variation by now...

I couldn't fine one myself. Ebay is your best bet(buy it from Japan. They have fast shipping. I might wait til I go back to Korea to get a case.

 

[goodvibes]

  RWAK is a bit drier IMO compared to MKII, which I think is due to the lower output impedance(all my IEMs react to added resistance with slightly lowered treble, making the 2ohm MKII warmer for me). So your claims are quite likely. And yes, I think that depending on the preference, you could place the Jr pretty damn near the 90.

I use an earlier FW because I find it snappier. Sounds Like we're on the same page.

 

[hifistarter]

Are there any state-side retailers selling the leather cases for the Jr? The only one I see that is selling it is a UK vendor. Anyone purchase this one or any other case thus far? I hate carrying it around naked (the player, not me). Figured someone would have have come out with a variation by now...

 


Id check with ALO they carry the Jr. And may have some cases.

 

[SashimiWu]

For those in NYC, B&H Photo and Video had an AK Jr on display along with a FiiO X1, X3II, and X5 in their smartphone section.  I think I will be heading back sometime this weekend to probably do some more listening on the AK Jr.
 
Upon first listen, I actually really enjoyed the tone of the AK Jr.  From memory, it definitely did not sound as clear, transparent, or detailed as the AK100II.  However, it did not feel like it was veiled either.  It had slightly more bass than the AK100II and definitely doesn't sound as grand (not as deep nor as wide).  However, I did not feel it sound congested.
 
I found it sounded very similar to the DX90.  I would say that the AK Jr probably sounds a bit smoother since the treble was a bright as on the DX90.  Bass impact was about the same with a slight edge to the DX90 with the texturing about equal.  The attack of the notes were definitely hit a bit slower than that of the DX90 (and the AK100II) as well but did not sound boomy.  Honestly the DX90 probably sounded a bit better overall since its definitely a more capable player.
 
I also had a chance to compare it with the X3II.  I wasn't really that impressed with it since it sounded very congested and bass focused.  The clarity was definitely there but because of the large amounts of bass and the small soundstage, it made listening to it very fatiguing.  It was probably a better technical performer than the AK Jr but the tone of the Jr was much more to my liking.
 
I was really disappointed with the UI of the AK Jr.  It definitely is very laggy and choppy compared to the AK100II.  The CPU seems to not be up to snuff and I found operating the X3II much better and quicker.  Skipping songs was a huge hassle since there was noticeable lag on each track skip.  It was very hard to make use of the side buttons to skip songs since if you pressed it before it "loaded" the song then it wouldn't .  The display is decent but nowhere near as vibrant as the AK100II.  I really wish that future firmware would perhaps be a bit less laggy and buggy.
 
Holding it in hand felt very nice and the build quality was very very good.  The edges of the player were a bit hard to hold but I think having a case would probably remedy this.  The volume wheel was not as tactile was I would have liked but still easy to use and hard to accidentally press in pocket.
 
In the end, I am not sure if I would purchase the AK Jr since it kind of seems like an unpolished product.  Once again the tonality and sound quality was very good but still the player is expensive compared to other companies and their offerings.  The DX90/X5II would probably be a better value since it comes with better specs for a cheaper price.  However the slim form factor and build quality is very appealing.  If they could fix the issues with the UI then it would probably be an easier buy but in its current state, I find it to be unusable for day to day use due to the lag.
 
Of course these were my first impressions in a very noisy store so I hope to go again tomorrow or this Sunday so I can do some more listening.

 

[dbdynsty25]

  If they could fix the issues with the UI then it would probably be an easier buy but in its current state, I find it to be unusable for day to day use due to the lag.

 
This...is exactly why I just sent mine back and am sticking with the X3II.  I just can't handle the lag and the wonky touchscreen.  Otherwise the product is ridiculously good.  Maybe if I keep track of this thread and we get some firmware updates I'll repurchase...but for now, it's not recommended if you're easily annoyed by interfaces.  Sad.

 

[SashimiWu]

   
This...is exactly why I just sent mine back and am sticking with the X3II.  I just can't handle the lag and the wonky touchscreen.  Otherwise the product is ridiculously good.  Maybe if I keep track of this thread and we get some firmware updates I'll repurchase...but for now, it's not recommended if you're easily annoyed by interfaces.  Sad.

 
I agree with you.  Everything else about the player is wonderful but the slim form factor and the wonderful build quality is useless if it doesn't actually play music well.  I am in the same boat and will be patiently waiting for a firmware update before purchasing.