[omoanya]

Looks to me that there is something wrong with your tags. Try a different tag editor. I use MuiscBee for everything.

MusicBee looks great - unfortunately I don't have a windows machine or emulator. Does anyone have recommendations for a good MAC tag editor?
EDIT - Found one http://markvapps.com/metadatics . Going to give it a try

 

[TigerAlex]

Possibly. I will submit the request to our dev team.

Hello Jason, another question, i am in the process of buying a Kann Cube, i have the A&K SR 15 Norma the native sound is awesome, but when i try it to EQ sounds for some specific songs there is not difference, actually brings the sound down, any input ?? and why the fade-out doesn't work on any audio format i use mostly flac and MQA format .
any input will be appreciated
thanks

 

[JasonNYC]

I'm having some issues with organizing my library on the Cube - maybe its because i am new to DAP's - I have a lot of custom live tracks and studio tracks (not purchased) most are aiff some mp3 and some m4a and I am organizing them
Artist > Album> Song - with a cover.jpg if its not MP3 (for those I use tagr to insert the cover artwork) and then transferring to music/download folder. Can someone tell me if this is the best way to get everything to show up neatly in Cube? I am getting a lot of default AK placeholder art showing up

Astell&Kern players organize and display tracks based on ID3 tags and ignore how they are arranged in folders. I would assume your ID3 tags need to be updated.

 

[JasonNYC]

Hello Jason, another question, i am in the process of buying a Kann Cube, i have the A&K SR 15 Norma the native sound is awesome, but when i try it to EQ sounds for some specific songs there is not difference, actually brings the sound down, any input ?? and why the fade-out doesn't work on any audio format i use mostly flac and MQA format .
any input will be appreciated
thanks

There have been pages of debate about AK's EQ implementation in a number of the other product threads including the SE100 thread. Some of it got pretty nasty with one Head-Fier personally attacking and threatening me about it, so I'm not looking to get into another debate about EQ. Here is our official statement on EQ implementation on AK devices:

Astell&Kern uses a passive EQ as opposed to active EQ used by other manufacturers. Active EQ does require an amplification after the audio signal processing. This can be done in one of two ways - by adjusting the output levels, but it would limit the audio output power to less than what the device can actually deliver at its max. The other option is to put an additional amp in after the main Op Amp, and that is very hard to do in such a small space within a DAP. At the same time, the amplification of Active EQ may add greater possibilities of coloration or distortion, which we want to avoid at all cost. That’s why we chose a passive EQ so that users can make proper tonal adjustment with the least deviation from the original sound.

A&K’s incremental EQ settings in A&K are very, very subtle (0.1dB +/-) because we expect our listeners are only looking for finer adjustment. You will not find a 10 db+ adjustment on any of our players. If you are looking for a drastic EQ change, then Astell&Kern DAPs are not for you.

Astell&Kern has always had the philosophy of bringing the most accurate reproduction of sound like it was recorded in the studio, without alteration. That does not mean the music will sound better with Astell&Kern players. Instead, all of our devices will reveal everything from the digital music files no matter if the performances are beautiful or disappointing, we will not color the sound to make it "sound better." Astell&Kern does not believe in digitally altering the sound which is also why we do not provide DSP or digital filters on our players. Fans of Astell&Kern purchase our products for our unique sound signature which is tuned on the hardware level. We also would never alter that sound signature via a software update. Astell&Kern has never meant to deceive anyone and the passive EQ has been discussed many times over the last 6+ years on the AK Head-Fi forums, on social media, in previous reviews and when we meet people at shows. If you are looking for a DAP that you can digitally alter the sound, an Astell&Kern DAP may not be the correct fit for you.

Here’s a good discussion on Passive vs Active EQ - https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-what-difference-between-passive-and-active-eqs

 

[omoanya]

Astell&Kern players organize and display tracks based on ID3 tags and ignore how they are arranged in folders. I would assume your ID3 tags need to be updated.

Thank you, this is very helpful I will focus on correcting the ID3 tags.

 

[zeroselect]

There have been pages of debate about AK's EQ implementation in a number of the other product threads including the SE100 thread. Some of it got pretty nasty with one Head-Fier personally attacking and threatening me about it, so I'm not looking to get into another debate about EQ. Here is our official statement on EQ implementation on AK devices:

Astell&Kern uses a passive EQ as opposed to active EQ used by other manufacturers. Active EQ does require an amplification after the audio signal processing. This can be done in one of two ways - by adjusting the output levels, but it would limit the audio output power to less than what the device can actually deliver at its max. The other option is to put an additional amp in after the main Op Amp, and that is very hard to do in such a small space within a DAP. At the same time, the amplification of Active EQ may add greater possibilities of coloration or distortion, which we want to avoid at all cost. That’s why we chose a passive EQ so that users can make proper tonal adjustment with the least deviation from the original sound.

A&K’s incremental EQ settings in A&K are very, very subtle (0.1dB +/-) because we expect our listeners are only looking for finer adjustment. You will not find a 10 db+ adjustment on any of our players. If you are looking for a drastic EQ change, then Astell&Kern DAPs are not for you.

Astell&Kern has always had the philosophy of bringing the most accurate reproduction of sound like it was recorded in the studio, without alteration. That does not mean the music will sound better with Astell&Kern players. Instead, all of our devices will reveal everything from the digital music files no matter if the performances are beautiful or disappointing, we will not color the sound to make it "sound better." Astell&Kern does not believe in digitally altering the sound which is also why we do not provide DSP or digital filters on our players. Fans of Astell&Kern purchase our products for our unique sound signature which is tuned on the hardware level. We also would never alter that sound signature via a software update. Astell&Kern has never meant to deceive anyone and the passive EQ has been discussed many times over the last 6+ years on the AK Head-Fi forums, on social media, in previous reviews and when we meet people at shows. If you are looking for a DAP that you can digitally alter the sound, an Astell&Kern DAP may not be the correct fit for you.

Here’s a good discussion on Passive vs Active EQ - https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-what-difference-between-passive-and-active-eqs

Personally I have jump the gun on any accusations. So I apologize for that. What is concerning is that there is little to no information on the product. This is my first A&K product so I am posting what I find using on my Cube. No where did I find any info about the EQ and what its doing on here. All of my DAP have had it where no changes were made when the EQ was turned on and left the slider untouched. Trough my own testing I did notice that there was no coloration or adjustment of the EQ just that everything was lowered (did also find that it isn't -5 gain but closer to -4.8 - -4.9 gain). I understand A&K has trade secrets that they don't want competitors stealing from them but I think the community as a whole would like more information on your products so we can make a better educated decision on our purchase needs. Having like minded audio enthusiast review your products rather than general tech reviewers would better help in building confidence in purchasing A&K products.

 

[fuhransahis]

Personally I have jump the gun on any accusations. So I apologize for that. What is concerning is that there is little to no information on the product. This is my first A&K product so I am posting what I find using on my Cube. No where did I find any info about the EQ and what its doing on here. All of my DAP have had it where no changes were made when the EQ was turned on and left the slider untouched. Trough my own testing I did notice that there was no coloration or adjustment of the EQ just that everything was lowered (did also find that it isn't -5 gain but closer to -4.8 - -4.9 gain). I understand A&K has trade secrets that they don't want competitors stealing from them but I think the community as a whole would like more information on your products so we can make a better educated decision on our purchase needs. Having like minded audio enthusiast review your products rather than general tech reviewers would better help in building confidence in purchasing A&K products.

I'm no expert on the extreme technicalities of EQ applications but on my DX200 DAP, both reps from iBasso as well as other very experienced and technically-capable Head-Fi'ers mentioned that it is something related to bit-perfect playback, that is, processing the audio file with virtually no tonal adjustments on the software side. When you turn EQ on, you are tweaking the sound via software, so the audio signal is no longer "pure", so to speak, and any sound signature difference you are experiencing from any other DAP or DAC/Amp is purely on the hardware side.

So it seems that for devices that do use proper software-level EQ, you'll experience a volume drop when you turn EQ on, even with all sliders on default position (yes, happens on DX200/DX220 as well).

 

[Sanada]

Too large for me.

 

[zeroselect]

Too large for me.

That's what she said.

 

[gazzington]

So sq wise, how does this compare to sp1000?

 

[nicodem]

OK guys, so I got mine unit yesterday. I got also SR15 for half a year now and Hugo2.
Idea was to replace these two with Kann Cube. I love sound and portability of SR15 but it cannot drive properly some headphones and I used this mostly with IEM.
Hugo2 - as a "half-portable" system so I could use this still at home but at coach, terrace etc with more demanding headphones. This worked perfectly but... as I love Hugo2 sound and possibilities, this is painful to connect with it another device as source. Makes it even harder to use as portable. I hated this and decided that perhaps Cube can replace these both.

Still thinking about this as there are pros and cons:
CONS
- size is way bigger then SR15, this is no longer fully portable device. I knew about this but still - seeing at photos and getting this in hand - makes a difference. This is huge. Not really a big deal if you are prepared for this
- trying to charge this with my DASH charge of Oneplus7PRO is impossible - it remains during a work at same % level of power or even slowly goes down. So this device needs dedicated, quickcharge (I suppose) charger. Bad thing for me as I like to got as low number of charges as possible. Still - this is not a big deal, when you know that DASH is not a standard charge system, works only with Oneplus.
- BIG one dissapointment for me - cannot get it working with Ropieee for Roon. It gets visible in Roon for 3-5 seconds and then disappears. This is bad for me as I was planning to use also Cube as standalone device. Looks like have to wait for direct support of Roon from Astell. But this can take long as they did promised this in December relases and still nothing... Shame on you AK!
- sound quality is nice but still cannot match my standalone - Burson Conductor V2+ and Hugo2 sound. Its more like SR15 sound with steroids for getting all headphones fully drivable
- would love to see option not to turn off screen when in car mode, without power supply needed to be attached.

PROS
- battery lifetime way better then SR15
- can drive any my headphones without any issues
- no hush sounds, buzzing etc with any IEM, even ones that do this with Hugo2 (which was also a problem for me as I love my Andromedas but cannot use them with Hugo2)
- screen size - way better then any other device, specially when you use car mode
- overall sound quality and signature - I like this, find it little dark but still - this is really nice one. Works perfect with any type of headphones I own.
- design. This is AK line and you know this right out of the box. Build quality etc.
- XLR and balanced - these could give you even more fun when you upgrade yours cables


First thoughts.

Now questoin to @JasonNYC - any idea why Roopieee cannot see this device after few seconds? I tried all settings - PCM/DSD etc options in menu.

 

[DarginMahkum]

- sound quality is nice but still cannot match my standalone - Burson Conductor V2+ and Hugo2 sound. Its more like SR15 sound with steroids for getting all headphones fully drivable

Well, good luck to you trying to beat a 7kg+ desktop system that costs about 2.5x the price, with an hand held player.

 

[DarginMahkum]

One interesting thing here: Looks like the new technology IEMs with electrostatic drivers are pretty hard to drive. I read somewhere that the SP1000 was not able to properly drive (if I am not mistaken) the VE Elysium and an extra amp was needed. I am talking about an IEM! Similar thing also with the RHA CL2 planars. So, the output power of SP2000 and Cube (and also the Cayin N8) might be the next high end DAP standard for next generation of IEMs.

 

[nicodem]

Well, good luck to you trying to beat a 7kg+ desktop system that costs about 2.5x the price, with an hand held player.

Actually these were bought cheaper for me, each one at very similar price then Cube so in terms of price they could fight. But of course Hugo2 is more like a vs product to AK Cube then standalone Burson. You pay more for mobile to get it mobile and yes, this is obvious.
But take a look at Hugo2 - it can still beat 90% of standalone systems at its price.

 

[nicodem]

- BIG one dissapointment for me - cannot get it working with Ropieee for Roon. It gets visible in Roon for 3-5 seconds and then disappears. This is bad for me as I was planning to use also Cube as standalone device. Looks like have to wait for direct support of Roon from Astell. But this can take long as they did promised this in December relases and still nothing... Shame on you AK!

Now questoin to @JasonNYC - any idea why Ropieee cannot see this device after few seconds? I tried all settings - PCM/DSD etc options in menu.

I got it working! You cannot set it to USB mode via SETTINGS MENU - this will disconnect with Ropieee after few seconds. You need to connect cable and then use DAC mode in upper menu only. First add this to upper menu. Then its working. Of course shows nothing at display but works as DAC/AMP properly.
With this I could wait for proper support of Roon. Its a nice workaround.
In Roon you see this as ALSA driver.