[wazzupi]

Hello jasonnyc could you possibly find out if the kann cube in dac mode is capable of running past the battery ? If not is there a way to keep it charging while its in dac mode ?!?!

@JasonNYC

 

[thecrow]

Yes, KANN CUBE includes a leather case in the retail box. It's similar to the case for the SP1000 AMP. I thought I took some pics of it, but can't find it in the moment. Below are the pics of the SP1000 case. The KANN CUBE has a similar design on the back.

KANN CUBE does not come with a case. It is a separate purchase.

Thanks for confirming. It looks like things changed from plans in May (from a post back then)

 

[Newsee]

Im having trouble with my computer recognizing dac mode, with my kann cube it works for a few seconds and once the button on the bottom of the screens shows "connect to media" it cuts the connection. but my kann stays in dac mode but my computer doesn't show its connected.

I had the same problem recently a few times. Pretty annoying. Disconnect/reconnect the USB cable, turn off/turn on Cube, or restart the computer were the recovery actions. Next time I will pay more attention to the circumstances, not just to the recovery.

 

[eetony]

Anyone using AK CD ripper2 with the Cube? Thinking of picking one up.

I have it. Max rip is 16/44.1 however the SQ is top notch, noticeable difference compare to my pc rom ripper with easy audio copy. Its full body and less rough, rip all my CDs collection again, good investment for me. Be prepared to spend lot of time as it rips really slow , with medium (fast) speed and error correction enabled.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Has anyone tested Cube against the Cayin N6II (with the default audio board)?

 

[DanDorn]

Had my Kann Cube around three days, upgraded from an AK70 mk2, what a difference. It may be a lot of money but in my opinion worth every penny. I tried a few tracks, Low by the Foo Fighters for example, that the AK70 could get a bit ragged sounding in parts, the cube handled everything I tried with a vice like grip, I love it!

AK70 (1st Gen) is my favorite DAP after the in-a-class-by-itself Kann Cube, but I've always used it as a music transport matched with either the Cypher Labs Theorem 720 or Centrance Hifi M8. I agree with your assessment of the Cube, it's amazing.

 

[LinstantX]

Has anyone tested Cube against the Cayin N6II (with the default audio board)?

Forehead to forehead few people compared, but if you evaluate each device separately, the cube tends to neutrality, and N6/2 to drive, musicality. Like that.

 

[SeeSax]

@mightyKyn you are the second or third person I have heard say that the Kann Cube destroys the Sony TA-ZH1ES. Now, it's getting hard for me to ignore! I love my TA-ZH1ES, but would like something a little more practical since a lot of my listening is done with a laptop these days. I already have a nice DAP, but the Kann could be a nice "stay home" rig that can serve as a DAP, USB DAC for my desktop or laptop, etc. and also my only source of music is Tidal. It seems like this thing was made for my use case, other than I have at least 10 IEMs with 4.4mm cables. UGH! I hate adapters and it's why I went 4.4mm in the first place.

Anyway, before my thinking-out-loud rant above I was going to ask: could you elaborate a little bit on the TA-ZH1ES test you did vs. the Kann Cube? I saw the PHA-3 which I would expect it to handily beat, but I'm still surprised that a top of the line desktop rig was easily slaughtered by the Cube. Would love to know more, any details you can!

-Collin-

 

[Newsee]

A few questions in dac mode is there no way to keep the battery charged or out of the way of the dac/amp ? Because i ran into my kann cube battery dying on me and turning off. Also how does the openservice work ?

What type of USB you are using? How long does it take for you until Cube is off power starting with battery full? According to standards USB2 is capable of 500mA, USB3 is cabable of at least 900mA delivery. Cube needs more than 900mA during normal operation (playing music, screen many times on). However, I am not sure that Cube is taking any power from the USB port during USB DAC mode.

@JasonNYC
Could you please clarify with your technical department, if Cube supposed to charge itself during USB DAC mode?

Improvement suggestion: it would be nice to have some status info during USB DAC mode, e.g battery/charging status, current bitrate mode of DAC, etc. instead of the stupid almost black screen.

The whole thing was a bit cleverer solved on the original KANN, where there were two separate ports, one for charging and data transfer, one for DAC. So it was possible to use an exteral high performance power supply during DAC operation.

For the Cube one could put an externally powered USB switch between the PC and the Cube. But before investing such hardware I would like to know if the Cube would use it, as asked above.

 

[JasonNYC]

Hello jasonnyc could you possibly find out if the kann cube in dac mode is capable of running past the battery ? If not is there a way to keep it charging while its in dac mode ?!?!

@wazzupi Sorry I missed this. Most USB ports are not capable of providing enough power output to charge the KANN CUBE while using it as a USB DAC. Power output on computer USB ports fluctuate considerably among manufacturers and vary depending on what port you are connected to on a computer. I'm not sure there is any way possible to charge it while using it via DAC mode.

For the 1st gen KANN, we had separate USB Audio and charging ports - USB DAC and USB Audio out via micro-USB and charging via USB-C, so you could charge and use the USB DAC/Audio Out at the same time. I'm not aware of any DAPs that can be used as USB DACs and will charge at the same time. If someone knows of one, please let me know. I will see if there is a possibility of some sort of adapter to charge and use the USB port at the same time. I know Apple has them for the lightning port and I believe there are USB-C ones for smartphones that do not have headphone jacks. I will speak to our hardware team and see if something like that can be used.

 

[audio-]

I'm not aware of any DAPs that can be used as USB DACs and will charge at the same time. If someone knows of one, please let me know. I will see if there is a possibility of some sort of adapter to charge and use the USB port at the same time. I know Apple has them for the lightning port and I believe there are USB-C ones for smartphones that do not have headphone jacks. I will speak to our hardware team and see if something like that can be used.

I can't speak to DAPs, but there are many portable DACs that will enter "desktop mode" when connected via USB for long-term usage as a DAC. For example the iFi xDSD will transition to desktop mode where it maintains the battery at 70% charge while functioning as a DAC when connecting to a computer via USB-C. Similarly, the Chord Hugo 2 transitions to desktop mode when connected to a power USB source. In both cases, the battery is bypassed and the USB power on the cable is used instead. These are DACs, but why not for a DAP?

 

[Newsee]

Question: I have a very nice but unbalanced hi-fi system, what is the best quality output to use on Cube to get audio in to my system? My input options are RCA or optical Toslink. Right now am using the Cube 3.5 audio out direct to rca input. The manual says the 3.5 is also optical but am not sure about converting to toslink. Also wondering is a custom mini xlr balanced to rca unbalanced would be the best wired solution. FWIW I'm having fairly good results with this little bluewave aptxhd receiver going into my hifi.

It depends on the very nice hi-fi system.

If its DAC section is better than the one in the Cube, use an optical Toslink cable. Connect one end to the Cube's 3.5 port, the other end to the Toslink input of the hi-fi. You may have to buy an appropriate cable, or a toslink/3.5mm adapter to a normal toslink cable. This case a digital PCM signal is transmitted from Cube to hi-fi, which is not sensitive to electrical noise. The D/A conversion happens on the hi-fi.

If you want to benefit from the super DAC of the Cube, use the 3.5mm output with a 3.5mm to RCA electrical cable.

As far as I understood the different explanations I've read so far, balanced output shall not be connected to single ended input, it may even damage the amplifiers.

I suspect the wired connection will give better results than aptxhd - in that case the small bluewave makes the D/A conversion, plus some compression applies from aptxhd. Please keep us updated, including what hi-fi you have.

 

[Newsee]

I can't speak to DAPs, but there are many portable DACs that will enter "desktop mode" when connected via USB for long-term usage as a DAC. For example the iFi xDSD will transition to desktop mode where it maintains the battery at 70% charge while functioning as a DAC when connecting to a computer via USB-C. Similarly, the Chord Hugo 2 transitions to desktop mode when connected to a power USB source. In both cases, the battery is bypassed and the USB power on the cable is used instead. These are DACs, but why not for a DAP?

The Cube needs more power than a standard USB3 can provide, that is why you can not "bypass" the battery. See my previous post. It might use it combined, though. We have to wait JasonNYC to confirm if it does.

 

[Newsee]

I'm not aware of any DAPs that can be used as USB DACs and will charge at the same time. If someone knows of one, please let me know.

I know one: A&K KANN
Please do not miss my post #789, just before yours.

 

[wazzupi]

I do believe dac mode kills the battery slower as I have kept it on for over 10 hours no problem.