[raypin]

Mm...A&K, from the very beginning, prioritized good design. It is the Apple of DAPs. This thing is just ugly, ugly, ugly looking. At a thousand bucks apiece, it is a given that not only must it perform well, with features that are competitive, it should also look good. This is a clear departure for A&K. What were they thinking? The Fiio X7 at less than usd400.00 looks much better.

 

[bflat]

My take on the design:
 

 

[Sound Eq]

well to me it looks good enough if it has the power that i can use it without an amp and stacking, as all daps I used I needed to stack an amp to them even for iems. So if the Kann is close to the power of Ak380 and amp I am all for it.
 
i feel judging by looks is not the right way to look at it and ignoring its features, and from my experience with daps what matters more is the dac brand and I love that dac and i do not care about dac quantity, and the power of the amp is very very important to me as well. So for 1000 usd I feel this will be a good hit, and if you are not pleased by the features then you can wait for next ak480 for 4800 usd and then stack an amp to it for an additional 1000 usd

 

[BrianD19]

It isn't the first dap to offer Type C USB.

 

[Sound Eq]

It isn't the first dap to offer Type C USB.

as if i care bout type c usb nice way to shake this thread, but i am cool with this comment

 

[BrianD19]

I wasn"t the first to mention it.

 

[bmichels]

This SD card is a very good news, but I will wait for Munich 2017 next month to see if A&K launch their AK4xx serie, with may be a 1 Tb INTERNAL storage.  Indeed, in Munich 2015 (2 years ago ! ), an A&K ingenier told me that 1 Tb SSD will be used in the successor of the AK380.  We will see....

 

[Levanter]

Yep not the first to implement the USB C, I just copied the whole description lol.
Will update it.

 

[fluffyberry]

I'm honestly pretty shocked AK even allowed this thing to go into production with a design like that. Coming from a company which has some of the edgiest and beautifully crafted DAPs on the market this looks like a bloated blob of something a 3-year old mashed out of play-dough next to it's much classier siblings. 
 
That said the specs are impressive but I think I'll skip this player as an upgrade from my AK100 ii

 

[AUDIOBREEDER]

14 hours.... next!

 

[Sound Eq]

so you guys like the combo ak380 and amp brick look more than the Kann, and then when they come up with a smaller form factor that nearly has the same power as ak380 and amp you all of sudden demolish its looks . And then also you complain that ak380 as a stand alone dap is not powerful enough7
 
for a powerwful dap you need to compromise on looks, look how ugly the Lootoo gold is

 

[Rei87]

  so you guys like the combo ak380 and amp brick look more than the Kann, and then when they come up with a smaller form factor that nearly has the same power as ak380 and amp you all of sudden demolish its looks . And then also you complain that ak380 as a stand alone dap is not powerful enough7
 
for a powerwful dap you need to compromise on looks, look how ugly the Lootoo gold is

Really? I think that the 1Z looks pretty nice, weight and size aside. Its hefty, without being too obnoxious. Plus, the 1Z has power galore. 

I am personally against the combo 380/amp, because the both components are held together via a single screw and the USB port, which makes for a really nice way to stress your USB ports. Its a mechanical design flaw which I have never quite been convinced wasnt a last minute decision. 

 

[Sound Eq]

 

Really? I think that the 1Z looks pretty nice, weight and size aside. Its hefty, without being too obnoxious. Plus, the 1Z has power galore. 

I am personally against the combo 380/amp, because the both components are held together via a single screw and the USB port, which makes for a really nice way to stress your USB ports. Its a mechanical design flaw which I have never quite been convinced wasnt a last minute decision. 

1z is gorgeous and I would really like to own it one day but its expensive for what it is now. Once prices go down or if someone would sell for a great great price I might just buy one. Is the 1z as powerful as ak380 and amp?

 

[Fink24]

Plus, the 1Z has power galore. 

250mW isn't exactly, what I would call powerful.
With 8.1 VRMS on the other hand you can power nearly any headphone on the market.

 

[Sound Eq]

  250mW isn't exactly, what I would call powerful.
With 8.1 VRMS on the other hand you can power nearly any headphone on the market.

that is my whole point that if ak kann has 8.1 or close 8.1 vrms then in book that is a winner and can be an end to dam stacking, honestly I do not care if its a dual, tripple, or quad dac anymore. As from real life experience a single great dac and a powerful amp is all that matters, much more than those jiberish dual, tripple, quad terms that mean nothing if the amp is weak