[Moebiushaydn]

I actually did address this in the past in this thread.

1st gen KANN is over 2 years old and was in development for another 24 months prior to release. The CPU isn't optimized for the newer version of Android that is needed for OpenApp to run properly. We have looked into updating and adding OpenApp, but it causes a degraded user experience, so we decided not to do so since KANN was originally sold as a playback only device and not a streaming device.

This is the same issue you see with Android-based mobile phones and a two year lifecycle with Android updates, even on flagship models.

All of the newest generation devices were designed and optimized from the beginning with OpenApp in mind.

If I recall correctly, Kann users were promised enhancements in lieu of OpenApp if it proved to be unfeasible. But they never came. In fact, I’ve never encountered a device commanding such a price premium that received so few updates in its lifetime.

 

[JasonNYC]

That’s good information, but many of us who purchased the Kann over the past year did by a streaming device, with Tidal and a couple others. With that said, why do you need “open app,” when AK can add Deezer and Qobuz on your end. Do you have an exclusive with Tidal? I’d think not since the newer devices have Openapp.

To be honest, I absolutely don’t buy that adding these two options would degrade performance, both apps work quite well on older android platforms.

It's not as easy as just "adding" the Android version of the apps into the current KANN OS. There would be a significant amount of development work that needs to be done. The embedded Tidal app was jointly developed by Tidal and AK and is a special customized version of Tidal optimized for Astell&Kern's customized version of Android.

 

[Thepantaloonduck]

I actually did address this in the past in this thread.

1st gen KANN is over 2 years old and was in development for another 24 months prior to release. The CPU isn't optimized for the newer version of Android that is needed for OpenApp to run properly. We have looked into updating and adding OpenApp, but it causes a degraded user experience, so we decided not to do so since KANN was originally sold as a playback only device and not a streaming device.

This is the same issue you see with Android-based mobile phones and a two year lifecycle with Android updates, even on flagship models.

All of the newest generation devices were designed and optimized from the beginning with OpenApp in mind.

Sorry Jason but I must disagree

Yes the Kann uses an old version of Android - but it is being sold to customers who are buying Kanns today and expect at least two years support going forward...

This is supposedly a premium product and I really expected it to be supported as such.

You also say that it is not a streaming device - but does include Wi-fi access, some streaming services and the ability to stream from a NAS - sounds like a streaming device to me.

Ok you say the cpu isn’t optimised for OpenApp (bit puzzled by this -are you saying that it isn’t powerful enough?) well there seems to me to be a simpler solution which would really help - add a browser to the Kann. It’s not as if this version of Android doesn’t come with one that is compatible...

If this was provided then other streaming services become accessible as well as having the ability to access networks that require browser based sign on which you can’t do at present.

Is this possible?


Best wishes

 

[Luke-]

Hi

I have a slight problem with regards to playlists and I was after some help if possible.
I don’t normally bother with playlists but as I’m going to canjam London I started to add tracks for testing etc over the past month.
The problem is I can add them no problem And see all playlist but when I want access playlists from main menu it just keeps loading and goes no further
Any ideas ?

Another question anyone know the cost of battery replacement ?

Thanks

 

[Terry Newton]

Hi! I bought my Kann 2 months ago, just before the announcement of the new Kann Cube. I don't know if the differences in sound signature are significant. Someone knows??????

I can say that I have both KANN and the Cube.The Cube opens up the soundstage so much so that you would think there never was a soundstage in the KANN.Highs seem higher,crisper,good smooth bass,overall very smooth sound.Lots of volume and the quality of sound just keeps getting better as I increase the volume.I have old ears but I can still hear most frequencies.It all sounds good to me.I know now how much better my cans sound,glad I bought the Cube and so is my brother because he gets the KANN as a gift cus he's my bro!

 

[Terry Newton]

Used the Cube for about an hour this morning and it sounded as good as it did yesterday.No buyers remorse from me.So this is how my Senns should sound.Battery usage surprised me,about 10% for the hour on high gain driving 300ohm cans with the volume turned up,was expecting a higher drop.Ran into a glitch or 2 yesterday but at least I have some of my tunes on it.Sure am hoping that the 1TB micro issue gets fixed sooner rather than later.Now I waiting for replacement ear pads.Also waiting to see how others like or dislike their Cube,problems and solutions.

 

[hellfire8888]

Sorry Jason but I must disagree
I agree with you. I bought the KANN with the expectation that it has at least 2 years support but i am wrong.

 

[FarmAndrex]

Hi

I have a slight problem with regards to playlists and I was after some help if possible.
I don’t normally bother with playlists but as I’m going to canjam London I started to add tracks for testing etc over the past month.
The problem is I can add them no problem And see all playlist but when I want access playlists from main menu it just keeps loading and goes no further
Any ideas ?

Another question anyone know the cost of battery replacement ?

Thanks

same problem and haven't found a solution. i even restored to factory.

 

[Newsee]

Hello:

Anyone has compared (in detail) the Kann and the Kann Cube? I have the classic Kann and I don't know if it's worth buying the new model. Thanks in advance!

First of all: soundwise. If you like your Kann, you might not necessarily like the Cube. It has a completely different sound signature. I went for it without auditioning, purely based on some positive feedback from the Cube thread. Failure. I thought the Kann was neutral, but sounds warm compared to the Cube.

On the Cube the harsh sound of some brass instruments is piercing my ears (e.g. very beginning of Carmina Burana from the London Philharmonic Choir) On the Kann it was bearable. Maybe I am just too sensitive to that. Wooden instruments are also having warmer sound on the Kann. I do not now what to do. Right now I am burning in the new sound signature to my brain, and hope that I will like it in a month. If not, I may have to turn on the EQ, which I prefer not to. Or swap to the Kann.

On the other hand, the Cube sounds cristall clear, the stage is wide open, surprisingly wide and deep. I will have to check it with Kann when I have the opportunity again. Maybe I was not giving much attention to that earlier.

I liked the bass on the Kann. On the Cube it might be tighter. I need some more listening time.

The power: As far as remember on Kann I was using around power level 120 on SE, 85 on balanced with LCD-3, and 90 on SE with AKG K812. Same on the Cube. The difference is that it was high gain setting on Kann, low on Cube.

The Kann was able to drive two cans at he same time, one on the 3.5 jack, one on the balanced 2.5. Nice feature for showing music to someone. It seems the Cube kan only drive one output at a time.

The Kann was big. But still fit comfortable to the palm and in a pocket. The Cube is HUGE. Its sharp edges and pointy corners
definitely need separate bag to carry. Its more a BRICK with it's half a kilo, but it does not sound that fancy from marketing point of view .

The Kann does not support natively streaming services like Qobuz (even if it was marketed hat it is prepared for every need even for the future), or Tidal offline listening. You can install the Qobuz app, or Spotify on the Cube pretty simply, however you need the help of a computer for it. Then it works as on any android phone.

The Kann can take a microSD and a full size SD card at the same time. The Cube can take only one microSD card, no SD. Right now I just remember something mentioned about external disc in Cube instruction manual, I have to check it up. It would be an interesting option.
However, I prefer streaming, so I do not mind too much the local storage.

The screen is bigger on the Cube. But it was OK on the Kann.

Once again: if you have the possibility, listen before buy, it is so much different.

 

[Oscarajo]

First of all: soundwise. If you like your Kann, you might not necessarily like the Cube. It has a completely different sound signature. I went for it without auditioning, purely based on some positive feedback from the Cube thread. Failure. I thought the Kann was neutral, but sounds warm compared to the Cube.

On the Cube the harsh sound of some brass instruments is piercing my ears (e.g. very beginning of Carmina Burana from the London Philharmonic Choir) On the Kann it was bearable. Maybe I am just too sensitive to that. Wooden instruments are also having warmer sound on the Kann. I do not now what to do. Right now I am burning in the new sound signature to my brain, and hope that I will like it in a month. If not, I may have to turn on the EQ, which I prefer not to. Or swap to the Kann.

On the other hand, the Cube sounds cristall clear, the stage is wide open, surprisingly wide and deep. I will have to check it with Kann when I have the opportunity again. Maybe I was not giving much attention to that earlier.

I liked the bass on the Kann. On the Cube it might be tighter. I need some more listening time.

The power: As far as remember on Kann I was using around power level 120 on SE, 85 on balanced with LCD-3, and 90 on SE with AKG K812. Same on the Cube. The difference is that it was high gain setting on Kann, low on Cube.

The Kann was able to drive two cans at he same time, one on the 3.5 jack, one on the balanced 2.5. Nice feature for showing music to someone. It seems the Cube kan only drive one output at a time.

The Kann was big. But still fit comfortable to the palm and in a pocket. The Cube is HUGE. Its sharp edges and pointy corners
definitely need separate bag to carry. Its more a BRICK with it's half a kilo, but it does not sound that fancy from marketing point of view .

The Kann does not support natively streaming services like Qobuz (even if it was marketed hat it is prepared for every need even for the future), or Tidal offline listening. You can install the Qobuz app, or Spotify on the Cube pretty simply, however you need the help of a computer for it. Then it works as on any android phone.

The Kann can take a microSD and a full size SD card at the same time. The Cube can take only one microSD card, no SD. Right now I just remember something mentioned about external disc in Cube instruction manual, I have to check it up. It would be an interesting option.
However, I prefer streaming, so I do not mind too much the local storage.

The screen is bigger on the Cube. But it was OK on the Kann.

Once again: if you have the possibility, listen before buy, it is so much different.

FINALLY!!! Thank you!!!

 

[hellfire8888]

If it is powerful enough to run a browser and youtube, i dont see why it cannot run other apps..

 

[Terry Newton]

The disc mentioned is the default setting when connected to a computer to transfer files and as far as I know not for connecting an external hard drive or something else??I happen to have a 1TB external hard drive and if I could connect it to the Cube and play tunes from it well that would be nice!(The KANN Cube)

 

[Luke-]

same problem and haven't found a solution. i even restored to factory.

@JasonNYC
Any chance you could help or have any input on the playlists not loading ?

Thanks

 

[Thepantaloonduck]

Hi

I have a slight problem with regards to playlists and I was after some help if possible.
I don’t normally bother with playlists but as I’m going to canjam London I started to add tracks for testing etc over the past month.
The problem is I can add them no problem And see all playlist but when I want access playlists from main menu it just keeps loading and goes no further
Any ideas ?

Another question anyone know the cost of battery replacement ?

Thanks

Hi there

I think this may be down to the way in which the KANN does (or more correctly does not) deal with corrupt file contents and bad read/writes to the internal and external storage.

If one or more of your playlists was corrupted when copied over to the KANN then this may have killed the playlist service on the KANN..

When I first got it, I had a succession of problems due to the KANN (or at least some of the apps running on it) either crashing or looping due to either trying to update the cache or failing to read part of a music data file.

(IMHO this may well be down to poor coding and testing of the software on the KANN – with the developers not fully coding failure exceptions for I/O problems and the software testers not stress testing the applications for these use cases. While the KANN is a superb piece of audio electronics design, its software engineering seems to leave a lot to be desired).

Things that I tried which usually fixed the problems were firstly to either:

i. Power the KANN off, then ejecting the SD cards and replacing them with a single FAT formatted but totally empty replacement and then doing a Soft Reboot.
ii. As above, but removing all audio from the internal storage (including the demo stuff) as well to force a complete data purge

If either of these stops the looping I then you can try re-inserting the SD cards with the music on them and see what happens – if it starts looping again then the problem is on the storage card and repeat as above and I guess a reformat and recopy is needed.

If this is the case you could try a binary chop to isolate the suspect playlist by copying half of your data on and trying it – if its OK then the problem is on the second half of data and so on..

But to be honest I would just zap all the playlists..

If the above fails, then I guess you will have to do a factory reset. You will need to check the playlist application on the KANN is working by copying a small amount of stuff onto it.

If not then the only other solution I can suggest is to contact iRiver in Germany who may be able to help (they may also be able to deal with your battery problem btw)

DM Solution
Address : Ober der Roeth 4
65824 Schwalbach, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 6196 / 953 573 0
Fax.: +49 (0) 6196 / 953 573 3
e-mail : info@astellkernservice.de
Attn : Maria Hwang

Incidentally, for me, my problems have (mostly) gone away since I stopped using the Android file transfer tool to move stuff from my Mac. Instead I copy directly to an SD card and use a utility called OpimUSB to zap the apple specific hidden stuff from the card before plugging it into the KANN.


Best wishes

 

[Thepantaloonduck]

If it is powerful enough to run a browser and youtube, i dont see why it cannot run other apps..

Hi

As having a fully working browser on the KANN would make life so much easier I emailed A&K support with a link to the video and to ask them how to do this - their reply was

This customer might access brower though installed apk, but we are not sure which route he reached there.

Regards,

AK CS Team. ​

As usual not very forthcoming but it does imply it may be possible to load extra functionality onto the KANN via APKs

(On an Android device in theory you can simply drop an APK file into the downloads directory on the device, click it and it will load and run...)

There is a downloads directory on the KANN and I am tempted to give this a go with (ideally) a Chrome APK - but just wondered has anyone ever tried this for any APK?

If so what happened

Regards