[soundblast75]

So the Kann Alpha doesnt have a problem with regards to reading micro sd cards? Thanks for the heads up btw.

I have 2 sansa 400gb, no issues, just slow scanning first time

 

[eTHE2]

I have 2 sansa 400gb, no issues, just slow scanning first time

I can second that. No issues with Samsung (256Gb) or SanDisk (400Gb) cards or slot.

 

[Matpar]

I can second that. No issues with cards or slot.

ditto, 400G Extreme Sandisk, works a charm.

 

[earik]

Anybody else noticed that when streaming a playlist and not touching the player,after 5-6 songs, sometimes less sometimes more the alpha stops playing? I then need to switch on the screen and hit the play button again to resume. Same behavior with both Apple music and Qobuz. Before the last update it was streaming fine.

Yeah, same thing happened to me. At first I thought it was crappy wifi, which I complained about earlier. Turns out what was really going on was the auto shut down feature designed to turn the player off when nothing happening. For whatever reason, it wasn't recognizing that the side-loaded apps were playing music, and thought nothing was happening, so then every 30min the whole thing would just shut down. Drove me crazy for awhile. Then I started messing around, turned the auto shutoff option (in settings - timer) to 12 hours, and now it never kicks me off anymore. Try messing with that and see if it helps...

Earik

 

[HarlanDraka]

Yeah, same thing happened to me. At first I thought it was crappy wifi, which I complained about earlier. Turns out what was really going on was the auto shut down feature designed to turn the player off when nothing happening. For whatever reason, it wasn't recognizing that the side-loaded apps were playing music, and thought nothing was happening, so then every 30min the whole thing would just shut down. Drove me crazy for awhile. Then I started messing around, turned the auto shutoff option (in settings - timer) to 12 hours, and now it never kicks me off anymore. Try messing with that and see if it helps...

Earik

I did try to change the timer settings a couple of days ago but it did not seem to help. The Alpha does not completely switch off when streaming but stops to play music when not touching the player for a while. As you wrote, the alpha does not seem to recognize when third party apps are performing tasks and it appears to go into a sleep energy saving state after a while. I also suspect something was messed up in last update with energy saving settings of the Alpha which seem more “aggressive” .
Not completely a show stopper but a bit annoying.Hopefully they will fix this in next update. @JasonNYC

 

[Matpar]

I did try to change the timer settings a couple of days ago but it did not seem to help. The Alpha does not completely switch off when streaming but stops to play music when not touching the player for a while. As you wrote, the alpha does not seem to recognize when third party apps are performing tasks and it appears to go into a sleep energy saving state after a while. I also suspect something was messed up in last update with energy saving settings of the Alpha which seem more “aggressive” .

Not completely a show stopper but a bit annoying.Hopefully they will fix this in next update. @JasonNYC

It seems indeed to be a "fil rouge" in that sense, where basically the OS Is somewhat unaware of what the sideloaded app Is doing: I bet It has the same root issue as the other problem I mentioned when pausing an app and then resuming from the buttons without using the screen (@JasonNYC take note and pass It on if you can! ).

 

[sabatar]

Is there anyway, I can bypass the operating system and get Andoid on Alpha? Though everything is impressive about the Alpha DAP, the EQ is not good AT ALL.

 

[Matpar]

Is there anyway, I can bypass the operating system and get Andoid on Alpha? Though everything is impressive about the Alpha DAP, the EQ is not good AT ALL.

Imagine all the time spent by a manufacturer to "cook" a working, stripped down but lean and functional OS version from Android: this to provide a "closed environment" where most things are under control, or at least you try to reduce possibilities.
Then go through the question again, why someone would let that thing happen? Not to mention the warranty issues it might implies.

p.s.Btw I can EQ my isine 20 pretty fine, what is not convincing for you if I may?

 

[JasonNYC]

I did try to change the timer settings a couple of days ago but it did not seem to help. The Alpha does not completely switch off when streaming but stops to play music when not touching the player for a while. As you wrote, the alpha does not seem to recognize when third party apps are performing tasks and it appears to go into a sleep energy saving state after a while. I also suspect something was messed up in last update with energy saving settings of the Alpha which seem more “aggressive” .
Not completely a show stopper but a bit annoying.Hopefully they will fix this in next update. @JasonNYC

I don't have an ALPHA here to test, but will pass this on to our dev team to research.

 

[JasonNYC]

I read the kann had issues with 1TB cards and was not usable .. which was not a great thing to read, have those issues been mitigated on the alpha?

@JasonNYC

The main issue with the 1st gen KANN is the two sd card slots. Android does not work well with more than one external memory slot, which is why the majority of DAP manufactures who run Android OS limit their DAPs to 1 slot. There are exceptions, but there is a significant amount of dev work to get them to both function correctly and support large cards which is why there are very few out there.

All AK players over the last 3+ years officially support 1TB cards and their OS is optimized for larger capacity cards - SR15, SR25, SE100, SE200, SP1000, SP1000M, SP2000, KANN CUBE and KANN ALPHA. They should all accept up to 2TB cards without issue once available, which is the max size under the current SD standard. KANN ALPHA also is using a much newer version of Android OS, which improves external memory support.

 

[JasonNYC]

Is it possible to keep the LED indicator on a specific color, regardless of what format is being played?

You can have the LED default to always red by leaving the LED indicator turned on, but unchecking the two LED options - volume and bit-rate display. You cannot change it to another color.

Settings -> LED Indicator

 

[Luhar]

The main issue with the 1st gen KANN is the two sd card slots. Android does not work well with more than one external memory slot, which is why the majority of DAP manufactures who run Android OS limit their DAPs to 1 slot. There are exceptions, but there is a significant amount of dev work to get them to both function correctly and support large cards which is why there are very few out there.

All AK players over the last 3+ years officially support 1TB cards and their OS is optimized for larger capacity cards - SR15, SR25, SE100, SE200, SP1000, SP1000M, SP2000, KANN CUBE and KANN ALPHA. They should all accept up to 2TB cards without issue once available, which is the max size under the current SD standard. KANN ALPHA also is using a much newer version of Android OS, which improves external memory support.

Thanks Jason. What version of Android is alpha running?

 

[JasonNYC]

Thanks Jason. What version of Android is alpha running?

Android 9.0

 

[eTHE2]

As I recently purchased a Kann Alpha (my first A&K and loving it thus far), I am still working to get multiple streaming services to install and work on the Alpha. I know this has been covered but it seems there is lack of clarity regarding using XAPK vs APK files.

I’ve installed the XAPK referenced in the documentation - linked in Page 21 of this thread. I’ve subsequently attempted to install Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify apps (all APKs copied into the Open Services folder on the Alpha) from the APKPURE linked website. Thus far only one will install and actually run (Amazon). Apple will install but crashes upon opening the streaming service. Spotify cannot even be installed as the XAPK indicates it can’t parse the installed Spotify APK file. What am I missing?
Can 3 streaming services be installed in the device? I thought the quad core could run 4.

 

[JasonNYC]

As I recently purchased a Kann Alpha (my first A&K and loving it thus far), I am still working to get multiple streaming services to install and work on the Alpha. I know this has been covered but it seems there is lack of clarity regarding using XAPK vs APK files.

I’ve installed the XAPK referenced in the documentation - linked in Page 21 of this thread. I’ve subsequently attempted to install Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Spotify apps (all APKs copied into the Open Services folder on the Alpha) from the APKPURE linked website. Thus far only one will install and actually run (Amazon). Apple will install but crashes upon opening the streaming service. Spotify cannot even be installed as the XAPK indicates it can’t parse the installed Spotify APK file. What am I missing?
Can 3 streaming services be installed in the device? I thought the quad core could run 4.

I recommend downloading the Spotify APK directly from Spotify as this version is their most stable - http://download.spotify.com/android/SpotifyAndroid.apk

I don't use Apple Music and do not have a KANN ALPHA at home with me, so I cannot comment. I will have one of our support reps test and get back to you.