[mynamesjeff]

Thanks for

I use the audioquest evergreen 3.5mm to rca into a pioneer elite receiver that is real similar to your receiver and it sounds amazing. I'm playing albums purchased on hdtracks and master quality streamed from tidal. Make sure you are enabling line out properly. You have to turn it on in the menu and then turn the volume wheel to get the volume screen to come on, then click where it says line out on the volume screen and select ok. Then the volume will be fixed at the selected line out voltage. It should sound great unless there is some weird setting in the reciever. It should be set to analogue for that imput or try another imput. Also make sure you are playing high quality files. I see you have the sennheiser 800s's. How are they with the kann alpha? I might get a pair.

Thanks for the reply. Yeah i have alot of DSD and high quality FLAC files that i want to play.
I think you're right about the line out stuff. It is very confusing on the manual. I'm sure i didn't set the voltage correctly. PS what is the recommended voltage to set?

I was also told i may need to set the AV receiver to direct mode to get rid of any DSP the AV receiver may add extra distortion. Is that right?

Haven't tried the HD800s with my alphas yet but will definitely let you know the synergy when i try it later

 

[mynamesjeff]

Figured it out. So originally i stuffed up because i put the rcas in the phono spot which was a big no no as the sound was horrendous. But it was the only way i was able to get output.



I didn't realise there is an input assign section in my denon av receiver settings to set the output to come out of analogue outs. They were set on optical for the CD mode hence why i was not getting any output. I put my Kann Alpha on line out mode and set it to 2v and we're away. Thanks so much all for the advice. I feel like a nuffy not being to work it out till now.



Lastly Is it better to set it as pure direct or on stereo mode?

 

[Andrew Harper]

Hi Andrew. I also have the HD660s Sennheisers.
Are you using them with the balanced cable? I listen to mine with the balanced and prefer the sound. Might be just me of course !
Although I still think I prefer the sound of the Fiio FH7 IEMs I have, over the 660hds.

Hi, thanks for the feedback.

Yes I listen with the balanced cable. I have the amp set on "mid" as I found that I had some crackling on songs on the high setting, almost like they were being overdriven or it could be the way DBPoweramp has ripped them. Never had the issue before.

Are you on mid as well or maybe the lower setting?

I think the issue could be (and I had this with the Pioneer as well) these types of players are so transparent that if a recording is not great it will sound perfectly fine with a run of the mill player or phone but with these sorts of players it ends up just sounding a bit "thin" because it may expose any weakness in the original recordings.

So for example I have all the Foreigner albums in Hi-Res and they sound superb (although again very little in the way of bass, tonnes of detail though).

I have a few soundtracks too, for example I was listening to 1917 film soundtrack in Hi-Res last night, and again just superb levels of detail, however no real depth behind the low notes.

I then listened to some Joe Bonamassa (lastest album). CD rip in FLAC and it's just not very musical. Tonnes of detail again but very little warmth to the sound, which you need for this type of music otherwise it starts to become tiring to listen to (in my view anyway).

I previously had (and still do) the Pioneer XDP-300R, I then bought a Fiio A5 as a way of driving the 660's as I was almost at max with the amp in the Pioneer. Can't run them in balanced with that setup though.

I went with the A&K because I liked the sound of the more robust amp stage, the 4.4mm balanced output, and the newer specs of bluetooth. The build quality is superior too. Feels much more solid than the Pioneer which you had to treat gently otherwise you could see things breaking.

I don't know, I've never used a pair but maybe my stupid ears have become Beats tuned! (the horror! lol)

I do have a pair of B&W PX7's as well (as a wireless option) so I'll play around with those too and see if a closed back solution is what my ears are looking for! The downside is of course you can't install the matching app that works with them (like I could on the Pioneer). However most of the options are available via buttons on the headphones themselves.

The Focal range seems to get very good write-ups but it's a huge jump in budget (over twice the price of the 660's) so a big risk to take.

 

[MikeW9788]

Figured it out. So originally i stuffed up because i put the rcas in the phono spot which was a big no no as the sound was horrendous. But it was the only way i was able to get output.



I didn't realise there is an input assign section in my denon av receiver settings to set the output to come out of analogue outs. They were set on optical for the CD mode hence why i was not getting any output. I put my Kann Alpha on line out mode and set it to 2v and we're away. Thanks so much all for the advice. I feel like a nuffy not being to work it out till now.



Lastly Is it better to set it as pure direct or on stereo mode?

You should be able to do direct and pure direct in stereo.

Figured it out. So originally i stuffed up because i put the rcas in the phono spot which was a big no no as the sound was horrendous. But it was the only way i was able to get output.



I didn't realise there is an input assign section in my denon av receiver settings to set the output to come out of analogue outs. They were set on optical for the CD mode hence why i was not getting any output. I put my Kann Alpha on line out mode and set it to 2v and we're away. Thanks so much all for the advice. I feel like a nuffy not being to work it out till now.



Lastly Is it better to set it as pure direct or on stereo mode?

I prefer direct to pure direct because pure direct removes the room correction if you do the sound calibration with the microphone. Pure direct also bypasses the eq settings. On my system direct sounds better. I would try both and use what sounds best to your ears. I wish I knew the optimal line out voltage. I set it so the sound level is approximately the same as a cd or blue ray would be at the same volume setting. In my car it sounds best line out at the lowest .7v setting. This is another case of having to trust your ears but I wish their was a definitive answer.

 

[MikeW9788]

Hi, thanks for the feedback.

Yes I listen with the balanced cable. I have the amp set on "mid" as I found that I had some crackling on songs on the high setting, almost like they were being overdriven or it could be the way DBPoweramp has ripped them. Never had the issue before.

Are you on mid as well or maybe the lower setting?

I think the issue could be (and I had this with the Pioneer as well) these types of players are so transparent that if a recording is not great it will sound perfectly fine with a run of the mill player or phone but with these sorts of players it ends up just sounding a bit "thin" because it may expose any weakness in the original recordings.

So for example I have all the Foreigner albums in Hi-Res and they sound superb (although again very little in the way of bass, tonnes of detail though).

I have a few soundtracks too, for example I was listening to 1917 film soundtrack in Hi-Res last night, and again just superb levels of detail, however no real depth behind the low notes.

I then listened to some Joe Bonamassa (lastest album). CD rip in FLAC and it's just not very musical. Tonnes of detail again but very little warmth to the sound, which you need for this type of music otherwise it starts to become tiring to listen to (in my view anyway).

I previously had (and still do) the Pioneer XDP-300R, I then bought a Fiio A5 as a way of driving the 660's as I was almost at max with the amp in the Pioneer. Can't run them in balanced with that setup though.

I went with the A&K because I liked the sound of the more robust amp stage, the 4.4mm balanced output, and the newer specs of bluetooth. The build quality is superior too. Feels much more solid than the Pioneer which you had to treat gently otherwise you could see things breaking.

I don't know, I've never used a pair but maybe my stupid ears have become Beats tuned! (the horror! lol)

I do have a pair of B&W PX7's as well (as a wireless option) so I'll play around with those too and see if a closed back solution is what my ears are looking for! The downside is of course you can't install the matching app that works with them (like I could on the Pioneer). However most of the options are available via buttons on the headphones themselves.

The Focal range seems to get very good write-ups but it's a huge jump in budget (over twice the price of the 660's) so a big risk to take.

I don't think your distortion is from the player it's prob from the rip as I find those are harsher then their high res counterparts. I use high gain a lot of the time even at lower volumes as I feel it adds some fullness to the sound. That is still something I am messing with. I can crank it way too loud and it doesn't distort. BTW you can get a 4.4 to 2.5 adapter and use balanced on the Pioneer.

 

[MikeW9788]

Don't know if anybody is a joe satriani fan here but his albums from hdtracks are refrence quality and sound insanely good from this player. Watched a YouTube video where he details all the things they did during recording and mastering as the reason even he older stuff still holds up today. I like Joe Bonamassa as a player but I have some of his vinyl releases and their sound does not hold up. I search him on tidal later and see how his stuff sounds on their.

 

[Andrew Harper]

BTW you can get a 4.4 to 2.5 adapter and use balanced on the Pioneer.

Thanks, what I mean is the Fiio amp doesn't have a balanced output, yes I have one of the adaptors for the Pioneer player which I found very useful for sure

 

[Andrew Harper]

Don't know if anybody is a joe satriani fan here but his albums from hdtracks are refrence quality and sound insanely good from this player. Watched a YouTube video where he details all the things they did during recording and mastering as the reason even he older stuff still holds up today. I like Joe Bonamassa as a player but I have some of his vinyl releases and their sound does not hold up. I search him on tidal later and see how his stuff sounds on their.

Yes I have about four or five Satriani albums and I agree they all sound amazing.

Joe B doesn't really agree with the whole Hi-Res thing and so therefore there isn't much around. I think two albums are in 24bit 44.1 and that's it. The last album he's released and the British Rock Explosion. Surprised really as they push all the other formats and I would imagine it's a good way of making extra revenue.

Some would be amazing in a proper Hi-Res release though. One of my favourites is his acoustic concert in Vienna, I just love that album.

 

[MikeW9788]

Yes I have about four or five Satriani albums and I agree they all sound amazing.

Joe B doesn't really agree with the whole Hi-Res thing and so therefore there isn't much around. I think two albums are in 24bit 44.1 and that's it. The last album he's released and the British Rock Explosion. Surprised really as they push all the other formats and I would imagine it's a good way of making extra revenue.

Some would be amazing in a proper Hi-Res release though. One of my favourites is his acoustic concert in Vienna, I just love that album.

I'll be sure to check our that acoustic album. I purchased a metallica acoustic album on hd tracks that sounds amazing. I think it's called helping hands.

 

[adityadubey]

On a slightly tangential note, does anyone have experience with the Astell & Kern CD Ripper? Is it worth it in terms of sound quality of the rips or is it a convenience thing with a premium price tag?

 

[Scorpio1957]

Hi,

I have the first version and I use it with my AK70 and AK 380 Copper and it’s definitely worth it for the quality of ripping my CD’s.

Enjoy your music and keep.

Tony

 

[Siigari]

I'm regrettably returning mine. Having turn on my phone's hotspot to connect to wifi is a non-starter. It's a nice player, both in looks and in music playback, but that's where the nice ends and the struggles begin.

 

[newworld666]

I'm regrettably returning mine. Having turn on my phone's hotspot to connect to wifi is a non-starter. It's a nice player, both in looks and in music playback, but that's where the nice ends and the struggles begin.

.. and the list of bugs/limitations is rather long.
I wonder right now how A&K products could be accepted on the market with such poor buggy software.
I still own Fiio M9, Fiio M11, Hiby R6pro, WM1A .. all have known limitations, but are working as they should when I bought them and they work far better than the latest of the A&K Daps.

 

[MikeW9788]

.. and the list of bugs/limitations is rather long.
I wonder right now how A&K products could be accepted on the market with such poor buggy software.
I still own Fiio M9, Fiio M11, Hiby R6pro, WM1A .. all have known limitations, but are working as they should when I bought them and they work far better than the latest of the A&K Daps.

It is unacceptable to have these problems. I feel lucky the second one I brought seems to work perfectly. It's like a lottery.

 

[blotmouse]

.. and the list of bugs/limitations is rather long.
I wonder right now how A&K products could be accepted on the market with such poor buggy software.
I still own Fiio M9, Fiio M11, Hiby R6pro, WM1A .. all have known limitations, but are working as they should when I bought them and they work far better than the latest of the A&K Daps.

fwiw, my SE200 is rather flawless. It's sad you all are having so many issues with the Alpha as it's generationally similar.