[RIGATIO]

My pa10 arrives in a couple hours, cant wait to give my first impressions when paired with sp1000 via balanced interconnect.

 

[NeoDiNardo]

The USB-C DAC mode on the Kann Ultra works well.
There is no lack of synchronization between the image on the PC and the sound from the DAP.
You need to install the driver on your PC (I wrote about it earlier, you download it from the A&K website or it is in the DAP folder itself)
Connecting the USB cable from PC to ULTRA - automatically starts the data transmission mode (deafoult)
If you want to use the USB-DAC mode, turn on Settings - USB-DAC mode (2 clicks) and the computer sees Kann Ultra as a sound card.

-In this mode, Ultra does not charge (even when you connect it via USB Thunderbold)
-In this mode, the volume control in Windows does not work - it is set to 100%, you adjust the volume in DAP.
-In this mode BT mode does not work

Whether the colors should change depending on the set bit depth - I don't know.
But even when I set it to the highest 32 bit (the PC has a powerful modern processor)
it doesn't change - the color is red like 16bit not 32bit blue.

Pc and Mac? How about iOS or Android?

 

[RIGATIO]

More power, better dynamics, tighter and punchier bass, bigger soundstage, more everything

 

[123peter]

Pc and Mac? How about iOS or Android?

At Android too is ok.
examp Samsung Galaxy connected to Kann Ultra - sound and image are synchronized (movies,YT...). I don't use Mac.

 

[sg2k]

@JasonNYC
Hi will there be also USB Drivers (Bit-Perfect Playback) for Windows?

 

[JasonNYC]

@JasonNYC
Hi will there be also USB Drivers (Bit-Perfect Playback) for Windows?

For the HB1?

https://astellnkern.com/support/dow...bsType=download&pageSize=10&page=1&langType=1

 

[Gymboy]

More power, better dynamics, tighter and punchier bass, bigger soundstage, more everything

So can you drive DT1990 Pro or LCD2 2021 like myself on M17 or all of this for IEMs?

 

[RIGATIO]

So can you drive DT1990 Pro or LCD2 2021 like myself on M17 or all of this for IEMs?

I dont like full sized headphones and have only Sundaras. It can drive them easily.
From what i remember, it sounds better than the M17 which was dry, flat and lacked refinement the pa10 has.

 

[Gymboy]

Yes M17 is more technical than musical, with enormous lvl of details, 3D stage and big robust bass, LCD2 2021 closed back makes ears flap. In no way a flat device..
Anyways to the point, Astell Kern is stating this is pure class A device, then says battery life is 12 h on 30%volume and low gain. Doesn't "real" class A consume roughly a same amount of power no matter is it idle or does it play?! Remember my class A power amp would get red hot if I left it on and was same if I would played music.

 

[RIGATIO]

Yes M17 is more technical than musical, with enormous lvl of details, 3D stage and big robust bass, LCD2 2021 closed back makes ears flap. In no way a flat device..
Anyways to the point, Astell Kern is stating this is pure class A device, then says battery life is 12 h on 30%volume and low gain. Doesn't "real" class A consume roughly a same amount of power no matter is it idle or does it play?! Remember my class A power amp would get red hot if I left it on and was same if I would played music.

It is class A amp and even sounds like one. No dap ive heard/had when played by itself, sounded as good and characteristic as when paired with the pa10.
There is a typical class A power, bass, smoothness and warmth that is hard to confuse with something else.
When listening via 4,4 in/out, high current, low gain, at 30%, im getting around 7h of playback. Today im using different dap via 3,5, high current, high gain, around 30% of volume and after 2h the LED indicator is still white which means that the battery has more than 70%.
The device gets slightly warm with time but never hot.

 

[123peter]

This is a thread about Astell & Kern Kann Ultra and no entries from other owners, only mine?
Does anyone have any observations about connecting the laptop with Win11 to Ultra via USB, which I asked about earlier?

JasonNYC - how do you think Kann Ultra should behave after connecting a laptop with Win11 to it,
when the bit depth is set on the laptop to 24 or 32 bit, the color should change in Ultra or no. (on my Ultra led indicator is still red)
Maybe Ultra only has a limit of 16 bit (red colour) in USB-DAC mode ?
How do I know what sampling and bit depth the USB signal reaching the DAP when after switching the Ultra to USB-DAC mode
there is no any information about incoming signal on the Ultra screen?
Would it be possible to add these two useful parameters, a bit similar as in FIIO DAPs below?

 

[Huckle]

I received mine yesteday and I got the very same battery problem: right after a complete charge, my battery dropped to 92%. It could only be a software issue, though. The plastic housing also feels very, very cheap. So far, those are the only two complaints I got. Other than that, the BT1 performs pretty well.

@JasonNYC Hi Jason. Any news regarding an upcoming firmware update for the HB1? This battery problem needs to be fixed.

 

[NeoDiNardo]

How smooth is the A&K OS software nowadays? I wanted to get the copper gold flagship Sony Walkman generation 2, however, the OS is reported to be slow.

 

[123peter]

How smooth is the A&K OS software nowadays? I wanted to get the copper gold flagship Sony Walkman generation 2, however, the OS is reported to be slow.

The latest Astell & Kern UI/UX crimson works very smoothly and quickly, especially on DAPs with octa-core, 8-core processors
there are only two such DAPs: A&K SP3000 and KANN Ultra.
Below is a video of my friend comparing the operation of Kann MAX (old UI and 4 core) vs Kann Ultra vs SP3000

 

[JasonNYC]

@JasonNYC Hi Jason. Any news regarding an upcoming firmware update for the HB1? This battery problem needs to be fixed.

I apologize for the delay. Still getting caught up from the US Thanksgiving holiday last week. Slowing getting to everything. I have been passing along the issues as they come in, just have not had a chance to update the thread. I am sorry about that.

This is most likely a software/firmware issue with the app incorrectly reporting the battery level. The HB1 that I have does not display these issues but is also running on a developer firmware version that is slightly different than the retail firmware version. Should have feedback on this hopefully in the morning.