[vovkinson]

I sent mine back. My retired Iphone 6s is ten times faster than this 2023 audio "miracle". I can see SR35 open box almost in every web store now.

 

[someyoungguy]

To be clear I don't find it slow. It's plenty fine for navigating and selecting from my local music collection. Seems I can't upload a video on here, but there's no issue with processing speed for me.

 

[PhenixS1970]

I'm happy with the speed (and sound) of the player as well (Samsung PRO, fast 500GB SD card with about 400 albums). Also 0 delays as a ROON endpoint, which sold me on getting one.

 

[godlikegamer]

You forgot the Astell & Kern SP1000 model (without the letter M) this one is rarely sold on the secondary market.
Returning to the subject of the AK SR35, which everyone approaches with caution, after the SR15, SR25 and after a while the SR25mk2
- which are new and unsold are still on the shelves.
The new DAP SR35 has the advantage that it is more refined and NEW UI/UX - Crimson - but Astell & Kern SR35 II - will surely appear soon

just wondering what can be added?

 

[Strale]

I am very pleased with the SQ of SR35. If I would need to describe the sound, for SR35 I would say exactly the same as what @someyoungguy said for AK HC3 in this thread:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/usb...s-find-the-best.908839/page-303#post-17453315

Natural, transparent, slightly warm. Very detailed.
Both AKG K-712 and K-371 sounds very nice with SR35. Finally K-712 is not fatiguing me no more . Previously listening AKG K-712 via Lynx L22 and Heed CanAmp (also via SoundBlaster AE-5 Plus). SR35 is absolute winner (that is my first DAP, I have no previous experiences with DAPs, but sounds better to me than many internal sound cards I tested)

@someyoungguy one question. Could you please compare SQ of SR35 with AK HC3 DAC cable? Based on my impressions for SR35 and what you said for HC3, it seems to me like those two have similar sound signature, however I would like to hear from you from the first hand. I am considering to buy a good external DAC, so HC2 or HC3 might be some options (if good as SR35 or close to it).

Thanks!

 

[rlw6534]

I'm happy with the speed (and sound) of the player as well (Samsung PRO, fast 500GB SD card with about 400 albums). Also 0 delays as a ROON endpoint, which sold me on getting one.

I'm OK with the speed but it is pretty slow overall TBH... Most importantly though, it plays music just fine and everything seems to work. I would like to see Roon ARC especially since @JasonNYC said it runs Android 11. In fact, I don't really understand why it is missing?

 

[someyoungguy]

I am very pleased with the SQ of SR35. If I would need to describe the sound, for SR35 I would say exactly the same as what @someyoungguy said for AK HC3 in this thread:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/usb...s-find-the-best.908839/page-303#post-17453315

Natural, transparent, slightly warm. Very detailed.
Both AKG K-712 and K-371 sounds very nice with SR35. Finally K-712 is not fatiguing me no more . Previously listening AKG K-712 via Lynx L22 and Heed CanAmp (also via SoundBlaster AE-5 Plus). SR35 is absolute winner (that is my first DAP, I have no previous experiences with DAPs, but sounds better to me than many internal sound cards I tested)

@someyoungguy one question. Could you please compare SQ of SR35 with AK HC3 DAC cable? Based on my impressions for SR35 and what you said for HC3, it seems to me like those two have similar sound signature, however I would like to hear from you from the first hand. I am considering to buy a good external DAC, so HC2 or HC3 might be some options (if good as SR35 or close to it).

Thanks!

Hey, glad my thoughts have been helpful, and glad to meet another happy SR35 owner I agree this thing's great, just a nice total package and sound. I've found similar to you that the treble is less intense than some other sources I own. Initially I had wondered if it was 'dark' sounding, as in emphasizing the treble less. But I've come to the conclusion the treble is all there, just somehow less fatiguing.

I played around with switching between HC3 and SR35 a bit tonight. In general I find that dongles tend to have a slightly thinner weight to their notes, with more of a left-right sense of space rather than a truly three dimensional sound. Even though dongles are increasingly competitive for such small devices (and great bang for the buck these days), most DAPs I've heard have more of a sense of solidity to the instruments and better sense of soundstage depth and height than a dongle.

I hear these same traits in the HC3 - SR35 comparison. HC3 comes across as having a more left-right sense of stage, with slightly less definite position of instruments, compared to a more pinpoint, solid feeling of placement with the SR35. SR35 also has a bigger, more immersive sense of space, with a greater sense of blackness between the instruments. Sometimes I hear some deep bass notes creeping out from the mix with the SR35 that don't draw my attention so much with HC3. On it's own HC3 certainly sounds like the bass goes all the way down, but it seems there's just a smidge extra surprise down there with the SR35.

I tried 2 DAC mode on the SR35 as well for comparison. It's closer to the HC3 in terms of sound, but even then the SR35 still has a noticeably better sense of space, blackness and solidity of instruments compared to the HC3. Nevertheless, despite the HC3 not quite being on the same level, the overall tuning and timbre is actually quite consistent across the two devices. Obviously I'm a fan of the HC3 and I think A&K have done a really good job with it's tuning. But it seems to me that SR35 4 DAC mode is better than 2 DAC mode, and HC3 trails behind them both - even though it's good for a dongle.

All the above impressions are from the 3.5mm output of the SR35. I haven't compared SR35 with HC2 yet, which I have lying around but currently have no headphones with balanced cabling to test it with.

 

[rocketron]

Hey, glad my thoughts have been helpful, and glad to meet another happy SR35 owner I agree this thing's great, just a nice total package and sound. I've found similar to you that the treble is less intense than some other sources I own. Initially I had wondered if it was 'dark' sounding, as in emphasizing the treble less. But I've come to the conclusion the treble is all there, just somehow less fatiguing.

I played around with switching between HC3 and SR35 a bit tonight. In general I find that dongles tend to have a slightly thinner weight to their notes, with more of a left-right sense of space rather than a truly three dimensional sound. Even though dongles are increasingly competitive for such small devices (and great bang for the buck these days), most DAPs I've heard have more of a sense of solidity to the instruments and better sense of soundstage depth and height than a dongle.

I hear these same traits in the HC3 - SR35 comparison. HC3 comes across as having a more left-right sense of stage, with slightly less definite position of instruments, compared to a more pinpoint, solid feeling of placement with the SR35. SR35 also has a bigger, more immersive sense of space, with a greater sense of blackness between the instruments. Sometimes I hear some deep bass notes creeping out from the mix with the SR35 that don't draw my attention so much with HC3. On it's own HC3 certainly sounds like the bass goes all the way down, but it seems there's just a smidge extra surprise down there with the SR35.

I tried 2 DAC mode on the SR35 as well for comparison. It's closer to the HC3 in terms of sound, but even then the SR35 still has a noticeably better sense of space, blackness and solidity of instruments compared to the HC3. Nevertheless, despite the HC3 not quite being on the same level, the overall tuning and timbre is actually quite consistent across the two devices. Obviously I'm a fan of the HC3 and I think A&K have done a really good job with it's tuning. But it seems to me that SR35 4 DAC mode is better than 2 DAC mode, and HC3 trails behind them both - even though it's good for a dongle.

All the above impressions are from the 3.5mm output of the SR35. I haven't compared SR35 with HC2 yet, which I have lying around but currently have no headphones with balanced cabling to test it with.

Thank you for your write up.

I’m interested in the SR35 and have a few questions if I may?

I have owned the PEE51, W2 , M15 and currently using Ibasso DC03pro and DC04Pro as dongle dacs.
I feel the same as you that these dongles are very good at left and right separation, detail, and timing.
I can’t escape the fact that they lack a sense of depth and body.
Yes they get better connected to a portable amps but kind of defeats the objective.

I use a Mojo 2 far more than the dongles now and wondering how the SR35 would compare to the Mojo 2?

Have you used the optical output of the SR35 into other dacs?
Thinking of using it as a streamer .
Have you used the line out into other amps?
How’s the ability to drive headphones with the 2 gain stage?

Sorry for so many questions.
There isn’t many reviews out yet of it being used in any of the above ways.

Thank you.

 

[vovkinson]

Sorry for what I'm gonna say but I believe that you guys should be more critical to the products you're getting for your hardworking money. Let's admit - SR35 has many shortcomings and I'm sure AK is monitoring all our comments which help them understand what exactly should be fixed or updated in the next product line. As I mentioned in my previous posts - the DAP is extremely slow and this should not be acceptable. Why would AK do any better if the customer swallow whatever this company throw in "customers' plate"? They try to make less efforts while making more money. They watch our reaction to see how far they can get with their outdated hardware. as result - they have manufactured 4 generations of SR model( SR15, SR25, SR25II, SR35) with basically the same CPU. This should not be the case.
Again - This is just my personal opinion which I'd like to share with you.

Have a nice listening!

 

[RCracer777]

Sorry for what I'm gonna say but I believe that you guys should be more critical to the products you're getting for your hardworking money. Let's admit - SR35 has many shortcomings and I'm sure AK is monitoring all our comments which help them understand what exactly should be fixed or updated in the next product line. As I mentioned in my previous posts - the DAP is extremely slow and this should not be acceptable. Why would AK do any better if the customer swallow whatever this company throw in "customers' plate"? They try to make less efforts while making more money. They watch our reaction to see how far they can get with their outdated hardware. as result - they have manufactured 4 generations of SR model( SR15, SR25, SR25II, SR35) with basically the same CPU. This should not be the case.
Again - This is just my personal opinion which I'd like to share with you.

I'm no Astell&Kern fanboy, I don't even have one, but if you think that other manufacturers don't have drawbacks then I have bad news for you. All DAP's have drawbacks in one way or another. The DAP manufacturers have choices that they have to make to meet certain price points and they have to sacrifice something. The choice basically boils down to:

• General specs (CPU, RAM, internal memory, screen etc.)
• Audio Specs (DAC, AMP etc.)
• Build quality (material, fit & finish, QC)

But they can only choose 2 out of those 3 if, unless you don't mind to spend many thousands. Audio components are not cheap after all, nor is build quality for that matter. Found that out the hard way at my job that increasing build quality is a 3~4x increase in costs related to it. That stuff adds up quick beyond a certain point.
A&K went with sound quality and build quality, while others forgo the build quality improvements and improve the general specs instead. It's up to the buyer to to decide which are more important to them.
For me I'd probably choose audio specs (like everyone here) and build quality as the latter is the issue on my FiiO X7 Mk.II, which now has a barely functional volume wheel. Which is why I'm looking to replace it.

As for your statement about the SOC (CPU) not changing, you're actually wrong about that. I think you're confusing it with the DAC chip not changing.
The 1st gen SR15 had a Nexcell NXP4330Q SOC, the 2nd(½) gen SR25 & SR25 Mk.II had the Rockchip RK3326 which is a big improvement. And I think I read somewhere on a different site that the SR35 has a Rockchip RK3566, but I can't confirm this as I can't seem to find it anymore. If that is the case, the RK3566 is equal to or slightly better than a Snapdragon 435 which is a good improvement. But when the competition is implementing Snapdragon 660/665s, it does still lag behind significantly. So A&K has upgraded the SOC from the first to second generation and might have upgraded the SOC with the 3rd generation. It's the RAM and DAC that have stayed the same in case of the A&Norma line, although granted there now are 4 instead of 2 DAC chips. On aside note, iFi Audio is also guilty of this as they have been using the same DAC for I think 8 years now.

Other than the SOC, the SR35 does actually look competitive in it's price bracket (€750~€1000) as the main competition are the HiBy R6 Pro II and Shanling M6 Ultra, both of which have other issues. Besides slow is a relative term, I don't doubt that the M6U and R6 Pro II run circles around the SR35 in operating speed but it will still be faster than what I'm used to with the X7 Mk.II (Rockchip RK3188), so I'll probably perceive the SR35 as a faster device.

That said, A&K almost always being unclear about the general specs like the SOC and output power amongst others is something they should address. Sadly A&K's relying on it's brand name and reputation for sound and build quality has worked in the past and it probably will still work in the future, Apple is a good example of this. Although in Apple's case it's less about the SOC performance and more about not keeping up with other features.

Every one is allowed their own opinion and they have to be respected, so I don't want to take away your opinion which is based on actually owning and using the SR35. And FWIW I do largely agree with it. Either way, I plan to find out for myself whether the A&Norma SR35 any good or not this Sunday.

 

[rlw6534]

The SR35 has the Rockchip RK3326 or at least that's what it says in recovery...

 

[558698]

Sorry for what I'm gonna say but I believe that you guys should be more critical to the products you're getting for your hardworking money. Let's admit - SR35 has many shortcomings and I'm sure AK is monitoring all our comments which help them understand what exactly should be fixed or updated in the next product line. As I mentioned in my previous posts - the DAP is extremely slow and this should not be acceptable. Why would AK do any better if the customer swallow whatever this company throw in "customers' plate"? They try to make less efforts while making more money. They watch our reaction to see how far they can get with their outdated hardware. as result - they have manufactured 4 generations of SR model( SR15, SR25, SR25II, SR35) with basically the same CPU. This should not be the case.
Again - This is just my personal opinion which I'd like to share with you.

Have a nice listening!

While I definitely take issue with certain parts of A&K’s business practices, I am personally not extremely bothered by somewhat sluggish devices.
I find dated android versions (not to mention lack of firmware updates to address this) and downright awful WiFi implementations far more egregious.
Lacking transparency in pretty much EVERY department is also something I personally find very unappealing about the brand. (Seriously, what IS Teraton Alpha?)
But on the other hand, just to name something, their locked down Android ecosystem allows for greater finetuning in the sq department (if you ask me, anway).

On a specific note about the speed of these devices: Im sure everyone has their own way, but I basically always just start an album and listen to it front to back. Starting or queueing the next is a matter of seconds in most cases, and hardly a problematic experience (again, all my opinion).
Especially when taking into consideration that playback never drops for even a moment while looking for the next track/album/etc. (unless the WiFi drops…)

 

[morndewey]

Any firsthand info on use hours per battery charge, eg two vs four dac, hi and low gain?
I should’ve wrote in-hand

 

[someyoungguy]

Thank you for your write up.

I’m interested in the SR35 and have a few questions if I may?

I have owned the PEE51, W2 , M15 and currently using Ibasso DC03pro and DC04Pro as dongle dacs.
I feel the same as you that these dongles are very good at left and right separation, detail, and timing.
I can’t escape the fact that they lack a sense of depth and body.
Yes they get better connected to a portable amps but kind of defeats the objective.

I use a Mojo 2 far more than the dongles now and wondering how the SR35 would compare to the Mojo 2?

Have you used the optical output of the SR35 into other dacs?
Thinking of using it as a streamer .
Have you used the line out into other amps?
How’s the ability to drive headphones with the 2 gain stage?

Sorry for so many questions.
There isn’t many reviews out yet of it being used in any of the above ways.

Thank you.

Hey there,

I haven't tried using the line out feature yet, as I don't have an amp to feed it into. Also, the SR35 doesn't have optical out; I think the Kann and Ultima series are the only ones with optical out in the A&K line up. It does have USB out though. So far I haven't gotten it to work with my Mojo1, but I only have one cable with USB-C -> microUSB connections, and it might not be an OTG cable (I'm not actually sure where I got the cable from).

The SR35 and Mojo2 seem to retail for about the same price here, and in all honesty I think the Mojo2 would be hard to beat for sound quality. I think the decision between SR35 and Mojo2 would be more about convenience rather than sound quality, with the SR35 an all-in-one unit but the Mojo2 requiring a different source. So if you're happy to carry around a phone or other source connected to Mojo2 (or at a desk), I think you'd be hard pressed to beat it without heading up into flagship kind of money. I had one last year but personally actually preferred the Mojo1 so ended up selling the 2, but I seem to be in the minority there.

Also, for driving power unfortunately I'm the worst person to ask - while I often have a few different DAPs and DACs around, I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to headphones and currently only have the one - B&W P7s, which are sensitive and easy to drive. I'm using low gain at about 70-80 on the volume depending on the recording.

Sorry I probably haven't got many useful answers in there

 

[Strale]

Hey, glad my thoughts have been helpful, and glad to meet another happy SR35 owner I agree this thing's great, just a nice total package and sound. I've found similar to you that the treble is less intense than some other sources I own. Initially I had wondered if it was 'dark' sounding, as in emphasizing the treble less. But I've come to the conclusion the treble is all there, just somehow less fatiguing.

I played around with switching between HC3 and SR35 a bit tonight. In general I find that dongles tend to have a slightly thinner weight to their notes, with more of a left-right sense of space rather than a truly three dimensional sound. Even though dongles are increasingly competitive for such small devices (and great bang for the buck these days), most DAPs I've heard have more of a sense of solidity to the instruments and better sense of soundstage depth and height than a dongle.

I hear these same traits in the HC3 - SR35 comparison. HC3 comes across as having a more left-right sense of stage, with slightly less definite position of instruments, compared to a more pinpoint, solid feeling of placement with the SR35. SR35 also has a bigger, more immersive sense of space, with a greater sense of blackness between the instruments. Sometimes I hear some deep bass notes creeping out from the mix with the SR35 that don't draw my attention so much with HC3. On it's own HC3 certainly sounds like the bass goes all the way down, but it seems there's just a smidge extra surprise down there with the SR35.

I tried 2 DAC mode on the SR35 as well for comparison. It's closer to the HC3 in terms of sound, but even then the SR35 still has a noticeably better sense of space, blackness and solidity of instruments compared to the HC3. Nevertheless, despite the HC3 not quite being on the same level, the overall tuning and timbre is actually quite consistent across the two devices. Obviously I'm a fan of the HC3 and I think A&K have done a really good job with it's tuning. But it seems to me that SR35 4 DAC mode is better than 2 DAC mode, and HC3 trails behind them both - even though it's good for a dongle.

All the above impressions are from the 3.5mm output of the SR35. I haven't compared SR35 with HC2 yet, which I have lying around but currently have no headphones with balanced cabling to test it with.

Thanks a lot for such a detailed comparison!
This what you said for SR35:

...more pinpoint, solid feeling of placement with the SR35. SR35 also has a bigger, more immersive sense of space, with a greater sense of blackness between the instruments.

is something I was really pleasantly surprised of when I heard the device. None of the internal sound cards I heard (Lynx, Terratec, many SoundBlasters...) was able to do so.

Besides that, previously AKG K-371 could sometimes sound slightly sibilant but with SR35 it is no more. Also, K-712 is much smoother. As you said:

But I've come to the conclusion the treble is all there, just somehow less fatiguing.

I am curious about your statement that overall tuning and timbre are quite consistent between the SR35 and HC3. Am I wrong if I read it as HC3 is also non-fatiguing, slightly warm with clear tone definition?
If it is true, then I am a bit surprised because HC3 uses ESS ES9219MQ DAC while SR35 has Cirrus Logic CS43198 DAC. ESS DACs are somehow known for slightly harsher higher frequencies (I can confirm this from SoundBlaster AE-5 Plus with ES9016K2M DAC). If HC3 proves the opposite, that ESS DACs could sound at least a bit warm with non-fatiguing sound signature, then it confirms a huge importance of DAC implementation, not just the DAC chip itself.

Cheers.