Astell&Kern Launches New A&norma SR35 Player
- Thread starter JasonNYC
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- a&norma astell&kern dap mqa qobuz roon ready sr35 tidal
meomap
Headphoneus Supremus
Always error out from OTA at home.....
Wifi......is fast.....
İ sure astell kern new year update planning
All waiting updates but why? Already sr35 work well i cant see any bad about firmware ( only needed Support more apps apk add )
All waiting updates but why? Already sr35 work well i cant see any bad about firmware ( only needed Support more apps apk add )
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rlw6534
Headphoneus Supremus
Agreed, need to eliminate or at least modify whitelist for additional apps such as Roon ARC and Apple Classical. I keep hoping the whitelist will be eliminated and maybe the SR35 would be a good device to start the trend with...
KF6GPE
New Head-Fier
So, I received mine this week, and while a beautiful unit, I've had nothing but trouble.
1. MTP to the microSD is unusably slow. I've got a high-speed Lexar 1TB card, and in using MediaMonkey to copy files, it times out about every ten files. So I have given up on that and transferred my library using a USB microSD card adapter.
2. Is there a maximum number of media files that this thing supports? I have on the order of 20K FLAC files, and once I got them to the card, I've had it hung in a media player startup boot loop while indexing. The player starts, shows a blank song, parks for about twenty seconds, the screen goes black, and then it restarts.
I've tried this with two different cards. I've also tried wiping the settings by doing a full reset and starting over. This occurs with both the stock firmware and the latest update.
I did a quick search for details on both of these and haven't turned up answers. All thoughts appreciated.
1. MTP to the microSD is unusably slow. I've got a high-speed Lexar 1TB card, and in using MediaMonkey to copy files, it times out about every ten files. So I have given up on that and transferred my library using a USB microSD card adapter.
2. Is there a maximum number of media files that this thing supports? I have on the order of 20K FLAC files, and once I got them to the card, I've had it hung in a media player startup boot loop while indexing. The player starts, shows a blank song, parks for about twenty seconds, the screen goes black, and then it restarts.
I've tried this with two different cards. I've also tried wiping the settings by doing a full reset and starting over. This occurs with both the stock firmware and the latest update.
I did a quick search for details on both of these and haven't turned up answers. All thoughts appreciated.
İ read before in head fi 1Tb card slow in sr35 for that
İ buy Samsung evo ultra 512gb work well even slow card 130mb one
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Hi there!
Would the sr35 be able to drive full-headphones? Thinking about Focal Utopia. I have been look everywhere but I could not really find an answer.
Considering this or the Kann Max, and while the latter would fit the task, I would never carry that big brick around.
Thanks for the help!
Would the sr35 be able to drive full-headphones? Thinking about Focal Utopia. I have been look everywhere but I could not really find an answer.
Considering this or the Kann Max, and while the latter would fit the task, I would never carry that big brick around.
Thanks for the help!
Hi @francerex
I can't comment on the Focal Utopia as I haven't heard it. And I only own one full headphone.
But I own the DAPs mentioned by you.
The Kann Max is capable to drive full headphones. It is compact and heavy and I need to decide everytime whether I really want to carry the Kann Max with me.
Mostly the SR25 MK2 and now the SR35 wins. But I'm only using IEMs.
To experience great sound in the league of the Kann Max, I paired my SR35 with the Astell & Kern PA10. This portable class A amp sounds very nice and is a very good addition to the SR35. A combination I also prefer when traveling and listening in hotels.
You may also have a look on the thread dedicated to the A&K PA10: Link
I can't comment on the Focal Utopia as I haven't heard it. And I only own one full headphone.
But I own the DAPs mentioned by you.
The Kann Max is capable to drive full headphones. It is compact and heavy and I need to decide everytime whether I really want to carry the Kann Max with me.
Mostly the SR25 MK2 and now the SR35 wins. But I'm only using IEMs.
To experience great sound in the league of the Kann Max, I paired my SR35 with the Astell & Kern PA10. This portable class A amp sounds very nice and is a very good addition to the SR35. A combination I also prefer when traveling and listening in hotels.
You may also have a look on the thread dedicated to the A&K PA10: Link
KF6GPE
New Head-Fier
OK, so update & happy customer here.
MTP is in fact slow.
But the real problem I had --- the media player quitting and restarting --- was due to a microSD formatted as exFAT, not FAT. I knew the difference, just pulled the card from my other device and popped it in expecting it to index the media library and just work. Oops! Jose at Moon Audio set me straight with a couple of quick emails, and what took me so long in posting back here was the delay in getting stuff on the card. A&K answered too, with the same info. Once I got the card loaded up and in the unit, it took a while to index, which people had warned me about and that's OK.
So some general comments on the unit now that I have it working.
0. The build quality is good. Really, really good. It has a nice heft in the hand, and it's a good size. I'm not about to drop it (if I can help it) or pound nails with it, but it definitely feels like it would survive both. It's something I'm happy just picking up and putting down.
1. Once the card is indexed the media player navigation is fine. Fast scrolling, good browsing, reasonable time loading album art. I don't feel like I'm waiting for anything when I go to pick my music. I like the navigation metaphors now that I'm finding my away around. I'm still a little slow getting to the top bar where you chose Artist/Album/Genre/whatever --- from a given list you click the v it's slow to load the menu. I'm not sure if the hit area is too small, or if it's doing something, or both.
2. I like the visual theme skin / red look. It's not a reason to pay this much for a DAP, but liking it Is good.
3. I've not done a whole bunch of listening yet, but so far it sounds great. Every bit as good as I hoped. I'm hoping to do some comparisons with the old Sony NW-A57 when I have time in the next few days.
4. Ditto on battery life --- so far it seems fine.
5. Having Tidal, Spotify, and Qobuz is definitely a nice step up from non-Android DAPs. I am looking forward to using that around the house.
Kudos to Jose at Moon Audio and the A&K folks for getting back to me so promptly, and I'm quite happy that my issues were me being an idiot and not anything else. When I'm thinking about headphones, I'll definitely give the Moon Audio folks a shot at my business, and A&K has ensured another happy customer.
meomap
Headphoneus Supremus
Either mojo2 or WA Tube Mini is better for you with Utopia.
KF6GPE
New Head-Fier
A
That I can't comment on --- I don't have a pair., just consumer stuff (the Bose and an old pair of V-Modas). But I'd be curious to know, too.
Thanks for the input!
I was able to test today the Utopia with the s35 of a friend. Happy to say that they get loud enough at 95/150 in high gain mode.
Everything sounds beautiful and controlled.
The A&K PA10 is not needed imo and the Kann Max would definetely be an overkill for it.
With the current low prices for SR35 and the even lower price of Kann Max due to the introduction of the newer version of KANN Ultra.
This is a very interesting comparison.
The fact is that the SR35 is a truly portable DAP.
But will you walk down the street with it listening to music on Focal Utopia?
- If not, the Kann series is a more future-proof model with potential.
Kann's is in a different league of A&K DAPs not only because of its power but also because of the solution and architecture used.
This is a very interesting comparison.
The fact is that the SR35 is a truly portable DAP.
But will you walk down the street with it listening to music on Focal Utopia?
- If not, the Kann series is a more future-proof model with potential.
Kann's is in a different league of A&K DAPs not only because of its power but also because of the solution and architecture used.
Could you elaborate a bit on that? I am a noob when it comes to DAPs
I will probably not walk around with the Utopia, I agree, but I like the idea of keeping it open to the possibility of using it for IEMs in the future. Hence, unless it truly provides a superior sound experience, I would prioritize portability over power
SR35 is a great, truly portable DAP (small, light, handy, long battery life, well made, with the Crimson UI refined by A&K, now at a better price than after the premiere).
It's a great companion for hiking, traveling, etc. adventures.
But
If after reading this thread you miss something about the SR35 or
the above features are not that significant (especially size and weight) and you want to jump a floor higher to higher power, better sound quality at a much lower price, go to the thread about Kann Max (there are a few people there who switched from the SR series to KANN and why made it) or the latest Kann Ultra - but Ultra is a higher price.
It's a great companion for hiking, traveling, etc. adventures.
But
If after reading this thread you miss something about the SR35 or
the above features are not that significant (especially size and weight) and you want to jump a floor higher to higher power, better sound quality at a much lower price, go to the thread about Kann Max (there are a few people there who switched from the SR series to KANN and why made it) or the latest Kann Ultra - but Ultra is a higher price.
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