Astell&Kern Launches New R-2R DAP and IEMs at High End Munich 2023

[Kobe4ever]

My first tests between my SP3000 and my new SE300.
Premise: the SE300 has only a few hours of use, so it hasn't yet had the burn-in of the SP3000.
I used the Aroma Thunder, with PWA First Times cable
All the same songs were streamed on Qobuz, using equal volume on the two DAPs.
SE300 setting : High Gain , NOS, Amp AB
SP3000 setting : DAR on PCM
First things first: the SE300 sounds very natural, with a pleasant analog lean, with excellent balance, wide soundstage, deep bass, raised mids, airy highs.
The synergy with the Aroma Thunder is fantastic !
BUT : SP3000 is Better : In every song, the SP3000 gives you a more neutral detailed sound, with a wider soundstage, which gives even more airiness to the highs. The bass is powerful but even more controlled , the mids are superlative .
So both DAPs are , to me , fantastic and complementary .
And I'm not surprised that the SP3000 is the real TOTL, but the SE300 has great potential.
I'll have to try it with Jewel too and plugged into my A100TB amp
These are just my first impressions, without claiming to spread the absolute truth

 

[John Blackshear]

About 72 hours on the SE300 and I cannot really see how I could ask much more from the DAP. I will do a 1:1 with the N8ii over the weekend.

 

[Bookutus]

Anyone compared SE300 with DX320 Max?

 

[Eric21]

Hello the same question with se200 :
Anyone compared SE300 with SE200 ?
Thanks

 

[Tomz1313]

So...after a couple of hours with this AK gem all I can say: bravo AK! I'm absolutely in love with this AK R2R tuning!! It's even more analog sounding than the Hiby RS8 to my ears but without loosing details or clarity. They managed to keep their house sound but in a more pleasure way..at least to my ears (had the SE180; SE200 and SP2000T)...they were always to bright sounding for my taste...but with this SE300, AK nailed it!! I'm listening with the U12T which is a fantastic IEM IMO. The SE300 sounds very good in all modes...I'm listening mostly in NOS / Class A / Low Gain to my jazz tunes...really a pleasure...absolutely TOTL level imo. I've around 1.5TB music on it (approx. 27'000 tracks) using a micron 1.5TB card without problems. The SE300 scanned the card in approx. 50Min...not bad for an AK player I think . I like their new UI...simple to use, fast and until now no problems with the library or tags etc. After start and initial scan the SD card shows up for Folder browsing...no problems here unlike the SP3000...maybe is also OK now I don't know.

The SP3000 costs around CHF 4'200 in Switzerland (which I would never pay for sure...)...and the SE300 CHF 2'100 (same on board memory size, same screen, OS and battery size as SP3000...), absolutely worth every penny imo and the best and fairest AK release to date. I'm looking forward to more hours with this gem...happy listening!!!

 

[CharlyBrown]

What does this icon in the notification bar mean that gets activated as soon as you connect an IEM (B with waves on top and bottom)?

 

[JasonNYC]

What does this icon in the notification bar mean that gets activated as soon as you connect an IEM (B with waves on top and bottom)?

Balanced output

 

[Tomz1313]

What does this icon in the notification bar mean that gets activated as soon as you connect an IEM (B with waves on top and bottom)?

Balanced headphone connection...

 

[CharlyBrown]

Balanced output

Balanced headphone connection...

That makes absolute sense. Thank both of you!

 

[ctaxxxx]

Compared to the FiiO M17, the SE300 has a more airy, deeper soundstage, and fuller upper bass. The M17 bass does dig deeper and tighter, and the soundstage sounds wider to me. However, all my headphones sound better with the SE300, especially the Meze 109 Pro. It was always a touch too bright here and there, but now it's pure, bass-thumping fun.

Even with something like the ZMF Atrium that's 300ohms, I still prefer the SE300 surprisingly. Some songs do feel under amped, but when I line out to the Cayin HA-3A tube amp, it just elevates everything further. The pairing is my golden combo right now.

Having said all that, I am a bit disappointed in the responsiveness of the UI. Using apps like Spotify and V-Link (YouTube) is noticeably slower on the SE300. The M17 loads faster, is much snappier in general, and has an open Android environment. I use Spotify a lot, so it's hard to ignore.

Internally - Folder view (the only view I use) is perfectly fine when scrolling through my micro SD card, so no issues there.

Despite that last bit, I massively prefer the SE300, both as a standalone device and paired with my HA-3A tube amp. It's a phenomenal R2R dap without the TOTL pricing (It's still pretty expensive though).

 

[CharlyBrown]

Having said all that, I am a bit disappointed in the responsiveness of the UI. Using apps like Spotify and V-Link (YouTube) is noticeably slower on the SE300. The M17 loads faster, is much snappier in general, and has an open Android environment. I use Spotify a lot, so it's hard to ignore.

I'm also disappointed by the UI speed! Especially after the first reviews that said the 300 had the same performance like the 3000 which is false.

Spotify is btw the worst performing app on the 300 for me. Apple Music is my main service (runs so-so all animations stutter) and currently I'm also using Tidal (runs ok, lag showing album art when changing songs) and Spotify (the worst, becomes totally unusable when canvas ist turned on) for music discovery.

@JasonNYC could you please let your colleagues look into this? Maybe there is still room for optimization with a software update? Spotify (even with canvas on) was even running very good on my SE200. It's not so nice to have a brand new (and also expensive) device that doesn't even run the current versions of streaming software right. What will be with the next updates of Spotify & co?

 

[searchingtom]

I'm also disappointed by the UI speed! Especially after the first reviews that said the 300 had the same performance like the 3000 which is false.

Spotify is btw the worst performing app on the 300 for me. Apple Music is my main service (runs so-so all animations stutter) and currently I'm also using Tidal (runs ok, lag showing album art when changing songs) and Spotify (the worst, becomes totally unusable when canvas ist turned on) for music discovery.

@JasonNYC could you please let your colleagues look into this? Maybe there is still room for optimization with a software update? Spotify (even with canvas on) was even running very good on my SE200. It's not so nice to have a brand new (and also expensive) device that doesn't even run the current versions of streaming software right. What will be with the next updates of Spotify & co?

I have one also and it is the most surprising deficiency in a somewhat expensive DAP. Compared to the DX320 it is kind of shocking how laggy the SE300 is. One would think this would have surfaced during testing. I would rather pay another $100 to have a better experience.

 

[Reebonz]

I'm also disappointed by the UI speed! Especially after the first reviews that said the 300 had the same performance like the 3000 which is false.

Spotify is btw the worst performing app on the 300 for me. Apple Music is my main service (runs so-so all animations stutter) and currently I'm also using Tidal (runs ok, lag showing album art when changing songs) and Spotify (the worst, becomes totally unusable when canvas ist turned on) for music discovery.

@JasonNYC could you please let your colleagues look into this? Maybe there is still room for optimization with a software update? Spotify (even with canvas on) was even running very good on my SE200. It's not so nice to have a brand new (and also expensive) device that doesn't even run the current versions of streaming software right. What will be with the next updates of Spotify & co?

It's worth noting that SP3000 boasts a Snapdragon 6125 (665) octa-core CPU, putting it on par with other mid-range and high-end DAPs.

I noticed that the product page for SE300 only mentions that it has a quad-core CPU, which is likely the same one found in the SR35. As a result, it's unlikely that it will have the same performance capabilities as SP3000.

Even the SE200 has an octa-core CPU. Not sure about the exact specs but probably still faster than the SE300. Putting a lower tier SOC on the SE300 seems like an odd choice

 

[twister6]

I'm also disappointed by the UI speed! Especially after the first reviews that said the 300 had the same performance like the 3000 which is false.

Spotify is btw the worst performing app on the 300 for me. Apple Music is my main service (runs so-so all animations stutter) and currently I'm also using Tidal (runs ok, lag showing album art when changing songs) and Spotify (the worst, becomes totally unusable when canvas ist turned on) for music discovery.

@JasonNYC could you please let your colleagues look into this? Maybe there is still room for optimization with a software update? Spotify (even with canvas on) was even running very good on my SE200. It's not so nice to have a brand new (and also expensive) device that doesn't even run the current versions of streaming software right. What will be with the next updates of Spotify & co?

Wait, are you comparing a specific app's user interface, running side-by-side in front of you between SE300 and SP3000? Please, enlighten me, cause that's what it sounds like. In my review during a very short period of time when I had SE300 on loan, the performance of the new version of user interface (general functionality) was on par with SP3000 and faster then SE180 where I had all 3 side-by-side, in front of me, running the latest fw. And that is what I specifically stated as my opinion in my review, even mentioning I can't run benchmark apps to quantify it. Nowhere did I mention or compared user interface while running specific streaming apps between SE300 and other A&K or open Android DAPs. You keep bringing it up here and in other head-fi threads about being mislead by "other reviews", which btw getting kind of old, but I'm yet to see how my mentioning of the new improved user interface in SE300 being on par with the same new user interface in SP3000 (general user interface) has anything to do with your disappointing experience of running some of the specific 3rd party side-loaded apps?

I understand your frustration and glad you are expressing it here in the forum, as you should, since A&K rep is reading, replying, and will take it as a feedback to their design team. So, yeah, A&K will have to review this based on the feedback from users who spend extended time testing, comparing, and voting with their wallets.

 

[CharlyBrown]

It's worth noting that SP3000 boasts a Snapdragon 6125 (665) octa-core CPU, putting it on par with other mid-range and high-end DAPs.

I noticed that the product page for SE300 only mentions that it has a quad-core CPU, which is likely the same one found in the SR35. As a result, it's unlikely that it will have the same performance capabilities as SP3000.

Even the SE200 has an octa-core CPU. Not sure about the exact specs but probably still faster than the SE300. Putting a lower tier SOC on the SE300 seems like an odd choice

The 3000 btw btw is also far from perfect with regards to UI / streaming apps performance. It is not perfectly smooth with streaming apps unlike any smartphone cheap or expensive. But it is faster than the 300.

That being said, the sound quality of the 300 is top notch, there is nothing I would criticize here. And streaming is useable, especially if you don’t „stream“:

My tip for using streaming apps now would be to pre-download your favorite playlists so that the actual streaming (on the fly download while listening) is kept to a minimum. That improves (at least my 3) apps a lot.

On the fly streaming is also useable but if you are allergic to lag, not perfect.

Wait, are you comparing a specific app's user interface, running side-by-side in front of you between SE300 and SP3000? Please, enlighten me, cause that's what it sounds like. In my review during a very short period of time when I had SE300 on loan, the performance of the new version of user interface (general functionality) was on par with SP3000 and faster then SE180 where I had all 3 side-by-side, in front of me, running the latest fw. And that is what I specifically stated as my opinion in my review, even mentioning I can't run benchmark apps to quantify it. Nowhere did I mention or compared user interface while running specific streaming apps between SE300 and other A&K or open Android DAPs. You keep bringing it up here and in other head-fi threads about being mislead by "other reviews", which btw getting kind of old, but I'm yet to see how my mentioning of the new improved user interface in SE300 being on par with the same new user interface in SP3000 (general user interface) has anything to do with your disappointing experience of running some of the specific 3rd party side-loaded apps?

I understand your frustration and glad you are expressing it here in the forum, as you should, since A&K rep is reading, replying, and will take it as a feedback to their design team. So, yeah, A&K will have to review this based on the feedback from users who spend extended time testing, comparing, and voting with their wallets.

Specific, I don’t know. I compare 3 of the main streaming apps (Apple, Spotify, Tidal).

Yes, I read you review and had no more questions regarding performance after that. I wasn’t aware by the time that you only compared the naked local UI (with a couple thousand of songs, the local player is also a little slower than the 3000. Try pushing the 3-dot button to show more of the artist etc.). But yes, I should have asked you if you also tested streaming apps as I know you are very responsive here but I didn’t. My fault, I was naive & wishful thinking.

Moreover I’m actually not that unsatisfied with the whole package. I absolutely love the design, looks, weight, especially of course sound quality. Battery life is nothing spectacular but ok. At the end this is still a great DAP, for me even the best A&K ever made. But yes, I am disappointed by the speed. They should have used a better CPU, maybe also more RAM, not sure.