[CT007]

Wow, BA drivers instead of DD? I'm sold!

 

[blackwolf1006]

I really love that AK is hitting the market with there own ear buds. Do you Happen to know if they plan to release some thing similar to the IFI go Pod or Shure True Wireless Adapter gen2. I think the market need a more premium and compact option and this would allow consumers that own IEMS from AK or other companies to use them wirelessly.

 

[mucklechumps]

Wow, BA drivers instead of DD? I'm sold!

Actually BA driver. Only plural if you count one in each ear.

 

[123peter]

I'm sure that in the next version of A&K UW100 MK III - there will be 2xBA, ANC and LDAC
- these are such annual increases in the tension of listeners.

By the way, manufacturers have cool ideas or don't put ANC in the headphones at all to convince that passive isolation is doing the job,
or
like in Focal Bathys or Final Audio ZE8000 - ANC it's welded up and you can't turn off ANC at all.

 

[babarrun]

I'm sure that in the next version of A&K UW100 MK III - there will be 2xBA, ANC and LDAC
- these are such annual increases in the tension of listeners.

By the way, manufacturers have cool ideas or don't put ANC in the headphones at all to convince that passive isolation is doing the job,
or
like in Focal Bathys or Final Audio ZE8000 - ANC it's welded up and you can't turn off ANC at all.

Hope so. I don't see why more manufacturers just don't pay Sony the license fee when selling such premium TOTL products. Most DAP's don't have aptX adaptive but almost all do have LDAC.

Most people on this forum value sound quality and just don't see how they will be satisfied without LDAC when used to wired buds.

 

[SynaestheticA]

Hope so. I don't see why more manufacturers just don't pay Sony the license fee when selling such premium TOTL products. Most DAP's don't have aptX adaptive but almost all do have LDAC.

Most people on this forum value sound quality and just don't see how they will be satisfied without LDAC when used to wired buds.

LDAC is still problematic with connection across a lot of devices. APTX Adaptive is still the best codec imo.

Sound difference pretty insignificant once moving around.

 

[maujag]

I am loving my original UW100's. every day. However, there was some room for improvements wrt the user experience (a.o. only predefined equliser presets, some connectiviy issues (e.g. not able to connect to laptop via bluetooth)). With these new updates / upgrades in the UW100MKII versus the original UW100's, can we expect a firmware update for the originals UW100's as well? I see the MKII's will see additional options in the app, such as customisable equaliser, but also have less (aforementioned) connectivity issues. Are these updates we can also expect for the UW100's? As those are just a year old, I would expect A&K would help first version owners via firmware updates and not simply refer to the new model.

 

[babarrun]

LDAC is still problematic with connection across a lot of devices. APTX Adaptive is still the best codec imo.

Sound difference pretty insignificant once moving around.

agree with you that LDAC connection can be spotty. My Sony A306 is awful and cant' hold the best LDAC connection at all. It also breaks with a short distance from the device. The DX320 supports it like a champ and is clear with much more distance.

now if only more DAP's carried aptX adaptive (none of mine do)

 

[mainguy]

agree with you that LDAC connection can be spotty. My Sony A306 is awful and cant' hold the best LDAC connection at all. It also breaks with a short distance from the device. The DX320 supports it like a champ and is clear with much more distance.

now if only more DAP's carried aptX adaptive (none of mine do)

That's pitiful for the Sony, a £300 device and their own codec no less

 

[babarrun]

is anyone experiencing a bluetooth disconnect when switching modes between HIFI and ANC?
when I change modes it disconnects and I have to manually re-connect them from the DAP. It doesnt lose the pairing just disconnects.

<editing to say I meant this for elsewhere, and can’t find delete>

 

[JasonNYC]

The Astell&Kern UK team is excited for CanJam London and can't wait to see everyone. We'll have the full AK lineup including the SP3000, SE300, AURA IEMs (our latest collab with Vision Ears) and the new UW100 MK II TWS earbuds available in September. Hope all attending have a great show!

 

[ddlo]

found an "almost new" 2nd hand uw100 mkii so i bought it home (despite already having too many tws )

the pairing is swift and the connection stability ok. got quite a few dropouts when i walked passed some traffic lights and very crowded shopping area. but overall it's ok and usable in downtown areas. i got prompted to upgrade to v1.06 firmware (from 1.05) right after opening up the ak connect app. upgrading was smooth and quite fast (just a fraction of time it took sony to do the same).

passive sound isolation is ok but no match for anc. the low freq noise of subway still got in quite clearly. sound quality is quite decent and really doesn't sound like a single BA tws. the bass/mid-bass is quite adequate for my taste - a positive surprise - and there's good amount of details too.

overall, i still think xm5 will be a better tws - great anc, smaller size and also warmer sound (for those who preferred the tuning). btw, for anyone care about the place of manufacture, this is made in korea! yes, i bought this mostly for this reason

 

[ngoshawk]

My review is now up. A decent offering with much potential:

https://ngoshawksounds.blog/2024/01/01/astell-kern-ak-uw100mkii-tws-299-is-the-2nd-gen-an-upgrade/

 

[maujag]

My review is now up. A decent offering with much potential:

https://ngoshawksounds.blog/2024/01/01/astell-kern-ak-uw100mkii-tws-299-is-the-2nd-gen-an-upgrade/

Thanks for sharing @ngoshawk ! Have you tried them alongside the 1st gen's as well? If so, what was your impression? So, adding the built-in DAC and the BA still don't put the SQ on top of that of the Sony's? Apart from ANC of course - but I'm with you that a proper tip would eliminate the need for ANC: I have the 1st gen UW100's and considering the MKii, but also thinking of alternatives with a similar sound profile. Any tips?

 

[ngoshawk]

Thanks for sharing @ngoshawk ! Have you tried them alongside the 1st gen's as well? If so, what was your impression? So, adding the built-in DAC and the BA still don't put the SQ on top of that of the Sony's? Apart from ANC of course - but I'm with you that a proper tip would eliminate the need for ANC: I have the 1st gen UW100's and considering the MKii, but also thinking of alternatives with a similar sound profile. Any tips?

I have not tried the first gen model, sorry. If a purchase came down to this pair or the Sony, I’d probably opt for the Sony due to the better ANC and features. That should not minimize the very good sound quality of the UW100mkii, though.

That said, variety is good. When I am between reviews, I try to vary my listening to many IEM’s/headphones/TWS to keep that variety going. Mind you, that doesn’t happen much with my schedule…