Astell&Kern Launches Three New Products to Start 2023
Mar 4, 2023 at 10:34 PM Post #153 of 199
HC3 arrived today. Very impressed, Apple Lossless files through Sennheiser 700’s using an 11 ProMax. Beautifully made and massive improvement in sound quality. Going to be a long night.
Wish it had a 2.5 or 4.4 balanced out. All my devices and cables are balanced. The HC2 isn’t good for me because it doesn’t do MQA
 
Mar 6, 2023 at 11:58 AM Post #155 of 199
A friend of mine spok to Ultima engineering team in Japan and they openly said that SP3000 is the maximum they can push a portable dap and they simply cannot push it any further. There is simply no more space to optimize the sound.

This is they they release the PA10. If it sells well, they will start doing developement on higher end portable AMP, based on pushing the limit of Alpha tetra amp circuit.

SP3000 going to be their flagship for a very long time.
Nice! They could increase the dimensions for a special variant be that the SP3000T or some other naming scheme, to something closer to the N8ii (25mm vs 18mm thickness and 147m vs 138mm height). Similar to how the SP2000T was slightly larger than the SP3000.

I'm a fan of seperate products that boost performance. The way the Cayin N7 doesn't have tube amps, one can see in comments for the thread with people pairing it to the C9 and rumours of a cheaper "C9" equivalent in the works. The concept of "stacking" isn't foreign to the audio world. Logically it made sense, it allows more space for stuff like R2R or 1-bit DAC's and segregates the cost from a consumer perspective. With the bonus of not constraining the design team as heavily.

I'm already looking to buy specific gear this year, so my budget is blown. But maybe in the next 2-3 years, when it's time to upgrade up and the economy is back to booming. It would be nice to see a custom built DAP even if it's a larger dimension - with perhaps some hopefully new tech, I wouldn't mind a (full stereo with at least 192 resistors) R2R & Delta Sigma hybrid tech. I'm not in R&D, so can't say how that could work - would it need 6 femto-second oscillators or would it need to be made of Vibranium. But it would be nice to see some imaginative DAC implementation.

Which would be built to work in conjunction with a seperate portable amp (which would also be built with synergy in mind). There is already the hybrid op-amp and tube implementation from AK - adding that on would really make for a single highly flexible system. There could even be different offerings with different tech, Class D, Class A, Tube, Hybrid and whatnot.
 
Mar 7, 2023 at 4:53 PM Post #157 of 199
@JasonNYC

Any news regarding my problems/bugs? I could not solve them until now unfortunately.

In summary again:

1. The CA1000T doesn't seem to turn off completely after I remove the charging cable and file cable. The result is that after a while (hours…) the battery level is lower. In fact, I can always see the battery level when I press the power button briefly (without turning the device on, of course).

2. Yes, the PC starts up quite slowly after pressing the power button when the CA1000T is connected with other cables. Only with the original cable I do not have the problem. I have tried different USB rear ports and high quality cables. By pretty slow I mean: I press the power button, the monitor stays black for about 10 seconds, then the bios logo of the PC comes up. With the original cable, this process takes 2-3 seconds. Really strange!

3. When the CA1000T is connected to the PC with a cable other than the stock cable, Windows and Mac gives the error message that the USB device was not recognized and was not ejected properly - even though the device remains powered off at all and is just connected to the PC!

4. Oh so very importantly, when testing different cables and USB ports I found that sometimes the CA1000T just hangs when I turn it on. Only the "A" logo remains visible and I have to hold the power button down for 7 seconds and so. Then I have to remove the file cable briefly and the CA1000T starts up as usual. After that this doesn't happen anymore, that is: after this time worked, the CA1000T always turns on completely without problems - until I eventually change the cable/USB port again etc. This also happens with the original cable.
 
Mar 7, 2023 at 4:56 PM Post #158 of 199
@JasonNYC

Any news regarding my problems/bugs? I could not solve them until now unfortunately.

In summary again:

1. The CA1000T doesn't seem to turn off completely after I remove the charging cable and file cable. The result is that after a while (hours…) the battery level is lower. In fact, I can always see the battery level when I press the power button briefly (without turning the device on, of course).

2. Yes, the PC starts up quite slowly after pressing the power button when the CA1000T is connected with other cables. Only with the original cable I do not have the problem. I have tried different USB rear ports and high quality cables. By pretty slow I mean: I press the power button, the monitor stays black for about 10 seconds, then the bios logo of the PC comes up. With the original cable, this process takes 2-3 seconds. Really strange!

3. When the CA1000T is connected to the PC with a cable other than the stock cable, Windows and Mac gives the error message that the USB device was not recognized and was not ejected properly - even though the device remains powered off at all and is just connected to the PC!

4. Oh so very importantly, when testing different cables and USB ports I found that sometimes the CA1000T just hangs when I turn it on. Only the "A" logo remains visible and I have to hold the power button down for 7 seconds and so. Then I have to remove the file cable briefly and the CA1000T starts up as usual. After that this doesn't happen anymore, that is: after this time worked, the CA1000T always turns on completely without problems - until I eventually change the cable/USB port again etc. This also happens with the original cable.
Not yet. The team is still looking into the issues. I also took a CA1000T to do some additional testing on my own to hopefully reproduce some of your issues and help the team better troubleshoot.
 
Astell&Kern Stay updated on Astell&Kern at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/astellnkern/ https://twitter.com/astell_kern https://www.instagram.com/astellnkern.official/ https://astellnkern.com astellnkern@astellnkern.com
Mar 11, 2023 at 3:04 AM Post #159 of 199
Question, when will the new OS update for battery charging protection feature available? I use the ca1000t almost everyday with high volume and high gain. Pretty much need the charging protection for long term battery life. Thank you.
 
Mar 11, 2023 at 8:44 AM Post #160 of 199
nice way to start 2023!
 
Mar 11, 2023 at 3:51 PM Post #161 of 199
Question, when will the new OS update for battery charging protection feature available? I use the ca1000t almost everyday with high volume and high gain. Pretty much need the charging protection for long term battery life. Thank you.
Currently, all AK devices, including the CA1000 and CA1000T will stop charging the battery once at 100%, so no issue leaving it plugged in all the time. The future firmware update will add additional battery management features that will help condition and further extend the battery.
 
Astell&Kern Stay updated on Astell&Kern at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/astellnkern/ https://twitter.com/astell_kern https://www.instagram.com/astellnkern.official/ https://astellnkern.com astellnkern@astellnkern.com
Mar 14, 2023 at 9:56 PM Post #162 of 199
Currently, all AK devices, including the CA1000 and CA1000T will stop charging the battery once at 100%, so no issue leaving it plugged in all the time. The future firmware update will add additional battery management features that will help condition and further extend the battery.
That’s great to know for my SP3000!
 
Mar 18, 2023 at 11:43 AM Post #163 of 199
Currently, all AK devices, including the CA1000 and CA1000T will stop charging the battery once at 100%, so no issue leaving it plugged in all the time. The future firmware update will add additional battery management features that will help condition and further extend the battery.
Any ETA for the new firmware?
Thanks for the reply though :D.
 
Mar 18, 2023 at 4:59 PM Post #164 of 199
Has anyone tried or heard the AK PA10?
Still can't find any reviews or initial impressions. Hopefully we learn more at Canjam next week. I'm curious how these would stack with the new Hiby R6 Pro which should also be launching then. Hopefully can find some information comparing this stack to the Cayin N7 - if it gets close or offers similar detail retrieval.
 
Mar 18, 2023 at 11:27 PM Post #165 of 199
IMG_20230317_115112.jpg
IMG_20230317_120743.jpg

I tested it on Friday, and it was unexpectedly good. The sound is very delicate, the background is extremely black, and the sound field is huge. It only needs 40% of the low gain volume to drive the ier z1r. It is very competitive at this price, and I think it is more worthwhile than C9.
 

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