[MRT-Man]

I’m inclined to agree with Piotr, I’d compared the Hugo2 and SP1000 and thought that the Hugo2 was maybe 10-15% better but not like 30% better. I also haven’t compared the SP2000 directly to the Hugo2, but given the relative improvement between the SP2000 and SP1000, I’d have to think that the SP2000 is very very roughly in the same ballpark as the Hugo2. It was the weight of the lower mids where I felt the Hugo2 especially had an edge over the SP1000, and that’s precisely a key area of improvement with the SP2000.

 

[theveterans]

The 2go unit bumps up the SQ of the H2.... this rig is much better thansp2000... anyone hears it immediately.... also synergy with Lcd 4z extraordinary as audeze actually y tuned this HP with H2

Why bring up an irrelevant unit on this thread for a truly portable gear? I've heard the 2Go / Hugo 2 combo and I still prefer the subtle and not in-your-face high-end refinement that SP2000 provides over the exaggerated macrodynamics of the Hugo 2 that doesn't have the high-end refinement of Hugo TT2 and DAVE

 

[MRT-Man]

Mind you, given that everyone is stuck at home these days, I feel that a comparison between truly portable gear and semi-portable gear is more relevant than it might otherwise be... I love my SP2000, but had I known that I'd be stuck at home for months, I may have had a closer look at desktop alternatives.

 

[theosteopath]

Have also heard the Stellia with the Sp2kSS version?

This is the same combination I am using, and honestly- it is the best all around performing two piece system I have ever heard.

i just upgraded to the silver Arctic balanced cable, and this has brought it to another level of articulation and clarity. Absolutely worth the investment.

(looks like this replied to the wrong post- I was responding to using Stellia headphones with SP2000 cu)

 

[MRT-Man]

I use the Stellia with the SP2K onyx (which is like SS) and a Nordost cable, as well as with the KSE1500. The Stellia is really great, and I agree that a better cable makes a huge difference with articulation and clarity.

But I feel like the overall sound signature of the Stellia is just a little bit off from perfection. The mids are just a tiny bit recessed, and I wish they weren’t. By comparison I feel like the KSE has an absolutely perfect sound signature (not to mention a tad more detail). Although the Stellia benefits from better soundstage and more impactful bass.

I really wish there was a headphone that combined the best characteristics of the KSE and Stellia. But I can’t complain, I alternate between them and I enjoy them both.

 

[theosteopath]

I use the Stellia with the SP2K onyx (which is like SS) and a Nordost cable, as well as with the KSE1500. The Stellia is really great, and I agree that a better cable makes a huge difference with articulation and clarity.

But I feel like the overall sound signature of the Stellia is just a little bit off from perfection. The mids are just a tiny bit recessed, and I wish they weren’t. By comparison I feel like the KSE has an absolutely perfect sound signature (not to mention a tad more detail). Although the Stellia benefits from better soundstage and more impactful bass.

I really wish there was a headphone that combined the best characteristics of the KSE and Stellia. But I can’t complain, I alternate between them and I enjoy them both.

I had similar feelings until I switched the cables.

 

[dw13]

Latest Qobuz update.

I installled v5.9.0.2 on Thursday with about 70GB of 'imported' (to use Qobuz terminology) music on my SP2000. The stuttering seems to be fixed and I didn't experience any major performance issues although the app is always quite laggy. But it was generally useable. Emboldened by this, I started to import more of my favourited releases. Things were going ok until I got to about 175GB of downloads. Then I got my first freeze again during download. Followed by two more. Doesn't seem to make any difference how many tracks you try to download in one go. Performance has become a little slower in loading. It's still useable and I haven't as yet had any more stutterings, but this seems to be about the limit the app and/or device can cope with whilst maintaining response times that I can just about live with. The Offline Library takes about 1 minute, 5 seconds to load, rather annoyingly every time you click out and then back into it. Also for some reason, accessing the same imported release from the Offline Liibrary seems to be significantly slower than from My Qobuz - My Favourites. It takes about 15 seconds for a release to open when selected from the Offline Library list as opposed to no more than 2 seconds to open from My Favourites. I now have 184GB of imported music but I am assuming that if I import any more releases the situation will only get worse leading to the same complete meltdown experience I had with v5.8.0.1. I would actually like to listen to some music!
I was able to work out that the first version of Qobuz I ever loaded onto my SP2000 was v5.4.3 where this problem also existed more or less the same. It has existed in every version that I have loaded since then, although I have skipped a few versions so haven't tried every one.

@JasonNYC What is the best way to formally log this as an issue with Astell & Kern? I plan to raise it with Qobuz as well but it would be good if someone could take ownership of the problem so the reason for this can be determined and hopefully find a solution. If there is no immediate solution, an honest appraisal of the limitations of Qobuz on Astell & Kern devices should be established and admitted to.

Many thanks

Steve

I'm still having problems with Tidal and Qobuz offline with my SR25 and 1TB Sandisk Extreme card.

The maximum content downloadable from Tidal is 414.69 gb. After that the download queue freezes. Still have over 539 gb available.

I have reformatted the card with the SR25 and tried Tidal 2.24.0 and 2.28.0 with the same results.

I gave up on Qobuz altogether as downloading froze at about 170 gb.

 

[oloendithas]

Did you happen to try a manual media scan after you reloaded all the tracks on the player after the factory reset? Settings -> System reset -> Initialize media scan. I'm curious if the tracks might not have indexed correctly.

Hi! I've got the same problem with DSD stuttering even in DAC mode, so it's obviously not an indexing problem.
Are there any other possible solutions?

UPD: Oh, hell. Now the PCM (192/24) also begun to stutter but only in DAC mode...

 

[oloendithas]

<deleted>

 

[theosteopath]

This is NOT SUBJECTIVE. Hugo 2 + 2go is far better than anything AK or any other dap maker builds.

I really don’t agree. I’m using the TT2 in my home system. It is wonderful- but while the Hugo2/2go sounds really good- it’s not appreciably better than the sp2000, either through headphones or plugged into my home system. Furthermore, the 2go is such an unfinished product that I had to get rid of it. It’s connections were unreliable, and the associated software is decidedly amateurish. And please understand, I’m a big fan of Chord, but 2Go isn’t ready for prime time.

 

[theveterans]

I really don’t agree. I’m using the TT2 in my home system. It is wonderful- but while the Hugo2/2go sounds really good- it’s not appreciably better than the sp2000, either through headphones or plugged into my home system. Furthermore, the 2go is such an unfinished product that I had to get rid of it. It’s connections were unreliable, and the associated software is decidedly amateurish. And please understand, I’m a big fan of Chord, but 2Go isn’t ready for prime time.

100% on this especially after being exposed to a variety of good sounding systems. Hugo2 still lacks the subtle refinement that SP2000 has and those of DACs that resolve bettler low-level information despite sounding more “wow-factory” at first listen

 

[RONJA MESCO]

I go in threads that either I have an interest or I bought it and want to share or learn. My gear I used yesterday.

What is the name of the amp you have there...never seen that before?

 

[radnor]

100% on this especially after being exposed to a variety of good sounding systems. Hugo2 still lacks the subtle refinement that SP2000 has and those of DACs that resolve bettler low-level information despite sounding more “wow-factory” at first listen

confirmation bias at its finest. H2GO is substantially better than sp2000. 9 of 10 people on the street would agree. 1 caveat... certain IEMs may make discerning harder. Plop on LCD 4Z and there is ZERO comparison.

 

[radnor]

I really don’t agree. I’m using the TT2 in my home system. It is wonderful- but while the Hugo2/2go sounds really good- it’s not appreciably better than the sp2000, either through headphones or plugged into my home system. Furthermore, the 2go is such an unfinished product that I had to get rid of it. It’s connections were unreliable, and the associated software is decidedly amateurish. And please understand, I’m a big fan of Chord, but 2Go isn’t ready for prime time.

2go getting better. it IS appreciably better than the SP2000. Zero questions asked. What HP were you using? That said it is particularly magical with the right synergy... Audeze tuned the 4Z with H2... this pairing is probably the best portable solution in existence.

 

[radnor]

Why bring up an irrelevant unit on this thread for a truly portable gear? I've heard the 2Go / Hugo 2 combo and I still prefer the subtle and not in-your-face high-end refinement that SP2000 provides over the exaggerated macrodynamics of the Hugo 2 that doesn't have the high-end refinement of Hugo TT2 and DAVE

portable is in the eye of the beholder. For me the little extra size is a simple trade off based on the fact this is far ahead of the SP2000... got to be AK plants here otherwise many trying to justify their purchase