[Vitaly2017]

Not even R8,M8 or M15?

Thats high tier not ToTL
In my book to claim the ultimate title it has to cover the ui performance reliability as well...

This is why I dont even look at P6 Pro....

R8 sound is very good almost ToTL.
But to really benefit from a totl dap you need the whole chain at totl levels or you will have a bottle neck and wont achieve the totl sound qualities.

 

[Andricop]

Thats high tier not ToTL
In my book to claim the ultimate title it has to cover the ui performance reliability as well...

This is why I dont even look at P6 Pro....

R8 sound is very good almost ToTL.
But to really benefit from a totl dap you need the whole chain at totl levels or you will have a bottle neck and wont achieve the totl sound qualities.

Thanks Vitaly.

So in your list of 4 tops DAP only the SP2000 does streaming if I'm right?

 

[Vitaly2017]

Thanks Vitaly.

So in your list of 4 tops DAP only the SP2000 does streaming if I'm right?

Yeps and its the one also that sounds the closest to my beloved 1z sound.
I am actually enjoying my sp2kcu way more then I thought!

 

[Andricop]

For my taste the sound of the SP2000Cu is better then the 1Z.
Plus you have a "search" option + it can display art cover in JPG progressive format + it has a real USB port instead of the walkman port + it does streaming + ...

 

[Lpm3134]

hello, have you tried the sony 1z with the latest firmware from mrwalkman?

 

[Andricop]

hello, have you tried the sony 1z with the latest firmware from mrwalkman?

No I didn't, I don't want to start playing with alternative firmware because it will be never ending ...
Plus, it will not add streaming to the 1Z

 

[Lpm3134]

thank you. i was like you i would prefer Astell & kern but firmware is a revolution for sony. after personal streaming I don't care I prefer to buy my music

 

[Andricop]

« L’un n’empêche pas l’autre » as we say in French
I also prefer to buy my music (my SP2000 and my 1 TB SD are full, can’t wait for the 2 TB to be released ...) but I like to discover new things, sometime I like to listen to some music that are not worth buying imho and I like to listen to playlist from friends on Spotify for example.
But again, without search function when you have 37k tracks it’s not manageable ...

 

[Lpm3134]

yes I understand it's true that the search function is a real problem. afterwards I don't have as much music as you. I only have 600 gb.

 

[theveterans]

Yeps and its the one also that sounds the closest to my beloved 1z sound.
I am actually enjoying my sp2kcu way more then I thought!

Wait after you've reached a couple of hundreds of hours. They sound even better even though A&K never really mentioned burn-in effect on their DAPs unlike Sony

 

[NYanakiev]

Can't wait for any further news on the availability of Roon on A&K products.

@JasonNYC

 

[SMOoth Operator]

This is all so confusing.... My 2000 should come today I'm afraid to look at fw ver..... Hope I'm not getting crappy sound

I wonder if JasonNYC knows which version was on the copper demo unit at Canjam last month? Because that unit sounded awesome

How does your Shanling M8 compare to your SP2000? If you had to choose only one and why.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Wait after you've reached a couple of hundreds of hours. They sound even better even though A&K never really mentioned burn-in effect on their DAPs unlike Sony

So far I did burn in the 3.5 for 300 hours and I find it did bring a lot of clarity and reduced the thickness of the sound. It made it more natural and airy.

The details are quiet good! So far this is one of the best I think along with 1z.

I am getting my balanced cable soon and will start enjoying the balanced sound as for now I am content to use the 3.5 lol

 

[theveterans]

So far I did burn in the 3.5 for 300 hours and I find it did bring a lot of clarity and reduced the thickness of the sound. It made it more natural and airy.

The details are quiet good! So far this is one of the best I think along with 1z.

I am getting my balanced cable soon and will start enjoying the balanced sound as for now I am content to use the 3.5 lol

Actually, I find the 3.5 sounded better than 2.5 balanced but then again, I only spent 1 hour on balanced (I was trying out balanced cables for my IEM but when I used the 2.5mm, it sounded less full tonally than 3.5mm with less focused imaging and a bit more fatiguing/bleached tonally) while I'm over 500 hours with the 3.5mm listening. Pretty much cured my itch of switching to balanced since I find the 3.5mm sound better for my taste. I did realize that noticeable burn-in effect (on the 3.5mm) after half a year of listening and the sound settled in its best state after that.

 

[Vitaly2017]

Actually, I find the 3.5 sounded better than 2.5 balanced but then again, I only spent 1 hour on balanced (I was trying out balanced cables for my IEM but when I used the 2.5mm, it sounded less full tonally than 3.5mm with less focused imaging and a bit more fatiguing/bleached tonally) while I'm over 500 hours with the 3.5mm listening. Pretty much cured my itch of switching to balanced since I find the 3.5mm sound better for my taste. I did realize that noticeable burn-in effect (on the 3.5mm) after half a year of listening and the sound settled in its best state after that.

Interesting will share my experience with 2.5mm soon. I so far find the Se to sound a little intimate and not as layered as a balanced would offer.

Though with burn in I felt the sound to open up and now the se sounds much better and higher in sound details. The slight thickness has cleared and feels a little more open and less intimate.

I like the thickness in sound that the se offers.
I am hoping that the balance stay as thicky but with more precision and very open soundstage and less intimate.
Still sp2000 sound is very attractive hard to stop.