[sperandeo]

I have 2 AK players originally worth over $6000.00 new. Both my players have not been able to log onto my Tidal streaming service. I contacted AK about this issue a few weeks ago and was told they they are working on getting newer players back online with Tidal but older players may not be able to use Tidal anymore. Once I told them which players I have they told me that my Kann (only 2 years old) might work sometime in May and my Ak380 which is still for sale on Amazon.ca for $4000 will no longer be supported or work with Tidal.
I have tried to contact AK customers service via email for the past 2 weeks without a single reply. They are now ignoring my emails. My most recent emails explained how unhappy I am about not being able to use my Tidal streaming service anymore and asking if AK would consider taking these very expensive “unsupported” units back and offering customers an upgrade path.
I feel like AK have washed their hands on the subject.
This is so very frustrating because my AK380 was my main streaming player for my home stereo setup. They are ignoring all my emails but I did receive an ad email from AK a couple of days ago regarding the release of their brand new player.

 

[chef8489]

It is Tidal that is discontinued the service and not AK. It's effecting many other brands and not just AK. Both your players are 5-6 years old.
@JasonNYC

 

[Musak60]

https://www.facebook.com/121274494693248/posts/1949740605179952/?d=n

 

[j0s3pH]

I have 2 AK players originally worth over $6000.00 new. Both my players have not been able to log onto my Tidal streaming service. I contacted AK about this issue a few weeks ago and was told they they are working on getting newer players back online with Tidal but older players may not be able to use Tidal anymore. Once I told them which players I have they told me that my Kann (only 2 years old) might work sometime in May and my Ak380 which is still for sale on Amazon.ca for $4000 will no longer be supported or work with Tidal.
I have tried to contact AK customers service via email for the past 2 weeks without a single reply. They are now ignoring my emails. My most recent emails explained how unhappy I am about not being able to use my Tidal streaming service anymore and asking if AK would consider taking these very expensive “unsupported” units back and offering customers an upgrade path.
I feel like AK have washed their hands on the subject.
This is so very frustrating because my AK380 was my main streaming player for my home stereo setup. They are ignoring all my emails but I did receive an ad email from AK a couple of days ago regarding the release of their brand new player.

yeah they have washed their hands off ak380 since 2018.

 

[originalsnuffy]

If I owned one of these units I would be unhappy also. The sad reality is that consumers in today's environment should only purchase open Android devices. Ones that can bypass the 24 bit 48 khz limit inherent in Android. That way the user can run current APK versions of whatever music app they want. I think the smart bet is to lobby this company to offer open Android. Otherwise it will always be whack a mole.

I bet the Tidal in my Cayin N5II is broken also; but I no longer use that device for streaming at all and moved on to an open android unit.

 

[Tristy]

If I owned one of these units I would be unhappy also. The sad reality is that consumers in today's environment should only purchase open Android devices. Ones that can bypass the 24 bit 48 khz limit inherent in Android. That way the user can run current APK versions of whatever music app they want. I think the smart bet is to lobby this company to offer open Android. Otherwise it will always be whack a mole.

I bet the Tidal in my Cayin N5II is broken also; but I no longer use that device for streaming at all and moved on to an open android unit.

Does anyone know off the cuff what current DAP's utilise Open android and can bypass the restriction in place?

 

[originalsnuffy]

I know that HiBy can do this, and recent models from Shanling and Cayin should also. FIIO and iBasso may also do this but I don't follow them as closely. My HiBy R5 definitely checks all the boxes except that I think the unit is underpowered in terms of processing. It is not underpowered when it comes to headphone output....

 

[chef8489]

If I owned one of these units I would be unhappy also. The sad reality is that consumers in today's environment should only purchase open Android devices. Ones that can bypass the 24 bit 48 khz limit inherent in Android. That way the user can run current APK versions of whatever music app they want. I think the smart bet is to lobby this company to offer open Android. Otherwise it will always be whack a mole.

I bet the Tidal in my Cayin N5II is broken also; but I no longer use that device for streaming at all and moved on to an open android unit.

Open android won't help unless the companies update the Android versions. Tidal will stop supporting older Android and ios operating systems.

 

[Tristy]

I know that HiBy can do this, and recent models from Shanling and Cayin should also. FIIO and iBasso may also do this but I don't follow them as closely. My HiBy R5 definitely checks all the boxes except that I think the unit is underpowered in terms of processing. It is not underpowered when it comes to headphone output....

I know that Shanling uses an older version of Android which is a little off putting for me and Cayin don't support streaming services I believe? The HiBy R8 is said to hiss with some of my IEM's so thats a no go... it seems like the DX300 could be a winner and worth looking at for my needs then.

 

[blotmouse]

“Embedded Tidal app”. Tidal works fine on every a&k player that can run the Tidal official app. Download the apk and install it. This is a problem, sure, but perspective is important. Tidal has not been severed from you, just have get at it differently until they patch for the newer models and forever on the older models. This problem was created by Tidal. Complain to them.

 

[rlw6534]

“Embedded Tidal app”. Tidal works fine on every a&k player that can run the Tidal official app. Download the apk and install it. This is a problem, sure, but perspective is important. Tidal has not been severed from you, just have get at it differently until they patch for the newer models and forever on the older models. This problem was created by Tidal. Complain to them.

Blame Tidal for dropping support for older versions of Android (Version 5, 2015 or earlier). Blame A&K for selling devices with an ancient OS and not providing updates. That's really the bottom line.

 

[sperandeo]

It’s been more than 3 weeks and still not reply to my various mails to various email addresses at Astell & Kern. This lack of any customer service is very troublesome. This company charges thousands of dollars for their products and abandons you when you need some help.

 

[Avian]

Install BubbleUpnp on your smartphone, log into your Tidal account through Bubble, enable ak connect function on your dap, use your smartphone like a remote control... forever and ever.

 

[rlw6534]

Install BubbleUpnp on your smartphone, log into your Tidal account through Bubble, enable ak connect function on your dap, use your smartphone like a remote control... forever and ever.

That kind of defeats the purpose of a DAP, no? Might as well get a much cheaper dongle, or just listen to the phone.

 

[Avian]

It is assumed that a Kann, or an Ak380, have better dacs compared to a cheap dongle. This is a desktop solution against planned obsolescence.