Astell&Kern, or Astell and Kern, AK PA 10 portable headphone amplifier impressions, comments, or general discussion

[povidlo]

Thanks. I'll keep this in mind as I continue to explore the options.

I'm actually trying to figure out if I can do it all in one box rather than 2. I'm still a little confused on the available devices on the market particularly a "supersized" dongle in the form of a DAP that may outperform dongles. Most good setups are in 2 boxes ie. iBasso D16/PB5 or just the amp alone without any DAC ie. Cayin C9ii. The AK PA10 and NX7 do not come with a DAC a dongle such as the RU7 is still required.

If you're unsure, maybe look at something like gryphon. It's a quality unit that can act like a standalone amp (like pa10, nx7), standalone dac (like ru7), or a 2in1 dac/amp. Might help you decide what kind of portable setup you might prefer down the road.

 

[dsrk]

Thanks. I'll keep this in mind as I continue to explore the options.

I'm actually trying to figure out if I can do it all in one box rather than 2. I'm still a little confused on the available devices on the market particularly a "supersized" dongle in the form of a DAP that may outperform dongles. Most good setups are in 2 boxes ie. iBasso D16/PB5 or just the amp alone without any DAC ie. Cayin C9ii. The AK PA10 and NX7 do not come with a DAC a dongle such as the RU7 is still required.

Cayin C9ii is also just an AMP.

If you're unsure, maybe look at something like gryphon. It's a quality unit that can act like a standalone amp (like pa10, nx7), standalone dac (like ru7), or a 2in1 dac/amp. Might help you decide what kind of portable setup you might prefer down the road.

I agree, Gryphon is a good option too.

You might also take a look at Xduoo XD-05Pro if you are not using sensitive IEMs.
I tested Gryphon and Mojo 2 and much preferred Mojo 2 because of the better DSP on the latter. But the AMP on Gryphon a touch more powerful.

I am currently using NX7 with RS6 and it's very good. As @povidlo said it's neutral like typical topping AMPs.

 

[povidlo]

Cayin C9ii is also just an AMP.


I agree, Gryphon is a good option too.

You might also take a look at Xduoo XD-05Pro if you are not using sensitive IEMs.
I tested Gryphon and Mojo 2 and much preferred Mojo 2 because of the better DSP on the latter. But the AMP on Gryphon a touch more powerful.

I am currently using NX7 with RS6 and it's very good. As @povidlo said it's neutral like typical topping AMPs.

I've moved on from both mojo2 and gryphon, agree the former has better dac and latter has better amp. Gryphon does allow analog aux in, unlike mojo, so it's more versatile from that perspective being able to use it as standalone amp.

 

[Mungam]

I have a problem with my 3 month old PA10: The volume knob seems to be loose and has some play (you can rotate it to some extent without changing the volume). Has someone else had this problem before?

Maybe it is of interest for someone:
I sent out the unit to the A&K repair shop in Germany, DM Solution. It arrived on Monday, and they have sent me an email that it arrived within 1-2 hours. They shipped it out yesterday and it came back today. Unfortunately I am not at home to check, but I assume they repaired it
Very good turnaround time!

 

[MrNailhead]

When I first got mine I thought I felt a bit of a bump or detent moving the volume wheel at about 65-75% but it seems to have gone away with usage, haven't really noticed it lately (and also don't tend to turn it up that high usually).

 

[Mungam]

Maybe it is of interest for someone:
I sent out the unit to the A&K repair shop in Germany, DM Solution. It arrived on Monday, and they have sent me an email that it arrived within 1-2 hours. They shipped it out yesterday and it came back today. Unfortunately I am not at home to check, but I assume they repaired it
Very good turnaround time!

Ok, I have to correct myself. The unite came back unrepaired....
Wrote them an email, they told me they are sorry. I sent it in again, and they will replace it with a new one. Downside: The new unit will come from Korea and will take approx. 3 weeks to arrive...

 

[povidlo]

Just picked up bx2 plus. Will do a comparison with pa10 later if anyone's interested.

 

[Johnfg465vd]

Hi, so I just got back into the hobby after a break. The last time I was hear, I'd just held off from purchasing this Amp (PA10) due to a lack of information and now, while I still don't find many reviews for this product, I'm willing to bite the bullet and see how it goes.


I'm planning to pair it to the R6 Pro II and also play around with connecting it to the Q15 (I read that it's a good pairing) & EF400. There are some things I'd like to know before the purchase.


1. Is the power enough to drive Planar Headphones like the Edition XS really well? I feel like the Q15 does improve a bit when in UH Gain (with external power) so on it's own, it's not driving the XS to it's Max potential like it does in Desktop mode or when connected to Desktop Amps.

2. Does it matter what Interconnect I use? I have two options, one is the iFi 4.4 to 4.4 SPC Interconnect, the other is a basic Copper 4.4 to 4.4 Interconnect from Amazon. Did any of you notice a difference in sound between Interconnect Cables?

3. Is there any noise with the Amp? Assuming the output from DAC is clean offcourse.

4. How good is the Amp when compared to competition? Has anyone compared it with other Amps?

 

[BS5711]

Hi, so I just got back into the hobby after a break. The last time I was hear, I'd just held off from purchasing this Amp (PA10) due to a lack of information and now, while I still don't find many reviews for this product, I'm willing to bite the bullet and see how it goes.


I'm planning to pair it to the R6 Pro II and also play around with connecting it to the Q15 (I read that it's a good pairing) & EF400. There are some things I'd like to know before the purchase.


1. Is the power enough to drive Planar Headphones like the Edition XS really well? I feel like the Q15 does improve a bit when in UH Gain (with external power) so on it's own, it's not driving the XS to it's Max potential like it does in Desktop mode or when connected to Desktop Amps.

2. Does it matter what Interconnect I use? I have two options, one is the iFi 4.4 to 4.4 SPC Interconnect, the other is a basic Copper 4.4 to 4.4 Interconnect from Amazon. Did any of you notice a difference in sound between Interconnect Cables?

3. Is there any noise with the Amp? Assuming the output from DAC is clean offcourse.

4. How good is the Amp when compared to competition? Has anyone compared it with other Amps?

1. I have used mine with my DCA Aeon Noire and notice no lack of power. The high current mode does make a small difference in bass impact with the low impedance planars, it is subtle however.

2. I have used four different interconnect cables from iFi, ddhifi, GUCraftsman and XINHS and I can’t hear any difference. Of course some folks believe everything makes a difference even the plug and the solder so YMMV.

3. There is a very slight noise floor with sensitive IEM. Nothing with less sensitive IEM like IE600, S12 Pro, AuR Ascension for a frame of reference and certainly nothing with Aeon Noire, HD600 etc.

4. I have compared it to the amp in my iFi Diablo and Gryphon as well as an EarMen ST-Amp using the same FiiO M11 Plus LTD as the source/DAC. I don’t notice any difference in A/B comparison but over a longer listening period I always come away having really enjoyed the PA10. There seems to be something going on that I am not aware of at a brief listen but that manifests itself over a longer period, similar to what I experience with a tube amp.

 

[Skev]

1. I have used mine with my DCA Aeon Noire and notice no lack of power. The high current mode does make a small difference in bass impact with the low impedance planars, it is subtle however.

2. I have used four different interconnect cables from iFi, ddhifi, GUCraftsman and XINHS and I can’t hear any difference. Of course some folks believe everything makes a difference even the plug and the solder so YMMV.

3. There is a very slight noise floor with sensitive IEM. Nothing with less sensitive IEM like IE600, S12 Pro, AuR Ascension for a frame of reference and certainly nothing with Aeon Noire, HD600 etc.

4. I have compared it to the amp in my iFi Diablo and Gryphon as well as an EarMen ST-Amp using the same FiiO M11 Plus LTD as the source/DAC. I don’t notice any difference in A/B comparison but over a longer listening period I always come away having really enjoyed the PA10. There seems to be something going on that I am not aware of at a brief listen but that manifests itself over a longer period, similar to what I experience with a tube amp.

I have to agree mostly with this. Yes in longer sessions it appeared to be more pleasant overall but I couldn’t pinpoint why A/B’ing. Perhaps a little softer sounding, possibly, a touch airier.

I couldn’t tell any difference between the current modes using planars or DD’s.

It didn’t struggle per se with the DCA Aeon 2 Closed but didn’t provide any more volume/“headspace” over using the Ifi Go Blu on its own (using 4.4mm)

If you have money to burn go ahead but the benefits are minimal other than tactility/aesthetics imo! Just another battery to charge and a brick to carry around

 

[BS5711]

I have to agree mostly with this. Yes in longer sessions it appeared to be more pleasant overall but I couldn’t pinpoint why A/B’ing. Perhaps a little softer sounding, possibly, a touch airier.

I couldn’t tell any difference between the current modes using planars or DD’s.

It didn’t struggle per se with the DCA Aeon 2 Closed but didn’t provide any more volume/“headspace” over using the Ifi Go Blu on its own (using 4.4mm)

If you have money to burn go ahead but the benefits are minimal other than tactility/aesthetics imo! Just another battery to charge and a brick to carry around

And I would largely agree with that

 

[Johnfg465vd]

1. I have used mine with my DCA Aeon Noire and notice no lack of power. The high current mode does make a small difference in bass impact with the low impedance planars, it is subtle however.

2. I have used four different interconnect cables from iFi, ddhifi, GUCraftsman and XINHS and I can’t hear any difference. Of course some folks believe everything makes a difference even the plug and the solder so YMMV.

3. There is a very slight noise floor with sensitive IEM. Nothing with less sensitive IEM like IE600, S12 Pro, AuR Ascension for a frame of reference and certainly nothing with Aeon Noire, HD600 etc.

4. I have compared it to the amp in my iFi Diablo and Gryphon as well as an EarMen ST-Amp using the same FiiO M11 Plus LTD as the source/DAC. I don’t notice any difference in A/B comparison but over a longer listening period I always come away having really enjoyed the PA10. There seems to be something going on that I am not aware of at a brief listen but that manifests itself over a longer period, similar to what I experience with a tube amp.

1. Nice

2. I'll get the cheapest one that also looks nice to me.

3. Should not be an Issue for me then, I'll probably only use Headphones with the PA10, I'm happy with how the R6 Pro II sounds with IEMs, it just can't drive XS well, volume is loud enough at ~80/100 but dynamics, stage... e.t.c. are just not good enough compared to Desktop sources like EF400, Zen DAC + A30 Pro.

4. That's a bummer, I was hoping to squeeze just a bit more sound quality by adding the PA10.

It didn’t struggle per se with the DCA Aeon 2 Closed but didn’t provide any more volume/“headspace” over using the Ifi Go Blu on its own (using 4.4mm)

I'm surprised to read this, so there's no improvement when using the PA10 with a DAC vs just the Go Blu? Or did you use the Go Blu as a DAC into the PA10 in which case it makes sense since there's no Line-Out in the Go Blu.

 

[artkillen]

Hi, so I just got back into the hobby after a break. The last time I was hear, I'd just held off from purchasing this Amp (PA10) due to a lack of information and now, while I still don't find many reviews for this product, I'm willing to bite the bullet and see how it goes.


I'm planning to pair it to the R6 Pro II and also play around with connecting it to the Q15 (I read that it's a good pairing) & EF400. There are some things I'd like to know before the purchase.


1. Is the power enough to drive Planar Headphones like the Edition XS really well? I feel like the Q15 does improve a bit when in UH Gain (with external power) so on it's own, it's not driving the XS to it's Max potential like it does in Desktop mode or when connected to Desktop Amps.

2. Does it matter what Interconnect I use? I have two options, one is the iFi 4.4 to 4.4 SPC Interconnect, the other is a basic Copper 4.4 to 4.4 Interconnect from Amazon. Did any of you notice a difference in sound between Interconnect Cables?

3. Is there any noise with the Amp? Assuming the output from DAC is clean offcourse.

4. How good is the Amp when compared to competition? Has anyone compared it with other Amps?

I run the PA10 with an R6 Pro II and the HE1000se sometimes. I lose a bit of soundstage width and air, but gain much more depth and everything sounds a bit more refined. Bass response is more controlled and deeper, as expected. I've found the PA10/R6 Pro II combo works best when the PA10 is set to the highest current output mode.

 

[Gilles De Rais]

IMO it depends on what you are driving and whether you like the Class A sound (or can differentiate it). Planars, high resistance dynamics, the PA10 will add more macro dynamics compared to a standard DAP, dongle or bluetooth amp. These things will naturally be more apparent on music with lots of dynamic range, on compressed modern pop you'll struggle to tell the difference. For efficient HPs and IEMs, the difference will appear to be more of a flavour - akin to different DAC chips or filter tunings. Class A has higher second order harmonics which makes a more euphonic sound which some people like.

The PA10 has its place, but bear in mind that different uses, matching equipment and more importantly, your own ability to identify changes in sound, will lead to different assessments of its value in your set-up.

 

[Skev]

1. Nice

2. I'll get the cheapest one that also looks nice to me.

3. Should not be an Issue for me then, I'll probably only use Headphones with the PA10, I'm happy with how the R6 Pro II sounds with IEMs, it just can't drive XS well, volume is loud enough at ~80/100 but dynamics, stage... e.t.c. are just not good enough compared to Desktop sources like EF400, Zen DAC + A30 Pro.

4. That's a bummer, I was hoping to squeeze just a bit more sound quality by adding the PA10.


I'm surprised to read this, so there's no improvement when using the PA10 with a DAC vs just the Go Blu? Or did you use the Go Blu as a DAC into the PA10 in which case it makes sense since there's no Line-Out in the Go Blu.

I also used it with the Fiio K11 and the Activo P1 but honestly there wasn’t much in it, not £500 worth of improvement for sure!