Astell & Kern SE100: A&futura Impressions - Reviews
Aug 31, 2018 at 12:57 PM Post #406 of 1,567
So I've been listening to my SE100 all week and am thoroughly impressed with it so far. I've been testing out a buddies DX200 (AMP1) as the same time and can say I prefer the sound of the SE100. Don't get me wrong the DX200 still sounds great, but I find the SE100 to sound a bit more natural and pairs better with my Bravado. I am going to test the AMP4s module as soon as my balanced cable comes in, my buddy seems to think that will probably close the gap.

One question, when using the Tidal app on the SE100 is there a way to find my "New Recommended Tracks and Albums" on the A&K player? I notice I can do this on the app through the DX200 and on my iPhone so I wasn't sure if I was just overlooking it on the SE100.
 
Sep 1, 2018 at 9:27 AM Post #409 of 1,567
decided to jump in and get this beast...so far so good. offline tidal - hope that gets sorted asap. With respect to the equaliser, has anyone tried to mimic the "warmness" of the mojo by playing around with the settings and if so,do you mind sharing the settings?
 
Sep 2, 2018 at 10:57 AM Post #412 of 1,567
Depends on where the player was purchased as to "CM" or "CN". Due to recent regulations in a few Asian countries, we were forced to split the firmware depending on your region.


CM
Country : Europe, USA, Japan, Russia, all other countries except for CN firmware
Language : English, Korean, Japanese, Russian, German, French, Spanish
Keyboard: English, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Spanish

CN
Country : China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea
Language: English, Korean, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional
Keyboard: English, Korean, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional


Can you guys help me out? Flashing the firmware from CN to CM? mine bought in HK...
 
Sep 2, 2018 at 5:07 PM Post #417 of 1,567
Mine detected the upgrade and applied it. Have been loving the device since purchase about 3 weeks ago, just got silver dragon black cables for the balanced connection and wow...

Haven't figured out how to shuffle my library of songs for playback, if someone knows would be interested?
 
Sep 3, 2018 at 7:58 AM Post #418 of 1,567
Haven't figured out how to shuffle my library of songs for playback, if someone knows would be interested?

Not sure if there's another way but how I would do it is from the main menu pick "Songs" to show all songs on the player, then press the left of the 2 icons in the top right hand corner (looks like a burger with a play icon) which will play all songs and sort of add them all into a temporary playlist. Then I'd just turn on repeat all and shuffle from the currently playing song screen. Hope this helps :)
 
Sep 3, 2018 at 10:01 AM Post #419 of 1,567
After a month we have parted ways with my SE100. Getting sony WM1z instead :)

It is still a Wonderfull DAP though and I would happily recommend it to anyone.
 
Sep 4, 2018 at 12:48 PM Post #420 of 1,567
Up front, I must make clear, I have NO DOUBT the SP1000 delivers the superior sound. I have not heard it myself, yet I believe those who have and call it the best of AK.

My posts are not about whether SP1000 is better than SE100. I only take issue with how the SE100 has been characterized.

You have Encore, which I favored highly in my review. But it's far from the most ideal monitor, or even very well-rounded. It's an IEM famous for clarity, detail, resolution and soundstage, but equally famous for bright, sharp treble, thin mids, and lack of body. Lo and behold, this is how you describe the SE100.

This is inaccurate. It's neutral, but not Encore neutral. The SE100 possesses decent note weight, a rich, full sound, and adequate low-end heft. Just not so much of it as to skew Encore by any great margine.

You may never admit this to yourself, but you bought an IEM that does not please you, and you're searching for DAPs which will fix it for you. I understand completely. I've owned Encore for a year now, and always look for a good cable or DAP pairing to really bring up those areas where Encore is weakest.

A good starting point is finding a cable with a warm, thick sound. So far, the best I've discovered for Encore is the plusSound Exo Tri-Copper. You get that, and it almost doesn't matter what DAP you choose, it will always sound at least moderately smooth and rich. The DAP will just be icing on the cake, in terms of tuning.

Other cables you may want to look into are the Effect Audio Ares II Plus, and PWaudio no.5.

As for DAPs... a good way to save a lot of money would be to try the iBasso DX200 with one of their High Current AMP modules. With AMP1, it's a fairly bright player. AMP3 gets warmer. AMP5, warmer still. They just released AMP7 and AMP8, which are wonderfully bodied. They give any player from any company a run for its money. I can't promise you'll like it more than SP1000 (again, I haven't heard it), but it's one of the best things I've ever listened to.

Since this is an Astell&Kern thread, I should emphasize, there is NOTHING WRONG WITH BUYING AK. They do luxury DAPs better than anyone, and I've been a big fan since owning the AK120II a few years back. My posts have really been about celebrating the SE100 and correcting what I deem misinformation. That said, if you NEED a warmer device with more body, you have many, many more choices than just the SP1000. The Opus#1S and DX150 are two excellent examples at very reasonable prices. Warmth and fullness are not traits of TOTL products. AK simply reserves that for their biggest players. That's their choice, not an inevitability of quality.

You should start a cult, I will follow you...
 

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