[Drmark]

Just received my SE300, replacing my SE100 with it. More information on the screen. Beautiful colors, sharp screen. Fast and responsive system. Compared to the SE100.
Between the 2, the 100 seems smaller in my hand and is not as fast. Even with the increased weight the 300 does feel good in my hand.
SE300
Between the 2 amps I hear minimal difference in the sound. Easy to access by touching the top of the screen and pull down. Tap the amp option and switch on the fly. Super simple, same for the DAC options.

SE300; Transferring files is noticeably faster and just works. SE100 it would stop now and then. So improved.

Updated interface is nice, lot of options to install more apps.

Now that I own both would I buy the 300 again over the 100?
SE300 Major improvement in the interface, interface speed. Screen resolution, more space on-board.
SE100 Sound is very close. If I was only making a decision between the 2 on sound quality alone, I would not buy the 300.
Coupled with the screen, speed etc, I am glad I bought the SE300. Very happy with the purchase.

 

[Drmark]

Update 1,

Went for a long walk and played. I am using the Ultimate Ears UE18pro.

The player is fast and responsive. They updated the interface and changed the loading screen. I made a few adjustments on the player, gain up, Class A amp, Limit off. No I don’t listen at ear damaging levels. I did notice the 18pro opened-up with these settings. Bottom a little tighter, mid and highs are solid, clear and open. Very nicely defined. All improvements over the SE100. Before with everything set to factory default and Class-A; I did see a minor improvement but not much over the SE100. Sounded like all the limits on the Class-A were removed and it had a lot of head room.

Adjusted the EQ to add a little more bottom and very happy with the results. Solid improvement over the SE100 in my opinion.

Don’t like

Weight and size. After the first 10 minutes of a walk the size is noticeable and even with the case the edges made themselves noticeable. The slightly smaller size of the SE100 never presented this issue. Added weight in there.

Not sure about the case yet. You can see in the picture there are 4 indented ovals. Top for the power (1), sides (3). This I heard was due to how sensitive pressing them is. Lightly touch and they do respond. But, with the SE100 I could easily feel which was which. Not the case with this. Debating if I want to cut the side out. With the sensitivity I will probably leave it intact.

 

[Loftprojection]

Hum interesting, I was looking at the SE300 as a possible upgrade to my old Sony ZX507 but by your comments it's not very tempting! haha Cayin N7, in the same price bracket, is receiving way better feedback. Have you left your SE300 run for 50-100 hours or is it brand new? Some electronics really change sound wise after a good 50+ hours of burnin... I hope for you that it does get better. Maybe it the synergy with your current IEM that is not the greatest also.

 

[Drmark]

The unit only has a round 1-hour. Good idea. Will fire it up and let it run. Bear in mind, I am not a reviewer just someone who likes music.

 

[Loftprojection]

The unit only has a round 1-hour. Good idea. Will fire it up and let it run. Bear in mind, I am not a reviewer just someone who likes music.

Hahaha, me neither! Just a plain old joe who loves good sounding music! Specially one that has not a whole lot of money so before I buy something I do a lot of research so not to make too many buying mistakes! Anyway, sincerely hope your SE300 sounds better to your ears after some burnin, it's always more pleasant when we are happy with a new toy we buy, at least for a while until the upgraditis bug strikes! hahaha

 

[Drmark]

With 30 or so hours on it went for another walk. Turning the gain up and volume limit off really made a difference. My 18pro in-ears opened up. Sound is very clear and spacious. One comment I can make is my walk was over way sooner than I thought it would be. Just very absorbing player. Love it.
I believe this is a nice step up from the SE100.

Anything that makes a boring walk go fast is a win in my book.

 

[S Bean]

Hum interesting, I was looking at the SE300 as a possible upgrade to my old Sony ZX507 but by your comments it's not very tempting! haha Cayin N7, in the same price bracket, is receiving way better feedback. Have you left your SE300 run for 50-100 hours or is it brand new? Some electronics really change sound wise after a good 50+ hours of burnin... I hope for you that it does get better. Maybe it the synergy with your current IEM that is not the greatest also.

Putting sound differences aside. I think the Cayin N7 heats up a lot more, and the battery performance is not as good as the Se300. However from a ui speed perspective especially when using streaming apps, I think the Cayin wins hand down.

 

[Pepper606]

I've had my SE300 for 6 weeks, I'm still smiling when I turn it on. I can say it has exceeded my expectations, the sound is just so good.
The worry I had was the UI but that has proven to be a non issue. I also have an SR25 MKII which does have a slow UI, It's nothing like that.

I have Moondrop Variations, which really do work well with the SE300. I'm particularly pleased that I won't have to upgrade my IEMs!
The biggest drawback is I now have to closely listen rather than do something else. Dire Staits, Private Investigations really rewards close attention.
Once started it's proving to be very difficult to stop, Motorcycle Emptiness re-emerged as a favourite. But that leads to another and another.

I'm using A & NOS, but really do need to fully explore AB & OS. The soundstage is impressive, separation equally so.
I have a real aversion to sibilance, so I'm extremely pleased to say I've not had that problem at all. I just haven't been able to fault it, believe me I've tried!
My home gear was SR25 MKII with Ifi Zen DAC signature v2 & their Hifiman CAN into Hifiman Edition XS; the SE300 + Variations wins.
No regrets other than I waited!

Big shout out to Hifonix.co.uk, accurate advice and very quick delivery!

 

[Turbodub]

Can anyone speak to the speed of the UI specifically when using the Tidal app (the one that allows for offline music)? Is it responsive and smooth (or stutter-y)? The Tidal app on my older A&K DAP has gotten really slow and is unpleasant to use (art doesn’t load, everything is a beat slow, etc). I’ve now tried out some other Android-based players from hiby and shanling, and it’s a pretty stark difference. Anyone have a sense for how the AK SE300 compares to those (particularly for Tidal)?

 

[Pepper606]

I only use Tidal offline. With the SR25 mkii I have to wait until everything has loaded before being able to play a track.
The SE300 doesn't suffer that issue, it's available almost immediately, less than a second pause after starting Tidal. Compared to the 30 seconds I am used to its fantastic.
It's not perfect, I was able to cause it to stutter a couple of times. It was during the initial download of my playlists, I skipped forward several tracks and then it did stutter a few times. After the download I haven't encountered it again. For full disclosure I was streaming a movie at the same time too. Its entirely possible that the 3 loads were too much for my Internet.
But I do have a lingering suspicion that the SE300 isn't perfect in its WiFi performance, no actual evidence as such, but the SR25 did. It hasn't dropped out mid track or anything like the SR25.
Outside, away from my WiFi it's been perfect. I don't even think about it.

If you do decide to get one, get a case!!! The thing is beautiful but absolutely lethal! Never, ever, ever put it in a front pocket...

 

[Pepper606]

I have a question someone can hopefully help with: Have you tried Tidal and Qobuz on your SE300? If so did you think there's more bass from Qobuz?
Is this typical, possibly due to file formats? Am I imagining it! I've now got 2 subscriptions, which is OK I guess, but not ideal.
Cheers.

 

[eddie3vino]

I’ve had my SE300 for about six weeks. It sounded great out of the box but even better after a few days of break in. The resistors need to be “exercised” I’m guessing. Very neutral sounding. A recent firmware upgrade improved response. Very happy with it.