[vniicle]

Maybe there is a heat issue.

I already mentioned it get pretty hot while streaming, well it get's also hot when its in the pants in normal music listening conditions. This is normal more or less I guess. But the device is also really hot in switched on no playing anything, that's not normal I think. The AK240 was also hot when streaming music or playing in a bag, but not just switched on and the WM1A wasn't hot at all.

Some other owners out there experiences something similar?

Yes, my new SR15 is also get heat up very hot. I can feel it through my pant's pocket. It will get hotter when you are streaming.
I exchanged for a new unit. Same exact problems. Requesting vendor to contact AK for explainations. Not sure if it is a manufacturing issue.
By the way, the customer and technical services at Crutchfield are very helpfull and accomodating. Further posting as soon as I heard something back from Crutchfield/AK. Otherwise, love the design, UI, and sounding. The WIFI is dropping from time to time though.

 

[maira]

Not sure if it is a manufacturing issue.

Players like KANN are getting very hot also. Thats A&K ....

 

[vniicle]

Players like KANN are getting very hot also. Thats A&K ....

Good to know. Thank you

 

[ce3eoa]

Yes, my new SR15 is also get heat up very hot. I can feel it through my pant's pocket. It will get hotter when you are streaming.
I exchanged for a new unit. Same exact problems. Requesting vendor to contact AK for explainations. Not sure if it is a manufacturing issue.
By the way, the customer and technical services at Crutchfield are very helpfull and accomodating. Further posting as soon as I heard something back from Crutchfield/AK. Otherwise, love the design, UI, and sounding. The WIFI is dropping from time to time though.

Hi

Mine also gets warm, but not too much, for me it is OK

 

[szore]

Hi

Mine also gets warm, but not too much, for me it is OK

Sometimes mine gets hot. Sometimes, not so much. Don't understand the difference...

 

[szore]

Brand new - knows little - here to learn - first post

Hi people!

I have an SR15 - first digital audio player ever (I mean since my first Compaq MP3 portable and a squadron of iPods from my first iPod Mini in lime green to my last Classic and all in between) ... I love music and the idea of it sounding better somehow some way just appealed so .... what I have now is the SR15 and I use Beyerdynamic Amirons and a balanced cable. I considered a couple of others ... iBasso ... Hiby R6 ... and honestly almost went with the R6. What appealed to me though was using the AK CD Ripper MK II to rip my discs directly to the unit in FLAC format - so I got one of those too. Sadly the ripper does not work with the SR15 ... at least not yet - but according to the friendly folks at iRiver - the Global Team is working feverishly to fix the issue “this week” ... .... ...... irony at its finest! I did rip CDs to the unit eventually using dBPoweramp from my computer and just because I had spent the money on it - used the AK Ripper as an external drive. Call it rationalization if you like. The resulting files ripped from the computer are 16 bit 44.1khz - which I guess is normal for a CD?

The unit itself is very nice - fit, finish and build are excellent. The glass back with the cubes pattern is reeeeally cool - so cool in fact I dare not scratch and risk breaking it therefore I also purchased the red case from AK and completely hid that beautiful back from view. But I know it’s there. The interface is fine and since it’s my first “dap” I have nothing to compare it with - I don’t expect it to be an iPhone or iPad so I suppose it works just fine - not a huge fan of going back from my present album and scrolling from the beginning but that might be trivial. OK - so while waiting vainly for the ripper compatibility to arrive I got to know Tidal and (like the CDs I later ripped to the unit) found that not all recordings sound the same. Some are brilliant - others just “ok”. I can tell you that my old first generation B&W P5 ‘phones sound horrible when connected to the SR15. More horrible in fact than when connected normally to my iPhone (they sound good) or when connected to my iPhone with a Dragonfly Red in between (they sound better). The Amirons sound good when connected - and I purchased a balanced cable from them which I always use - not necessarily because I think it sounds better than the normal jack but because the cable is shorter - the standard Beyer cable is pretty lengthy. The Amirons sounded good when connected to the Dragonfly too ... and were a lot louder. One thing I’ve found about this player is that I seem to need the volume UP and by that I mean 130 out of a max 150 - maybe you guys can guide me here or maybe the Beyers are the wrong choice but they are only 250 ohms and even iPhone without Dragonfly seems to be louder than the SR15 ...

I may have been expecting more - at the time I ordered the player (I preordered it) I considered an MKII as well but not for long because the SR15 was the same price at that time and it made no sense to buy an outgoing model for the same money just to have it sooner. Reviews were and still are few and far between and it was a risk. My setup may not be ideal - and that would be great because that can be fixed with a better pairing of player and ‘phones because honestly I think I was expecting “more”. I was surprised by the Dragonfly Red as ungainly as that was with a usb camera adapter going from the phone to the Dragonfly to this ridiculously long cable to the Amirons ... newbies huh ... but it really sounded good and better than I expected - with both headphones. The SR15 ... I expected it to sound and be better than that and I’m not sure I can say that. HOWEVER - and I mentioned it earlier - it depends on the recording/music some things do sound fantastic - and others just ... don’t. Recording quality matters!

Overall - I’d like my player to sound better - it might mean ditching the Amirons for something else or making better rips - or ... something. I’d love the ripper compatibility to be a fact as well - - - oh and a word about battery life - I only drained it once and that was because I hadn’t shut it down just turned off the screen and I think it updated itself ... who knows? The supplied screen film protectors are “ok” and a nice add but were tricky at first with the case but a little maneuvering gets it done.

Overall - it seems built well but I’m not sold on how it sounds. Again - could be my setup - could be my files - but I am somewhere between it’s “decent” enough to “this is disappointing”. I’m willing to give it a shot if the mistakes are mine.

HI!

So now that you have had it for a while and it is burned in, how do you like the sound?

 

[szore]

Anyone have a comparison of the SR15 vs kann.

used kann prices comparable to new SR15, so deciding between the two

I think the Kann is more of a high power amp for hard to drive full cans.

 

[szore]

I demo'd the SR15 (Norma) at a local distro a few days back. My daily driver is an Onkyo DP-X1. Below are my thoughts on the SR15.

Appearance and finishing: The sharp edges are ok. I dont see the player cutting/inflicting pain on me. It's a really nice little cute DAP and the tilted screen is great. While some people may find the tilt to be dumb, I think its something interesting and unique. And no, the tilt does not make it difficult to navigate even on the left hand.

UI: Pretty fast without much lag. Did not experience any bug. UI is simple and easy to understand. It takes just a min to figure out how to operate the device. The smaller screen did not impede me in navigating around.

Sound: Now this is the most interesting part of the player. I do find that it shares some similarities with the DP-X1 in terms of note weight. The DP-X1 is known to have a light note weight which makes things sound floaty and soft. The SR15 has a similar note weight but with more treble extension (DPX1 lacks the extension). The SR15 has the stage height and depth...but it just lacks the width. Compared to DP-X1, X1 has a very wide stage while SR15 struggles in that aspect. I agree with the head-fier above when it comes to the vocals. They are placed deeper in front but the instruments at the left and right channel are closer to you. Imitates a U-shape.

Personally I would rather the SS be deep, than wide.

 

[schleppsound]

HI!

So now that you have had it for a while and it is burned in, how do you like the sound?

Fair question for sure! I find Tidal sounds generally much better - BUT that is listening to the "new" stuff - - just in case I was "Emperor's New Clothing" myself I had some of my colleagues in the office give the player a whirl using my Amirons and the balanced cable same as I would - and they seemed highly impressed. One even told me "I had ruined the way [he] was listening to music now" and was very curious as to what made the greatest difference - headphones or player. So yes - it sounds better - WITH the "right" material. I haven't downloaded any Hi Res files from anywhere yet and my poor converted FLAC files from CD still sound worse than their TIDAL equivalents but that isn't a player problem - my inexperience is to blame there. Overall I like the player szore - and I'll probably keep it but it was a close thing ... I bought it because of the AK CD Ripper Mk II and THAT doesn't work yet with the SR15. (still). And it does get warm streaming which seems odd but hasn't caused an issue yet.

 

[vniicle]

Hi

Mine also gets warm, but not too much, for me it is OK

Explaination from Astell&Kern regarding the heating issue:

""Thank you very much for the email, and we are here to support your needs.
No, it has not been a common issue/report we have received for SR15.
From our experience, some warming sensation can be common during the "burn-in" process for a new DAP.
After the unit has been through the initial phase, around 1-2 weeks of usage, the overall performance of the DAP will be more stable and will no longer produce the similar experience.
However, the condition should never cause any deterioration of DAP casing or physical components.
We hope the information outlined above had offer additional product information for you reference.
For any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to share them directly with us.
Regards,
Astell&Kern / iriver North American Customer Service Center""

 

[Dave1972]

Hmmm. I always knew that the burn-in concept was dubious at best - generally nothing more than one's ears and brain getting accustomed to the sound. But apparently, with A&K, burn-in is literal, i.e. burning into one's skin! I guess after 1-2 weeks one becomes numb to the pain.

 

[szore]

Hmmm. I always knew that the burn-in concept was dubious at best - generally nothing more than one's ears and brain getting accustomed to the sound. But apparently, with A&K, burn-in is literal, i.e. burning into one's skin! I guess after 1-2 weeks one becomes numb to the pain.

That is not true, I have had equipment a few weeks, burned them in mostly, then exchange for same component for some reason, and the sound is crappy all over again, until it burns in at least 30 hours, preferably 200 hours.

 

[Dave1972]

That is not true, I have had equipment a few weeks, burned them in mostly, then exchange for same component for some reason, and the sound is crappy all over again, until it burns in at least 30 hours, preferably 200 hours.

The placebo effect is strong, isn't it! There's absolutely no way that 200 hours of operation will turn a "crappy" sounding unit into a good one.

 

[szore]

The placebo effect is strong, isn't it! There's absolutely no way that 200 hours of operation will turn a "crappy" sounding unit into a good one.

Well you are wrong, I don't know what else to tell you. You are using inferior equipment or you have a tin ear.

 

[JasonNYC]

Does anyone else who own an SR15 have any issues with the usb dac? Im running Windows 10 on all my systems and it seems to be very intermittent across all of them. Most of the time when I switch it from USB Disk to USB DAC it just instantly disconnects and goes back to disk.

The new firmware update released today should fix issues with USB DAC functionality. If you have Wi-Fi turned on, the player should notify you that there is a firmware update ready for download.