[JasonNYC]

Does the SR15 support any Hi Res streaming? Can Qobuz Hi Res streaming work on the SR15?

With the firmware update yesterday, you can install Qobuz on the SR15. See my post about 7 or 8 above for more info and a link to what streaming apps are supported.

MQA and Tidal Masters will be supported by the end of the year. The SR15 is currently undergoing the certification process with the MQA team.

 

[Trueaudio]

New firmware for the SR15 adding support for the Open App service will be released TOMORROW, November 15th morning time in Korea. Here in the US, users will probably see it late tonight.

If you are not familiar with the new Open App service, the service gives you the option to sideload the Android version of popular streaming apps on the player including Spotify, Amazon Music, Qobuz, Pandora, etc. and offers offline content mode on those apps. The full Tidal Android app can also be loaded to provide Tidal offlne. More information can be found here along with a list of initially supported apps - https://www.astellnkern.com/eng/content/support/faq/view.asp?li=1000606

With the firmware update yesterday, you can install Qobuz on the SR15. See my post about 7 or 8 above for more info and a link to what streaming apps are supported.

MQA and Tidal Masters will be supported by the end of the year. The SR15 is currently undergoing the certification process with the MQA team.

Support for MQA and Tidal Masters will be amazing! I can't wait. Also having Qobuz now it's really cool. I love my SR15!

 

[reiserFS]

Is there a matching dock available yet for the SR15?

 

[xenoVa]

I am planning to buy this. I read a lot of reviews, everyone is so positive abouts its design, UI etc. but I have doubts about the sound. I will use the balanced output.

Some people say that SR 15 has a warm/smooth sound with recessed trible, is this true ? Should I buy this as a neutral sound preferer ?

 

[diver110]

Guten Tag. Did you ever compare the sound of the iPhone with the AK. I think the sound of the iPhone sucks, but hey, one man's opinion. I even plugged my iPhone into my Chord Hugo and compared it with the sound from my HP laptop. Laptop won hands down. Not sure why. Laptop/Hugo obviously is not very practical while sitting on an airplane. Thinking about the AK. Feedback much appreciated. Ich nehme an, dass Sie aus der deutschteiligen Schweiz kommen. Ich hatte eine Cousine in Zürich (aus Deutschland) und habe jetzt eine Nichte da (aus der USA--Shawne Fielding Borer, für eine Zeit recht bekannt).

 

[Afghan Vet]

Has anyone used a 512gb card in it yet?

 

[HamsterKing]

I am planning to buy this. I read a lot of reviews, everyone is so positive abouts its design, UI etc. but I have doubts about the sound. I will use the balanced output.

Some people say that SR 15 has a warm/smooth sound with recessed trible, is this true ? Should I buy this as a neutral sound preferer ?

Neutral sounding im not very sure about that but, in terms of warmness this wins the SE100. and its a pretty hot player

 

[Soham Sengupta]

Can someone please compare the SR15 to the hiby r6? I really want to know which one sounds better and which one you think is a better value and why. Thanks in advance .

 

[a-LeXx]

@AK Rep:

hope you can help me with this very technical question.

The issue with any Android-based DAP and streaming apps so far was, that sound processing is done through Android audio subsystem, and that one is fixed to one sampling rate, usually 48kHz.
As a result, all redbook content is usually also being upconverted to 48kHz from natve 44.1kHz. And the sw upconverting algorithm of android is not perfect, so the quality suffers a lot. My workaround for this issue is using only iDevices as transports, because the always output at a native sampling rate.

How does SR15, or any Astell Kern DAP , perform here? Is this basic Android issue solved? Or does also AK convert everything to a fixed sampling rate for streaming services like Spotify or Amazon Music Unlimited?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

 

[aklwarrior]

@AK Rep:

hope you can help me with this very technical question.

The issue with any Android-based DAP and streaming apps so far was, that sound processing is done through Android audio subsystem, and that one is fixed to one sampling rate, usually 48kHz.
As a result, all redbook content is usually also being upconverted to 48kHz from natve 44.1kHz. And the sw upconverting algorithm of android is not perfect, so the quality suffers a lot. My workaround for this issue is using only iDevices as transports, because the always output at a native sampling rate.

How does SR15, or any Astell Kern DAP , perform here? Is this basic Android issue solved? Or does also AK convert everything to a fixed sampling rate for streaming services like Spotify or Amazon Music Unlimited?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

I asked the same especially re the OpenAPK installed apps a month ago, but still no feedback on this one.

 

[JasonNYC]

I asked the same especially re the OpenAPK installed apps a month ago, but still no feedback on this one.

@a-LeXx @aklwarrior I asked a few different people from customer service, our sales team and our sound engineers and none of them were sure of the correct answer. Waiting for a response from the development team. They have been occupied with the SR15 update that was released last week, and the MQA and Roon updates coming soon. I will ask again.

 

[IrishAudio]

@AK Rep:

hope you can help me with this very technical question.

The issue with any Android-based DAP and streaming apps so far was, that sound processing is done through Android audio subsystem, and that one is fixed to one sampling rate, usually 48kHz.
As a result, all redbook content is usually also being upconverted to 48kHz from natve 44.1kHz. And the sw upconverting algorithm of android is not perfect, so the quality suffers a lot. My workaround for this issue is using only iDevices as transports, because the always output at a native sampling rate.

How does SR15, or any Astell Kern DAP , perform here? Is this basic Android issue solved? Or does also AK convert everything to a fixed sampling rate for streaming services like Spotify or Amazon Music Unlimited?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Hiby states in their materials for the R6 they bypass this Android audio requirement. Would have to assume A&K have accomplished the same bypass.

 

[a-LeXx]

Cool, didn‘t know that about Hiby, there is no official distributor for that one in Europe...

Anyway, if AK is doing this right, I‘d probably get me one sooner or later. If not, then this is a wasted effort, as android‘s upconversion really impacts audio quality so much that even a best DAC won‘t be able to save it...

 

[aklwarrior]

I wouldn't tell for 100% that there is no re-sampling involved for the openAPK Tidal. Compared to the stock Tidal app, that openAPK Tidal sounds differently. But let's wait for the official statement, although it's a little bit weird that there is no immediate info about this from AK. That suggests the android re-sampling passthrough is not implemented...

 

[JasonNYC]

@a-LeXx @aklwarrior I spoke to our head of development last night. He confirmed that output is at the provider's native sampling rate. There is no conversion or upsampling/downsampling to 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz.