Astell & Kern SR25: The next A&norma player

[JasonNYC]

Jason, I understand that. But Bexit was 1 January 2020 and I bought my SR25 on 15 June 2020. Almost 6 months after Brexit and they just changed today. That is 18 months.

Another thing. I just started to use 2.5 socket 2 weeks ago then it broke. How can that possible?

Not arguing with you, just trying to clarify why different dealers have different warranty periods listed. As I mentioned above, I work for the North America team, so not sure how the warranty works for the UK especially with the changes. I will pass this along to the HQ team for clarification.

Just to confirm, you said you reached out to the UK team. They told you repairs would not be covered under warranty? Feel free to PM me if you would rather. The more info you can provide that I can pass along to the team in Korea, the better.

 

[neil74]

Hi @neil74 !

Take a look at the proposed eq setting from oratory1990 here: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_over-ear_2018/Sennheiser HD 599

jaakkopasanen have written a lot about measurements and summarized measurements made by others

Thanks, will check it out.

 

[neil74]

Hi @neil74 !

Take a look at the proposed eq setting from oratory1990 here: https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/oratory1990/harman_over-ear_2018/Sennheiser HD 599

jaakkopasanen have written a lot about measurements and summarized measurements made by others

Saw these earlier, not easy to replicate on the SR25

 

[tbrobison]

Not arguing with you, just trying to clarify why different dealers have different warranty periods listed. As I mentioned above, I work for the North America team, so not sure how the warranty works for the UK especially with the changes. I will pass this along to the HQ team for clarification.

Just to confirm, you said you reached out to the UK team. They told you repairs would not be covered under warranty? Feel free to PM me if you would rather. The more info you can provide that I can pass along to the team in Korea, the better.

Just a mention, but it's really nice to see an A&K rep monitoring this site and providing valuable confidence and care of product and company! I was also personally contacted by a rep from California after leaving my info on their website. I admire that!

 

[Luis Mad]

how can you tell you are ordering the correct balanced cable? Amazon had one that mentioned the 599 in the description which is out of stock but This one whilst it mentions the hd1 and not the 599s looks to be identical??

I can tell you https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32843066350.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1d7d4c4dr0l5TO this one works. I have the bronze one. The one you mention from amazon might not work. I bought one with lightning conector for Momemtum and did not work for the Hd599 even though it looked just the same.

 

[tru6794]

Not arguing with you, just trying to clarify why different dealers have different warranty periods listed. As I mentioned above, I work for the North America team, so not sure how the warranty works for the UK especially with the changes. I will pass this along to the HQ team for clarification.

Just to confirm, you said you reached out to the UK team. They told you repairs would not be covered under warranty? Feel free to PM me if you would rather. The more info you can provide that I can pass along to the team in Korea, the better.

After trying to negotiate with the UK team they eventually offered to have my SR25 fixed instead of using the service from the reseller, But still I have to pay for the postage which is not normal in the UK. The reseller - Home AV Direct UK did tell me they would fix it but not until after the UK team offered to fix it. Seems they didn’t want to have anything to do with me. That’s unacceptable from a famous international like Astell and Kern. As I mentioned earlier the 2.5 mm socket broke after 2 weeks of using. That was very upsetting enough.

 

[neil74]

I can tell you https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32843066350.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1d7d4c4dr0l5TO this one works. I have the bronze one. The one you mention from amazon might not work. I bought one with lightning conector for Momemtum and did not work for the Hd599 even though it looked just the same.

Is that a 2.5mm or 4mm one? It’s not clear in the pictures.

Will order but might take a punt on the Amazon one too, can always return it.

 

[Luis Mad]

Is that a 2.5mm or 4mm one? It’s not clear in the pictures.

Will order but might take a punt on the Amazon one too, can always return it.

You need 2,5 for the Sr25

 

[CountXero]

Saw these earlier, not easy to replicate on the SR25

@neil74 use the fixed band eq and download the data so that you can plot and interpolate to the fixed band of the SR25. Just found this link http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-bandwidth.htm so that you can calculate q-value. I guess that you are aware of that eq will create phase shifts that can be audible. Hence, eq as little as possible is to prefer (or not at all).

 

[neil74]

You need 2,5 for the Sr25

Missed how you selected the 2.5mm one! Have now ordered, due for delivery somewtime in 2025 I think! Ordered the one from Amazon too.

 

[neil74]

Have to say I am cracking on with trying to get it working how I want but I have to admit to just a little bit of buyers remorse so far. The sound is terrific for sure but if I am being honest I prefer pretty much everything else about the Sony player as something to just pick up and use. Probably just need longer to get it how I want it and to get used to the quirks of the UI.

Also for anybody considering the official case, don't! Nice quality but renders the swipe gestures as pretty much un-usable. Sending mine back.

 

[neil74]

@neil74 use the fixed band eq and download the data so that you can plot and interpolate to the fixed band of the SR25. Just found this link http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-bandwidth.htm so that you can calculate q-value. I guess that you are aware of that eq will create phase shifts that can be audible. Hence, eq as little as possible is to prefer (or not at all).

Thanks, I am not great at this stuff. It is a shame there are not some presets built into the SR25 to play around with.

 

[RIGATIO]

Hello, im aiming at new dap (currently using pioneer xdp-300r paired with beyerdynamic Xelento). I'm very interested in sr25 mainly due to the design, size and battery life. I bet most of daps in this price range are very comparable soundwise. So my question is: did anyone here have an opportunity to compare sr25 to the Shanling m6 pro? They are at the same price here in Germany (sr25 is actually 50e less). Its very important for me to hear from you, your honest opinion, because these two daps are the only choice for me.
Thank you in advance!

 

[morndewey]

Hello, im aiming at new dap (currently using pioneer xdp-300r paired with beyerdynamic Xelento). I'm very interested in sr25 mainly due to the design, size and battery life. I bet most of daps in this price range are very comparable soundwise. So my question is: did anyone here have an opportunity to compare sr25 to the Shanling m6 pro? They are at the same price here in Germany (sr25 is actually 50e less). Its very important for me to hear from you, your honest opinion, because these two daps are the only choice for me.
Thank you in advance!

Hi. I have both those daps. Have had m6pro for a few months and recently purchased SR25.
SR25 battery indeed lasts much longer between charges. M6pro needs juice after every long session, so after about 5 hrs playtime running balanced medium gain, approx.
M6pro has a fuller, less neutral sound, warmer. It’s also more powerful in terms of output. Screen is a good deal larger, and you can install third party music player apps easily. I use UAPP on it cuz M6pro native Shanling player does not do gapless playback. Also, you get three gain settings, which is nice. It’s also heavier and larger. Volume wheel is very solid, nice tactility.
SR25 sounds quite smooth and balanced in contrast. I’m really enjoying it. Seems powerful enough for VE Ely and Volt on balanced. Volume rarely above 90/150 with Ely. Native AK music player is pretty good. No complaints so far.
Different DACs also. M6pro uses dual AK97s, and SR25 dual CS ones.
I cant really recommend one over the other except for specific use cases. Better battery life is a big plus with SR25. Also, volume adjustment is more granular with SR25. M6pro I have a hard time getting volume just exactly perfect as it jumps a little too much between clicks.

 

[morndewey]

Question here.
How do I load music onto SR25 internal memory or sd card, for that matter, when unit is plugged into PC? Thanks