[Luis Mad]

Hey guys,

Is your Bluetooth connections have a low volume comparing to wired earphones?

With wired, I only need about 95-100 on volume. With BT (Sony WH 1000xm3) I have to put it closer too 145 ( and it's still not that loud)???

I also have the Sony Wh 1000xm3, wonderful noise cancelling, ideal for flights, hope to use them again soon!
i was just trying with something that starts quite loud, the 4th movement of Mahler‘s 1st symphony. With my Sennheiser HD 599 or with the Sony Wh1000xm3 with cable I have to play it at 100 to listen very loud but not unconfortable. With the Sony connected through Bluetooth LDAC I have to rise the volume not only in the player but also in the headphones Swipe up movement on the right headphone, I copy from the manual, make sure you have the latest firmware on the Sony. Rising the volume in the SR 25 and in the headphones, but you have to do both, I have to play a little bit higher reaching 110 but not as high as you mention. Tried for an instant 130 and it is impossibly loud for me

• To increase the volume: Swipe up repeatedly until the volume reaches the desired level.
  
  
  
  hope it helps!

 

[erich6]

So I got the SR-25 on Saturday and I've been playing it over the past couple of days. These are my first impressions:

Things I like:

1) Sound is buttery smooth yet with plenty of detail
2) Good pairing with Meze 99 Classics (even better using the balanced port, as expected); plenty of power and headroom
3) Build quality/feel
4) Unique design
5) Ability to stream Tidal and Qobuz bit-perfect high-res & MQA; even SiriusXM sounds good on this thing. No problems using home wi-fi.
6) APKs were easy to install (to get the above streaming apps); TIDAL gave me a bit more trouble because it comes in XAPK and you need to download another app to install it. AK's FAQ provides steps to do this and once I figured this out it was easy also.
7) Doubles as a high quality USB DAC; easy to switch from media drive to USB DAC mode; works wonderfully on my Windows 10 PC so far using the Windows native WASAPI interface (haven't installed drivers yet)
8) Excellent battery life so far (though I haven't really had a chance to run it down to 0% it seems to run at 10% every 2 hours but need to test more)
9) Customized Android smooth and responsive enough (not lighting fast though)

Things I don't like:

1) Fiddly micro-SD card slot (cards don't like to go in and stay in; have to fiddle with it a few times for them to sit in properly)
2) Cannot format micro-SD into required FAT32 (I learned I needed FAT32 when my library I took hours to copy to my 512 GB card didn't play on the player). All large-size SD cards now come in exFAT and there's no way to format this in the player. Windows 10 won't do it either so I had to get a third-party app to do it. Unfortunately, the new format didn't work either. I thought maybe I had a bad card (Sandisk) and then tried formatting in my old Sony Walkman and bingo, now it worked and could sync my library using JRiver Media Center. I strongly suggest AK add a feature to format SD cards in the player.
3) The supplied USB is a tad short so not a lot of play with player placement on my desk when using it as a USB DAC or syncing my library.
4) It's not intuitive at first how to get back to the main player when you are deep in a stream app. Turns out you have to press at the bottom of the player screen and this takes you there. The back button won't take you back to the streaming app; you have to swipe down from the top and you'll see the streaming app under the settings dock at the top of the player.

Things I've yet to try:

1) DLNA streaming and AK Connect
2) Bluetooth connections
3) Streaming with wi-fi in hotspots (public or personal from phone)
4) Equalizer function

All-in-all I'm enjoying the SR25 more than I thought and I think it's a great value compared to others in this range such as the Sony ZX507 which I was tempted to get but was turned off by low battery capacity and no bitperfect for streaming apps.

 

[JasonNYC]

Cannot format micro-SD into required FAT32 (I learned I needed FAT32 when my library I took hours to copy to my 512 GB card didn't play on the player). All large-size SD cards now come in exFAT and there's no way to format this in the player.

There is an FAQ on how to format as FAT32 in the player:
https://us.astellnkern.com/apps/help-center#!hc-how-do-i-format-my-memory-card

 

[erich6]

There is an FAQ on how to format as FAT32 in the player:
https://us.astellnkern.com/apps/help-center#!hc-how-do-i-format-my-memory-card

Thanks! Somehow I missed this;would have saved me some time last night. Glad to see feature is there.

Any benefits to installing the driver that came with the player instead of using the native Windows WASAPI?

 

[DaveElan]

So I got the SR-25 on Saturday and I've been playing it over the past couple of days. These are my first impressions:

Things I like:

1) Sound is buttery smooth yet with plenty of detail
2) Good pairing with Meze 99 Classics (even better using the balanced port, as expected); plenty of power and headroom
3) Build quality/feel
4) Unique design
5) Ability to stream Tidal and Qobuz bit-perfect high-res & MQA; even SiriusXM sounds good on this thing. No problems using home wi-fi.
6) APKs were easy to install (to get the above streaming apps); TIDAL gave me a bit more trouble because it comes in XAPK and you need to download another app to install it. AK's FAQ provides steps to do this and once I figured this out it was easy also.
7) Doubles as a high quality USB DAC; easy to switch from media drive to USB DAC mode; works wonderfully on my Windows 10 PC so far using the Windows native WASAPI interface (haven't installed drivers yet)
8) Excellent battery life so far (though I haven't really had a chance to run it down to 0% it seems to run at 10% every 2 hours but need to test more)
9) Customized Android smooth and responsive enough (not lighting fast though)

Things I don't like:

1) Fiddly micro-SD card slot (cards don't like to go in and stay in; have to fiddle with it a few times for them to sit in properly)
2) Cannot format micro-SD into required FAT32 (I learned I needed FAT32 when my library I took hours to copy to my 512 GB card didn't play on the player). All large-size SD cards now come in exFAT and there's no way to format this in the player. Windows 10 won't do it either so I had to get a third-party app to do it. Unfortunately, the new format didn't work either. I thought maybe I had a bad card (Sandisk) and then tried formatting in my old Sony Walkman and bingo, now it worked and could sync my library using JRiver Media Center. I strongly suggest AK add a feature to format SD cards in the player.
3) The supplied USB is a tad short so not a lot of play with player placement on my desk when using it as a USB DAC or syncing my library.
4) It's not intuitive at first how to get back to the main player when you are deep in a stream app. Turns out you have to press at the bottom of the player screen and this takes you there. The back button won't take you back to the streaming app; you have to swipe down from the top and you'll see the streaming app under the settings dock at the top of the player.

Things I've yet to try:

1) DLNA streaming and AK Connect
2) Bluetooth connections
3) Streaming with wi-fi in hotspots (public or personal from phone)
4) Equalizer function

All-in-all I'm enjoying the SR25 more than I thought and I think it's a great value compared to others in this range such as the Sony ZX507 which I was tempted to get but was turned off by low battery capacity and no bitperfect for streaming apps.

Very interesing and helpful. Thanks for taking the time to share

 

[Burkhardt]

There is an FAQ on how to format as FAT32 in the player:
https://us.astellnkern.com/apps/help-center#!hc-how-do-i-format-my-memory-card

But you don't need to use FAT32. I'm using with a 1 TB card exFAT without any problems.

 

[ctsooner22]

I still need to buy a couple of cards. Is there a recommendation that I can get off the shellf for my Mac that would work? Thanks. I’d want the largest storage I could get. As most know, I’m learning all of this. Thanks.

 

[tru6794]

Just completed with my first DAP, IEM earphones and Snugs. Wonderful sounds quality indeed.

 

[davidcotton]

Just completed with my first DAP, IEM earphones and Snugs. Wonderful sounds quality indeed.

Which iems? Just trying to figure out how they go in your ear?

On the subject of the ak can any apps be installed, or is it only those on the whitelist. Always need a decent audiobook player as that option seems to be forgotten every damn time unless it's apple.

 

[tru6794]

Which iems? Just trying to figure out how they go in your ear?

On the subject of the ak can any apps be installed, or is it only those on the whitelist. Always need a decent audiobook player as that option seems to be forgotten every damn time unless it's apple.

They are Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 and the orange silicone is Snugs, which help to have IEM as custom. Fit perfectly and sealed.

When I first got AK SR25, I thought the same that they should allow to install more apps. But I found out that what they offered are already enough though.

 

[Edyeded86]

Just completed with my first DAP, IEM earphones and Snugs. Wonderful sounds quality indeed.

Nice!

Do the snugs make a difference to the sound compared to the Andromeda on their own?

 

[tru6794]

Nice!

Do the snugs make a difference to the sound compared to the Andromeda on their own?

For me, yes, Snugs help to give a bit warmer sounds and I could hear even more details in the music as well as no feeling of they are going to fall down. It worth to have the Snugs.

 

[ipaddy]

There is an FAQ on how to format as FAT32 in the player:
https://us.astellnkern.com/apps/help-center#!hc-how-do-i-format-my-memory-card

This doesn't link to a specific FAQ, but a general help page. I tried searching for format card but nothing came up.

 

[JasonNYC]

This doesn't link to a specific FAQ, but a general help page. I tried searching for format card but nothing came up.

not sure what you mean. When I click on the link I posted on an Android phone, iPad and two different computers, it takes me straight to the FAQ question on how to format the microSD card. Anyone else having an issue?

 

[Neweymatt]

not sure what you mean. When I click on the link I posted on an Android phone, iPad and two different computers, it takes me straight to the FAQ question on how to format the microSD card. Anyone else having an issue?

Haven’t tried formatting a card yet, but the 3 methods offered all seem reasonable to me. Simplest would be to just format the card in the SR25 itself...