[zachawry]

I forgot to charge my AK120II last night, so I'm listening to my IEMs through my Macbook, which I did happily for many years before getting the AK. 
 
My god, it's awful. I can barely stand it. I'm not really enjoying the music, but I keep it on to shut out the noise. 
 
Who was it who said, the benefits of a piece of gear are much more apparent when you try to go back down the ladder? 
 
Note to self: Buy 10 extra charge cables. 

 

[twister6]

  I forgot to charge my AK120II last night, so I'm listening to my IEMs through my Macbook, which I did happily for many years before getting the AK. 
 
My god, it's awful. I can barely stand it. I'm not really enjoying the music, but I keep it on to shut out the noise. 
 
Who was it who said, the benefits of a piece of gear are much more apparent when you try to go back down the ladder? 
 
Note to self: Buy 10 extra charge cables. 

 
why don't you get one of those portable external batteries for smartphones?  Something like Astro Slim3 can stack up right behind AK so you can enjoy listening while it charges up on the go http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN7909-B2A

 

[jjacq]

is the old gen AK120 better than the AK100II?

 

[intlsubband]

   
why don't you get one of those portable external batteries for smartphones?  Something like Astro Slim3 can stack up right behind AK so you can enjoy listening while it charges up on the go http://www.ianker.com/product/79AN7909-B2A

 
Last week I got a TP-link external battery for a trip I had earlier this week, and I'm very happy with it. 10,000+ mA, 2 USB ports (2A and 1A), only 40$. Charged the AK super fast!
 
And also, it's totally quiet. When I listen with my PSB headphones with amp on, and the AK is charging directly via AC plug, I get quite a bit of noise (which I don't get when listening in passive mode while charging). But I can charge with the external battery while playing the AK with the amp mode on in my headphones and it's totally quiet.

 

[sveltegenius]

Thanks for your feedback, I did a factory reset and re-formatted the SD card and it has improved greatly, which I am thankful for because I really didn't want to go through a return or exchange....the sound quality this device is capable of is amazing!

 

[Dopaminer]

  I forgot to charge my AK120II last night, so I'm listening to my IEMs through my Macbook, which I did happily for many years before getting the AK. 
 
My god, it's awful. I can barely stand it. I'm not really enjoying the music, but I keep it on to shut out the noise. 
 
Who was it who said, the benefits of a piece of gear are much more apparent when you try to go back down the ladder? 
 
Note to self: Buy 10 extra charge cables. 

I had a parallel experience recently when i was going through an old hard drive and I found some backups from 10 years or so ago.  In there I found my enormous 128kb/s itunes library.  I loaded a bunch of it onto my 120ii, to listen to for nostalgia`s sake . . . .  Wow.  Just shocking how ***** it sounds.  A combination of more revealing gear, and having gotten used to lossless/hi-res files, has made all of that - all those ripped CDs - utterly unlistenable.  

 

[BRCMRGN]

   
How do you like Matrix 2?

I mostly agree with Tyll's review. I find it a bit too bass heavy for my taste, but at the $90 price point that's to be expected. I got the best sound using aptX and high quality on the Sony A17.  My Bluetooth needs are pretty simple, so the Matrix 2 is a good fit and a real bargain.

 

[Richsvt]

I just hooked my 100ii to my new (to me) Continental v3. Using my HE-400i. Damn, this is some sweet sounding stuff. Just digging the music.

 

[mathi8vadhanan]

I just hooked my 100ii to my new (to me) Continental v3. Using my HE-400i. Damn, this is some sweet sounding stuff. Just digging the music.

Good stuff. Are those norne audio cables? How is the 400i straight out of AK?

 

[Richsvt]

They are the Solv X, which are fantastic. The HE-400i straight out of the 100ii is a little weak. Get some slight clipping near the upper volume limit. The amp just adds the extra push for that extra kick and extension.

 

[threephi]

Disaster has struck!  

 

 
 
Some knucklehead at work threw something on top of my backpack, and cracked the screen of my AK100II as it sat within my bag, inside a pouch.  The device still works, but the screen is toast and I can't navigate away from the last album I listened to before the crack.  My bad for not getting a hard case sooner, but my heart absolutely sank knowing that I'l have to miss out on audio bliss for what will likely be a few weeks. 

I already have an email out to AK support, but has anyone here dealt with this before?  I'm prepared to pay the stupid tax on the screen repair, but I'm wondering what kind of turnaround AK will give and what it might cost, or if there are any third-party shops that do screen repairs (I'm on the east coast of the USA).  What I've read here so far about AK's support history isn't encouraging, so I'd appreciate hearing how others have fared when dealing with them.

 

[Richsvt]

My heart goes out to you. That really hurts. That's why I got an X3ii to take outside, smaller replacement costs. Hopefully the new screen isn't too bad and turn-around time is fast...

 

[warrior1975]

is the old gen AK120 better than the AK100II?

Different sound signature for sure, but I'd keep the newer model all day. Had an Rwak120b and enjoyed the ak100ii much more just on the interface alone.

 

[intlsubband]

It has now been over a month since I got the AK100ii as an upgrade from the DX90, but I kept the DX90 around to see which one I prefer. As I said before, i think the DX90 is a fantastic dap, but I just got tired of the UI.
 
However, I had a suspicion I might go back to use the DX90 at some stage. On the surface, the DX90 has some real advantages over the AK100ii: significantly more powerful amp section, proper line-out, user replaceable battery, just to name a few. However, now after a month of using the AK, I can't even imagine having to go back to the DX90. The UI really makes it much easier to stroll through the different albums, but also - and it might sound shallow - the large and clear display of the album artwork. I find that it adds a lot - it adds the visual element that you get with a vinyl/cd experience, so it really taps into the nostalgia element in my music listening experience. Not to mention that the easier UI means that I am more likely to listen to a larger variety of my collection compared with the DX90.
 
I also prefer the AK sound. The DX90 is arguably just as detailed, but the AK sounds so smooth and well-rounded - it's all the same elements but they seem to combine better, if it makes any sense.

 

[yugas]

RWAK100 II + P7 wow this is such a nice combo...For some moments I could even forget my desktop rig.