[SilverEars]

  Only AK240 can do native DSD, the others convert DSD to PCM first before D/A conversion.

That makes sense, thanks.

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

  Only AK240 can do native DSD, the others convert DSD to PCM first before D/A conversion.

thanks to this competitive market, there will be a few more DAPs that can do DSD native

 

[warrenpchi]

Again, has anyone compared the optical out SQ in between AK100ii, AK120ii and AK240??

 
Hi archer, sorry, I haven't.  I don't have the AK240 here anymore, so I couldn't even do a three-way optical shootout if I wanted to. 

 

 

  http://www.astellnkern.com/eng/htm/story/astellnkern.asp

 
Thanks but I was referring to the review from the Audio360.org guys on headfi here.

 
Hi Ultra, mikemercer's impressions are at http://www.head-fi.org/t/718321/brand-spanking-new-a-k-ak120ii-and-ak100ii/540#post_10609437 and my impressions come right after his in the post following that one. 

 

  I got my AK120ii and just finished loading up some music, my frist test was my alpha dogs and it drives them well, they sound fantastic, however to achieve a listening level i like i have to put the volume up all the way. Does this player have a gain setting? 

 
Nope, just the volume dial.  Well, technically, if you run the AD balanced, the "Balanced Out" configuration serves as a gain setting I suppose. 

 

[Aaranu]

   
Nope, just the volume dial.  Well, technically, if you run the AD balanced, the "Balanced Out" configuration serves as a gain setting I suppose. 

Thanks mate!

 

[Levanter]

thanks to this competitive market, there will be a few more DAPs that can do DSD native

The question now would be which performs the best with DSD?
Unfortunately Calyx at the moment seems like a deal breaker as another user recently reported only 4.5 hours usage on 16 bit flac... imagine how long it'll last with DSD.
Another to watch for is Cowon and probably a few obscure Chinese brands

 

[flymetothemoon]

 
For me the RWAK240 has a little more depth and seem ever so tighter showing some of  the detail - but as far as i am concerned that is the red wine mod.
 

 

The out the box AK240 - i don't know about the differences as according to the specs below they are very similar. - Others have different views/impressions as shown earlier in the threads
I used Ref 1 for my A/B.
 

This is one typical case that specs won't tell anything about the sound.  A lot of fellow headfiers chase specs rather than sound though.

 

[flymetothemoon]

  The ii has USB DAC functionality.  What is the benefit of the XMOS processor?  

XMOS plays DSD native without converting to PCM before decoding.

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

The question now would be which performs the best with DSD?
Unfortunately Calyx at the moment seems like a deal breaker as another user recently reported only 4.5 hours usage on 16 bit flac... imagine how long it'll last with DSD.
Another to watch for is Cowon and probably a few obscure Chinese brands

~4.5hr for Calyx M is reported long time back from someone in South Korea if I remember correctly.. If it fits your lifestyle like just for commuting purposes, it should not be too bad
 
what worrying is that someone mentioned that the AK120II sounds more or less like the iphone5, why need to spend 1000+ usd for a DAP? although the AK100II and AK120II are quite the lookers..

 

[flymetothemoon]

  So does that mean that DSD playback is not possible on the ii?  The specs DSD are the same for both players.

ii plays DSD by converting it to PCM.

 

[flymetothemoon]

 
thanks to this competitive market, there will be a few more DAPs that can do DSD native

The new Sony PCM D100 can do DSD too.

 

[Levanter]

~4.5hr for Calyx M is reported long time back from someone in South Korea if I remember correctly.. If it fits your lifestyle like just for commuting purposes, it should not be too bad

what worrying is that someone mentioned that the AK120II sounds more or less like the iphone5, why need to spend 1000+ usd for a DAP? although the AK100II and AK120II are quite the lookers..

Actually besides Korean users, pekingduck also only just reported yesterday in the Calyx thread. After a week use, battery life is 4.5 hours for 16 bit and 3.5 hours for DSD64.
I'd understand 4.5 hours for DSD, but not normal 16 bit flacs. That is very poor even for commuter usage IMO.

 

[warrenpchi]

 

  wow that's fast.
any comparisons?

For me the RWAK240 has a little more depth and seem ever so tighter showing some of  the detail - but as far as i am concerned that is the red wine mod.

 
FWIW, I found that to be the case without the mod as well. 

 

[SilverEars]

  This is one typical case that specs won't tell anything about the sound.  A lot of fellow headfiers chase specs rather than sound though.

Well, I don't see how the sound could be different given those specs unless you can distinguish between DSD and PCM output.  Given the numbers are identical, it's easy to say the implementation is pretty much the same so therefore would sound the same.

 

[Solude]

Until someone posts internal shots of both we won't know for sure.  That said the evidence strongly suggests a copy paste, just saying.

 

[flymetothemoon]

  Well, I don't see how the sound could be different given those specs unless you can distinguish between DSD and PCM output.  Given the numbers are identical, it's easy to say the implementation is pretty much the same so therefore would sound the same.

 
Below is a thorough review of the devices...
 

  First off: I'm honored to be a part of this community - Everyday.
And I'm grateful to Owen and Jimmy at A&K for letting us goto TOWN on the new players!
and, HERE WE GO
 
OK, so to kick this off on my end - this is the order, in terms of overall sonic integrity/performance/musicality to me (from top-bottom):
 
AK240
AK120
AK120II
AK100II
AK100
 
240 is KING ALL AROUND
Why is this? Frankly, I'/m still finding out. I was the first to hear it in our Audio360 crew at CES - and as an A&K devotee, I went BAT SH__.
W/ my Audeze LCD-XCs wired w/ Moon Audio Silver Dragon - the combo sounded like, literally, what the evolution of portable fidelity was to be in my head!
I was completely LOST init'. I could've listened ALL DAY ALL NIGHT. I rocked Radiohead's "Everything in it's Right Place" (one of my all-time audible acid test trax) first - and the sheer dynamic range, coupled with the dimensionality, the space between the instruments and sound, the impact, the overall gestalt of the music got me so deeply  - well, NO KIDDING: I love Owen and Jimmy, great guys, but I didn't have enough money on me to offer to buy one then, so for a split second I thought about taking the player on a walk with me outside...  Probably not the best idea, at least without asking! 
 
But I needed to wrap my head around this. I mean my portable rigs are not slouches (A&Ks - 100 & 120, Sony PHA-1, CEntrance HiFi-M8, Ray Samuels The Intruder) and I had my favorite one with me:
AK100 w/ ALO International.  The AK240 made me feel like I did when I first got my promotion at The Absolute Sound to Harry Pearson's set-up and acquisitions Manager - and heard his BIG system for the first time. That sound, almost life-like, was then unknown to me. I had to sit and listen for three weeks to get a handle on what that system did - in terms of being utterly holographic sonically (Genesis 1s, Conrad Johnson Premier mono-blocks, etc...) and the sound was so deep and wide! Listening to my LCD-XCs and the AK240 was like that experience. Then I got even deeper when I played The Haxon Cloak's "Excavation" - a track that I've leveled big Hi-fi systems with (BIG bass, all sorts of noise and different sounds colliding and meshing and blending) as the player and cans together didn't distort at all to my ears, at levels that I don't normally listen at - and as Warren will tell you: I LIKE HEADROOM. So the AK240 was something I had to have because it drew me so far into the emotive power of the music I was listening to, as well as provide the sonic goods! And - we haven't purchased our Audio360 team unit yet, but I'm going to sell some gear to buy this thing...
Nuff there for NOW...
 
For the Impression Process:

 
I approached this like any review/impression - I did not consider price while listening to the music through any of these brand new players.
Of course I knew the price of my own A&K DAPs (120 & 100) but we're still not entirely sure of the prices of the new models anyway! So that worked out, as I was taught by Harry Pearson: I never ask for the price until I've heard it. So that intel wasn't a factor at all.
 
I know it's important to factor in price vs. performance when it comes to these things, especially updated versions of products that haven't been on the market for too long! This was an interesting sonic adventure because I love my AK100 (and 120, but the AK100 holds a special place in my heart, especially after the impedance update). I use it often with my JH-13 Freqphase out in the world when I'm on the run, which is too much! So I'm coming strictly from a performance-based experience here. Very simple:
 
Which drew me deeper into the music in relation to the others - and whether that be through more gain, cleaner mids, or crispy highs - the essence of my search was to find out which ones I would choose, and for what reasons. Also: even though one may have sounded "cleaner" or "tighter" than another - did the liquidity of the non-linear player draw me closer to the music? If it did, so be it...
 
I really wanted to know: Were the AK100II and AK120II that much better sonically than my originals? I've come to not only love both original players, but I use both original players weekly (daily - just depends on which one) - and so I'd gladly shell out, after saving, more money for a more engaging musical experience if in fact the new players did something CLOSE to the AK240!
 
That said - I'm going to give my early impressions in the order of my preference and give you a glimpse of my feelings about each player in relation to the OG A&K DAPs:
 
AK240
AK120
AK120II
AK100II
AK100
 
So I got into the 240 a little bit already - and MUCH more to come on that, as Warren and Michael did the review for us at Audio360 - and I just got the player from Warren this weekend.
I'm also doing a Part II to their review of the player.. So I'll share that ASAP when it's done rest assured!
 
The AK120:
Now this was a surprise! But to my ears, the OG 120 has greater lower midrange clarity and more naturally extended highs than the120II. Hi-hats decayed more organically, and the texture in the lower midrange and the highs just felt more "real" - I got a quicker, clearer image in my head while listening to certain instruments on the OG 120 vs. the AK120II (second guitars, keys, some drums, tablas, as well as the female voice for examples) - as I strayed from my MAIN TEST PLAYLIST now and then, but always played the same thing on both players, if I strayed, to be sure of what I was experiencing! 
But here's the thing: The AK120II has greater overall dynamic range than the 120: It's beefier from bottom to top - but like I said, there are areas where the OG 120 still out-shine it in detail retrieval, especially in the micro and macro-dynamics in the lower mids and highs. The 120II has greater ooomph in the dynamic impact - but lacks some of the transparency of the OG 120. I was very surprised by this: So much so that I went back-n-forth between these players, after we got em as closed to level-matched as we could, more-so than all the others! I kept doing it, because I wanted to be SURE I wasn't just psychologically sentimental about my 120!  
 
So, I would personally stick with my 120 if I was looking at the II. Also: This is where the new CEntrance/Glove Audio (new side-line of Michael Goodmans brand) A1 DAC/Amp for the AK100 and AK120 comes in! I think, at $599 (projected cost I believe) that the A1 with my 100 (as it just becomes a storage box with the Glove) out-performs the new 120II! I got to live with the Glove Audio A1 on set-up night in Newport with my Audeze LCD-X and JH-13 Freqphase - more on that ASAP - but unfortunately we couldn't get one RIGHT NOW for this work.
Bottom line - for me, it's the 120 over the 120II musically. If you want greater bang, thumps, and more gain, then the 120II is for you. Me? I look to get as close to the music as possible - no matter what the vehicle! 
 
The AK120II:
I think my thoughts on this are pretty much covered above - but I would like to expand a bit. In terms of how stout it feels in your hand, the craftsmanship, the screen, and the wi-fi capability, it does have more features that could please a user who likes those things (I do, but the music ALWAYS comes first) so I'm in no way hating on the unit. If I didn't own and know my OG 120 so well sonically, and heard the AK120II - I'd be impressed. So I think that should be said. Is it worth it? IMO: Not if you already love your 120...
 
The AK100II:
The AK100II seemed to have more everything, with regard to the entire frequency spectrum than the 100. It's like the OG 100 on audible steroids. Everything feels bigger, wider, deeper, and the timbre was also wonderfully natural-sounding. Piano/keys and strings in the Elbow tracks were fantastically rendered, as were the vocals and the speciousness was wonderfully present. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it performed with my JH-13 Freqphase (wired w/ Moon Audio Silver Dragon IEM cable as well) - as we all know they had to do an impedance update for the AK100 - which I have.
There was certainly more bass weight and velocity, midrange warmth and texture. Put it this way: If you own an AK100 and you love it (I love it, but I usually amp it w/ my ALO International):

Then the AK100II is a no-brainer IMO. It just does everything with more grace, finesse, and it's got far more power under the hood! Plus factor in the new form-factor, feature set, and IF you can afford it, I'd say go for it! I had a ton of fun listening to my test tracks on this player - and even ended up playing all sorts of other stuff, from The Shins to Joy Division, Phonat (recent 360 review HERE) and Tori Amos. I had a blast with this unit! It was like hearing the AK100 for the very first time with the ALO International (which is how I first experienced it at CES years ago when it came out - Alex Rosson had the rig and I got to hear it with my LCD-3s, broken-in my way). I bought one right then and there after hunting Jimmy Moon down!
 
The AK100 - unfortunately goes to the bottom of the new pack now - because of e everything I said above!
But, AGAIN: Once we have a CEntrance/Glove Audio A1 A&K DAC/Amp we'll do a proper follow-up and comparisons.
 
Look fellas, I sincerely hope all this listening gives you a glimpse into what's happening .
I'd spend even more time, but I'm still in SoCal and we gotta leave this hotel before I go broke!!
 
So, I'll be on the road for many hours, and then spending time w/ my wifey for a bit,
but I'd be pleased to answer ANY questions anybody has!
 
It's been a sincere pleasure - and, admittedly, at times, a real biiiiatch to get all this in with the time we had!
But Warren and I took this very seriously.

 
 
Yours in Sound,
 
MikeMercer
 
 
and STAY TUNED for @warrenpchi's impressions after mine!