I'm fine with Ak100 II UI speed vs the JR UI which is really it's short coming. But at 500 it's a nice sounding player.
Slow boot up is my only complaint with the 100II. I paid $550 total, but I know people have even gotten them for less.
I'm fine with Ak100 II UI speed vs the JR UI which is really it's short coming. But at 500 it's a nice sounding player.
So do you feel that an upgrade to the AK120ii from the Ak100 II worth the price?
What's the best haggled price new an AK240 can be had for you think?
Maybe AK will collaborate with Chord and bring us a Super Hugo DAP?
Yes! the difference is HUGE~~~ MASSIVE~~~~ BIGGER THAN THE UNIVERSE times a ZILLION Universes :veryevil:
GO SPEND MORE MONEY!!! :evil:
I'm obviously kidding . The differences are slight. Like "Brooko Slight/small/tiny" Yes... really. In fact I'm not surprised people who have had a quick listen to the AK100ii and AK120ii or a casual comparison thinks they sound exactly the same. The reason I think they're different is that I've gotten to know the AK100ii so well. I lived with it and listened to the AK100ii ONLY for half-a-year. Loving it, enjoying it, and knowing exactly the sound it produces with my Layla. I can still hear the AK100ii in my mind... certain songs I probably listened to 500 times in the last half-a-year. Yes I enjoy my music.
Also... I'm very sensitive to DACs in general. I come from a desktop oriented background where the Schiit Bifrost was kind of a revelation and opened my eyes about what DACs can do (This was back in 2011 when I was still a "skeptic")... the Concero was brilliant too. So yeah I appreciate those micro-details inside macro-details. I appreciate the nuanced details that people normally don't care about or even hear?. It actually increases my enjoyment of music. And indeed the AK120ii is more detailed (micro-details only). On the face of it will sound the same as the Ak100ii, they have the exact same macro-details or so similar I won't be surprised people say it's the same. For me... I would say it's like a 10%~ (personal number). There is more clarity/transparency/details/layering/seperation and even fullness. There is also more power/drive/grunt. And I like the tonal balance better. The slightly elevated upper-mid/treble presentation makes it sound more lively and more "neutral". It is also more fatiguing because of this and also because it's more "explosive". AK100ii is calm/fatigue-free and gives 90%+ of micro-details and 100% of macro-details... the black background is mesmerizing too, but sometimes it gets a bit too quiet... I think it's a win-win, either one gets you something. You have to remember the money you save too.
Also.. I noticed that the AK120ii battery is running down much faster than the AK100ii... I looked up the battery capacities and it looks like the AK120ii has only a slightly bigger capacity while using up much more power with dual DACs and higher output, much higher output in balanced mode especially. I'm just kind of surprised this never came up on this thread...
As for "worth it"... I don't know do you normally find spending double the money is "worth it" for you to get a 10% increase in quality you may or may no hear? For me Yes... my Head-Fi spending logic is based on insanity and also the AK120ii gets me over a personal threshold where I can stop upgrading for a while. I know there is better out there... but maybe I can be more patient? and weight for truely next level stuff from AK or Cowon. I'm sure 2017/18 will bring us things we can't even imagine now.. the DAP market is moving fast. Maybe AK will collaborate with Chord and bring us a Super Hugo DAP?:veryevil:
It boggles my mind every time you use the word "fatiguing" to describe the 120ii. To my ears it's so warm and smooth it could never fatigue.
Ah, I see.
This is where the confusion comes from.
One could say the 120ii is bright "compared" to the 240. That is perfectly fair, even though the 120ii is not bright.
But fatigue is something else. It has to be at least a little fatiguing for it to be "more fatiguing" than something else. To say it's more fatiguing than the 100 in one sentence, and then state it's "not fatiguing" at all in another doesn't really work.
Please don't take my words as hostile. I'm just trying to keep the information in this thread clear to everyone.
Ah, I see.
This is where the confusion comes from.
One could say the 120ii is bright "compared" to the 240. That is perfectly fair, even though the 120ii is not bright.
But fatigue is something else. It has to be at least a little fatiguing for it to be "more fatiguing" than something else. To say it's more fatiguing than the 100 in one sentence, and then state it's "not fatiguing" at all in another doesn't really work.
Please don't take my words as hostile. I'm just trying to keep the information in this thread clear to everyone.
What's the best haggled price new an AK240 can be had for you think?
I don't think that is necessarily the case though. Things such as sound fatigue are subjective and comparative, even within one person's experience. I didn't find my iPhone, Oppo HA2, or 120ii, all of whom I used with my K10s before the 100ii, fatiguing, until I used the 100ii for an extended period of time and recalibrated my mind's definition of what a fatiguing sound is. As un-fatiguing as I find the 100ii currently, I would not be surprised to check out the jr, which I've been meaning to, and then find that it makes the 100ii sound fatiguing in comparison.