[greatbadir]

   
All good!  I personally found the Calyx M just too big, I wanted something smaller and elegant, but that was well build, with a great UI and SQ to boot.  Sadly, none of the other manufacturers meet this criteria imho, but AK does (but, at inflated prices as you so succinctly put it).  
I'm well aware of the cost of living in the UK, since I have several very good friends living there, one of which lived in Australia for 40 something years.  You did well to get a good bargain!   I hope the repairer will cover the AK unit for a reasonable warranty period?  

Having come from a Cowon X7, the size of the M wasn't really an issue for me.  It was just a combination of the M not being available here in the UK (I know it's easily available from European stockists and you don't have to worry about extra customs inside the EU, but the hassle of sending it overseas if anything went wrong with it put me right off - too many bad experiences in the past with that), the immediately available on-board 256gb of the 240, and the 2nd hand price/new warranty with a UK dealer combo that decided it for me.  And yep - a brand new 1 year warranty.  Everything covered bar loss, theft and water damage, I believe.

 

[flymetothemoon]

True, but the AK120 II does the same, at least points 1-8 (although with point 8, DSD is down sampled of course to PCM).  It also fulfils points a) and b) too.  And is a fair whack cheaper.  The only downside is non natural DSD support.  If you don't play much DSD, it isn't an issue.  Many things I've read have indicated that DSD downsampled to 176khz PCM is almost indistinguishable from native DSD.  

Yes, the material costs for the AK240 are higher (carbon fibre), but they are there for looks, not SQ enhancement imho.  

For its advantages over the other AK units, the AK 120 II in particular (since it uses the same output amp and also is dual DACs), does the AK240 really outclass its siblings...I personally doubt it.  

I'd be very curious to see blind testing done on the AK 120 II and AK220 units and have very strong suspicions that people would not be able to reliably tell them apart.  Again, I echo "placebo effect".

There's a thorough comparison between the AK models in the AK240 threads (in one of the two 240 threads) and you may find the difference between the models.

 

[goodvibes]

   
I'm curious as to how the units can differ when they have the same hardware, at least on specs.  Perhaps AK configures the 2 units differently under the skin, or perhaps the amp's characteristics are different (compare a SET to a push pull valve design as an example).  I'm not electronics whiz, but I'd be curious for someone who is to rip the 2 units apart and confirm if they are electronically identical or not.  
 
But that being said, when I have a retailer telling me that they're identical in sound (non DSD material), when said retailer can benefit by 1k more income, that makes you wonder.  And that retailer has been selling portable audio gear for 20 odd years I might add (I bought my high end Sony walkman from them in '98).  
 
 

 

 
 
But that being said, when I have a retailer telling me that they're identical in sound (non DSD material), when said retailer can benefit by 1k more income, that makes you wonder.  And that retailer has been selling portable audio gear for 20 odd years I might add (I bought my high end Sony walkman from them in '98).  
 
  

You need to remember that the difference is not dealer profit which will be < $300 for a small dealer. Sounds like an honest dealer anyway but just wanted to make clear that the incentive for added profit is not as great as you may think. Margins vary by product but I've seen an early AK dealer sheet and they did not reflect a high profit %. I'm not aware of the current pricing structure but my comment would approximate what I saw.
 
Anyone know how far off the AK100 II is from the 120 II? Their specs don't represent anything significant but I know that doesn't necessarily reflect what one hears.

 

[Makiah S]

Not yet, but still might, depending on the RWAK...to be fully honest I am a bit pissed that I followed people's opinion and tried the 240. It is a very good player, and I am not as disapointed as I was with the 120, but I do not find it to be the DAP that walks on water some people make it to be...people cannot help to judge based on price. Trust your ears people, they are the only ones who must be truthful as they have to live with you afterwards.

*glances down at his hm801*
 
Yea... I kinda like my 1990 UI and chunky clunky Black Box, in fact I was disappointed when I swa the HM 901 was no longer the Black Box n Button design but was some new fangled looking do dad... still in the air about if I'll get it or another DAP when the hm801 eventually dies [I'm hoping that's years away] 
 
Either way, nice review Currawong. The hm 901 is still a top pick for me. I wish it was as pretty as the hm801 is but... I guess I can live with it. that or start Franken Modding my hm 801 when it does hit the crapper 

 

[Royalorgans]

How does the AK240 sound compared to the chord Hugo. Considering you have both the JH 13 Freak Phase and Roxiannes. Does the mids come out more with the hugo? Can you hear vocal and technique clearly? Is it musical? Is the Ak240 mids more forward than that of the Chord Hugo?

 

[dpastern]

  Having come from a Cowon X7, the size of the M wasn't really an issue for me.  It was just a combination of the M not being available here in the UK (I know it's easily available from European stockists and you don't have to worry about extra customs inside the EU, but the hassle of sending it overseas if anything went wrong with it put me right off - too many bad experiences in the past with that), the immediately available on-board 256gb of the 240, and the 2nd hand price/new warranty with a UK dealer combo that decided it for me.  And yep - a brand new 1 year warranty.  Everything covered bar loss, theft and water damage, I believe.

 
Yeah, that's certainly understandable.  It'd be cool to have lots of money and buy all these DAPs so I could test them more thoroughly, but alas...I'm poor!  And that's very nice - a 1 year warranty (I think Germany is offering 2 years, at least according to the German AK facebook page).  We only have a 1 year warranty here in Australia too, although I plan to contest that should anything happen in the first 3 years of the product's life.
 

There's a thorough comparison between the AK models in the AK240 threads (in one of the two 240 threads) and you may find the difference between the models.

 
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I read that.  From memory Currawong said the AK240 has more air and is more musical than the AK100 II/AK120 II units on normal PCM material and really leaps into its own with DSD material.  Many are seemingly saying that there's a good gap between the AK100 II & AK120 II and a similar gap between the AK120 II and AK240.  Until I can test it myself, I'll remain dubious.  That's the sceptic in me *wink wink*.  There's no doubt that the AK240 is a beauty and very well built.  I'd love to own one, but I just can't justify another 1k on top of the AK120 II to be honest.  Each to their own.  
 
I think a few people here think I hate AK - I don't.  Very nice products, but I just honestly think that they're overpriced.  Given the pricing on the competitors, that makes my thoughts even more reasonable imho.
 

   

You need to remember that the difference is not dealer profit which will be < $300 for a small dealer. Sounds like an honest dealer anyway but just wanted to make clear that the incentive for added profit is not as great as you may think. Margins vary by product but I've seen an early AK dealer sheet and they did not reflect a high profit %. I'm not aware of the current pricing structure but my comment would approximate what I saw.
 
Anyone know how far off the AK100 II is from the 120 II? Their specs don't represent anything significant but I know that doesn't necessarily reflect what one hears.

 
I've heard much larger profit margins than that.  From what I've heard, the AK120 II is more musical and has more air than the AK100 II.  Plus, it has more storage, and dual DACs and the higher output voltage for the headphone amp.  It's slightly physically bigger too.  
Hope that helps.
 
I think I'll be buying a fiio x1 when it gets released in Australia - looks like a steal!  Might buy one for a mate for Christmas too, trying to talk him into the high res market, although he doesn't buy CDs and only buys music from iTunes/Amazon etc...so probably not much good to him lol.

 

[kerrys30]

Yeah, that's certainly understandable.  It'd be cool to have lots of money and buy all these DAPs so I could test them more thoroughly, but alas...I'm poor!  And that's very nice - a 1 year warranty (I think Germany is offering 2 years, at least according to the German AK facebook page).  We only have a 1 year warranty here in Australia too, although I plan to contest that should anything happen in the first 3 years of the product's life.


Yeah, I'm pretty sure I read that.  From memory Currawong said the AK240 has more air and is more musical than the AK100 II/AK120 II units on normal PCM material and really leaps into its own with DSD material.  Many are seemingly saying that there's a good gap between the AK100 II & AK120 II and a similar gap between the AK120 II and AK240.  Until I can test it myself, I'll remain dubious.  That's the sceptic in me *wink wink*.  There's no doubt that the AK240 is a beauty and very well built.  I'd love to own one, but I just can't justify another 1k on top of the AK120 II to be honest.  Each to their own.  

I think a few people here think I hate AK - I don't.  Very nice products, but I just honestly think that they're overpriced.  Given the pricing on the competitors, that makes my thoughts even more reasonable imho.


I've heard much larger profit margins than that.  From what I've heard, the AK120 II is more musical and has more air than the AK100 II.  Plus, it has more storage, and dual DACs and the higher output voltage for the headphone amp.  It's slightly physically bigger too.  
Hope that helps.

I think I'll be buying a fiio x1 when it gets released in Australia - looks like a steal!  Might buy one for a mate for Christmas too, trying to talk him into the high res market, although he doesn't buy CDs and only buys music from iTunes/Amazon etc...so probably not much good to him lol.

If you ever get to hong king, drop me a message and can try arrange a meet to listen to both players.

 

[dpastern]

If you ever get to hong king, drop me a message and can try arrange a meet to listen to both players.

 
That'd be awesome!  But sadly, my chances of travel are about to go out the window as I'm more than likely about to buy a house with my sister and her fiance and I'm going to be totally broke and not able to do anything like overseas visits!  But, if I win lotto, I'd certainly pop on over to check out Hong Kong (what a beautiful city at night!) and say hello.  

 

[audionewbi]

If I win lotto ill own a shop in hk

 

[dpastern]

If I win lotto ill own a shop in hk

 
It'd be nice!  imagine all the cool gear you could be *drools*

 

[goodvibes]

   
 
 
I've heard much larger profit margins than that.  From what I've heard, the AK120 II is more musical and has more air than the AK100 II.  Plus, it has more storage, and dual DACs and the higher output voltage for the headphone amp.  It's slightly physically bigger too.  
Hope that helps.
 
 

Thanks but I was referring to the profit on the difference of the 2 units and I think you would likely find it so.
Did you hear them for yourself? I don't doubt you if you have. Just wanted to know. Since the single dac is already differential/balanced for each channel, I thought it may be closer than the the old units were.

 

[dpastern]

  Thanks but I was referring to the profit on the difference of the 2 units and I think you would likely find it so.
Did you hear them for yourself? I don't doubt you if you have. Just wanted to know. Since the single dac is already differential/balanced for each channel, I thought it may be closer than the the old units were.

 
Sadly, no, I am too poor to afford both units.  If I had money to spare, I'd consider reviewing DAPs etc, but alas, I'm just a poor boy, from a poor family...

 

[Currawong]

  How does the AK240 sound compared to the chord Hugo. Considering you have both the JH 13 Freak Phase and Roxiannes. Does the mids come out more with the hugo? Can you hear vocal and technique clearly? Is it musical? Is the Ak240 mids more forward than that of the Chord Hugo?

 
The Hugo is better -- the digital technology at least seems to be superior. Music seems more natural, alive and "3-dimensional" than with the AK240. 
 
@warrenpchi will probably appreciate this the most, but I did the AK240, HD-800s and C.C. Colletti binaural trick on a friend a couple of days ago. "WHAT?!?" was his first word.
 
@dpastern Telling the differences between players depends very much upon the kind of music used and how well it is recorded. I really can't emphasise this enough. 

 

[eke2k6]

   
 
 
@dpastern Telling the differences between players depends very much upon the kind of music used and how well it is recorded. I really can't emphasise this enough. 

 
And volume. Volume is everything.
 
Boosting the volume on one player can, and will, give the illusion of better clarity, a larger soundstage, and other audiophile words.

 

[Barra]

 



@dpastern
 Telling the differences between players depends very much upon the kind of music used and how well it is recorded. I really can't emphasise this enough. 

And volume. Volume is everything.

Boosting the volume on one player can, and will, give the illusion of better clarity, a larger soundstage, and other audiophile words.

However, every dap has a different sweet spot in the volume range and different listeners have different preferred volumes that skew the results further which together can render volume matching useless. For example, my dx90 is lifeless unless turned up to relatively loud levels for my volume preference while my x5 retains its full dynamics and full sized intimate sound stage down to relatively low volumes but gets shouty at high volumes. Therefore, matched at high volumes the dx90 wins, matched at low to moderate volumes the x5 wins. I tend to prefer lower volumes so the x5 wins for me.