[nihalsharma]

Okay friends, need a help here. There is a sudden scarcity of high-end daps in the market. A&K has stopped manufacturing SP2K. So, I am planning to buy a SP2KT, though it's not a flagship but it is the best I can get right now. Just want to understand few things.

How good is it as a device - is there any lag/ui slowness?
Is there any compromise on soundstage and tonality? I have heard it is neutral but my concern is it should not sound thin.
Is it too bulky? SP2k has some weight.

And last and serious question - Is it a worthy upgrade over Kann Max?

 

[olddude]

Not thin-sounding. Warmer than my SPK1. Lighter than my SPK1 and the SPK2. No lag on mine. Tonality is great, you can adjust all kinds of ways. Never heard a Kann.

 

[bflat]

Okay friends, need a help here. There is a sudden scarcity of high-end daps in the market. A&K has stopped manufacturing SP2K. So, I am planning to buy a SP2KT, though it's not a flagship but it is the best I can get right now. Just want to understand few things.

How good is it as a device - is there any lag/ui slowness?
Is there any compromise on soundstage and tonality? I have heard it is neutral but my concern is it should not sound thin.
Is it too bulky? SP2k has some weight.

And last and serious question - Is it a worthy upgrade over Kann Max?

Don't know your budget but there are fairly new high end DAPs you may want to check out:

iBasso - DX320 (Tube module available separately)
Cayin - N8ii (Tubes built in)

Both iBasso and Cayin use the Rohm DACs

 

[nihalsharma]

Basics:

So, I finally decided to buy the A&K SP2000t. It arrived last week and I have been enjoying my time with it. Coming from a non-android dap history, I was little sceptical about this dap but the OS on it is a minimal android, so I do not find any distractions. The UI is super sleek, not a lot of options than what you need to play and enjoy music. I love the overall performance of the device. It does not crash, does not overheats on charging and usage and has a decent battery life. I think it is one of the best daps (device - hardware/software) out in the market. I am on firmware: 1.30CM

The SP2000t has different modes which should work with any iems. I am using 64 Audio Fourte with it and it sound amazing. I am not using the tube mode a lot, I am more satisfied with the normal/hybrid mode.

Comparing with SP2000:

A&K has smartly placed SP2000t, priced well below the SP2000. The later has definitely has a better sound production. A better soundstage, a more refined sound is what I find the SP2000. But certainly, SP2000t is not far behind. Given the price difference of the two, I think the price of SP2000t is very well justified. Given a choice, I'd enjoy my time more with SP2000t. It is not as bulky as SP2000 and it is easily carried in a pocket. So convenience and sound and price factor - all three considered - makes SP2000t a really great choice.

Using third party apps:

I am using Apple Music and Tidal on the dap. I do not find any issue whatsoever. The dap connects to wifi super easy. Every time, I switch on the wifi, it auto connects to the last connected network.

Connecting to Macbook:

I do not find any issue connecting to a Macbook Pro 2022. I am using Android File Transfer and it works seamlessly. No issue in transferring media on my SP2000t. It connects fast and I never had any connection issues the 20-30 times I connected it to Mac for transferring data.

Can A&K do this?

Now, the greedy me wants few things which if provided, in future may be, can take this dap to another level. For ex: if we could get an offline/minimal mode where we do not get to load the thumbnail, the music would load a lot faster. Searching through the library can also be faster that way. Not that I complain of it, but I want it to get as good/fast as a Lotoo OS, lol.
Also, since there is Android on board, why is there no deep sleep/wake mode, as is with the other Android daps. Let's use the best of both the worlds.

Overall I am satisfied with this dap and I am happy that A&K makes a polished product. Looking forward to future releases.

 

[Asouna]

Hi Guys,

I really need your help cause I'm really losing my marbles trying to figure out if my SP2000T has an issue.

On twister 6 the reviewer mentions the volume level he is using on IEMs and it's between 37-59 and full sized cans between 60-80. The I IEMs I have are the VE Elysium and Monarch Mk2 which are not hard to drive at all and to get to a level of about 85DB my volume needs to be between 95-105 on the wheel. If I drop the volume to the levels the reviewer is using it's extremely low. Now either my entire perception of volume is whack and the reviewer actually listens to music at whisper level or this unit has an issue of some kind. At 95-105 shouldn't this be driving full sized cans to loud volumes? I got mine from the UK, is there some kind of limiter on this version compared to the US version like Sony did with their DAPs?

Im heading back to Mozambique in two weeks and I really don't see how this would be able to drive the ZMF veritas, which I read one reviewer saying they sounded excellent on them.

Thank you in advance.

 

[chef8489]

Hi Guys,

I really need your help cause I'm really losing my marbles trying to figure out if my SP2000T has an issue.

On twister 6 the reviewer mentions the volume level he is using on IEMs and its between 37-59. I IEMs I have are the VE Elysium and Monarch Mk2 which are not hard to drive at all and to get to a level of about 85DB my volume needs to be between 95-105 on the wheel. If I drop the volume to the levels the reviewer is using it's extremely low. Now either my entire perception of volume is whack and the reviewer actually listens to music at whisper level or this unit has an issue of some kind. At 95-105 shouldn't this be driving full sized cans to loud volumes? I got mine from the UK, is there some kind of limiter on this version compared to the US version like Sony did with their DAPs?

Im heading back to Mozambique in two weeks and I really don't see how this would be able to drive the ZMF veritas, which I read one reviewer saying they sounded excellent on them.

Thank you in advance.

I would have someone else listen to the dap. I have often found people's perception of volume to be way off. If other people find the volume extremely low as well I would get the dap checked out.

 

[olddude]

Using EA Zeus, I listen between 48 - 60.

If I were you, before anything else I would reset the 2000 to Factory Settings and listen to it that way.

Is it possible you are using EQ and turned the gain down?

I would also try using music you don't ordinarily listen to, something different, to see if what you DO listen to is not loud.

But it's also possible that you've been listening to a lot of loud music and your hearing now needs louder to sound... loud.

 

[Asouna]

I would have someone else listen to the dap. I have often found people's perception of volume to be way off. If other people find the volume extremely low as well I would get the dap checked out.

Hi, thank you for the reply, unfortunately I’m in Lebanon for holidays, and literally no one that I know here knows anything about sound, so they wouldn’t be of any help. The dap can get really loud, at 120+, it’s just that I did not think it would need that much juice. For context, 110 gets me the same volume as AirPods Pro on max volume with the same song.

 

[Asouna]

Using EA Zeus, I listen between 48 - 60.

If I were you, before anything else I would reset the 2000 to Factory Settings and listen to it that way.

Is it possible you are using EQ and turned the gain down?

I would also try using music you don't ordinarily listen to, something different, to see if what you DO listen to is not loud.

But it's also possible that you've been listening to a lot of loud music and your hearing now needs louder to sound... loud.

Hi Olddude, really appreciate your reply. So I am not using any EQ, nor reply gain, and have listened to all sorts of music from Eagles to 2pac to hanz zimmer on tidal, apple music and my own files. So with the Monarch Mk 2 at 110 it is the same volume as AirPods Pro on max volume. The dap can get loud, I just thought there would be a lot more headroom than this considering how much juice it can push and reading of people using high impedance cans on them at 80-90 volume. When you are listening at 60, what’s is the Db level? Not gonna deny I do enjoy music more with some thump.

 

[olddude]

If the music sounds good (no distortion or clipping) at your listening levels, then I have to assume that is what your devices need for power. And I wouldn't bother comparing anything to AirPods. They are their own thing, so it's apples to oranges.

If it sounds good, and you are happy with the sound, it should be fine. At some point, try different devices and see (hear) what difference they make.

My Db? No idea. I turn it up until I can tell it's too loud for my ears and then turn it down until I feel safe.

 

[MRHiFiReviews]

TSAV is having a big sale for one day on A&K while supplies last!!!

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ast...unts-going-on-now-while-supplies-last.968270/

 

[tonton94]

Hello, what do you think of the sp2000t and Focal mg set as the first choice, I am also looking at the Fostex TH-900 MK2, the denon 7200, Meze Audio 109 Pro, HIFIMAN ARYA. I listen to 70s soul, bossa nova, samba, thank you

 

[Gymboy]

They will be loud enough but not driven 100%. IMHO

 

[tonton94]

They will be loud enough but not driven 100%. IMHO

I am not the audiophile vocabulary, what do you advise me? Impedance problem?

 

[Gymboy]

I am not the audiophile vocabulary, what do you advise me? Impedance problem?

Even though Focal or Meze are easy to drive headphones, more power like M17 will do them justice, give better driver control and snapiness. You will be able to listen to them but will not get the most out of them.