[husteric2006]

I just purchased the AK70 but after reading this thread I'm worried I have bought a dud!! So many issues. I was told A&K was of fantastic quality on audition.... Should I have gone another brand?

 

[Gilles De Rais]

I just purchased the AK70 but after reading this thread I'm worried I have bought a dud!! So many issues. I was told A&K was of fantastic quality on audition.... Should I have gone another brand?

Depends on whether you're after peer adulation or trusting your own ears...
 
Seriously a lot of people on Head-fi blow up small differences or issues into globe shattering crisis. The only three questions you should ask yourself are:
1. Does it have all the capabilities I want?
2. Does it sound good to my ears?
3. Is it in my budget?
Most of the people blowing up on this particular forum want a particular thing that the AK70 doesn't provide eg good parametric equalisation so 1 is a fail for them - didn't stop them buying it and having a whinge though...Over on the Cowan thread they complain about no bluetooth/wi-fi capabilities (but they do have great eq 

). Swings and roundabouts...
 
regards,
 
Giles

 

[RedMax23]

Depends on whether you're after peer adulation or trusting your own ears...

Seriously a lot of people on Head-fi blow up small differences or issues into globe shattering crisis. The only three questions you should ask yourself are:
1. Does it have all the capabilities I want?
2. Does it sound good to my ears?
3. Is it in my budget?
Most of the people blowing up on this particular forum want a particular thing that the AK70 doesn't provide eg good parametric equalisation so 1 is a fail for them - didn't stop them buying it and having a whinge though...Over on the Cowan thread they complain about no bluetooth/wi-fi capabilities (but they do have great eq  ). Swings and roundabouts...

regards,

Giles

100% agreed.

What other people hear you may not hear, what other people like you may not like. Beauty is in the beholder eyes.

The forum is just a guide, best is to test it yourself. And if really like the sound, just go for it. There is no right or wrong in this hobby, only like or dislike.

 

[Soundtrap]

Depends on whether you're after peer adulation or trusting your own ears...

Seriously a lot of people on Head-fi blow up small differences or issues into globe shattering crisis. The only three questions you should ask yourself are:
1. Does it have all the capabilities I want?
2. Does it sound good to my ears?
3. Is it in my budget?
Most of the people blowing up on this particular forum want a particular thing that the AK70 doesn't provide eg good parametric equalisation so 1 is a fail for them - didn't stop them buying it and having a whinge though...Over on the Cowan thread they complain about no bluetooth/wi-fi capabilities (but they do have great eq  ). Swings and roundabouts...

regards,

Giles

AK70 has simply non functional EQ. And having a very picky sound signature (to be blunt sounds like utter garbage with some headphones) requires at least capable EQ to compensate for a lack of synergy. So, your opinion is invalid at best - issue is not blown out of proportion. If A & K thought that AK70 sounds so brilliant why did they even bothered installing (non functional) EQ at the first place. These gadgets are first and foremost about the sound quality. Bluetooth, WiFi etc I agree with you are just bonus and non essential features. But not been able to tailor sound signatures to your liking and make it usable as a sole portable device is nothing but the serious flaw of this player. This one is the only one in my arsenal (AK Jr, Cowon PD, Cowon PM2, Ibasso DX50, Ibasso DX90, FiiO X5, FiiO X5lll, Cayin I5...) that is unlistenable without at least FiiO E6 portable headphone amp. And I don't consider as a positive treat portable player that requires another brick in order to fulfill manufacturers claim of HD sound. For a home setup stacks are fine, but on the go not so much.

 

[productred]

  Depends on whether you're after peer adulation or trusting your own ears...
 
Seriously a lot of people on Head-fi blow up small differences or issues into globe shattering crisis. The only three questions you should ask yourself are:
1. Does it have all the capabilities I want?
2. Does it sound good to my ears?
3. Is it in my budget?
Most of the people blowing up on this particular forum want a particular thing that the AK70 doesn't provide eg good parametric equalisation so 1 is a fail for them - didn't stop them buying it and having a whinge though...Over on the Cowan thread they complain about no bluetooth/wi-fi capabilities (but they do have great eq 

). Swings and roundabouts...
 
regards,
 
Giles

 
Agree totally. While I absolutely hate AK's pricing and marketing (and the hype around it as a result), I have to give it to AK that they do make the most issue-free players that sounds great regardless of pricepoint.
 
EQ is a strange issue that is brought up in almost every thread about players.................if there's no user adjustable EQ or lesser implemented EQ control people would complain and bash it like its garbage. If it is a full-blown pro EQ panel then someone would complain about its usability. And I just heard someone saying that if a player sounds so good there shouldn't be EQ in the first place. So you see..............For me it's always a nice touch to have some sort of EQ installed on my player but I almost never touched them. Maybe it matters more to people who EQs alot.
 
AK70 is not the best sounding player in the world - no one would argue that it is - but to me it's a great compromise (if not the greatest) taking into consideration of sound quality, size, weight, aesthetics, UI, battery life etc (i.e. everything that matters). And it pairs great with almost every iems and headphones I've used with it (somehow synergy is a bit less finicky than even AK380). Whether the sound signature is for you is another story, but it is extremely clean and accurate sounding with one of the least coloured sound in the AK lineup.

 

[Gilles De Rais]

AK70 has simply non functional EQ. And having a very picky sound signature (to be blunt sounds like utter garbage with some headphones) requires at least capable EQ to compensate for a lack of synergy. So, your opinion is invalid at best - issue is not blown out of proportion. If A & K thought that AK70 sounds so brilliant why did they even bothered installing (non functional) EQ at the first place. These gadgets are first and foremost about the sound quality. Bluetooth, WiFi etc I agree with you are just bonus and non essential features. But not been able to tailor sound signatures to your liking and make it usable as a sole portable device is nothing but the serious flaw of this player. This one is the only one in my arsenal (AK Jr, Cowon PD, Cowon PM2, Ibasso DX50, Ibasso DX90, FiiO X5, FiiO X5lll, Cayin I5...) that is unlistenable without at least FiiO E6 portable headphone amp. And I don't consider as a positive treat portable player that requires another brick in order to fulfill manufacturers claim of HD sound. For a home setup shacks are fine, but in the go not so much.

 
On the one hand you clearly miss my point about individual context and on the other you validate my observation about blowing up issues. My opinion is pretty much confirmed by your comments that outline what is important to YOU.  
 
Clearly the AK70 has some aspect that you find useful, and given your "arsenal" of mid-priced players, one that justifies its particular ownership by yourself. Looking at your "arsenal", it seems that you buy a new mid-priced player every 6-9 months, so I'd assume your interest is in the change in technology/implementation. Good for you if that floats your boat.
 
regards,
 
Giles

 

[Soundtrap]

   
On the one hand you clearly miss my point about individual context and on the other you validate my observation about blowing up issues. My opinion is pretty much confirmed by your comments that outline what is important to YOU.  
 
Clearly the AK70 has some aspect that you find useful, and given your "arsenal" of mid-priced players, one that justifies its particular ownership by yourself. Looking at your "arsenal", it seems that you buy a new mid-priced player every 6-9 months, so I'd assume your interest is in the change in technology/implementation. Good for you if that floats your boat.
 
regards,
 
Giles

   Ok, the main reason why I've decided to add AK70 to my collection was my fond memories of Iriver E10 that back in the day bettered  my Cowon D2  with that gorgeous analog and organic sound and utterly brilliant ability to create a queue , or a playlists on the go (adding either song, album or the whole Artist's opus to the playlist with just a couple of quick touches of the button). No player at that time was capable of such a useful feature. And that is where AK70 comes in: beautiful design, snappy UCI , descent size storage but to my ears gets let down by very , very picky sound signature - to the point that sounds veil ( similarly I remember Philips Fidelio L1 been hailed on forums for a very "musical" sound signature, yet to me they sound so dull, that now they just sit next to my laptop and collect the dust).
   Looking at your response about "mid-fi" players, appears that you main criteria is their price and not their performance. We all have reasons why we do certain things, ie own more than 1 car, headphones, portable player etc and I don't want to end up arguing with someone like you that I don't know, but it is overall agreement online that A&K definitely knows how to stab people's pockets with ridiculously overpriced devices that have a very questionable value for money ratio.
   So, for the folks who are on a limited budget they can certainly do much better than A&K for a hell of a lot less money.

 

[Spectrex]

I know it's the question which was asked many times. But I still didn't hear detailed reply.

Can anyone tell me what's the main difference in sound between AK70 and AK300.

I tried AK70 but didn't try AK300. I don't really mind price difference, sizes or other features. Only the sound itself. I'm mostly interested in mid range and musicality.

 

[husteric2006]

So I received my ak70 today lasted about 20mins switched off and won't turn back on again. It had 67% charge. Piece of crap have to send it back nowCan't believe I got the lemon
The reason I got this unit was to use with my Xeo2s and I wanted to use the line out hoping it would give true hi res audio quality. Using this device for Bluetooth isn't why I purchased it. When I played it through line out it was distorting even at low volume levels on the xeo2s. Initially I thought it was just through tidal which it was worse but it still distorted playing tracks from the internal memory.

Pretty annoyed as the ppl from the hi fi shop said it would work fantastically.

 

[WhiteKnite]

So I received my ak70 today lasted about 20mins switched off and won't turn back on again. It had 67% charge. Piece of crap have to send it back nowCan't believe I got the lemon
The reason I got this unit was to use with my Xeo2s and I wanted to use the line out hoping it would give true hi res audio quality. Using this device for Bluetooth isn't why I purchased it. When I played it through line out it was distorting even at low volume levels on the xeo2s. Initially I thought it was just through tidal which it was worse but it still distorted playing tracks from the internal memory.

Pretty annoyed as the ppl from the hi fi shop said it would work fantastically.

That happened to mine once. Try holding down the power button for like 30 seconds. It says 18 or something but it seemed like I held it down forever. Finally it hard reset and started up.

 

[Wyville]

Quick question. Can anyone tell me what sort of headphones the AK70 can drive? I have seen people mention the LCD-2 and even the HD600, but I have no idea how to determine if it can drive them to their full potential (or at least close enough) because I have always used IEMs.

 

[Soundtrap]

  Quick question. Can anyone tell me what sort of headphones the AK70 can drive? I have seen people mention the LCD-2 and even the HD600, but I have no idea how to determine if it can drive them to their full potential (or at least close enough) because I have always used IEMs.

Off all headphones I have only Beyer Custom Street sound OK without amping.

 

[Gilles De Rais]

  Quick question. Can anyone tell me what sort of headphones the AK70 can drive? I have seen people mention the LCD-2 and even the HD600, but I have no idea how to determine if it can drive them to their full potential (or at least close enough) because I have always used IEMs.

Pretty much all the portables, with the exception of the Audeze Sine (which is hard for most things without the Cipher cable) - for reference I just tried the HD25-1, DT1350, Oppo Pm3. All played quite loud and controlled - music varied from Kleiber's Beethoven 6th, to Joao Gilberto bossa nova to Popol Vuh soundtracks to LCD Soundsystem to Burial.  Things like the HD650 Beyer DT880 and AKG 7xx take more volume and control than the AK70 is comfortable with - They'll play loud but not well. I use my DAPs primarily with iems and only drag out the portables when its cold...
 
regards,
 
Giles

 

[productred]

So I received my ak70 today lasted about 20mins switched off and won't turn back on again. It had 67% charge. Piece of crap have to send it back nowCan't believe I got the lemon
The reason I got this unit was to use with my Xeo2s and I wanted to use the line out hoping it would give true hi res audio quality. Using this device for Bluetooth isn't why I purchased it. When I played it through line out it was distorting even at low volume levels on the xeo2s. Initially I thought it was just through tidal which it was worse but it still distorted playing tracks from the internal memory.

Pretty annoyed as the ppl from the hi fi shop said it would work fantastically.

 
Have you charged it or were you charging it when you turn it on?
 
Out of the box and before the first charge the battery level shown would never be accurate. It is supposed to be turned on for prolonged period (just turn on and test for a few minutes won't be a problem) during or after its first charge, just like most of other devices.

 

[husteric2006]

It had been charging I then took it off when it was around 88% loaded few hundred songs on to it and played for about 20-30 mins. The sound wasn't impressive and it then just shut off mid song and never turned back on. I' tried numerous times to hard reset and place on charge etc but it won't wake up. I have sent it back to the shop. Just bad luck I think. The guys at the shop will sort it out. It happens.