[earfonia]

I've been testing bluetooth connectivity with Nuforce BE6i earphones. Not good. 2 metres tops, and stable to less than a metre. AK100 original: 3 metres, stable up to 2 metres. iPhone 6: stable up to 18 metres.

Ah.... I forgot to test the Bluetooth
Thanks!

 

[shigzeo]

Ah.... I forgot to test the Bluetooth
Thanks!

You tested everything possible you could have. If you forgot BT, you're forgiven.

 

[earfonia]

 
You tested everything possible you could have. If you forgot BT, you're forgiven.

 
Ha ha ha.... 

 

 

[denis1976]

New firmware the 1.20 is out

 

[RC99]

Thanks for the details, George.

I'm giving the AK70 some serious thought. The other day, I auditioned the JR which sounded surprisingly rich and seductive with DSD driving a pair of 25-Ohm Nighthawks. (I've heard "So What" by Miles Davis on rigs costing many times this and the JR/Hawks combo was nothing to sneeze at!) That's very different hardware, of course, and I'll need to try the AK70 first, but all things being equal networking with JRiver is a big plus.

 

[georgelai57]

Thanks for the details, George.

I'm giving the AK70 some serious thought. The other day, I auditioned the JR which sounded surprisingly rich and seductive with DSD driving a pair of 25-Ohm Nighthawks. (I've heard "So What" by Miles Davis on rigs costing many times this and the JR/Hawks combo was nothing to sneeze at!) That's very different hardware, of course, and I'll need to try the AK70 first, but all things being equal networking with JRiver is a big plus.

You're welcome.
Do note that my comments on streaming are with my AK300 but I'm assured by AK veteran users that the AK Connect feature works the same for all AK players that have AK Connect.
In fact this is leading me to pick up a 70 too.

 

[zomvid]

How's the battery life? 16/44 playback only. 

 

[deafdoorknob]

Just posted my AK70 review:

http://www.head-fi.org/products/astell-kern-ak70-portable-high-resolution-audio-player-mint-green/reviews/16789

Enjoy!

the review was EPIC! thank you for making it so detailed and comprehensive!

just one thing, for clarification, when functioning as a DAC, is it possible to connect it to an iPhone using the camera connection kit for decoding the datastreams of Spotify or Apple Music? (ie use it like a mojo)

much thanks

 

[earfonia]

the review was EPIC! thank you for making it so detailed and comprehensive!

just one thing, for clarification, when functioning as a DAC, is it possible to connect it to an iPhone using the camera connection kit for decoding the datastreams of Spotify or Apple Music? (ie use it like a mojo)

much thanks

 
Glad you find it useful!
I don't know the answer to your question. With my Android phone, Samsung Galaxy S4, compatibility is not very good. Sometime it sounds choppy at the first a few seconds, and then ok. Mostly compatible with YouTube, but not compatible with USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP) and PowerAmp, which is weird. Using the music player the sound just choppy. But YouTube, sometime choppy for a few seconds, than sounds ok for the rest. And I don't have any Apply product iPhone or iPad to test it. So, I have no idea.

 

[luisandre]

A superb review too. One point worth mentioning is how easy AK Connect is for streaming from my Mac, using either AK's own MQS or JRiver MC22. And I'm someone who didn't know anything about streaming till less than a month ago.

Hi georgelai57,
 
Did I understood right you own an ak300? How does it sound? 
I have a Noble3 IEM but planning to go to the K10 soon and I´m looking for a portable player. I´ve been using a Theorem 720 with headamp pico slim for IEM´s.
Have heard so many great things regarding the ak70... just afraid it sounds to bright and analytical.... I´ve read the erafonia review, but still can't decide which one should I go with.
Ak300 I´ve heard it has a great analog feeling, warm tone but not leaving detail beheind.
Is there any good ak300 review somewere?
 
Thank you for feedback 

 

[Deezel177]

Hi georgelai57,

Did I understood right you own an ak300? How does it sound? 
I have a Noble3 IEM but planning to go to the K10 soon and I´m looking for a portable player. I´ve been using a Theorem 720 with headamp pico slim for IEM´s.
Have heard so many great things regarding the ak70... just afraid it sounds to bright and analytical.... I´ve read the erafonia review, but still can't decide which one should I go with.
Ak300 I´ve heard it has a great analog feeling, warm tone but not leaving detail beheind.
Is there any good ak300 review somewere?

Thank you for feedback 

The AK70 being bright and analytical shouldn't be a concern. The 70 is the warmest source I've heard apart from probably the iBasso DX50 (which I haven't heard in over a year so take this with a grain of salt). In my short A/B listen between the two, the 70 is warmer than the 300, with a more musical, thick, punchy, but airy sound, the 300 winning on mostly technicality but losing out on "emotion" and gusto.

 

[georgelai57]

Hi georgelai57,

Did I understood right you own an ak300? How does it sound? 
I have a Noble3 IEM but planning to go to the K10 soon and I´m looking for a portable player. I´ve been using a Theorem 720 with headamp pico slim for IEM´s.
Have heard so many great things regarding the ak70... just afraid it sounds to bright and analytical.... I´ve read the erafonia review, but still can't decide which one should I go with.
Ak300 I´ve heard it has a great analog feeling, warm tone but not leaving detail beheind.
Is there any good ak300 review somewere?

Thank you for feedback 

Hi. The other poster has put his views across. I shan't add any comment as I like both 70 and 300. On top of that I'm actually very SQ tolerant. In fact I hardly pay attention to SQ; weird though that might sound.

 

[earfonia]

  This week is all about the AK70 on Headfonia, we've kicked off today with a picture Sunday post about it:
 
http://www.headfonia.com/picture-sunday-astellkern-ak70/
 
Then there will of course be the review and another special article by Nathan. That's a lot of AK70 

 
Read this on the article:
"Digital out over USB, native DSD decoding, 2,3 Vrms output,..."
To my understanding, AK70 doesn't do native DSD, and DSD will be converted to PCM on the fly for playback. While DSD through USB streaming is only DoP, not native.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
 

  regarding the ak70... just afraid it sounds to bright and analytical.... 

 
AK70 is not analytical at all. At least the demo unit I reviewed sounds organic, opposite of analytical sounding DAP.

 

[Conext]

Kinda interested in checking out the AK70. Had an AK Jr about a year ago. It was an impressive piece of equipment. But for me, it had one fatal flaw: playlists.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/764034/astell-kern-junior-ak-jr-impressions-thread/690#post_11762406

So I'm wondering if anyone can provide some insight on the AK70. How well does it handle playlists made from other sources? Can you import them and can they be read? Do you have to do a bunch of manual editing? Can't you use music organization programs like Media Go or Foobar to simply transfer over playlists?

 

[georgelai57]

Headfonia has just released their review of the small AK
http://www.headfonia.com/review-astellkern-ak70-geniality/