[Gerryhatrick]

Has anyone A/B'd the AK70 with the the AK Jr? From the specs the AK70 is a step up (I already invested in balanced cables for my HIfiman 400s's and AKG702's). But would I
Hear an improved SQ SE or balanced with the AK 70?

 

[Zachik]

Finally got my AK70 several days ago, and started playing with it.  I have a couple technical questions:
1. Does the AK70 support FLAC image files?  I loaded so far 10 album, 3 of them are .FLAC files with .CUE file to accompany them.  On the AK70 - they show up as single (very long) track...  Is it me, or the AK70?
2. I am trying to upgrade FW from 1.10 (on the player) to 1.30.  I am following the on-screen instructions, but it is stuck at 149MB/159MB in the download stage for a LONG time 

   Ideas??
 
I searched the thread and could not find other people discussing similar issues...
 
I am using a SanDisk 200GB microSD card, and loaded the 10 albums on it (did not put anything, yet, on built-in storage).
 
Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Zachik]

  Finally got my AK70 several days ago, and started playing with it.  I have a couple technical questions:
1. Does the AK70 support FLAC image files?  I loaded so far 10 album, 3 of them are .FLAC files with .CUE file to accompany them.  On the AK70 - they show up as single (very long) track...  Is it me, or the AK70?
2. I am trying to upgrade FW from 1.10 (on the player) to 1.30.  I am following the on-screen instructions, but it is stuck at 149MB/159MB in the download stage for a LONG time 

   Ideas??
 
I searched the thread and could not find other people discussing similar issues...
 
I am using a SanDisk 200GB microSD card, and loaded the 10 albums on it (did not put anything, yet, on built-in storage).
 
Thanks in advance for any help!

 
After reboot and retry - FW upgrade is successful !
 
Still want to know (and could not find anywhere) - does the AK70 support FLAC images, or just FLAC tracks?!
All FLAC images show as a single track... 

 

[Robert Joe]

All my files are individual FLAC or DSF tracks. No problem playing those. My files do not contain embedded Album Art, so I also copy over the Folder.jpg to the Album Folder and I see Album Art on the AK70.

 

[Jim Bobber]

Hi guys,

Should have mine in a day or 2, would li,e to hit the floor running. I mostly use playlists and currently have a Sony DAP, so I've been using mediago software, can anyone advise what I need to do / use to kick off with using playlists straight away.

Cheers,

 

[lbbef]

As promised, here are some pictures of my AK70 Twilight Rose.
Depending on the light level, light colour and angle, the colour looks pretty different.
In daylight it has a very nice and cute rose pink
Really love the colour but it doesn't really seem to fit my stack so I'm considering selling it to get the Misty Mint one instead.
 
On a side note, I have a new Emerald AK70 case and a new Dignis Avec Case (AK70 + Mojo) for sale.
 

 

 

 

[Robert Joe]

Hi guys,

Should have mine in a day or 2, would li,e to hit the floor running. I mostly use playlists and currently have a Sony DAP, so I've been using mediago software, can anyone advise what I need to do / use to kick off with using playlists straight away.

Cheers,

 
I use JRiver to manage my music library. I put a MicroSD card into  my computer and create a Handheld device giving the path of the MicroSD card. With JRiver, you can associate the Handheld with any number of playlists. So you add or delete music to those Playlists and then sync the Handheld. I also choose options to not do any conversions since the AK70 supports all formats. I also choose the option to copy the Folder.jpg cover art over. I then insert the MicroSD card into the AK70 and the music along with playlists and album art is there.
 
The above is for External Storage. Internal Storage is limited to MTP. I can drag and drop files to the Internal Storage but JRiver fails when it writes to the Internal Storage as a Handheld. That is with JRiver in Linux. I am going to test it on Windows soon since I am going to install JRiver on my work PC.
 
Given the problems with MTP and Internal Storage, I wouldn't even bother with MTP and External Storage. Just shutdown the AK70, pull the MicroSD card out and put it in the computer. When synced, put it back in the AK70.

 

[vincik]

can somebody write up tonality differences between ak70 and JR? Im looking for player sounding as JR but with working USB DAC function. I heared ak70 just briefly and it seemed very similar. Or if you can recommend me another player with similar tonality and enough power for full size headphones with USB DAC function? I read Cayin i5 is on the warm side. Or maybe try find old first gen Fiio x3?

 

[shigzeo]

JR: darker, softer, richer, but not sweet, audible hiss.
AK70: flatter, much less hiss, more apparent extension in highs. 

 

[Jim Bobber]

Great, thanks for the tips, I'll be running everything on windows, I'll see f the media go software works first, probably won't as I thinks it's specifically for the Sony DAPS

 

[Gerryhatrick]

Hi all-could someone confirm that the AK70 uses the same 2.5mm balanced output TRRS wiring as in other AK models so that my balanced cables wired for my Onkyo dp-X1 will still work?

 

[ThomasHK]

Hi all-could someone confirm that the AK70 uses the same 2.5mm balanced output TRRS wiring as in other AK models so that my balanced cables wired for my Onkyo dp-X1 will still work?

Yes.

 

[Gerryhatrick]

Yes.

Many thanks

 

[Jim Bobber]

So just got mine today, upgraded immediately to few 1.3. First impressions with my oppo pm3's sounds great without the eq which is great because the eq appears to do nothing. Compared to my Sony nw-a25 the eq is on existent, the Sony sounds flat with the pm3's but the eq makes a huge difference, not the case with the 70. I've yet to really test and compare, but initial impressions were that the difference was maybe not huge. However I love the unit and the ui, very intuitive and looks great. Need to test way more to see if I'll keep it!!

 

[ThomasHK]

Well, label me disappointed.
 
I've been doing A/B between SE and balanced. Using my Mojo as an anchor. I have a setup on the PC where I can feed the exact same feed to two DACs. Allows for easy volume matched A/B-ing. I have balanced cable and a 2.5mm TRRS to 3.5mm TRS adapter that allows me to easily go between SE and balanced outputs.
 
In SE mode, the AK70 and Mojo are actually quite similar. There's a little definition loss in the highs, but that's due to the higher output impedance messing with my SE846 response. I actually tried to add EQ to the Mojo to match the AK70 OI x SE846 load and the differences become very small indeed. The Mojo is a little tighter in the low end and the 3D image has more depth, but other than that, the differences are not huge.
 
In balanced mode however... the AK70 is worse. The low end becomes boomy and loose. It is more muffled. Worse instrument seperation.
All of these observations are contradictory to what one could ideally expect from a balanced output especially since the OI is lower than the SE?! Also, the balanced output is roughly 11 volume steps lower than the SE... Weird...