Very excited about this new player, but for me I am going to wait to see how AK is going to manage the AMP. We have heard that AK is not going to develop its own amp and instead work with other companies to produce amps for the system. I am really interested to see how these ‘partnerships’ play out.
My first is question is how much will AK share with its partners and what level of integration (if any) they will allow with the AK software. Will amps provide pass through charging and data transfer as the current 380 amp? Will AK allow amp functions to be controlled (such as gain) from the AK software like the current 380 amp?
All most all of the portable amps available today are DAC amps (Digital to Analog conversion + Amp). Similar to a modern home integrated amplifier, almost all of these devices operate in the digital domain for processing. The process is as follows:
(Digital file) -> (Digital volume control, digital EQ, Manufacture specific mystery process) -> (Digital to analog conversion) -> (amp).
When you send this type of DAC amp an analog signal you get:
(Analog signal) -> (Analog to Digital conversion) -> (Digital volume control, digital EQ, Manufacture specific mystery process) -> (Digital to analog conversion) -> (amp).
While some portable DAC amps may exist that have an analog pass through, I have not been able to find them. Pure analog headphone amps do exist, but they seem to all require AC power.
Most if not all of the people looking at this new AK product will be buying it because of AK’s fantastic ability to convert a digital file to analog. This is the AK sweet spot. For me I buy AK because they do this process better than most. The process is:
(Digital file) -> (Digital volume control, digital EQ, AK mystery process) -> (Digital to analog conversion) -> (analog output).
For me I don’t want to take this AK analog output and re-digitize the signal just to amp it. Combining the AK with the current offering of portable DAC amps you are winding up with:
(Digital file) -> (Digital volume control, digital EQ, AK mystery process) -> (Digital to analog conversion) -> (analog output)-> (analog input) -> (Analog to Digital conversion) -> (Digital volume control, digital EQ, Manufacture specific mystery process) -> (Digital to analog conversion) -> (amp) -> analog output.
I guess what I really want is the equivalent of a home power amp, but in a portable configuration. The AK will serve as the Pre-amp and the external amp will just be a power amp.
I know a lot of people use different DAC amps with current AK products and are happy with the sound. Believe me I use my AK380 in my car all the time and its wonderful. Its just not what I want for listening with my cans.
Hope I don’t upset anyone here with this post. It is not my intent. Some may not be aware of the re-digitizing of the signal.
As always here to learn