[jscmd2000]

Really like night and day to my ears. Jumping from AK380cu and amp to sp1000ss : I can say it is a great upgrade to my ears.
I use it with my poor earphone SE846
Has someone tried the SP1k with the se846.
How does it sound to your ears?

Can you elaborate on this... how does sp1000ss better than ak380cu+amp?
I have the ak380cu+amp and is skeptical about upgrading. Thanks!!

 

[xxx1313]

Can you elaborate on this... how does sp1000ss better than ak380cu+amp?
I have the ak380cu+amp and is skeptical about upgrading. Thanks!!

I cannot comment on their performance with IEMs, because I simply do not use them. However, with full-size headphones, imho the SP1000 (with FW1.03) does not sound better than AK380CU(+amp) and AK380SS(+amp). I do not find the SP1000SS to sound too bright, it is not really brighter than my AK380Cu. The sound of the SP1000 is a bit more spacious, but somehow a bit less coherent, slightly hollow when compared directly with the AK380Cu. Do not get me wrong: The SP1000 sounds great if you like the A&K sound, but if you have the chance to compare it directly with your AK380Cu in a quiet environment, you will find out, that both have slight advantages over each other in different aspects. So to me it is a close call. I liked the SP1000 a bit better with the HD800S, but still preferred the AK380Cu with the Utopia. I friend who owns both SP1000 and AK380SS and also the same two headphones had the same impressions after comparing his two DAPs.

I had already ordered an SP1000SS but just changed my mind and cancelled the order. I will wait for the additional SP1000 amp and then listen again. That being said I am extremely happy with my AK380Cu+amp and Focal Utopia. Great synergy.

 

[Piotr Michalak]

That's nice to hear. Maybe me selling mine AK380SS is not such a good idea after all. Still waiting for my Sony WM1Z and it may be the best solution to keep them both. Ultima however wins in terms of how beautifully it is designed - and the great UI - and Tidal, of course (over Sony).

 

[Mimouille]

I really don't understand why you keep comparing the SP1000 with the 380 with amp. Standalone DAPs should be compared. The 380 stack is much larger and heavier than the SP1000 alone, so it cannot serve the same purpose. Attach an external amp to it an then you can compare.

We understand you made your choice between the two an we understand it, but the comparison is pointless. The 380 standalone is pretty weak, quite useless with demanding headphones, whereas SP1000 should be adequate, if not optimal. Once again, please compare what is comparable.

 

[jscmd2000]

Thank you for that!

I am trying to imagine "hollow" ... I guess synonymous with less impactful and less tight?? Incoherent as in less fast and less immediate, ethereal maybe? I don't know if I will like that because I like my ak380 a lot and sure don't want to kick myself after upgrading.

I tried my utopia with ak380cu+amp and was not very impressed. Not my cup of tee, I should say. I will try again since you mentioned it, though. I did try with low and high gain, balanced and se, etc. Same with z1r. They both sounded anemic compared to wa8 and other amps like the ragnarok. The little mojo actually drove both of these hp's with more authority than ak380+amp, to my ears anyway.

I am curious about the wm1z. I am imagining... it shares some sq with the z1r, no? Slightly more prominent lows, rolled off in the mids and highs? How is classical and jazz on wm1z? I listen to mostly classical and do not like classical with my z1r, well, not as much as with utopia. Do love pop and electronic/techno with z1r though. Sometimes better than utopia even.

 

[jscmd2000]

I can't imagine if something sounds anemic with ak380+amp, it can sound better with sp1000 alone??!!

 

[Whitigir]

I really don't understand why you keep comparing the SP1000 with the 380 with amp. Standalone DAPs should be compared. The 380 stack is much larger and heavier than the SP1000 alone, so it cannot serve the same purpose. Attach an external amp to it an then you can compare.

We understand you made your choice between the two an we understand it, but the comparison is pointless. The 380 standalone is pretty weak, quite useless with demanding headphones, whereas SP1000 should be adequate, if not optimal. Once again, please compare what is comparable.

Especially with full size Headphones! Speaking of this, can SP1k use 380 amp ?

 

[Samuel777]

you guys i can't understand you, when at the beginning I was writing that the AK380cu and it Cu amp was special, and better even than the SP1000 : someone here replied that It was not true. and that the SP1000 was better and upgrade compare du the AK380 and its amp cu. and you said nothing, acting the fact that he was right, and what he said was correct and true.
Now I have sold my AK380 cu and its cu AMP, you're trying to sell me the fact that the cu combo is the best. That is a bit strange ....
I can read these days many possessors of cu combo writing and writing ... Really I'm surprised. To my ears, I prefer my SP1000.
thanks

 

[jmills8]

you guys i can't understand you, when at the beginning I was writing that the AK380cu and it Cu amp was special, and better even than the SP1000 : someone here replied that It was not true. and that the SP1000 was better and upgrade compare du the AK380 and its amp cu. and you said nothing, acting the fact that he was right, and what he said was correct and true.
Now I have sold my AK380 cu and its cu AMP, you're trying to sell me the fact that the cu combo is the best. That is a bit strange ....
I can read these days many possessors of cu combo writing and writing ... Really I'm surprised. To my ears, I prefer my SP1000.
thanks

Great in this hobby will never be great for every body. Great can be great for 30 or 40 oit of 100 owners. Out of 100 owners maybe three will write a review and usually its from the 40 who liked it while another 30 didnt like it.

 

[bmichels]

Very quick question: Does the Samsung MicroSD 256 Gb works 100% with the SP1000 ? ( I know the Sandisk works, but I can find cheaper 256 Gb from Samsung...) . Are there some even cheaper MicroSD 256 Gb ?




Also, does someone know when real 512 Gb MicroSD will be available ? (in 2015 MICRODIA officially showed a 512 Gb MicroSD ! No news since ? )






And... does someone has news about availability of the SanDisk SDXC of 1 Tb that was showed lest september ?

 

[bmichels]

Be careful, you can find on Ebay or on Amazone some advertisement from unknown brands for 512 Gb Micro SD (and even for 1 Tb MicroSD ! !).

--> Do not buy.... they are all fake ! (they are sometime even formated to show the advertised capacity, but... they do not hold more than few Gb !)

 

[blackwolf1006]

And a third option : 1 Tb Storage + Amp + battery. All 3 in one ...

Its a good Idea but i doubt they would do that.

How does the SP1000 bypass the Samsung External HDD encryption?

 

[xxx1313]

Thank you for that!

I am trying to imagine "hollow" ... I guess synonymous with less impactful and less tight?? Incoherent as in less fast and less immediate, ethereal maybe? I don't know if I will like that because I like my ak380 a lot and sure don't want to kick myself after upgrading.

Sorry for the confusion, it is hard to express. Yes, the bass is less impactful, but there is a bit more sense of space instead. But the SP1000 still does not sound "cold" to my ears, because the lower mids are more emphasized than with AK380Cu. I would advise to try the SP1000 before uprading. I just wanted to state that with full-size headphones the "upgrade" is not a no-brainer before an A&K amp is released.

I have to add that the SP1000 unbalanced out (3.5mm) still distorts audibly with volume above 140 with both K812 and HD800S (unbalanced). The sound gets a bit hazy already with volume at 135 or so. This is no big thing in my opinion, because I do not listen to the K812 that loud and I use the HD800S balanced instead of unbalanced, but AK380Cu and AK380SS do not have this problem, no matter if with or without additonal amp.

I really don't understand why you keep comparing the SP1000 with the 380 with amp. Standalone DAPs should be compared. The 380 stack is much larger and heavier than the SP1000 alone, so it cannot serve the same purpose. Attach an external amp to it an then you can compare.

We understand you made your choice between the two an we understand it, but the comparison is pointless. The 380 standalone is pretty weak, quite useless with demanding headphones, whereas SP1000 should be adequate, if not optimal. Once again, please compare what is comparable.

I do not try to convince anybody of something, I just wanted to share my impressions. I have no skin in the game, because I do not want to sell my AK380Cu setup or something like this! Well, the Utopia is a rather undemanding headphone. Moreover, I can only compare what is on the market already. An additional SP1000 amp is not. I simply compared the SP1000 with my setup that I consider to be best, and this is AK380Cu WITH amp. But to be fair, I have made my comparison with the Cu amp set to low gain. This means, both setups had about the same output power (4 Vrms balanced).

@Samuel777: I can understand that you prefer your SP1000 already, it is a very good DAP. And you will like it even more when A&K will release the additional amp.

 

[frfrtx]

Very quick question: Does the Samsung MicroSD 256 Gb works 100% with the SP1000 ? ( I know the Sandisk works, but I can find cheaper 256 Gb from Samsung...) . Are there some even cheaper MicroSD 256 Gb ?




Also, does someone know when real 512 Gb MicroSD will be available ? (in 2015 MICRODIA officially showed a 512 Gb MicroSD ! No news since ? )






And... does someone has news about availability of the SanDisk SDXC of 1 Tb that was showed lest september ?

Just checked the SP1000 English manual (page 11), and SanDisk and Transcend are the recommended MicroSD cards. I use a 256GB Samsung in my AK70 with no issues, but an AK70 is definitely not an SP1000.
Good luck with your search. Maybe someone will have successfully used a Samsung in an SP1000 and speak up.

 

[JasonNYC]

Very quick question: Does the Samsung MicroSD 256 Gb works 100% with the SP1000 ? ( I know the Sandisk works, but I can find cheaper 256 Gb from Samsung...) . Are there some even cheaper MicroSD 256 Gb ?

Samsung 256GB microSD cards have been tested with all of the Astell&Kern players including the SP1000 and are supported.