[haiku]

I have received my AK380SS from repair service form Germany today. (The battery didn't charge). And I'm so happy! It's so much smaller than Ultima, which is closer to having AK380+AMP in my pocket, and so easy to carry around in comparison. But what's more important, it's also more euphonic and smooth, darker, smoother, has fuller mids and... just sounds different. It complements greatly my SP1000 Cu, which is more transparent, airy, clinical and perfect, and obviously a step up in pure SQ, but still I need a second device for a change, from time to time, and was quite unhappy for the two weeks I had only Ultima as a source, nevertheless a perfect one. I also had my Hugo2, but it is quite similar to Ultima, so I felt like having one device only, and AK380SS is really something else.

At the beginning, few months ago I was angry at AK that they introduced a new flagship so quickly after AK380SS, and with a lower price. I was furious. But now I'm happy I didn't sell it. I would even buy it back today, if I did sell it. During these two weeks of AK380SS absence I even almost bought WM1Z to have something else to listen to for a change.

I'm also unhappy that the Cu material is so soft. After dropping Ultima a few times accidentally (from small heights, nothing serious!) I already have a few dents... And SS is indestructible. I regret not buying another SS unit and if anyone would like to switch to an imperfect Cu version with some $ from me for the dents, I'd be happy to.

Some of you asked how well does Shure KSE1500 pair with Ultima. Well, I wrote already: It sounds like PERFECTION, yes, with all caps. It's almost like carrying a closed version of a WELL DRIVEN (!) pair of Stax SR-009. (Note, that SR-009 in A/B comparison is still a better headphone, a competitor to Orpheus if well driven). BUT I do recommend strongly to change the eartips to Comply Comfort (the round ball ones) which make Shure sound much more natural, with a bit less highs. I tested thoroughly many times and Comply win all the time. (Even though they may lose on other headphones! They do complement KSE1500 though). And use multiple-core silver mini-jack interconnect from Lavricables. Don't use the ****ty stock one, throw it in your trash bin. With AK380SS, my KSE1500 sound clearly worse, it's not perfection anymore, but it is still a beautiful and satisfying sound. KSE1500 show which one of these devices have an ojectively better DAC on board.

Comply comfort, yes, agreed. They´re also my favourites for the KSE1500. The Brise Audio Murakumo6 IC is a big step up from the Lavricables IC, though.

 

[TYATYA]

Will confirm again pairing sp1000 to Kse1500. Last time I heard it 3 hours using westone foam tip and feel deep bass but lack abit upper bass. I am not a basshead but it is really weak in upper bass to me. Highs is crystial clear and shine but thin (I guess it lacking 4000-6000).
Overall is not full, but very very clear and clean.
Foam tip is like bass absorber. I think I will try again with others tips before judge.

 

[kel77]

Overheating SP1000Cu

It started overheating while playing a few tracks.. (just a few minutes of playback) so I wanted to turn it off but was completely unable to perform any operation with it. Now the screen is off and the unit is so hot I cannot keep it in my hands.. and I have the feeling it is gettig hotter and hotter.

I suppose nobody had a similar experience.. ? What do I do???!!

That's rather abnormal as my unit only gets warm but never hot even after playing a few DSD albums consecutively compared to a AK240 or AK380.

 

[kubig123]

how many hours do I have to burn in the unit?
what are the major changes in sound after the burn in period?

thanks

 

[kubig123]

That's rather abnormal as my unit only gets warm but never hot even after playing a few DSD albums consecutively compared to a AK240 or AK380.

yes, there is a slight increase in temperature while I listen to dsd music, nothing compare to the ak380 but still warmer that the WM1Z.

 

[FranTBW]

Some pics I got for you fine folks

IMG_0123.JPG
IMG_0137.JPG

 

[robbi22]

Some pics I got for you fine folks

IMG_0123.JPG
IMG_0137.JPG

Congratulations)) Its beautiful)) Do you compare cu and ss?
any differences in sound?

 

[Piotr Michalak]

Will confirm again pairing sp1000 to Kse1500. Last time I heard it 3 hours using westone foam tip and feel deep bass but lack abit upper bass. I am not a basshead but it is really weak in upper bass to me. Highs is crystial clear and shine but thin (I guess it lacking 4000-6000).
Overall is not full, but very very clear and clean.
Foam tip is like bass absorber. I think I will try again with others tips before judge.

It depends on the foam tip. I have listened to different types of Shure (included in the package), Comply, Westone and even some different company (don't remember the name). There are big differences even between different comply foam tips. So yea, KSE1500 is very fragile in terms of responding to different tips, there are great differences and one may tune them to ones liking that way.

 

[FranTBW]

Congratulations)) Its beautiful)) Do you compare cu and ss?
any differences in sound?

I forgot to include, it's not actually mine I wish I had the money to afford even half of one LOL.

And yes, I've tried the two side by side. Using either DAP as the reference point to the other, the SP1000Cu is slightly warmer and more mellow, and has sweeter mids, along with a more natural timbre and a very pleasant staging, but that doesnt mean the treble is forgotten. The SP1000SS, however, is definitely brighter and closer to neutral, although I wouldn't call it a true neutral, as it's more of a bright-warm signature. It's got a larger staging, and much more upper mid and lower treble energy, being more sparkly and airy. It's more tuned towards orchestral and jpop/female vocals, and perform impressively well at doing so. The Cu would lean more towards slower songs like jazz and rock. These are my amateur impressions, so do take them with a slight grain of salt

 

[robbi22]

I forgot to include, it's not actually mine I wish I had the money to afford even half of one LOL.

And yes, I've tried the two side by side. Using either DAP as the reference point to the other, the SP1000Cu is slightly warmer and more mellow, and has sweeter mids, along with a more natural timbre and a very pleasant staging, but that doesnt mean the treble is forgotten. The SP1000SS, however, is definitely brighter and closer to neutral, although I wouldn't call it a true neutral, as it's more of a bright-warm signature. It's got a larger staging, and much more upper mid and lower treble energy, being more sparkly and airy. It's more tuned towards orchestral and jpop/female vocals, and perform impressively well at doing so. The Cu would lean more towards slower songs like jazz and rock. These are my amateur impressions, so do take them with a slight grain of salt

Thank you for your opinion!

 

[FranTBW]

Thank you for your opinion!

Cheers!

 

[wldcohso]

I have received my AK380SS from repair service form Germany today. (The battery didn't charge). And I'm so happy! It's so much smaller than Ultima, which is closer to having AK380+AMP in my pocket, and so easy to carry around in comparison. But what's more important, it's also more euphonic and smooth, darker, smoother, has fuller mids and... just sounds different. It complements greatly my SP1000 Cu, which is more transparent, airy, clinical and perfect, and obviously a step up in pure SQ, but still I need a second device for a change, from time to time, and was quite unhappy for the two weeks I had only Ultima as a source, nevertheless a perfect one. I also had my Hugo2, but it is quite similar to Ultima, so I felt like having one device only, and AK380SS is really something else.

At the beginning, few months ago I was angry at AK that they introduced a new flagship so quickly after AK380SS, and with a lower price. I was furious. But now I'm happy I didn't sell it. I would even buy it back today, if I did sell it. During these two weeks of AK380SS absence I even almost bought WM1Z to have something else to listen to for a change.

I'm also unhappy that the Cu material is so soft. After dropping Ultima a few times accidentally (from small heights, nothing serious!) I already have a few dents... And SS is indestructible. I regret not buying another SS unit and if anyone would like to switch to an imperfect Cu version with some $ from me for the dents, I'd be happy to.

Some of you asked how well does Shure KSE1500 pair with Ultima. Well, I wrote already: It sounds like PERFECTION, yes, with all caps. It's almost like carrying a closed version of a WELL DRIVEN (!) pair of Stax SR-009. (Note, that SR-009 in A/B comparison is still a better headphone, a competitor to Orpheus if well driven). BUT I do recommend strongly to change the eartips to Comply Comfort (the round ball ones) which make Shure sound much more natural, with a bit less highs. I tested thoroughly many times and Comply win all the time. (Even though they may lose on other headphones! They do complement KSE1500 though). And use multiple-core silver mini-jack interconnect from Lavricables. Don't use the ****ty stock one, throw it in your trash bin. With AK380SS, my KSE1500 sound clearly worse, it's not perfection anymore, but it is still a beautiful and satisfying sound. KSE1500 show which one of these devices have an ojectively better DAC on board.

Can you post pictures of your AK380SS please. I’ve been eyeing this for a lil while.

 

[Giraku]

But what's more important, it's also more euphonic and smooth, darker, smoother, has fuller mids and... just sounds different. It complements greatly my SP1000 Cu, which is more transparent, airy, clinical and perfect, and obviously a step up in pure SQ, but still I need a second device for a change, from time to time, and was quite unhappy for the two weeks I had only Ultima as a source, nevertheless a perfect one.

I feel the same way. There is nothing wrong with my SP1000Cu. It's actually near perfect. Nonetheless, from time to time, I need a change in terms of sound signature.
In my case, I use FiiO X7mk2 and AK240 depending on my mood and music selection. These 2 DAPs do not have the transparency, air, and resolution that SP1000Cu has. But depending on music tracks, X7mk2 (combined with AM5 amp module) renders music so nicely and presents life like sound, especially through Klipsch HP-3. AK240 is really shines with organic sound for old jazz recordings, for some reason.

As for IEM synergy, I'm quite satisfied with Hifiman RE2000. Comply Isolation T400 is the best tips for RE2000 to me. Other than Comply, they sound so light in bass department.

 

[junix]

That's rather abnormal as my unit only gets warm but never hot even after playing a few DSD albums consecutively compared to a AK240 or AK380.

Yes, very abnormal.. up until yesterday mine never got hot, only slightly warmish when playing DSD.. but IMHO what happened yesterday was a battery failure.
The unit was almost burning, it was so hot I was not able to keep it in my hands.

I returned it today to Dubai Audio (A&K distributor in Dubai, really great guys!) and they will send the unit back to A&K in South Korea.
They told me I should receive a new unit in a few days.. as they don't have SP1000Cu in stock.

I look at it as an unlucky isolated incident as nobody had a similar problem in this thread before.

 

[hattrick15]

Can the SP1000 play .iso files? Can it play a .cue list?