Well, first of all PHA 3 is a DAC/Amp while AK240 is a DAP. In other words, you can't listen to PHA 3 with just headphones because you will need something to store your music, like a phone, Walkman, laptop, etc.
Anyway, I don't own either of them but I have listened to them both for an extensive amount of time. Frankly speaking, both are terrible in terms of value, but regarding sound quality alone I would say AK240 has the edge. In fact, I personally found the PHA 2 to sound better than PHA 3. PHA 1 and PHA 2 in my personal opinion, are 2 revolutionary portable amps that somehow did not get the popularity that they deserve. The ergonomics, build quality, aesthetics, and most importantly the sound quality were all ingenious. PHA 3 on the other hand, was disappointing. It lost the ergonomics that PHA 1 and 2 had, not to mention no one uses their balanced outputs. What's worse is that the sound quality on it is not all that better than PHA 1 or 2. AK240 is already a poor value, but I think PHA 3 is even worse.
Well, first of all PHA 3 is a DAC/Amp while AK240 is a DAP. In other words, you can't listen to PHA 3 with just headphones because you will need something to store your music, like a phone, Walkman, laptop, etc.
Anyway, I don't own either of them but I have listened to them both for an extensive amount of time. Frankly speaking, both are terrible in terms of value, but regarding sound quality alone I would say AK240 has the edge. In fact, I personally found the PHA 2 to sound better than PHA 3. PHA 1 and PHA 2 in my personal opinion, are 2 revolutionary portable amps that somehow did not get the popularity that they deserve. The ergonomics, build quality, aesthetics, and most importantly the sound quality were all ingenious. PHA 3 on the other hand, was disappointing. It lost the ergonomics that PHA 1 and 2 had, not to mention no one uses their balanced outputs. What's worse is that the sound quality on it is not all that better than PHA 1 or 2. AK240 is already a poor value, but I think PHA 3 is even worse.
It depends on what you emphasize.
One is a dap, the other is external dac/amp.
So if you go for Sony's the dap you choose definitely affects the evaluation.
If you listen to music with balanced, I recommend Sonys because of type of connector.
I own and really like both the PHA-3 and AK240. I use the PHA-3 with a an A17 DAP as my source using the supplied USB cable. I only use the PHA-3 with balanced cables - Z7, Z5, H3 plus I have MMCX and 2-pin balanced cables that I use with the PHA-3 and Pono. My full-size headphones (HD800, HD700, HD650, hd600, LCDX, LCD3, Alpha Dogs, HE500, HE400...) all have balanced 4-pin XLR cables and I use an adapter from XLR to PHA-3 (and Pono) balanced.
The AK240 is way more convenient with IEMs. The PHA-3 has more power for headphones, but is transportable, at best. The AK240 lives in my backpack while the PHA-3 lives in an aviation headset case with the Z7 and Z5.
Well, first of all PHA 3 is a DAC/Amp while AK240 is a DAP. In other words, you can't listen to PHA 3 with just headphones because you will need something to store your music, like a phone, Walkman, laptop, etc.
Anyway, I don't own either of them but I have listened to them both for an extensive amount of time. Frankly speaking, both are terrible in terms of value, but regarding sound quality alone I would say AK240 has the edge. In fact, I personally found the PHA 2 to sound better than PHA 3. PHA 1 and PHA 2 in my personal opinion, are 2 revolutionary portable amps that somehow did not get the popularity that they deserve. The ergonomics, build quality, aesthetics, and most importantly the sound quality were all ingenious. PHA 3 on the other hand, was disappointing. It lost the ergonomics that PHA 1 and 2 had, not to mention no one uses their balanced outputs. What's worse is that the sound quality on it is not all that better than PHA 1 or 2. AK240 is already a poor value, but I think PHA 3 is even worse.
If you buy the pha-3 and not utilize the balanced output then what's the point? I find the pha3 to be an improvement over the pha-2 in a direct comparison even in a single-end mode. You should learn how to reterminate your existing phones with balanced connectors in order to get the best sound quality from the pha-3. Once you have done that I expect your opinion to change about the pha-3. I have done that and the results are pretty great with easier to drive phones. Yes, the pha-3 can drive both the hd800 and the he1000 but not optimally.
I've been using Sony PHA3+iPhone 6(Onkyo Player app)for the pass 2 months.
Today I combo it with Samsung Note 4 and 'Hi-Fs' on the PHA3 appeared!
Means I wasn't on high res using iPhone?
I also try to connect PHA3 with Astell 120ii using micro usb provided by PHA3 and AK micro/USB but totally no signal.3.5mm to 3.5mm sounds thinner and no sign of 'Hi-Fs'.
Though I already using AK most of the time,I want to try utilizing PHA3.Wonder if Astell 120ii+PHA3 get me to DSD/DXD?
Own the Angie IEM on 2.5mm balanced and also bought the 2.5mm balanced headphone cable for Oppo pm2 to AK instead of 3.5mm x2 for Sony cos I guess PHA3 got no potential.
Maybe need to sell away PHA3 unless I can discover its usefulness .
I had a PHA-3 amplifier to match with ipod classic/Sony X1060. I think the DAC part of the PHA-3 is a good improvement but the amp is not powerful enough for high impedance headphones.
Can anyone throw some light on the DSEE upscaling? does it make a huge difference to low res 320kbps audio? Just would like to know how much difference does it make make between a equally priced DAP.
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