[MandolinRob]

The Astell and Kern players only stream tidal hifi via WiFi correct?

If I use my phone as a personal hotspot will it connect and let me stream on the go (battery depletion and data usage a separate issue) ?

Will offline MQA be possible with firmware updates or is there a hardware limitation in the SR15 and Kann?

Thanks

Rob

 

[Victorfabius]

No, A&K players are not the only one capable of hifi Tidal streaming.

Yes, if you use your phone as a wifi hotspot, you should be able to connect to it with most players, including A&K.

A&K did mention support for MQA was coming, but it's been slow. I don't know if it's there yet or not, but I do not have an A&K player to test. Second, A&K players will not be able to do offline Tidal.

If you're looking for MQA enabled DAPs, here's a short list off the top of my head, and let's hope there's someone else here who can fill ing the gaps.

1. Onkyo DP-X1
2. Onkyo DP-X1A
3. Pioneer XDP-300R
4. Essential PH-1 (Ok, not a dap. Fine. Be that way.)
5. Onkyo Ganbeat (Also not a dap. I know, ok! I know!)
6. Sony NW A40 series
7. Sony NW A50 series
8. Sony WM1A
9. Sony WM1Z
10. Sony ZX300
11. LG V30 (Yes. Phone.)
12. LG V30+ (Same)
13. LG V35 ThinQ (Same again.)
14. LG G7 ThinQ (Last phone on list)
15. Onkyo PD-S10
16. Onkyo DP-S1
17. Pioneer XDP-30R

Of these, only 1-5 & 11-14 will allow for offline Tidal.

So, up to you, but you have choices outside A&K.

 

[MandolinRob]

Hi Victorfabius,

Thank you for the detailed list and solid answers to my questions, I’ll check the other options out at length tonight.

Sound quality and storage are most important to me, Tidal is a bonus, I still buy cds and will move across to hi res download once the player arrives. So long as I can use my phone as a hotspot for tidal hifi for discovering new music the AK will work for me. If I love something I’ll download it properly.

Going to take a good look at the Sony’s though, really nice looking daps.

Thanks again!

R

 

[gazzington]

Phone with dragonfly red or EarStudio es100. Trust me I’ve had many daps and they are all annoying for streaming programs.