[kkcc]

Was there a comparison of the sound of the 320 vs 240 at some point in this thread? Searches brought me to this thread but not what page of 23 pages, thanks

There are a lot of different views depending on different preferences, iem/hp used, tracks listened, importance of the different.aspects of sound for different ppl. Your best bet is to demo yourself. Nonetheless below is some comparison notes for your reference.

I own the 240 have no intention to buy the 320/380 but did compared them extensively along to 120ii, dp-x1, x7, pleune S lately. Also I hardly use my AK240 standalone anymore. It is mainly my transport for my Hugo.

I find these are all very nice players, with great resolution and sufficient driving power for most IEMs. I compared using my K10 custom. Simply put if you are looking for "value for sound", the Onkyo or Fiio will suffice.

Personally I like AK's design/aesthetics and built. Owned the first gen ak100/120 and now 240. AK UI and software were leading edge for a while too.

Comparing the 120ii/320/240/380, I would ave to agree with others who think the sound signature of 320 is closer to 120ii, and 380 closer to 240. To be it feels 320 is tuned to be a direct upgrade for folks who prefer ak120ii sound. And 380 is for folks who wish to upgrade from 240. Comparing 240 and 320 is kinna like comparing orange to apple for me - they differs in their signature and which one is better is subjective preference. Similarly you can say the say for 380 and ak120ii - I do not find the sound quality to be that much of a "drop off" - they are just differently tuned.

To me, 120ii/320 has more clarity, separation, but less weight and a flatter stage presentation...240/380 is richer in tonality, more body to the notes, and more depth in the stage, but lose the clarity and spatial sense.

If I want to get an upgrade for my 240, I would go for the 380. Nonetheless I can never justify the price difference between 380 and 320, even tho to me subjectively I much prefer the 380 type sound. It would have been the same had I need to choose between 240 and 120ii.

I also hate AK for pricing different tuning of essentially the same DAP into such extreme price tier as if one sound sig should be superior to another.

Hope this make sense to you!

YMMV

 

[sawrym]

There are a lot of different views depending on different preferences, iem/hp used, tracks listened, importance of the different.aspects of sound for different ppl. Your best bet is to demo yourself.

Nonetheless below is some comparison notes for your reference.

I own the 240 have no intention to buy the 320/380 but did compared them extensively along to 120ii, dp-x1, x7, pleune S lately. Also I hardly use my AK240 standalone anymore. It is mainly my transport for my Hugo.

I find these are all very nice players, with great resolution and sufficient driving power for most IEMs. I compared using my K10 custom. Simply put if you are looking for "value for sound", the Onkyo or Fiio will suffice.

Personally I like AK's design/aesthetics and built. Owned the first gen ak100/120 and now 240. AK UI and software were leading edge for a while too.

Comparing the 120ii/320/240/380, I would ave to agree with others who think the sound signature of 320 is closer to 120ii, and 380 closer to 240. To be it feels 320 is tuned to be a direct upgrade for folks who prefer ak120ii sound. And 380 is for folks who wish to upgrade from 240. Comparing 240 and 320 is kinna like comparing orange to apple for me - they differs in their signature and which one is better is subjective preference. Similarly you can say the say for woo and ak120ii - I do not find the sound quality to be that much of a "drop off" - they are just differently tuned.

To me, 120ii/320 has more clarity, separation, but less weight and a flatter stage presentation...240/380 is richer in tonality, more body to the notes, and more depth in the stage, but lose the clarity and spatial sense.

If I want to get an upgrade for my 240, I would go for the 380. Nonetheless I can never justify the price difference between 380 and 320, even tho to me subjectively I much prefer the 380 type sound. It would have been the same had I need to choose between 240 and 120ii.

I also hate AK for pricing different tuning of essentially the same DAP into such extreme price tier as if one sound sig should be superior to another.

Hope this make sense to you!

YMMV

So u're saying that AK320 doesn't sound the same as AK380. There are a lot of people on AK380 thread that says it does on PCM...  I'm confused now. I know it's about personal observations but I follow both threads and nobody mentioned about any differences (again, on PCM). 

 

[Uncle E1]

  So u're saying that AK320 doesn't sound the same as AK380. There are a lot of people on AK380 thread that says it does on PCM...  I'm confused now. I know it's about personal observations but I follow both threads and nobody mentioned about any differences (again, on PCM). 

 
there are subjective differences. 

 

[sawrym]

   
there are subjective differences. 

I have no possibilty to compare them side by side so i would like read about them here;]

Anyone else tested both longer than few minutes in the store or CanJam? I know it can be noisy there.

 

[mcemce13]

I tested both for a few days, and IMHO in PCM they have the same sound sound signature. Since I don't listen to DSD the option of the 320 was a no brainer

Sent from my SM-N920G using Tapatalk

 

[mcemce13]

And before I had a 120ii which I changed for a NWX-ZX2, because I preferred the sound signature of the Sony. But the 320 compared to the Sony is complete different league.

Sent from my SM-N920G using Tapatalk

 

[sawrym]

And before I had a 120ii which I changed for a NWX-ZX2, because I preferred the sound signature of the Sony. But the 320 compared to the Sony is complete different league.

Sent from my SM-N920G using Tapatalk

 

And before I had a 120ii which I changed for a NWX-ZX2, because I preferred the sound signature of the Sony. But the 320 compared to the Sony is complete different league.

Sent from my SM-N920G using Tapatalk

I asume AK320 beats all DAP u owned?

 

[catoval55]

hi ak320 folks, just want to chime in on this thread about the ak320 & ak380. i owned the ak320 about 2 weeks ago & sold it to upgrade to the ak380 which i now have. to me and this is being honest with what my 2 ears of what i  heard, the ak320 & the ak380 sounds the same with pcm 16/44, 24/96, 24/176 & 24/192   "ALL" sounded the same on the ak320 & ak380 when i used my fostex th900 & mr speakers alpha prime. i will be upgrading to the ak380cu by the end of march(this month) . hope my 2 cents helped. 

 

[sawrym]

  hi ak320 folks, just want to chime in on this thread about the ak320 & ak380. i owned the ak320 about 2 weeks ago & sold it to upgrade to the ak380 which i now have. to me and this is being honest with what my 2 ears of what i  heard, the ak320 & the ak380 sounds the same with pcm 16/44, 24/96, 24/176 & 24/192   "ALL" sounded the same on the ak320 & ak380 when i used my fostex th900 & mr speakers alpha prime. i will be upgrading to the ak380cu by the end of march(this month) . hope my 2 cents helped. 

Sure that helps! I was wondering to upgrade my AK240 but AK380 is way out of my price range. So that's great thing to read. I know there will be better and better DAPs not far from now but honestly i didn't like 240 and quite liked 380 tested in the store few months ago. I hope this helped to others too. 

 

[Huwge]

I would be interested to hear from any guys who have compared AK320 and 380 amp versus AK380 alone. I don't listen to DSD and am finding that the 380 amp really opens up the AK320. To be honest, I am hearing more with the AK combo when using HD650 than with 320 and Hugo. With the Angie 2 it is less obvious.

 

[catoval55]

sawrym you will be very happy with the ak320, only flaw is that astell & kern does not have as much firmware upgrade as the ak380 which ak320 is newer than the ak380 but BOTH sounds the same. the only reason i upgraded to the ak380 is because of internal storage ONLY! i do not intend to be playing or buying dsd or anything higher than 24/192 "PERIOD" . i am very set & 1000% satisfied with 16/44 to 24/192. ak380cu upgrade is only for testing purpose of the BIG HYPE from cu owners claiming a big sound difference between ak380 & ak380cu. if i hear no significant say like night & day, i will be returning it(ak380cu) for an exchange & refund difference. i started out with the ak jr first and now i am here with the ak380. 

 

 

[sawrym]

  sawrym you will be very happy with the ak320, only flaw is that astell & kern does not have as much firmware upgrade as the ak380 which ak320 is newer than the ak380 but BOTH sounds the same. the only reason i upgraded to the ak380 is because of internal storage ONLY! i do not intend to be playing or buying dsd or anything higher than 24/192 "PERIOD" . i am very set & 1000% satisfied with 16/44 to 24/192. ak380cu upgrade is only for testing purpose of the BIG HYPE from cu owners claiming a big sound difference between ak380 & ak380cu. if i hear no significant say like night & day, i will be returning it(ak380cu) for an exchange & refund difference. i started out with the ak jr first and now i am here with the ak380. 

 

I hope so cause one is flying to me right now :]  

Why spend almost $2000 for bigger storage when u can get two 200GB micro sd cards for 10 less? Like i don't listen to DSDs (because i don't have any) and AK320 seems perfect with that in mind. 
 
I know there is hype around 380cu but like i wrote before, price is the issue here and it's not day and night difference so why overpay? I'll get used to the sound and for that kind of money u can get better (or just with different sound sig) earphones. Plus value loss will be pretty big for rare equipment like that. 

 

[catoval55]

right you are about $2000.00 difference and with that difference you can buy a awesome pair of cans say like the mr speakers ether c for a very good combo with the ak320.

i am in the process of trying to sell my alpha prime(used less than 24 hours) so i can upgrade to the ether c. read that it is a nice pairing with the ak380 & chord hugo. hope you
enjoy your ak320 when it arrives. 

 

[kkcc]

I have no possibilty to compare them side by side so i would like read about them here;]


Anyone else tested both longer than few minutes in the store or CanJam? I know it can be noisy there.

I had them in possession for 3 days. I must also add that when 120ii were launched many (including myself at one point initially, was not really thrilled that AK released "cheaper" 120ii that "sound the same" on the 240 thread) also think 120ii and 240 sounded the same on PCM. Which I don't agree now. I truly believe objectively they ALL sound different. Which one is better is subjective preference.

Anyway to me all 4 120ii, 320, 240, 380 sounded different and despite what the price and model number suggest, they are all on similar technical level but just of a different tuning/signature. I can honestly believe I may pick ANY one of these as my favorite if price or pride (of "higher" price or "newer" model number etc) are removed from the equation. I can also see myself reaching different conclusions if I tested with different IEMs.

 

[GL1TCH3D]

Was there a comparison of the sound of the 320 vs 240 at some point in this thread? Searches brought me to this thread but not what page of 23 pages, thanks

There are a lot of different views depending on different preferences, iem/hp used, tracks listened, importance of the different.aspects of sound for different ppl. Your best bet is to demo yourself. Nonetheless below is some comparison notes for your reference.

I own the 240 have no intention to buy the 320/380 but did compared them extensively along to 120ii, dp-x1, x7, pleune S lately. Also I hardly use my AK240 standalone anymore. It is mainly my transport for my Hugo.

I find these are all very nice players, with great resolution and sufficient driving power for most IEMs. I compared using my K10 custom. Simply put if you are looking for "value for sound", the Onkyo or Fiio will suffice.

Personally I like AK's design/aesthetics and built. Owned the first gen ak100/120 and now 240. AK UI and software were leading edge for a while too.

Comparing the 120ii/320/240/380, I would ave to agree with others who think the sound signature of 320 is closer to 120ii, and 380 closer to 240. To be it feels 320 is tuned to be a direct upgrade for folks who prefer ak120ii sound. And 380 is for folks who wish to upgrade from 240. Comparing 240 and 320 is kinna like comparing orange to apple for me - they differs in their signature and which one is better is subjective preference. Similarly you can say the say for woo and ak120ii - I do not find the sound quality to be that much of a "drop off" - they are just differently tuned.

To me, 120ii/320 has more clarity, separation, but less weight and a flatter stage presentation...240/380 is richer in tonality, more body to the notes, and more depth in the stage, but lose the clarity and spatial sense.

If I want to get an upgrade for my 240, I would go for the 380. Nonetheless I can never justify the price difference between 380 and 320, even tho to me subjectively I much prefer the 380 type sound. It would have been the same had I need to choose between 240 and 120ii.

I also hate AK for pricing different tuning of essentially the same DAP into such extreme price tier as if one sound sig should be superior to another.

Hope this make sense to you!

YMMV

The onkyo is the only one I haven't heard (besides the potential ak320)

Currently own the ak240 and auditioned the x7 (which I didn't like)

I mostly agree with your ears about the sound of the ak240. However whether that's ideal to pair with various headphones is a different story (almost like a tube amp sound).

I think I'll pull the trigger on the trade since I am a sucker for trying something new and the dpx1 doesn't have USB audio yet