The AK320 thread
May 20, 2016 at 11:20 AM Post #407 of 743
Got my AK320!   Compared to the AK100ii, it was a definite step up in audio performance.   I could try to explain it, but basically, the sound is more realistic in both tone and imaging.   I had both volume matched (maybe with a slight edge to the AK100ii, since I preferred to put the AK320 at a disadvantage than the other way around) playing the same files through my Angie's on balanced.   The AK100ii sounds a bit harsher and the imaging would not be as clear on passages with a lot going on.  I don't know why this is the case (different DAC, dual DAC, femto clock....) as, honestly, I treat these things as black boxes since some of that stuff is probably snake oil.
 
On other aspects, I would have liked an OLED screen.  The AK100ii has nice black blacks and the AK320 looks a bit washed out in comparison, which is sad considering it costs twice as much.   The overall build quality is superb, and it is a beautiful DAP.  I get a lot of people hate on AK for having ridiculous pricing, but the AK320 doesn't seem totally crazy to me.  It's around the same value proposition as the AK120ii.  Not sure why the AK320 isn't more popular.
 
May 20, 2016 at 3:55 PM Post #408 of 743
  Got my AK320!   Compared to the AK100ii, it was a definite step up in audio performance.   I could try to explain it, but basically, the sound is more realistic in both tone and imaging.   I had both volume matched (maybe with a slight edge to the AK100ii, since I preferred to put the AK320 at a disadvantage than the other way around) playing the same files through my Angie's on balanced.   The AK100ii sounds a bit harsher and the imaging would not be as clear on passages with a lot going on.  I don't know why this is the case (different DAC, dual DAC, femto clock....) as, honestly, I treat these things as black boxes since some of that stuff is probably snake oil.
 
On other aspects, I would have liked an OLED screen.  The AK100ii has nice black blacks and the AK320 looks a bit washed out in comparison, which is sad considering it costs twice as much.   The overall build quality is superb, and it is a beautiful DAP.  I get a lot of people hate on AK for having ridiculous pricing, but the AK320 doesn't seem totally crazy to me.  It's around the same value proposition as the AK120ii.  Not sure why the AK320 isn't more popular.

Did u compare it with AK380 in the store/friends maybe? 
 
May 20, 2016 at 6:56 PM Post #409 of 743
  Did u compare it with AK380 in the store/friends maybe? 

The internals of the AK380 should be pretty much the same except for the addition of an XMOS chip for native DSD decoding, similar to the relationship between the AK240 and AK120II.
 
May 20, 2016 at 8:05 PM Post #410 of 743

Nope.  Ordered online.  Was never going to pay that much for the AK380.  Music is just one of my hobbies.  Which goes to my earlier point, the AK320 isn't terrible value in the world of AK.   
 
May 21, 2016 at 9:00 AM Post #413 of 743
This post puts a nice smile on my face.
smily_headphones1.gif

And why is that?
 
May 21, 2016 at 11:57 AM Post #415 of 743
  I know that, of course;] Just asking about the sound...

Yes, what I meant by that is that it's the exact same thing inside except for the inclusion of an XMOS chip in the AK380, which will only make a difference in DSD playback.  There's no possible way for it to sound different.
 
May 21, 2016 at 1:23 PM Post #416 of 743
Yes, what I meant by that is that it's the exact same thing inside except for the inclusion of an XMOS chip in the AK380, which will only make a difference in DSD playback.  There's no possible way for it to sound different.


That's what it supposed sound like but there are some different opinions and i wanted to know another one:wink:
I just wanted to know how does it sounds to him, not what u can assume looking at specs. I'll be more precise next time:)
 
May 21, 2016 at 1:33 PM Post #417 of 743
Yes, what I meant by that is that it's the exact same thing inside except for the inclusion of an XMOS chip in the AK380, which will only make a difference in DSD playback.  There's no possible way for it to sound different.


Has it ever been said that they are exactly the same? As far as Im aware, we know nothing of the internal circuit design. I thought they would sound the same. I wanted them to sound the same, but it was clear to my ears at least the moment I plugged in That the 380 was a clear step up. Not that I'm a big fan of the 380 :)
 
May 21, 2016 at 2:25 PM Post #418 of 743
Has it ever been said that they are exactly the same? As far as Im aware, we know nothing of the internal circuit design. I thought they would sound the same. I wanted them to sound the same, but it was clear to my ears at least the moment I plugged in That the 380 was a clear step up. Not that I'm a big fan of the 380
smily_headphones1.gif

If you look on AK's website, the listed specs are the EXACT same (e.g. THD+N, SNR, crosstalk, frequency response variance, output power, etc) between the AK380 and the AK320 as well as between the AK120II and AK240. There's only one logical conclusion to this.  I've also read several posts where members stated that the hardware was the same.
 
The differences you heard were due to placebo, expectation bias, and confirmation bias as well as the fact that human auditory memory is pretty much garbage.
 
That's what it supposed sound like but there are some different opinions and i wanted to know another one:wink:
I just wanted to know how does it sounds to him, not what u can assume looking at specs. I'll be more precise next time:)

Are you implying that the same things can somehow sound different?
 
May 21, 2016 at 2:27 PM Post #419 of 743
If you look on AK's website, the listed specs are the EXACT same (e.g. THD+N, SNR, crosstalk, frequency response variance, output power, etc) between the AK380 and the AK320 as well as between the AK120II and AK240. There's only one logical conclusion to this.  I've also read several posts where members stated that the hardware was the same.

The differences you heard were due to placebo, expectation bias, and confirmation bias as well as the fact that human auditory memory is pretty much garbage.

Are you implying that the same things can somehow sound different?


I actually volume matched them, and got a Friend to switch blind for me, so any bias would be eliminated :)

That said, have you ever heard the 380 beside the 320?

Like I said, I'm not a big fan of the 380, and was hoping that the 320 could match it for half the price. The 380cu I liked, but not the 380.
 
May 21, 2016 at 3:11 PM Post #420 of 743
I actually volume matched them, and got a Friend to switch blind for me, so any bias would be eliminated
smily_headphones1.gif


That said, have you ever heard the 380 beside the 320?

Like I said, I'm not a big fan of the 380, and was hoping that the 320 could match it for half the price. The 380cu I liked, but not the 380.

How was this done?
Did you use an actual ABX switch box?
How fast did you switch?
How often were the switches?
How long were the intervals?
Did you know when something was switched, and did you only switch for the other device or did you plug it into the same one again once in a while to throw the listener off?
How many trials did you run?
Did you take breaks between switches?
How many times did you correctly identify which source was being used?
What observations did you make about how (if at all) the sources differed from each other?
 
I have not heard the AK380, no.
 

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