[dsincere]

True it is all just assumptions, but I just don't think there is an upside for them in the HD market. They have already said they have no plans for lossless formats on iTunes. Without lossless I just don't think most hobbyist are going to be swayed. Again this is all just my opinion so take it with a bag of salt. 

I think at some point they will bring high res to iTunes ...I feel it's a move that may have to be made because high res files are a great option and as we've seen is making a resurgence and it would be good as a whole for everyone whether some like Apple or not I think it would be a great thing....

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

I always think this audiophile/highres is too small potatoe for Apple (esp. profit wise)....

 

[dsincere]

I always think this audiophile/highres is too small potatoe for Apple (esp. profit wise)....

Yes but then again Apple isn't always been about profit ...and they sit in a premium market and has always wanted to be there with not much interest in the low end market...the Mac was never the top market ...it was a special market IOS is not the top OS Android is but IOS is special as it helped along with others bring mobile to where it is today and they continue to be a premium market ....

 

[elfary]

I always think this audiophile/highres is too small potatoe for Apple (esp. profit wise)....

 
I think that Apple's hardware brings to the table more real real resolution than most boutique daps. And for 16 or less ohms loads and iPhone 5s a Touch 5 or an iPad Air beat everything else out there.
 
That a dap can handle 96-24 stuff when its loaded performance THD+N is less then -80 dBFS makes that point moot.
 
My 0.02

 

[Byronb]

   
I think that Apple's hardware brings to the table more real real resolution than most boutique daps. And for 16 or less ohms loads and iPhone 5s a Touch 5 or an iPad Air beat everything else out there.
 
That a dap can handle 96-24 stuff when its loaded performance THD+N is less then -80 dBFS makes that point moot.
 
My 0.02

We will have to agree to disagree on that point. 

 

[goodvibes]

  I got my AK240 replaced (due to the 2.5 socket lost connection). But now on my new AK240 the power button is loose. When I move the AK240 it's rattling, feels pretty cheap as well. None of my other AK Player had this I don't have luck with the AK240.
 
On top, I've found a part where the anodyzing didn't happen, looks like a scratch, but looked like this from the beginning.
And I have that strange cut on the corner:
 

 

 
Is the power button always like this?

It's likely either a repaired player or your repaired player.

 

[flymetothemoon]

  True it is all just assumptions, but I just don't think there is an upside for them in the HD market. They have already said they have no plans for lossless formats on iTunes. Without lossless I just don't think most hobbyist are going to be swayed. Again this is all just my opinion so take it with a bag of salt. 

What prohibit Apple to use lossless? Any idea?

 

[Mimouille]

What prohibit Apple to use lossless? Any idea?

Well actually Steve Jobs' first girlfriend dumped him for the guy who invented flac so they has always been a taboo on this at Apple.

 

[Byronb]

Well actually Steve Jobs' first girlfriend dumped him for the guy who invented flac so they has always been a taboo on this at Apple.

Not sure that is the reason moving forward since Steve has left us, but they have plainly stated they have no plans to bring HD to iTunes.

 

[flymetothemoon]

Well actually Steve Jobs' first girlfriend dumped him for the guy who invented flac so they has always been a taboo on this at Apple.

Oh, now I see!

 

[SilverEars]

Apple has lossless format, ALAC.  That's quite interesting, didn't know that.  

 

[Barra]

Well actually Steve Jobs' first girlfriend dumped him for the guy who invented flac so they has always been a taboo on this at Apple.

Not sure that is the reason moving forward since Steve has left us, but they have plainly stated they have no plans to bring HD to iTunes.

To be clear, did apple say no HD meaning 24/96 plus, or did they specifically say no lossless? Links?

I personally don't care about HD, but lossless is a bare minimum to buy music from iTunes. I am tired of buying CDs and ripping them myself so I would like the option, especially for individual songs. Buying mp3s in iTunes is like buying a Picasso postcard to display on your wall in a large several thousand dollar frame taped in the middle.

While lossless support may be more of a label issue, if Apple makes some lossless available as they sign deals, then everyone will eventually cave. Apple should do what is right for its customers.

 

[Bechti]

  It's likely either a repaired player or your repaired player.

 
Turn in your player to fix a problem, and get another issue for free
 
Nice, however the new issues are not altering the sound...
_________
 
Apple should have lossless versions of the songs, they upgraded the quality from 128kb/s to 320kB/s, it's just a matter of customer demand vs. costs to distribute (larger files/larger volume), but I don't see music as the key driver to upgrade server capacities, think of HD movies. But I guess Apple is selling for more music than movies. 

 

[jwbrent]

  It's likely either a repaired player or your repaired player.

 
When I received my replacement unit the fit and finish was actually better than my first unit, which, by the way, was from the first batch shipped to the US. My first unit had a wiggly volume knob almost as bad as the AK100 and the upper right corner casework didn't seem finished since there were deep striations in the angled cut. My replacement unit's knob is much tighter and the deep striations in the metalwork are gone.
 
My power button does have a bit of wiggle, but nothing that upsets me. I imagine A&K's quality control in regards to unit to unit consistency isn't as good as one would hope on a state of the art device. Or perhaps they are now replacing defective units with repaired units as goodvibes suggests.

 

[dsincere]

Not sure that is the reason moving forward since Steve has left us, but they have plainly stated they have no plans to bring HD to iTunes.

Yes and they've stated lots of other things too like no one wanted to watch video on an iPod, past bit rate was good enough "then moved it up" 720p was good enough "now up to 1080p" and now retina with support for multi 4k...They never say where they're going next and have always said things to throw the competition off or whatever but they have a few audiophiles working in the mist and I believe it's coming as it wouldn't be a smart move for it not too at least 24/96 especially with 4k AIFF and ALAC are and were for a reason ...Apple sometimes sits on things for a long time before they implement it...they still are a small company no matter what IOS sales say and would have you believe they have a limited number of engineers and people to work on projects as it's always been this way...