[rudi0504]

I think the diff is even greater. I used a mod ak100 and returned after a week. IMHO the comparison between the 120 and 240 is huge.

And the UI on the 240 is 100% better than it's predecessors.

Aloha Sera
Yes you are right Sara
Ak 240 has better clarity , better detail , better separation , better soundstage , better pronounce ,better rendering
IMO

 

[dallan]

Aloha Sera
Yes you are right Sara
Ak 240 has better clarity , better detail , better separation , better soundstage , better pronounce ,better rendering
IMO

Same, i own the 120 and hearing the 240 at the meet made me sick.  Even with the 120 and external amp didn't measure up.  The 240 was so much cleaner and more dynamic, it outperformed my expectations, which were already high.

 

[rudi0504]

Same, i own the 120 and hearing the 240 at the meet made me sick.  Even with the 120 and external amp didn't measure up.  The 240 was so much cleaner and more dynamic, it outperformed my expectations, which were already high.

I never think direct bought AK 240 because the price is like desktop CD player / DAC
After I heard AK 240 about one weeks , than I decided to buy AK 240
For AK 240 I sold my LCD 3 and my AK :120
I have so many portable amps , my AK 100 / AK 120 + Amps , still can not challenge AK 240 alone .

Source / DAP and music are the important part from audio gear set up
If your source / DAP is not so good , like you heard between AK 120 vs AK 240 , you add Amp
Can improve the sound quality from your AK 120.
But still can not challenge AK 240
Could be with external amp has more power , power alone with less Sound Quality , it doesn't mean anything

That's why I don't like MP 3
All my music file format are
WAV = 70 %
AIFF =. 5 %
ALAC =. 5 %
The rest are hi rest and DSD only 15 albums

I am not again MP3 , if I hear direct MP3 is okay , but with high end DAP and plus external AMP , I really don't like MP3
That's why I never ripping MP 3

IMO

 

[dallan]

I never think direct bought AK 240 because the price is like desktop CD player / DAC
After I heard AK 240 about one weeks , than I decided to buy AK 240
For AK 240 I sold my LCD 3 and my AK :120

I have so many portable amps , my AK 100 / AK 120 + Amps , still can not challenge AK 240 alone .

Source / DAP and music are the important part from audio gear set up
If your source / DAP is not so good , like you heard between AK 120 vs AK 240 , you add Amp
Can improve the sound quality from your AK 120.
But still can not challenge AK 240
Could be with external amp has more power , power alone with less Sound Quality , it doesn't mean anything

That's why I don't like MP 3
All my music file format are
WAV = 70 %
AIFF =. 5 %
ALAC =. 5 %
The rest are hi rest and DSD only 15 albums

I am not again MP3 , if I hear direct MP3 is okay , but with high end DAP and plus external AMP , I really don't like MP3
That's why I never ripping MP 3

IMO

I agree, that's why i was so torn, i wasn't ready to buy it money wise and there was a show special.  I may have to get it at the next show they are at which is the end of May.  I had under 1% mp3s but now due to some recent finds of old unavailable music that i could only get 320mp3 it is maybe at about 1-2% mp3 and 98% lossless or 24 bit so i am on the same page as you. I am 75% sure that i will get the 240, it is just if i can swing the cash for my slow season that starts the first week of June. 
 
In the mean time, my home system is good anyway…..

 

[rudi0504]

I agree, that's why i was so torn, i wasn't ready to buy it money wise and there was a show special.  I may have to get it at the next show they are at which is the end of May.  I had under 1% mp3s but now due to some recent finds of old unavailable music that i could only get 320mp3 it is maybe at about 1-2% mp3 and 98% lossless or 24 bit so i am on the same page as you. I am 75% sure that i will get the 240, it is just if i can swing the cash for my slow season that starts the first week of June. 

In the mean time, my home system is good anyway…..

Yes you have very good high end audio , that's why you like AK 240 as your high end DAP

 

[dallan]

Yes you have very good high end audio , that's why you like AK 240 as your high end DAP

Oh, I like it all right.

 

[kenz]

  please gentleman tell us wich full size Headphone have the best synergy with the INTERNAL AK240's Amp ? 
 
I read that the HD800 BALANCED is very good (to me it is quite a surprise considering how picky the HD800 is), but what about the other TOL headphones ? 
 
AlphaDOG ? TH-900 ? SigPRO ? ...

 
Give the Audeze LCD X and LCD XC a try.
 
The combo with AK240 really surprised me at how well the LCDs sound despite driven by a portable player.

 

[Currawong]

Ok, so now you guys get the story of when I visited iriver in LA last week, before the SoCal meet.
 
I was listening with un-balanced universal Roxannes and pretty impressed already with the sound when I saw they had a pair of HD-800s balanced, and thought to give them a go. I chose a binaural track -- Fiona Bevan from the Accidental Powercut series (available from Bowers & Wilkins' Society of Sound) that I had on an SD card. Upon listening, I started saying things along the lines of what comes out of the rear end of a male cow -- I was in disbelief at what I was hearing (and this is, I might add, very rare). I passed the rig around and put that track on -- people's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and they double-checked that the sound was actually coming from the AK240. 
 
Later, with some experimentation with different balanced cables, I felt that a "warmer" cable (what some cable makers call a cable tuned for the HD-800) sounded best, as the AK240 is on the "nothing but the facts" side of things and can sound a bit thin. It will drive the HD-800s and LCD-X and XC easily enough that a lot of music is satisfying, but obviously not to the degree a very good desktop amp will. Still, the balanced out is remarkably capable.
 
So, at the end, when we had to leave, I was handed a review unit for our guys in Tokyo and myself. I looked at the box, saw the future as clear as day and bought one on the spot.
 

The rig I had going at the hotel, thanks to Warrenpchi. AK240 to WA7 to LCD-XC with WyWires cables. 
 

 
A balanced tail adaptor for my headphone cables that I made just now. Soldering the wires to the TRRS plug was NOT fun.

 

[kenz]

I never think direct bought AK 240 because the price is like desktop CD player / DAC
After I heard AK 240 about one weeks , than I decided to buy AK 240
For AK 240 I sold my LCD 3 and my AK :120

I have so many portable amps , my AK 100 / AK 120 + Amps , still can not challenge AK 240 alone .

Source / DAP and music are the important part from audio gear set up
If your source / DAP is not so good , like you heard between AK 120 vs AK 240 , you add Amp
Can improve the sound quality from your AK 120.
But still can not challenge AK 240
Could be with external amp has more power , power alone with less Sound Quality , it doesn't mean anything

That's why I don't like MP 3
All my music file format are
WAV = 70 %
AIFF =. 5 %
ALAC =. 5 %
The rest are hi rest and DSD only 15 albums

I am not again MP3 , if I hear direct MP3 is okay , but with high end DAP and plus external AMP , I really don't like MP3
That's why I never ripping MP 3

IMO

 
Share the same discovery, Rudi.
 
When i tried the AK120 with Kojo KM01 Brass, versus the AK240, i was shocked that the AK240 clearly outperformed it.
Then i tried the AK120 with RSA SR71a blackbird combo and compared, again another one up to AK240.
Went to compare with the iBasso R10 and as good as it was, technically it was edged out clearly again by AK240.
Even the latest Fiio X5 which i find amazingly good (more power than AK120, less refinement), cannot compete with the AK240.
 
The only player i'd put it on par with AK240 is the Hifiman HM901.
Then again, when you consider the zero internal memory, the material construct and software and interface, as a whole, the AK240 is the clear winner.

 

[rudi0504]

Share the same discovery, Rudi.

When i tried the AK120 with Kojo KM01 Brass, versus the AK240, i was shocked that the AK240 clearly outperformed it.
Then i tried the AK120 with RSA SR71a blackbird combo and compared, again another one up to AK240.
Went to compare with the iBasso R10 and as good as it was, technically it was edged out clearly again by AK240.
Even the latest Fiio X5 which i find amazingly good (more power than AK120, less refinement), cannot compete with the AK240.

The only player i'd put it on par with AK240 is the Hifiman HM901.
Then again, when you consider the zero internal memory, the material construct and software and interface, as a whole, the AK240 is the clear winner.

We are at The same boat lol

 

[rudi0504]

To night i tried Ny old school dac / amp Headroom Portable Micro Amp pair With IBasso HDP R 10 :

Source : IBasso HDP R10
Dac / Amp : Headroom Portable Micro Amp
Headphone : Beyerdynamic T5p
Cable : Coax Phantom Cables Canada

My impression :

High : Clear and clean , on My IPhone 5s through USB has Better clarity
Mid : not as clean as My IPhone 5s
Bass : very Good impact
Separation : Good For old school amp
Soundstage : Wide and Depth are very Good from old school amp

Overall :
The SQ from Headroom Portable Micro Amp is very Good , This amp already exist more than 4 years , that impressed
Still can produce so kind OF SQ

IMO

 

[kh600rr]

To night i tried Ny old school dac / amp Headroom Portable Micro Amp pair With IBasso HDP R 10 :

Source : IBasso HDP R10
Dac / Amp : Headroom Portable Micro Amp
Headphone : Beyerdynamic T5p
Cable : Coax Phantom Cables Canada

My impression :

High : Clear and clean , on My IPhone 5s through USB has Better clarity
Mid : not as clean as My IPhone 5s
Bass : very Good impact
Separation : Good For old school amp
Soundstage : Wide and Depth are very Good from old school amp

Overall :
The SQ from Headroom Portable Micro Amp is very Good , This amp already exist more than 4 years , that impressed
Still can produce so kind OF SQ

IMO

Hey Rudi, I was wondering, have you tried the cypher labs Duet with the AK-240 yet? If so how do you find the synergy ?

 

[Papiro2]

Any opinion on AK 120 (red wine Mod) versus AK 240?

 

[rudi0504]

Hey Rudi, I was wondering, have you tried the cypher labs Duet with the AK-240 yet? If so how do you find the synergy ?

Yes i have tried AK 240 pair With Cypher Labs Duet :

source : AK 240 use LINE OUT
Amp : Cypher Labs Duet use Low Gain
Headphone : Beyerdynamic T5p stock cable
LCD XC SAA. endorphin balance 4 pin > balance 4 pin to mini plug
Cable : mini to mini Crystal Cabel Dreamline DIY
Music file : WAV ,AIFF , FLAC hi rest 24 bit / 196 KHz and DSD

My impression :
High : very detail and very clear and very good clarity
Mid : very clear and sweet and natural mid that I can hear every clear how the Sanger breath
Very good pronounced and rendering
Bass : very good impact and fast bass reproduction and very clean and detail
Separation : very good separation that for close I can detect very clear the musician placement
Soundstage : wide and very good depth , that I feel not like close headphone
Background : very black background
Hissing : No hiss

Overall :
Duet is new amp , the SQ is one level above my old school Headroom portable micro amp and pico dac amp
With duet pair with AK 240 has very good synergy , very good rendering , at low Gain I have power full
Amp to drive T5p and LCD XC .
The best synergy pair with LCD XC , with T5p the bass is not so tight
Duet is my favorite amp for all rounder music genre
That's why I have two sets Duet one in Silver and one in Copper


Note :

Before I go ins bed , I heard DSD file from OPUS 2 : teach me tonight and Here's that rainy day , wow my hair stand up now , how beautiful DSD sound quality with this set up on my LCD XC , like your musician blow saxophone near you , man o man I love it , I can sleep well tonight hahaha

IMO

I

 

[kh600rr]

Yes i have tried AK 240 pair With Cypher Labs Duet :

source : AK 240 use LINE OUT
Amp : Cypher Labs Duet use Low Gain
Headphone : Beyerdynamic T5p stock cable
LCD XC SAA. endorphin balance 4 pin > balance 4 pin to mini plug
Cable : mini to mini Crystal Cabel Dreamline DIY
Music file : WAV ,AIFF , FLAC hi rest 24 bit / 196 KHz and DSD

My impression :
High : very detail and very clear and very good clarity
Mid : very clear and sweet and natural mid that I can hear every clear how the Sanger breath
Very good pronounced and rendering
Bass : very good impact and fast bass reproduction and very clean and detail
Separation : very good separation that for close I can detect very clear the musician placement
Soundstage : wide and very good depth , that I feel not like close headphone
Background : very black background
Hissing : No hiss

Overall :
Duet is new amp , the SQ is one level above my old school Headroom portable micro amp and pico dac amp
With duet pair with AK 240 has very good synergy , very good rendering , at low Gain I have power full
Amp to drive T5p and LCD XC .
The best synergy pair with LCD XC , with T5p the bass is not so tight
Duet is my favorite amp for all rounder music genre
That's why I have two sets Duet one in Silver and one in Copper


Note :

Before I go ins bed , I heard DSD file from OPUS 2 : teach me tonight and Here's that rainy day , wow my hair stand up now , how beautiful DSD sound quality with this set up on my LCD XC , like your musician blow saxophone near you , man o man I love it , I can sleep well tonight hahaha

IMO

I

[/quote

Thanks Rudi, I have been reading a lot of good things about the duet, I think it will make a nice pairing with my HD-800.