[georgelai57]

Yes it is.  However there is another aluminum bumper option in red or black for $100.

Thanks for the answer. Cheers.

 

[Marat Sar]

I'm heavy-heartedly looking into the old 120 since it still seams to be the best carrier for the chord mojo + vorzüge pure 2 triple-stack. HEavy-heartedly because I've had an original ak100 and it was a terrible piece of hardware. So, 120 owners, truthfully:
 
1) Is the interface slow and laggish? (like the 100)
2) Is the album art capricious and finicky? (like the 100) 
 
I bent myself over backwards to get album art working on the 100, but whatever tagging version I used, whatever program - the files that didn't have album art originally never displayed it later either. And the interface was always painfully slow. Is the 120 an improvemen on this?

 

[headwhacker]

  I'm heavy-heartedly looking into the old 120 since it still seams to be the best carrier for the chord mojo + vorzüge pure 2 triple-stack. HEavy-heartedly because I've had an original ak100 and it was a terrible piece of hardware. So, 120 owners, truthfully:
 
1) Is the interface slow and laggish? (like the 100)
2) Is the album art capricious and finicky? (like the 100) 
 
I bent myself over backwards to get album art working on the 100, but whatever tagging version I used, whatever program - the files that didn't have album art originally never displayed it later either. And the interface was always painfully slow. Is the 120 an improvemen on this?

 
In terms of UI they are generally the same. As the list becomes longer, scrolling is sluggish.

 

[hkppl]

I believe the firmware of ak100 and ak120 are very similar, hence the problems you got in your ak100 will probably also happen in ak120.

 

[spkrs01]

  I'm heavy-heartedly looking into the old 120 since it still seams to be the best carrier for the chord mojo + vorzüge pure 2 triple-stack. HEavy-heartedly because I've had an original ak100 and it was a terrible piece of hardware. So, 120 owners, truthfully:
 
1) Is the interface slow and laggish? (like the 100)
2) Is the album art capricious and finicky? (like the 100) 
 
I bent myself over backwards to get album art working on the 100, but whatever tagging version I used, whatever program - the files that didn't have album art originally never displayed it later either. And the interface was always painfully slow. Is the 120 an improvemen on this?

 
 
 
Interface is fine.....just don't expect it to be super speedy. If you are going to change albums all the time then it is better to use folder view, as updating the library takes ages. So turn off auto update....
 
Album art works well but iirc size should be no more than 500x500. No need to embed, just keep the .jpg with music files with the album folder.
 
Hope the above helps...

 

[bazurk]

Hello everyone,

Ive recently got my hands on a first generation AK120 and I had two questions. One is I paid $400 (is this as good a deal as I thought it was? got it from a good buddy) And two...what's the best/easiest way to get a hold of the best quality in music downloads. I had a subscription to Rhapsody but when I transferred the audio files there they were unable to play. (Protected copyright I believe)

Oh and a third question while I have your attention. I have a pair of Grado 225e's and a pair of Sennheiser 598's. Are these cans sufficient to enjoy the AK120'S output?
 

 

[FidelityCastro]

Hello everyone,


Ive recently got my hands on a first generation AK120 and I had two questions. One is I paid $400 (is this as good a deal as I thought it was? got it from a good buddy) And two...what's the best/easiest way to get a hold of the best quality in music downloads. I had a subscription to Rhapsody but when I transferred the audio files there they were unable to play. (Protected copyright I believe)


Oh and a third question while I have your attention. I have a pair of Grado 225e's and a pair of [COLOR=009900]Sennheiser 598's[/COLOR]. Are these cans sufficient to enjoy the AK120'S output?

 

Hi Bazurk and welcome.

You'll get loads of great advice on this stuff but to start the ball rolling:

www.hdtracks.com is great for high quality downloads. I have a load on a memory card on my AK120 and it sounds awesome. Anything16/44 (CD quality) and above will sound great, and with HDTracks you can choose which quality to buy.

Earphones: it's a slippery slope. But to give you an idea, I started with Shure 535s and have graduated through some others to Earsonics Velvets and a Cosmic Ears CE6P. It's very much a case of trying as many as possible, as you will find that after a certain point the actual sound quality doesn't improve, but the sound signature will change depending on the earphones, your taste in EQ and your taste in music.

One more thing: you might want to consider upgrading the AK120 in one of two ways. Either get the actual music player modified (the best known one is by Red Wine Audio; mine was the "Mezzo Soprano" mod by Music Sanctuary). The other way is to get the Glove Audio A1, which is a little amp unit that you can plug the Ak120 into. It gives you more power and better bass, and - crucially for my taste - allows you to run a balanced output, which gives you a wider soundstage.

So going up a level on your earphones and then modding the AK or adding the A1 will take it to the next level.
Having said all that, you will love the sound of the AK with your existing earphones and some high quality tracks. Have fun and let us know how you get on.

 

[xtr4]

Just to add onto what Fidelity Castro has mentioned:
 
* Add an amp to the chain. Here are a few suggestions; ALO Rx, Headamp Pico Slim, Cayin C5, Vorzuge Pure 2.
* The amp gives more power to the AK120 to flesh out more dynamics especially for full size headphones or harder to drive IEMs
* You can use this link to get some free HD music files to get started: http://www.findhdmusic.com/high-res-audio/free-music/

 

[dallan]

Did anyone ever find a way to get a replacement battery on the AK120?  Mine seems to be lasting a shorter and shorter time. Or does it just mean that is the life of a unit. That would be crazy at the original price when i bought it.....

 

[Skyyyeman]

Personally I haven't seen anything on any of the A&K threads, though I did miss some of the pages. One thing, though, in the (unlikely) event you bought it from a brick and morter authorized A&K dealer, they should help you out and take care of it for you. If not, they still might know where to have a replacement battery installed. With an online authorized dealer, it's really uncertain what they could offer (maybe nothing).

 

[45longcolt]

If A&K isn't any help, you might contact one of the firms who mod the units. Pretty sure Redwine is one.

 

[lee730]

  Did anyone ever find a way to get a replacement battery on the AK120?  Mine seems to be lasting a shorter and shorter time. Or does it just mean that is the life of a unit. That would be crazy at the original price when i bought it.....

 
Technically they expect you to consider that the life of the unit. And AK did no such thing to help in this regards. Very poor customer service. Something at this price should most definitely have a replaceable battery. Even the Dx100 has such a basic function. You gotta open her up. But you won't ruin it by attempting to remove the battery from the board. These suckers have it soldered directly onto the board. Only way around that is to snip the original wire and splice it with the replacement (even if you can find one that is....).

 

[H20Fidelity]

   
Technically they expect you to consider that the life of the unit. And AK did no such thing to help in this regards. Very poor customer service. Something at this price should most definitely have a replaceable battery. Even the Dx100 has such a basic function. You gotta open her up. But you won't ruin it by attempting to remove the battery from the board. These suckers have it soldered directly onto the board. Only way around that is to snip the original wire and splice it with the replacement (even if you can find one that is....).

 
You can unsolder the wires from the board by simply heating the contact with a soldering iron. 

 
We have used removable smartphone batteries in a few cases as replacements, its the same 3.7volts across most lithuim batteries. Just need to find the correct size/shape.
 
Here's an example what we did with the Cowon J3.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/484334/cowon-j3-impressions-thread/3120#post_11206193
 
Need to get you practing with a solder iron Lee, so simple to use. 

 

[lee730]

   
You can unsolder the wires from the board by simply heating the contact with a soldering iron. 

 
We have used removable smartphone batteries in a few cases as replacements, its the same 3.7volts across most lithuim batteries. Just need to find the correct size/shape.
 
Here's an example what we did with the Cowon J3.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/484334/cowon-j3-impressions-thread/3120#post_11206193
 
Need to get you practing with a solder iron Lee, so simple to use. 

 
They use a special pin that is attached to the board itself. You will break that pin trying to remove it. Then you will have to manually solder it to the board. It's not quite as simple on the AK unit. Plus I'd be worried about damaging the board while soldering.
 
I was not able to find a battery small enough to fit inside the AK120s case and properly close. I got close but no cigar. Vinnie sold me an extra battery he had lying around from an AK120 unit he destroyed while soldering (to my knowledge?) .

 

[H20Fidelity]

   
They use a special pin that is attached to the board itself. You will break that pin trying to remove it. Then you will have to manually solder it to the board. It's not quite as simple on the AK unit. Plus I'd be worried about damaging the board while soldering.
 
I was not able to find a battery small enough to fit inside the AK120s case and properly close. I got close but no cigar. Vinnie sold me an extra battery he had lying around from an AK120 unit he destroyed while soldering (to my knowledge?) .

 
I can't find a picture of the board anywhere, do you have one?
 
If Vinnie has tried then its like you said, most likley easier said than done for this DAP.
 
I'd like to see inside though for fun.