[skoog5600]

Kind of a bummer spending that kind money and having battery and other problems!
No AK for me.

 

[Kaadian]

  Kind of a bummer spending that kind money and having battery and other problems!
No AK for me.

People complaining of short life all have mods.
 
Unmodded I frequently get 10+ hours with my AK120

 

[AnakChan]

  Kind of a bummer spending that kind money and having battery and other problems!
No AK for me.

 
Originally Posted by Kaadian /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
People complaining of short life all have mods.
 
Unmodded I frequently get 10+ hours with my AK120

 
As per Kaadian, unmodded AK120's last in the double digits. The mods goals are to improve SQ at the cost of an amp section & less battery life.

 

[kerrys30]

I'll do an experiment next week when back at work. Will charge both AK (b mod) and intruder and leave running (playing playlist with mix of HD/DSD/red book) to see how long get. (Normal listening Volume).

 

[lee730]

I'll do an experiment next week when back at work. Will charge both AK (b mod) and intruder and leave running (playing playlist with mix of HD/DSD/red book) to see how long get. (Normal listening Volume).

 
I tend to be pedantic and like to change tracks frequently. I'm noticing if I pause the music and then select tracks I get better battery life. Around 5 hours seems feasible with the mod. Not sure how much longer it would go though without touching anything. I really don't have the patience either to test it .

 

[sutjahjo]

Stay unmodified....

 

[kerrys30]

Haha. I'd rather keep the mod version and maybe another unmodified for easy portability. But so far able to take modded one to work with me to listen on commute etc and easy to charge when need to in office so all good. Got SP toxic cable (balanced) arriving any day now for HD650's so looking forward to hearing those through player.

 

[headsetgo]

Hi,
 
I was advised to seek some help on this thread.
I was looking at the AK120 to pair with some Sennheiser IE800.
I do like the best out of my music and want the ability to do this with the right gear.
 
I was reading this thread and spotted this...

 Originally Posted by ribeye 
  Hey, 
 
So I take it, out the of box, 901 is superior to AK120. And AK120 will only match the 901 if amp-ed? If that's the case, wouldn't it make sense to get the 901 as AK120+amp would be touching the 2000 USD mark, doubling the price of 901. And also, 901 would be much more compact and easier to carry around??
 
I'm asking is I currently have the AK100 and I would like jump up to AK120 as 901 is way too bulky for me. But perhaps, sonically, the 901 is better?

 
Does the AK120 need an amp? Is it lacking something without one?
I like loud good quality music. I listen to quite a few genres and particularly music that has been well produced to enjoy the listening quality. But one genre I enjoy that concerns me is Reggae. I know I'd need to source good quality/mastered tracks to expect a good experience. But what about the deep bases? Can I expect to be able to enjoy those too or is it likely they will be more flat sounding?
 
There is no where local I can sample either of them. So I'm looking to try and get a good idea from this forum.
 
Thanks

 

[flaco]

The AK120 will sound amazing with the IE800. I don't own the IE800 but lots of people confirmed it. Even Astell&Kern themselves sold the AK in a package with IE800 in SKorea, that means something.

 

[wasily]

  The AK120 will sound amazing with the IE800. I don't own the IE800 but lots of people confirmed it. Even Astell&Kern themselves sold the AK in a package with IE800 in SKorea, that means something.

+1
 
I find the tralucent 1p2 my ideal pairing for portability and SQ. I listen to all genres and don't use an amp

 

[headsetgo]

  The AK120 will sound amazing with the IE800. I don't own the IE800 but lots of people confirmed it. Even Astell&Kern themselves sold the AK in a package with IE800 in SKorea, that means something.

 
Thanks for this information. Your right if that's what they did, then this does say something.
Has anyone reading this tested the IE800? If so, your thoughts?
 
So there is no other players out there that I should consider?
The HiFiman 901 is not worth considering?

 

[ianmedium]

Kind of a bummer spending that kind money and having battery and other problems!
No AK for me.

A tip for you that will keep you content, never buy high performance cutting edge products. They are called no compromise for a reason!

This is a country mile better than my old HM801 in terms of usability and from what I have read the 901 is not without its issues either. If you want press and play get an Apple product, I was happy with mine until I went into the more esoteric stuff and in all honesty I would trade a little usability and battery life for the substantial improvements in sound quality.

A ford focus will get you from A to B just as well as an Aston Martin but after getting out at B in the Focus you won't remember the journey, you will with the Aston!

The AK120 is like that, it makes even humble rips from CD a musical experience, go into well made high resolution and things just get better!

Of course there are people who will tell you their Fiio's perform almost as well, fine, if you have that level of non comprehension of what high fidelity is then you can live happy and content.

Me? Well I have been involved with HIFi for thirty years and the production of music for almost as long in one way or another starting as a humble roadie for some of the best known bands of the eighties and the in the studio with others since the nineties and I have to say this player is as much of a landmark in portable audio as my old Walkman Pro was in the eighties.
This player does not play facsimiles of music, it plays the music with none of the emotion or texture lost. And it is emotion and texture that makes this for me somewhat of a bargain in digital sound reproduction.

Any old thing will play a representation of the music but it takes something rather special to portray the texture and emotion. In the studio one of the things we strive to preserve the most are the texture and emotion so that the listener can engage with the performer in a more intimate way, it's that last 10% that turns something from nice to a memorable event! this player, along with the other high quality players such as the HiFiMan do that I feel and that makes them worth every penny if music is something you absorb into your very soul rather than a mere distraction as it sadly is for many!

I am not trying to justify this or any other high end player, more just trying to give an idea why folks are prepared to spend so much, it's all about that last ounce of musicality and emotion that matters!

 

[flaco]

If you intend to use them with your IE800, HM-901 and AK120 would be a great choice. They both sound phenomenal, it depends on you. You can't go wrong with none of them. IMO

 

[danpong]

HM901 sound superb with balanced amp card. IMO the only reason people perceived as it sound better than AK120 because it has the integrated slot for special amp card while AK120 doesn't have that. However, build quality and user interface functionality, and stability, AK120 wins by a mile. You have to ask yourself what do you want in player. If you want the best possible portable sound right now without caring for other glitch and ease of use, you might want to look at HM901 with balanced amp card. On the other hand, if you want great sound quality (probably 85-90% of what you would get from HM901) with ease of use and great stability,then You should get AK120. I still think that AK120 with good synergy amp like centrance M8 or RSA SR-71b is a lot better than HM901. Again this just my experience. Other people may say otherwise.

 

[harmonix]

Been thinking of getting a dap recently but have decided my sq bottom line is that the dap has to be at least as good as the meridian explorer or better... In fact for $1300 I'm expecting it to be.

Is the AK120 is up to task?
Will be using iems instead of headphones for this. Thanks a bundle.