[greenmac]

Anywhere I can demo an AK240 in/around Chicago ?

 

[flymetothemoon]

The AK120II does not support native DSD and will convert DSD playback to PCM before DAC conversion.  Probably this is the key difference between AK240 and its little brothers.

 

[AmberOzL]

As someone who doesn't care about dsd, AK120II would be good enough for me but the capacity is way lower than AK240 also they removed 1 micro sd slot from the AK120, which is not cool. Then they increased the price.
 
I don't like the way iRiver proceeds. They are not trying to give their customers better options, they are just trying to be a rich peoples brand and make name like Sony or Apple.

 

[wilman0527]

  As someone who doesn't care about dsd, AK120II would be good enough for me but the capacity is way lower than AK240 also they removed 1 micro sd slot from the AK120, which is not cool. Then they increased the price.
 
I don't like the way iRiver proceeds. They are not trying to give their customers better options, they are just trying to be a rich peoples brand and make name like Sony or Apple.

 
There are cheaper options like the dx90 which IMO rivals the 240 minus the balanced output.

 

[AmberOzL]

   
There are cheaper options like the dx90 which IMO rivals the 240 minus the balanced output.

I know but DX90's capacity is even worse than AK120II. I need/want high capacity player. Calyx M seems like to be the only option so far. I wish all other dap makers could understand the importance of capacity.
 
For screws sake, you are making an audiophile level, high resolution or even dsd playback dap and you put only 8 gb and 1 micro sd slot? Minimum should be at least 256 gb, which is already low if you ask me. We are not putting aac or mp3's in it, those high res files take a lot of storage. Put 500 gb mSATA in it and call it a day.

 

[flymetothemoon]

  As someone who doesn't care about dsd, AK120II would be good enough for me but the capacity is way lower than AK240 also they removed 1 micro sd slot from the AK120, which is not cool. Then they increased the price.
 
I don't like the way iRiver proceeds. They are not trying to give their customers better options, they are just trying to be a rich peoples brand and make name like Sony or Apple.

I think you are right.  AK has been positioned as a premium brand as from the beginning, not another DAP.  
 
As said in my other post, AK's strategy is to cover the entire pricing spectrum and flood the markets with these new models.  Since there are headfiers like you don't care about native DSD and the AK100II & AK120II would suit your requirement.  
 
Although the AK240 is tremendously expensive and I've found this is one of the best buys so far I have in my short stint of headfiing.
 
Cheers 

 

[sutjahjo]

Hi, there was another high-res portable music player that everyone here used to talk about before the Ak240 hit the market...

Its name started with C... Cavali, Calisto... I can't remember... I do remember though it was from a Korean manufacturer I guess. Can you help me with this?

Calyx M is actually very new. Seems so soon for people to forget. A bad omen for the product.

 

[sutjahjo]

As someone who doesn't care about dsd, AK120II would be good enough for me but the capacity is way lower than AK240 also they removed 1 micro sd slot from the AK120, which is not cool. Then they increased the price.

I don't like the way iRiver proceeds. They are not trying to give their customers better options, they are just trying to be a rich peoples brand and make name like Sony or Apple.

The good thing is, everyone still has a choice. To buy AK100, AK120, AK240, the new AK100II, AK120II or to walk away!

Consumer choices are good, and I am happy about it.

 

[Solude]

Calyx M is actually very new. Seems so soon for people to forget. A bad omen for the product.

 
Not helping that people are referring to the maker as D&A instead of Calyx.  Google it sometime.  That said they are sold out in Asia so they seem to be doing alright

 

[angelo898]

   
There are cheaper options like the dx90 which IMO rivals the 240 minus the balanced output.

have you heard the ak240?

 

[wilman0527]

  have you heard the ak240?

 
Yes I got the chance to listen to the ak120,240 and dx90 I choose the dx90 because there wasn't much difference to my ears between the dx90 and 240. Regarding the 120 I felt it lacked clarity between instruments and just threw everything at me in one package when compared to the other two which separated each instrument accordingly. With the price of the dx90 it was a no brainier for me but I may later buy a permanent dap from astell and kern depending on memory size and battery life as I liked the ak120's 14 hour playback.

 

[flymetothemoon]

   
Yes I got the chance to listen to the ak120,240 and dx90 I choose the dx90 because there wasn't much difference to my ears between the dx90 and 240. Regarding the 120 I felt it lacked clarity between instruments and just threw everything at me in one package when compared to the other two which separated each instrument accordingly. With the price of the dx90 it was a no brainier for me but I may later buy a permanent dap from astell and kern depending on memory size and battery life as I liked the ak120's 14 hour playback.

I'd throw this question to fellow headfier KKCC to whom owns both Ak240 & DX90 for his long term impressions of both.  KKCC, any comments from your experience on both machines?

 

[sutjahjo]

Not helping that people are referring to the maker as D&A instead of Calyx.  Google it sometime.  That said they are sold out in Asia so they seem to be doing alright

I must say the Calyx M is good, especially the fact that it takes 128GB microSD AND 256GB SD!!!

Compared to the AK240 however, the treble seems weak and muffled (still very very good). The fact that it doesn't have a digital out is also a disadvantage.

However, For those who prefers a rolled off top, Calyx M night be a better choice. Especially at half the price!

 

[sutjahjo]

There are cheaper options like the dx90 which IMO rivals the 240 minus the balanced output.

My impression is totally different but I know this is subjective.

 

[Bluebear]

Yes I got the chance to listen to the ak120,240 and dx90 I choose the dx90 because there wasn't much difference to my ears between the dx90 and 240. Regarding the 120 I felt it lacked clarity between instruments and just threw everything at me in one package when compared to the other two which separated each instrument accordingly. With the price of the dx90 it was a no brainier for me but I may later buy a permanent dap from astell and kern depending on memory size and battery life as I liked the ak120's 14 hour playback.

The only reason why you would hear little difference between DX90 and AK240 is most likely the IEM/can you were using is not TOTL resolving enough. Even redbook CD quality 44/16 sounds different on both DAPs to me. Then again the two DAPs have quite different sound signatures, so they both sound different even at any resolution. Not sure why you are only hearing little difference. But I guess it is possible everyone's mileage is different since even DX90 owners are claiming they are hearing different degrees of change to DX90's SQ with its latest 2.0.5 firmware upgrade. Some say they hear big difference between the slow roll-off vs sharp roll-off filters while others couldn't hear much difference between the two filters or even against the old 2.0 firmware default filter.