[Vinnie R.]

  Want to hear more about this android OS thats on it.... that screen has to do something, if it can download from "sites" then perhaps it can surf the net?

 
Maybe it includes free access to porn sites 

 

[Goldlion973]

.lol. The design would make it slippery to hold.

 

[goodvibes]

With my own ears, thats the only thing I trust when it comes to musical involvement!
At this level personally I feel this is what spending the big bucks is about and is often lost on most people. We are squeezing out the last ounce of musicality from the performance.

All the detail is there technically way further down the price range, its how one forgets one is listening to a recording but more listening to the artist that matters most when we start to venture down this rabbit hole and the only way I have found to find that out in a product is to listen to it!

It does not matter what anyone else thinks, it helps but in the end what your getting at this level is more subjective I feel and needs to be experienced personally to see if it moves you enough to plunk down the cash! In fact what this is doing is making me think of having Vinnies mod done an re-purchase an SR71-B as it is still going to be less bulky than the AK240 looking at pictures.

I agree with your takes 100% regarding goodness and formats though I still like wav best but I suspect that the size is more manageable that you think. The tapers make it more pocketable than if it were a big squared of box.

 

[goodvibes]

   
Maybe it includes free access to porn sites 

Is that an AK240 in your pocket or are you happy to see me.

 

[bmichels]

   
Finally - I think they mean to say 3.5mm (not 2.5mm).  3.5mm is equivalent to the 1/8" diameter plugs (TRRS).

I really hope that they will not use a 2,5mm jack !!  This is totaly non standard, and will be very fragile.
 
But I am afraid they really mean 2,5 mm: may be they use a 3,5mm jack for SE and a 2,5 mm Jack for Balanced so that people do not put by mistake a 3 pols jack in the 4 pols balanced plug and "short-circuit" it ?

 

[ianmedium]

Goodvibes, Yeah I know what you mean about the size, that actually does not matter much too me as I never walk around listening but more either at home connected to the ASP or at coffee shops listening whilst I work. Luckily for me I have a dealer not 10 blocks from where I live so once its in I will go have a listen, if it is much better at musicality then I guess my wallet will be empty for a few months!

 

[streetcar]

any idea when this ak240 will be released to buy?

 

[Goldlion973]

Its not that big, it just has the illusion of being bigger than it is as it has 'love handles' for you to hold by the look of it.... we weren't too far off wondering if it would have breasts at the start of the thread.
 
Is iRivers Ipod Touch by the sound of it.

 

[Mython]

On the subject of size, that screen (including the bezel) of the AK240 is fractionally slimmer than the Cowon J3. That means that the AK240 screen (including the bezel) is pretty much exactly the same width as a credit card. The chassis behind, with the volume wheel etc., is obviously wider, but you get the general idea.

 

[soundblast75]

I really prefer X5 to this and that wasn't my idea of beauty either

 

[Goldlion973]

It won't be an all metal design if it has a Wifi antenna.... guessing the love handles are plastic to allow for signal entry/exit... the ASUS Transformer design team learnt that lesson the very hard way.

 

[Tom Yum Goong]

  I really prefer X5 to this and that wasn't my idea of beauty either

Stove or F-117 Nighthawk?
Actually a much harder decision than one might think!

 

[soundblast75]

  Stove or F-117 Nighthawk?
Actually a much harder decision than one might think!

Well, i guess its good for holding and to some it will be a treat, to me the Fiio seems more solid somehow, not keen on the carbon back

 

[soundblast75]

But the Interface should be the biggest worry, there is no real sense of support and communication with iriver somehow, i am only willing to spend this amount on a Perfect device and this is not it!

 

[shigzeo]

   
Maybe, but there is a "2.5mm-4 pole" as I'm sure you know. It could be iRivers way of being (irritatingly) different.
 

The 4-pole balanced has been the standard since the first balanced portable players went on the market in 2003. They were Sharp AUVI MD units. I owned three of them. Unfortunately there were no headphones other than their tweaked Sennheiser MX300 and a cheap clip-on pair available. It would be interesting to hear the same players with better headphones today. Balanced was lost on an unready market back then.