[burtomr]

  Playback from internal storage works fine, but playback from microSD (no matter who makes the card or how it's formatted) causes the device to lock up after somewhere between a couple of minutes and an hour or two. Have just elected to stop using the microSD capability, but that seems criminally stupid for a device at this price point.

 
Hmmm....I have been using my (Amazon) SanDisk 128GB card for many, many months just loading & unloading it with 24/96 flacs and never ever had an issue with playback locking, freezing, or anything but perfect playback.  I suspect you have a funky (read: fake or defective) mSD card. Have you checked it with H2TESTW ?? 
 
You cannot legitimately blame AK unless you have tested your card! The world is slam full of funky SD cards from China.

 

[ddaktiv]

Waht flaws did he claim they fixed
The sockets are still reseeded. As mine
Inown a third rev model. And I still cannot use just any opt or rca cables. The sockets being inside was a dumb I idea
Mine has the modeded sub inside.
Peooe at the shows always say stuff that is more likely properganda then reality as in the ak240 ss sounder g better. Pure bull.
And hugonis no different. Anyway. I should of bought a ak240 right off. But the sound is just not what. I like. And the Hugo had the better sound. But I do not like waking around with 5K in stuff either
I guess I just cannot win lol.

They reinforced the USB port in the black version plus a few stuff I couldn't remember.
It's a good refresh though wish AK would improve the ak240 2.5 plug.
I got issues with my Ak as well:
1. with the balanced port, Left right channel does not work properly and cuts out whenever I walk. Traced it to the plug part.. It's never dropped and the balanced jacks I'm using are properly vouched for.. Tested w a lot of diff sockets so as to make sure my cables are not defective. (Apparently when they produced ak the 2.5 is mounted on the pcb which is not a very stable spot for jacks From what I've read..)

2. Ak dies out for a quick second especially when playing dsd or even hi-res flacs. I know it's the Ak coz I play it perfectly on my mac and idsd nano setup perfectly..plus I caught it when it cuts out it seems the ak loses power for a quick second then regains composure..it all happens in about 2 seconds.. Really irritating when that happens coz its random and not specific to one track.

3. So far no issues w my micro sd, it did however unmounted by itself one time..

There are bound to be issues with productions on a large scale so I think it's best to let them sort it out.
Still awaiting replacement though but I hope it comes soon..
Really feel bad as I would never have discovered the first issue if I didn't upgrade to having balanced cables.. on top of spending this much..geez.

Thus far I love my ak240 though.. I just wish the manufacturing quality is better.

 

[shotgunshane]

2. Ak dies out for a quick second especially when playing dsd or even hi-res flacs. I know it's the Ak coz I play it perfectly on my mac and idsd nano setup perfectly..plus I caught it when it cuts out it seems the ak loses power for a quick second then regains composure..it all happens in about 2 seconds.. Really irritating when that happens coz its random and not specific to one track.

 
This is a firmware issue with 1.18 (didn't happen in 1.17) and AK is planning to fix it in the next release.  It is random and doesn't happen on the same songs. 

 

[flymetothemoon]

   
This is a firmware issue with 1.18 (didn't happen in 1.17) and AK is planning to fix it in the next release.  It is random and doesn't happen on the same songs. 

Mine is on firmware 1.15 and is working perfectly fine so I do not bother to let it have firmware update in order to avoid any possible problem.

 

[atubbs]

   
Hmmm....I have been using my (Amazon) SanDisk 128GB card for many, many months just loading & unloading it with 24/96 flacs and never ever had an issue with playback locking, freezing, or anything but perfect playback.  I suspect you have a funky (read: fake or defective) mSD card. Have you checked it with H2TESTW ?? 
 
You cannot legitimately blame AK unless you have tested your card! The world is slam full of funky SD cards from China.

 
Here's a funny anecdote: I review an amplifier here and point out there's a hum in the right channel. Everybody says I'm nuts and need better power filtering. Better tubes. Imagining things. Maybe I'm crazy. Lo and behold, the amp designer confirms there's a hum! The pitchforks quietly disappear. But here we are again. The confirmation bias precludes a reasonable discussion. The user must be a moron. Throwing out baseless accusations and bashing a much-loved product like a troll! How dare he...
 
Here's the problem: I've tried my AK240 with Sandisk 128gb cards. Samsung 128gb cards. PNY 128gb. Purchased from Amazon. 64gb cards. 8gb cards. Formatted for FAT32. Formatted for ExFat. Formatted with the sdcard.org formatter. Verified performance up to spec. Done everything I can to authenticate they're real. Populated them directly. Populated them via Android Connect on Mac. Populated them via the media interface on Windows. Doesn't matter, the stupid thing still locks up. Tried factory resets. Tried on-device formats. I've searched extensively for any sort of advice on what I could be doing wrong, and I've tried every solution offered up. Oh, and, yes, I've checked it with H2TESTW. Please take your smug assumptions elsewhere.
 
All I've got is my experience an anecdotes, but with all due respect I find the fanboy conclusion that it's user error to be offensive.
 
I contacted iRiver support. They suggested I try exchanging the player with the retailer (an authorized retailer, but I find it questionable that the manufacturer does not seem to care particularly about supporting their hard/software directly) but thus far have offered little additional guidance or support otherwise. My player reliably locks up when playing ALAC via microSD card, but has no problems with internal storage. There is either a hardware problem with my particular player or something is not right with some aspect of the software, but blaming me, the user of this $2500 piece of junk, is getting old. I am not trying to pluralize my anecdote, but the level of support on this luxury DAP is abysmal. The experience I, personally, have had, is embarrassing. My experience thus far is that there is not a company backing these devices at the level their price tag demands.
 
I like the AK240. I think it sounds good but one of the big features (microSD support) just plain does not work for me. If this was a $349 product, maybe I'd chalk it up to buying crap, but anything less than perfection at the $2499 price point is absurd.

 

[Koolpep]

Couldn't agree more with you. I have two AK100 (one Mk2) and I have yet to hear ANYTHING back from my last emails and 6 tweets I send to iRiver. I would be happy with any answer, even if it's a not what I want to hear, just a response would be great. Shaking my head about companies simply ignore their customers...
 
Their customer service is indeed appalling. I won't be buying any more of their gear. I enjoy dealing with CEntrance and Schiit they have customer service right. 

 

[my-2000]

Here's a funny anecdote: I review an amplifier here and point out there's a hum in the right channel. Everybody says I'm nuts and need better power filtering. Better tubes. Imagining things. Maybe I'm crazy. Lo and behold, the amp designer confirms there's a hum! The pitchforks quietly disappear. But here we are again. The confirmation bias precludes a reasonable discussion. The user must be a moron. Throwing out baseless accusations and bashing a much-loved product like a troll! How dare he...

Here's the problem: I've tried my AK240 with Sandisk 128gb cards. Samsung 128gb cards. PNY 128gb. Purchased from Amazon. 64gb cards. 8gb cards. Formatted for FAT32. Formatted for ExFat. Formatted with the sdcard.org formatter. Verified performance up to spec. Done everything I can to authenticate they're real. Populated them directly. Populated them via Android Connect on Mac. Populated them via the media interface on Windows. Doesn't matter, the stupid thing still locks up. Tried factory resets. Tried on-device formats. I've searched extensively for any sort of advice on what I could be doing wrong, and I've tried every solution offered up. Oh, and, yes, I've checked it with H2TESTW. Please take your smug assumptions elsewhere.

All I've got is my experience an anecdotes, but with all due respect I find the fanboy conclusion that it's user error to be offensive.

I contacted iRiver support. They suggested I try exchanging the player with the retailer (an authorized retailer, but I find it questionable that the manufacturer does not seem to care particularly about supporting their hard/software directly) but thus far have offered little additional guidance or support otherwise. My player reliably locks up when playing ALAC via microSD card, but has no problems with internal storage. There is either a hardware problem with my particular player or something is not right with some aspect of the software, but blaming me, the user of this $2500 piece of junk, is getting old. I am not trying to pluralize my anecdote, but the level of support on this luxury DAP is abysmal. The experience I, personally, have had, is embarrassing. My experience thus far is that there is not a company backing these devices at the level their price tag demands.

I like the AK240. I think it sounds good but one of the big features (microSD support) just plain does not work for me. If this was a $349 product, maybe I'd chalk it up to buying crap, but anything less than perfection at the $2499 price point is absurd.

I'm aware the iRiver of at least one country offers good customer service, however I do agree the company overall is not very helpful. Unfortunately their DAP products have been really attractive since over a decade ago - AK240 is already the 6th product I've owned from them, so you can imagine their products' build quality is generally pretty good. Of course, no line of product of any company is fault-proof and AK240 appears more so the case, so it's unfortunate to hear about yours.

 

[goodvibes]

   
This is a firmware issue with 1.18 (didn't happen in 1.17) and AK is planning to fix it in the next release.  It is random and doesn't happen on the same songs. 

That's what folks needed to know. Thanks. Would be nice if they informed the people that have contacted them. I think this is more organisational than them being a bad company at the top. Its obvious that they're constantly trying to improve their players, even if it's a fail at times. I sure wouldn't want to be writing that code.

 

[shotgunshane]

That's what folks needed to know. Thanks. Would be nice if they informed the people that have contacted them. I think this is more organisational than them being a bad company at the top. Its obvious that they're constantly trying to improve their players, even if it's a fail at times. I sure wouldn't want to be writing that code.

Yeah, a list of reported bugs and whether they are slated for the next firmware release schedule would be something really helpful to post on their website and keep up to date. Might save them from a ton of extra emails and phone calls that are tough to respond to in quantity.

 

[Mimouille]

Do some people still have the volume bug? I had the part repair by Vinnie but sometimes it still happens, rarely. I wonder if it is not fw based.

 

[sonickarma]

Do some people still have the volume bug? I had the part repair by Vinnie but sometimes it still happens, rarely. I wonder if it is not fw based.

My understanding is that the issue is the rotary encoder and it needs resoldering.

 

[Mimouille]

My understanding is that the issue is the rotary encoder and it needs resoldering.

Vinnie changed the rotary encoder on mine.

 

[ozzymo]

Yes Mimouille,
 
I am in the exact same situation you are.   Vinnie repaired mine also and it worked perfectly for a few months.  Now the dreaded volume bug is back.  The volume will shoot from 50 all the way to 75 with one turn of the wheel.  My player has exhibited the same behavior with every firmware version that has come out.  It is definitely not firmware related since it was working fine on 1.18 up until about a week ago.  It also had the same problem on 1.17 then I got it back from Vinnie still on 1.17 and it worked perfect.  I upgraded to 1.18 still working fine and now its back.  It is certainly a hardware problem that looks like the rotary encoder is going to need replacing every few months.  Don't know how this is going to turn out.  Might just end up trying to get rid of it.   No DAP even with the most exquisite sound is worth risking blowing your hearing or sensitive IEMs.  My ears were ringing for hours last night at work when it shot all the way to 75 from 48.  It took every ounce of will in me not to smash it.  I think I will take a long break from the AK240 and look around for another DAP worth using.  And for what it's worth iRiver has the worst absolute worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with.  They never answer any of my emails or calls.  No responses whatsoever.  Vinnie is the best to work with, but looks like even he can't permanently fix this hardware flaw.  

 

[Mimouille]

You should let him look at it. Mine is it so bad... Just jumps 3 to 5 steps at most.

Very stupid question because it happened to me: are you sure you are not touching the screen while turning the wheel? It can cause a jump as you can adjust the volume very quickly from the screen...

 

[ozzymo]

Yes I'm definitely not touching the screen.  It even does it with the screen off so I have the volume locked now so it doesn't happen when its in my pocket.  And when I turn it; I turn it very very slowly to try to prevent it from happening.  So now the only solution is to pause the music when I want to change the volume and then it jumps around and when I get it to the level I want, I can unpause the music.  And it's a progressive problem meaning when it first started it would jump 3 to 5 steps like your player; but over the last couple weeks it's gotten back to the point where it will jump all the way to 75.  I guess this is the one drawback of getting it modded.  It definitely in no way is Vinnie's fault; I'm sure he is a more capable engineer than anyone working at iRiver, but when you get it modded then you have no warranty from iRiver or else I would have returned it long ago and got my money back.