[Mimouille]

 
I'm too addicted to the sound of the Chord Hugo to care about the DAC in the AK.  
 
Part of the premium you're paying with these players is for DSD playback, I'd want to take advantage of the feature.  I've become addicted to the sound of those files.  To my ears, they are worth the price over 96k and 192k files, if you can find the music you love.
 
The DSD library is growing.  Acousticsounds and HDTracks now carry some albums.  As you say, I just wish there were more albums available.
 
There are some free tracks available to try out (mostly classical, nothing popular).
 
A little OT, I also have the Hugo TT, it handles what I call Ultra Res-- DSD256 files playing 22579 kbps.  Extremely impressive sound.  I've not heard better.

I understand, but I by maybe a 100-150 albums a year, and maybe 5% exist in high res, not even mentioning DSD.

 

[reeltime]

  I understand, but I by maybe a 100-150 albums a year, and maybe 5% exist in high res, not even mentioning DSD.

If the reason for your AK purchase is sound quality of the DAC, wouldn't you want to play the highest quality files that take full advantage of the expensive DAC?  
 
Car analogy: If you buy a Ferrari, but put 87 octane fuel in it, the car won't perform at its peak performance.
 
Video analogy: If you buy an HDTV or and Ultra-HD TV with a blu-ray player, and only purchase standard DVDs, you won't be taking advantage of the high tech of your hardware.
 
The choice is of course yours, to each his own, I'm trying to point out that you're shorting the potential of these impressive players.

 

[Mimouille]

 
If the reason for your AK purchase is sound quality of the DAC, wouldn't you want to play the highest quality files that take full advantage of the expensive DAC?  
 
Car analogy: If you buy a Ferrari, but put 87 octane fuel in it, the car won't perform at its peak performance.
 
Video analogy: If you buy an HDTV or and Ultra-HD TV with a blu-ray player, and only purchase standard DVDs, you won't be taking advantage of the high tech of your hardware.
 
The choice is of course yours, to each his own, I'm trying to point out that you're shorting the potential of these impressive players.

Did you read what I said before. I am not going to limit myself to only a few artists because the others do not exist in DSD. I like MUSIC above gear.
 
Oh and also, your first analogy is crap (no offense meant) : music is art, not fuel or a raw material to test gear.
 
Your second analogy will play against your argument : if you have a blue ray player, you will just watch blue ray even if you find only crap block busters in blue ray (which has been the case for quite a long time).
 
Anyways, totally different philosophy on art here

 

[reeltime]

  Did you read what I said before. I am not going to limit myself to only a few artists because the others do not exist in DSD. I like MUSIC above gear.
 
Oh and also, your first analogy is crap (no offense meant) : music is art, not fuel or a raw material to test gear.
 
Your second analogy will play against your argument : if you have a blue ray player, you will just watch blue ray even if you find only crap block busters in blue ray (which has been the case for quite a long time).
 
Anyways, totally different philosophy on art here

 
Not knowing your taste in music, the stuff on DSD is mostly higher brow material.  Miles, Monk, Jazz at the Pawnshop, and some popular well recorded material like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elton John, Norah Jones, and Diana Krall.  Music that was recorded with fidelity as a priority.  Whether you consider Miles "art" or "crap" is your decision, I could care less.  
 
What I can tell you is DSD out performs any digital music format I've ever heard.  The "art" is more detailed, open, and smooth.  It's the same "art" I used to own, but it sounds better.  
 
What I don't understand is the thinking behind spending this much money on a performance music player (AK240SS, right?) to put 44.1k files through it.  
 
You could have saved yourself a fortune and bought an X1, iPod or any sub-$500 non DSD player, because you're not really taking advantage of the high-performance DAC, which you indicated was a priority consideration in purchasing an AK380.
 
Cheers.

 

[DrSheep]

All good points.  However I would also suggest the OP to look into the VentureCraft SounDroid Valoq, as it can up scan ANY FLAC CD rips into DSD128 natively.  This way you can not spend so much money hunting down DSD music, but still take advantage of DSD processing.

 

[sandalaudio]

I have over 500 DSD albums in my collection, but DSD being what it is, it's only really useful for straight analogue tape transfer (no editing) of old analogue albums, or straight live recording direct from an analogue console. That's why it's not practical for anything other than jazz or classical, or for old time rock fans where many of the classic albums are reissued directly from original 2ch master tape onto DSD.
 
For people listening to heavily edited studio album then there is no real merit to DSD over PCM. Also, some pop rock artists still prefer to do their recording in 44.1kHz because that's the only equipment they've been using over the years, and they believe that it sounds the best.
 
Either way, a really good DAP is something that will make even the 44.1kHz music sound amazing. It's a truly inspiring experience to be able to listen to some of your favourite old albums (often on 44.1kHz CD rip) suddenly sounding absolutely amazing when it's played on a certain DAP.
 
On the contrary, I found that the extremely high quality recordings often sound great regardless of which DAP I use, so it's not very good for equipment comparison. Sometimes the DAP differences are more obvious when playing some crappy old pop recording that was poorly produced many decades ago.

 

[purk]

  I have over 500 DSD albums in my collection, but DSD being what it is, it's only really useful for straight analogue tape transfer (no editing) of old analogue albums, or straight live recording direct from an analogue console. That's why it's not practical for anything other than jazz or classical, or for old time rock fans where many of the classic albums are reissued directly from original 2ch master tape onto DSD.
 
For people listening to heavily edited studio album then there is no real merit to DSD over PCM. Also, some pop rock artists still prefer to do their recording in 44.1kHz because that's the only equipment they've been using over the years, and they believe that it sounds the best.
 
Either way, a really good DAP is something that will make even the 44.1kHz music sound amazing. It's a truly inspiring experience to be able to listen to some of your favourite old albums (often on 44.1kHz CD rip) suddenly sounding absolutely amazing when it's played on a certain DAP.
 
On the contrary, I found that the extremely high quality recordings often sound great regardless of which DAP I use, so it's not very good for equipment comparison. Sometimes the DAP differences are more obvious when playing some crappy old pop recording that was poorly produced many decades ago.

This.  Very true.

 

[wldcohso]

Hello, How long has it been since its been a new firmware update?

 

[Mimouille]

 
 
Either way, a really good DAP is something that will make even the 44.1kHz music sound amazing. It's a truly inspiring experience to be able to listen to some of your favourite old albums (often on 44.1kHz CD rip) suddenly sounding absolutely amazing when it's played on a certain DAP.

Yes this. Thanks you.

   
Not knowing your taste in music, the stuff on DSD is mostly higher brow material.  Miles, Monk, Jazz at the Pawnshop, and some popular well recorded material like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elton John, Norah Jones, and Diana Krall.  Music that was recorded with fidelity as a priority.  Whether you consider Miles "art" or "crap" is your decision, I could care less.  

Ok, so you use your DAPs to listen exclusively to these? So people who do not listen exclusively to these should absolutely buy a Fiio X1?
 
Is this based on personal experience? Please check the DAPs I have owned, I have compared myself, on MY music, and chose based on that. Is that allowed or are you part of the high-brow police and us peons listening ALSO to lower brow material cannot be part of the club?
 
My taste in music is that I listen to everything, from Jazz to hip hop to punk. So for people like me who will allow to venture beyond borders defined by the high brow club, DSD makes little sens.
 
And personally am not interested in comparing which gear is the ABSOLUT best when comparing the same 10 albums, Jazz at the Pawnshop, Nora Jones and Audiophile Voices. I find it quite sad actually. But you know, to each one his own. But based on you answer to my previous post, you seem to be entrenched in your reasoning and have apparently not clue what I am talking about (cf. the quite witty remark on Miles Davis, good one).
 
Let us agree to disagree.

 

[sandalaudio]

Hello, How long has it been since its been a new firmware update?

There was a brand new firmware version 1.29 that came out around the end of December.
 
It was a bunch of minor bug fixes and added support for the AK RM01 remote controller.

 

[jjacq]

Has anyone compared the 320 or 380 in PCM with the AK240? Or better yet, the RWAK240?

I had bought my 240 as RWAK already so I really don't know how the original sounds. The RWAK240 has a really dynamic sound while still being slightly warm with well controlled bass. It's really detailed that I absolutely love it but something about the 320 or 380's screen really lures me in. So I'm curious if the 320/380 should be upgrades I should consider in the future.
 
Any input would be helpful!

 

[urbino]

  Has anyone compared the 320 or 380 in PCM with the AK240? Or better yet, the RWAK240?

I had bought my 240 as RWAK already so I really don't know how the original sounds. The RWAK240 has a really dynamic sound while still being slightly warm with well controlled bass. It's really detailed that I absolutely love it but something about the 320 or 380's screen really lures me in. So I'm curious if the 320/380 should be upgrades I should consider in the future.
 
Any input would be helpful!

 
What's the "RWAK240"?

 

[stevemiddie]

   
What's the "RWAK240"?

 
Red Wine Audio modifications.
 
Info here:-          http://redwineaudio.com/mods

 

[Mimouille]

  Has anyone compared the 320 or 380 in PCM with the AK240? Or better yet, the RWAK240?

I had bought my 240 as RWAK already so I really don't know how the original sounds. The RWAK240 has a really dynamic sound while still being slightly warm with well controlled bass. It's really detailed that I absolutely love it but something about the 320 or 380's screen really lures me in. So I'm curious if the 320/380 should be upgrades I should consider in the future.
 
Any input would be helpful!

I had the RWAK240, which sounded more or less like the 240SS. The 380 has a different signature. I would say slightly better but not like night and day upgrade. The two clear differences are:

• The AK380 vs. RWAK240 sound more spacious, width of stage is easily superior
• The AK380 sound more smooth and liquid without losing detail, never any harshness

 
Don't know about PCM though

 

[urbino]

   
Red Wine Audio modifications.
 
Info here:-          http://redwineaudio.com/mods

 
Thanks.