[frankrondaniel]

That''s my style-so perfect!

 
Then you'll be very pleased!

 

[spkrs01]

You need to make sure you download the Win/Mac drivers from the Astell&Kern website. Then just switch over to Dac in the drop down menu.

 
Awesome, thanks!!

 

[kh600rr]

Awesome, thanks!!

And be sure to update the Firmware via WIFI.

 

[holeout]

I agree re the sites. That's why I asked. I must say how surprised I am that ripped CDs & even some iTunes downloads sound so good. Btw I noticed you have TH900. Is it your headphone of choice for the 240. It's what I have, but wondering if anything can best it?

I have tried both TH900 and LCD XC on my RWAK 240 (both SE hp out). IMO, the LCD XC pairs better than the 900s. The bass sounded quite over-powering with the 900, dulling the mids/treble; whereas, the XCs sounded more coherent with more texture and details throughout the range. Would love to have a touch more bass with the 240/XC, but my 240 is just running in and I'm waiting for the DHC Complement 3 with 2.5mm balance adaptor to come in. With the 240 balanced hp out and further running in, the bass should sound quite awesome (hopefully)
 
Personally, I find the TH900, though easier to drive, is picky with amps. On the ASP T-05 and Leben, TH900 really shines with a SQ to die for. With the RWAK 240, it didn't do it for me. Maybe sprks01 can try the setup and give us some more feedback.

 

[AlterSack]

I know the environment isn't ideal for you to make a conclusive comparison, but did you hear any difference between AK100II with the older AK100/120 and also with the AK120II?

ok - but please bear in mind that I could only listen to 1 song max on each player (due to my limited time) - this was a well recorded Norah Jones Come Away With Me as a FLAC File. On each player were different Headphones (Over Ear) -  I did  listen to  my stock AK100 (22 Ohms) with FAD Heaven VI. 
The amp section of the new DAPs seemed to be considerably stronger than the old amp. All Headphones were attached to them without external amplification, even the HD800. 
 
As far as I can recall both new AK100/120s sounded a little bit brighter than my "old" AK100.  Both AKs use the Cirrus Logic instead of the WM so this may be due to the DACs. I had the feeling that the new 120 has a little bit wider and deeper soundstage and sounded a little bit more refined than the new 100 (which is probably due to the dual mono setup) 
As I didn't listen to other songs I cannot say much about bass as there is not so much bass in this song. Having said this Norah's voice sounded full with a very nice and deep timbre and the highs in the piano very clear and not sibilant at all.  
 
The UI on both seemd to work pretty fluently and looked identical to the UI of the 240. It is also an Android System. (What this means for Mac Users I cannot tell) That might be a big advantage for future improvements as iriver should basically be able to use their manpower on the UI team for all 3 players. 
 
The form factor is as I said before similar to an Iphone 5s while the 120 is still about 1-2 cm longer (from my memory). They both felt quite thick - I believe they are thicker than an IPhone.
There is a similarity to the AK240 with respect to the materials used - bot no optical illusion.  
 
A definitely bonus point is the streaming ability - Both new AKs are able to stream music - for example from a NAS in a home network. To me here seems to be one major difference between the players as the WIFI ability seems to increase from 100--> 120 --> 240 - at least that's what I understood. Maybe others can dig into this ? 
Anyway - with the coterminous start of (HiRes) streaming services like Qubuz here in Germany this might make the higher costs for the players worth while.  
 
To summarize my impressions - If I were willing to spend that amount of Euros on a player alone I would probably rather go for the 120 instead of the 100 because of the dual mono set up.
If I were to do a rational choice between a DX90, FIO X5 and a new 120  I would probably tend towards the DX90 though I must say that the look and feel of the new 100/120 play in a different league although I still fancy the form factor of my old AK100 very high.   
 
So - for sound improvements alone I personally am rather thinking of getting a RWAK120 or RWAK120 than paying 1800 Euros for a new AK120 II. 
 
So these were my 2 cents for You.  

 

[laurencewayne]

  I have tried both TH900 and LCD XC on my RWAK 240 (both SE hp out). IMO, the LCD XC pairs better than the 900s. The bass sounded quite over-powering with the 900, dulling the mids/treble; whereas, the XCs sounded more coherent with more texture and details throughout the range. Would love to have a touch more bass with the 240/XC, but my 240 is just running in and I'm waiting for the DHC Complement 3 with 2.5mm balance adaptor to come in. With the 240 balanced hp out and further running in, the bass should sound quite awesome (hopefully)
 
Personally, I find the TH900, though easier to drive, is picky with amps. On the ASP T-05 and Leben, TH900 really shines with a SQ to die for. With the RWAK 240, it didn't do it for me. Maybe sprks01 can try the setup and give us some more feedback.

Thank you-great analysis/explanation. I have been thinking I should audition the LCD XC, but wondered if they were too similar in sound being both closed. Two follow up questions: do you think because your 240 is RWAK that might be the cause of the 900 issue? And any thought to trying something skewed totally different i.e. Oppo PM-1 Planar?

 

[Levanter]

ok - but please bear in mind that I could only listen to 1 song max on each player (due to my limited time) - this was a well recorded Norah Jones Come Away With Me as a FLAC File. On each player were different Headphones (Over Ear) -  I did  listen to  my stock AK100 (22 Ohms) with FAD Heaven VI. 
The amp section of the new DAPs seemed to be considerably stronger than the old amp. All Headphones were attached to them without external amplification, even the HD800. 

As far as I can recall both new AK100/120s sounded a little bit brighter than my "old" AK100.  Both AKs use the Cirrus Logic instead of the WM so this may be due to the DACs. I had the feeling that the new 120 has a little bit wider and deeper soundstage and sounded a little bit more refined than the new 100 (which is probably due to the dual mono setup) 
As I didn't listen to other songs I cannot say much about bass as there is not so much bass in this song. Having said this Norah's voice sounded full with a very nice and deep timbre and the highs in the piano very clear and not sibilant at all.  

The UI on both seemd to work pretty fluently and looked identical to the UI of the 240. It is also an Android System. (What this means for Mac Users I cannot tell) That might be a big advantage for future improvements as iriver should basically be able to use their manpower on the UI team for all 3 players. 

The form factor is as I said before similar to an Iphone 5s while the 120 is still about 1-2 cm longer (from my memory). They both felt quite thick - I believe they are thicker than an IPhone.
There is a similarity to the AK240 with respect to the materials used - bot no optical illusion.  

A definitely bonus point is the streaming ability - Both new AKs are able to stream music - for example from a NAS in a home network. To me here seems to be one major difference between the players as the WIFI ability seems to increase from 100--> 120 --> 240 - at least that's what I understood. Maybe others can dig into this ? 
Anyway - with the coterminous start of (HiRes) streaming services like Qubuz here in Germany this might make the higher costs for the players worth while.  

To summarize my impressions - If I were willing to spend that amount of Euros on a player alone I would probably rather go for the 120 instead of the 100 because of the dual mono set up.
If I were to do a rational choice between a DX90, FIO X5 and a new 120  I would probably tend towards the DX90 though I must say that the look and feel of the new 100/120 play in a different league although I still fancy the form factor of my old AK100 very high.   

So - for sound improvements alone I personally am rather thinking of getting a RWAK120 or RWAK120 than paying 1800 Euros for a new AK120 II. 

So these were my 2 cents for You.  

Thanks for the impressions!
Besides soundstage, did you feel there is any other difference btw the AK120II and AK100II? In the SQ department?
How does the AK100II compare with the older AK100? Is there a big difference in SQ and soundstage?

And how does the wifi capability increases from the 100 to 120 and 240? Assuming they should be using the same network chip/components, I'd be quite upset if there is a difference in the streaming capability in the 100 compared to the higher end models

 

[holeout]

I can assure you that the 2 phones is a totally different monster, you should really audition the XC and decide. We (CosmicHG, Kiats, KKCC and sprks01) did a comparison with stock AK240 and RWAK yesterday and the RWAK version does have a slightly more engaging bottom end with better body/presence in mid/treble with the iems we tried (Fitears C435, Tralucent Ref 1 and AKG 3003), so it's hard to say if the 900 will pair better with the stock version. That why I ask if sprks01 can share his comments with us. A bit here and there does add up in the game we play!
 
Yep, the PM-1 has been on my radar. But I'm starting to run out of space to hang my headphones! Not to mention I wanted to save some more space for maybe a couple more amps, a killer dac and vinyl setup, help! 

 

[Divory]

I would be grateful if you could help me.  I have an AK240 and still wonder at the quality of music.  However, connection with a MAC is not good and after losing a folder with over 80gb of files (luckily I had made a backup) also got fed up with ATP and following your posts downloaded SyncMate Expert.  The trouble is that I cannot make it sync!  I am asked for "USB Debugging" and follow the instructions but we obviously have modified software and cannot do what they suggest.
 
How did you get it to sync? I deleted ATP and then restarted my Mac but it make no difference.
 
Thanks for your help,
 
David

 

[laurencewayne]

  I can assure you that the 2 phones is a totally different monster, you should really audition the XC and decide. We (CosmicHG, Kiats, KKCC and sprks01) did a comparison with stock AK240 and RWAK yesterday and the RWAK version does have a slightly more engaging bottom end with better body/presence in mid/treble with the iems we tried (Fitears C435, Tralucent Ref 1 and AKG 3003), so it's hard to say if the 900 will pair better with the stock version. That why I ask if sprks01 can share his comments with us. A bit here and there does add up in the game we play!
 
Yep, the PM-1 has been on my radar. But I'm starting to run out of space to hang my headphones! Not to mention I wanted to save some more space for maybe a couple more amps, a killer dac and vinyl setup, help! 

Wish it were just "a bit here and there" 'cause you are right: it "does add up"! Thanks for your thoughts; I found one particularly of interest, the AKG3003, which I have for sale, because I didn't think they paired well. I instead went CIEM UERM-Capitol, because a very knowledgeable source (can't reveal who) said it was the ideal pairing for the 240. Thought you might find this of interest:   http://www.cnet.com/news/ultimate-ears-reference-monitor-headphone-ultimate-perfection/
 
Oh, and the best part of your post was acquainting me with the concept of "running out of space" to prevent further acquisitions! LOL

 

[burtomr]

  Oh, and the best part of your post was acquainting me with the concept of "running out of space money" to prevent further acquisitions!

 
...............also works  

 

[laurencewayne]

  I would be grateful if you could help me.  I have an AK240 and still wonder at the quality of music.  However, connection with a MAC is not good and after losing a folder with over 80gb of files (luckily I had made a backup) also got fed up with ATP and following your posts downloaded SyncMate Expert.  The trouble is that I cannot make it sync!  I am asked for "USB Debugging" and follow the instructions but we obviously have modified software and cannot do what they suggest.
 
How did you get it to sync? I deleted ATP and then restarted my Mac but it make no difference.
 
Thanks for your help,
 
David

Hi David- Since efeist (who acquainted me with SyncMate Expert) isn't online, thought I'd give you a heads-up that he mentioned to me he hasn't managed to get auto sync to work. He is just manually adding files. As a fellow Mac user, one trick is to delete the folder you're trying to transfer to and create a new empty one with a different name! I know that sounds silly, but it has worked for me several times. I have come to the (exhausting) conclusion the ATP with Mac is just flunky-glitchy. I'm hoping a future 240 firmware update will address.

 

[Divory]

Oh well!  Back to the trash bin and reinstall ATP.  Such a pity because I rather fancied transferring files through wifi or bluetooth.  I do run Windows through VMware Fusion (which I hate!) but it does appear that file transfers seem safer that way.  Perhaps I will have to use this in future.
 
Thanks for your help,
David

 

[laurencewayne]

  Oh well!  Back to the trash bin and reinstall ATP.  Such a pity because I rather fancied transferring files through wifi or bluetooth.  I do run Windows through VMware Fusion (which I hate!) but it does appear that file transfers seem safer that way.  Perhaps I will have to use this in future.
 
Thanks for your help,
David

David, a couple of suggestions. Don't reinstall ATP from your trash bin, do a clean download from Android Transfer;  http://www.android.com/filetransfer/
Secondly, I've had good luck running MSQ Streaming and doing a download while streaming. See if those help. Hang in!

 

[Uniquexme]

I have been hunting for AK240 gold limited edition that comes with the dock and Bluetooth remote control & AKR03 but no luck in Singapore. Anyone knows which shop have them in stock kindly advise. Thank you.

Actually wanted the cheaper Sennheiser IE800 but no shop is selling the 2.5mm balanced TRRS modified, so no choice but to opt for the AKR03. Looks like if no gold version I hv to choose the standard version with dock n remote.