[Currawong]

  This was seen/posted over in the DX90 thread:
 

  Jamato you're the man! By the way you'll be pleased to hear we have the best dap in the world! We finally beat ak240

http://ohm-image.net/opinion/audiophile/rmaa-summary-ibasso-dx90-vs-astell-kern-ak240
 

 
Can somebody here please tell me what I'm missing before I throw my 240 in the trash and get a DX90.
 
THX

 
Nothing! Just a bit of humour.
 

 

   
You definitely do not need an extra amplifier with the AK240, especially if your headphones or IEMs have been re-cabled for the balanced output. If the AK240 was $2500 but needed an extra amp, that would be crazy IMO. 

 
While we're on the subject of the line out though, I had a flash of inspiration. Whenever I buy full-size headphone cables now I ask for them to be terminated in a 4-pin mini-XLR (or now an AK240 TRRS). Then I get tails, along with the cable, to adapt the mini-XLR or TRRS to other connections, such as TRS, 4-pin XLR or dual 3-pin XLR. See Moon Audio (Silver Dragon), ALO Audio (Green Line) and Norne Audio (AK240 adaptors) for examples, but any cable maker can do them.
 
I wanted to connect the AK240 to an amp and realised that the dual-3-pin XLR tail had the correct plugs to use as an input as well, so I whipped up an adaptor to connect that tail to the AK240 tail and the result was an AK240 balanced output cable:
 

 
Nice Cable. may i ask where did u get it from? balanced line out for AK240 should have both the 2.5mm TRRS and 3.5 TRS if i m not wrong. 

 
This was a kludge to use an AK240 as a source for an amp. The purpose of the TRS is to get the ground connection, which the balanced out doesn't have. It isn't necessary though as no signal passes through the ground in a balanced connection. It is only used for connecting the shield (or connecting the ground between two devices, but that is another matter altogether).

 

[Sauntere]

So your not liking the synergy of the Noble 4's and AK-240? That's not good as I have a pair of Noble K-10's coming Monday. Do your N4's preform better on other daps?

 
Well i much prefer the DITAs.  I believe the K-10s will sound better than the N4 based on the impressions i have read of the sound signature. In any case i am referring to my preference which may well be different than yours.
 
I am sure there are other AK240 owners that own the DITAs. For any  that do. What IEMs sound better than the The Answer "Truth" version out of the 240 ?

 

[doc0075579]

Just out of curiosity...

Would the "old school" Denon D2000 with full MarkL mod be a complete mismatch with the AK240? Would it be like trying to wear sneakers to a black tie event?

I am not sure if anyone answered this or not, but I use this exact combo at home and I love it.

 

[streetcar]

can the ak240 be used as a hard drive to store large amount of non music files?

 

[goodvibes]

Sure. If it shows up as drive in your PC, you can use it as such but you may have the FW wasting time trying to see them when used as a DAP.

 

[Tumi96]

Does anyone have any opinions on ak240 vs altmann tera, SQ-wise?

 

[joshuachew]

Well i much prefer the DITAs.  I believe the K-10s will sound better than the N4 based on the impressions i have read of the sound signature. In any case i am referring to my preference which may well be different than yours.

I am sure there are other AK240 owners that own the DITAs. For any  that do. What IEMs sound better than the The Answer "Truth" version out of the 240 ?

My JH13's sound pretty sweet and lush out of the 240's. And yes I have the Ditas too. Better or not is subjective as the 13's and the Ditas have a very different sound. But both of them sound great out of the 240.

can the ak240 be used as a hard drive to store large amount of non music files?

Why.... Just why....? Answer is yes though.

And could someone tell me if the SE Line Out of the AK240 is a true line out or just a 'full volume' line out?
Please quote me when replying. Thank you.

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

And could someone tell me if the SE Line Out of the AK240 is a true line out or just a 'full volume' line out?
Please quote me when replying. Thank you.

Red Wine Audio already confirmed that it is NOT a true line out

 

[Solude]

And what exactly do you think a true line out is?

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=125158.0
 

- The "line out" feature of the stock AK240 is NOT a true line out.  The signal still goes through the headphone output stage.  When you set the volume to max (or select "line out" in the settings menu), the output level of the SE output jack is approx. 2Vrms, but it still passes through the headphone amplification stage.  iRiver wants to call this a line-out, but I do not agree.  We can call it a pseudo-line-out (PLO).
 
The RWAK240+ will be all the modifications of the RWAK240, + there will be an added line-out jack.  This jack can be either a 3.5mm TRS (for those who want a SE line out), OR a 3.5mm TRRS (for those who want a balanced line out).  Either line out option of the RWAK240+ will require that you set the volume of the player to MAX (75) for full signal (no digital attenuation), but the signal will NOT pass through the headphone output stage.  They are taken from the output stage of the dual d/a converters before the headphone amplification stage. This is the optimal signal to pass to an external headphone amplifier. 

 

[SilverEars]

  And what exactly do you think a true line out is?

I'm guessing he means tapping into the output of the DAC as true LO which Vinnie started with the ipod mods from the back in the day and continuing with the AK series.  The old Apple connectors before the lightening had analog out on the pins, and was considered line level.  I believe a mod was taken further to tap into the Wolfson's output bypassing the caps and inductors between the DAC and the connector pins.  Because of the capacitor bypass, this LO output still contained DC offset, and the LOD need a built in capacitor to block the DC.  ALO started their business on the these cap built in LODs.  
 
And here we are with RWAKs now.  
 
Ok, my question is now, does AK240 have it's own LO?  Why does Vin say it's not true?  What is it in it's path to make it not true LO?  Does Vin ever mention what the change in signal make his LO mod cleaner?  If not, why would you do so?  Without reasons, it's unreasonable.
 
Does Vin back up his claims with tests proving the differences?  This is a mod to change the signal, and it's measurable.  There is no magic here as the process is electronic mod.  And the motivation is electronic so it's measurable.

 

[Uniquexme]

For those connect AK240 via line out to external amp, may I ask if an external DAC is required? Since the built in DAC is pretty good, I m thinking if i need to budget for my upcoming Schiit Ragnarok amp. Anyone knows where can I get the balanced line out cable preferably in Singapore or HK? Thx...

 

[CosmicHolyGhost]

For those connect AK240 via line out to external amp, may I ask if an external DAC is required? Since the built in DAC is pretty good, I m thinking if i need to budget for my upcoming Schiit Ragnarok amp. Anyone knows where can I get the balanced line out cable preferably in Singapore or HK? Thx...

 

cable with brand name or local DIY? In Hong Kong, there are many shops that provide services to build DIY cables. I presume it is the same in Singapore....brand name cables have better resell value

 

[Solude]

So you believe no stage is what a line out stage should be?  Amazingly nothing with 3 or more 0s in it's price runs it's output that way, including RWA... wonder why?

 

[SilverEars]

  So you believe no stage is what a line out stage should be?  Amazingly nothing with 3 or more 0s in it's price runs it's output that way... wonder why?

Why?  
 
This is what some people believe including of course Vin.  Which stages does a typical DAC have after the DA conversion?  And, why is it needed?