The Astell & Kern AK240
Nov 20, 2015 at 5:43 PM Post #7,966 of 9,131
I finally updated my 240SS to v1.28 after waiting to make sure it wasn't buggy. No comments on any sound differences yet, but I do have one on uniformity in the settings menu. AK must use different people to engineer its firmware since v1.25 added "AK CONNECT" and v1.28 added "CD ripping." All the other settings are uniform in that they use uppercase/lowercase for each word. A sniggle, yes, but the kind of detail one like me notices.
 
The EQ has a setting for 23KHz!
 
Nov 24, 2015 at 3:53 PM Post #7,967 of 9,131
The 200GB Sandisk microSD just dropped to $99 at Amazon. I figured there may be better price coming with cyber Monday, so I pulled the trigger.
 
Nov 24, 2015 at 3:58 PM Post #7,968 of 9,131
  The 200GB Sandisk microSD just dropped to $99 at Amazon. I figured there may be better price coming with cyber Monday, so I pulled the trigger.


If only Vinnie did a mod to add another SD slot to the AK players!
 
Nov 24, 2015 at 4:29 PM Post #7,969 of 9,131
Nov 25, 2015 at 6:41 AM Post #7,971 of 9,131
Hey-hey fellow pre-Xmas audio-people. Considering a buy here and thought I'd ask if anyone has tried the AK 240 with Dita The Answer balanced edition? 
 
Any thoughts?
 
I'm considering buying an AK 240 and the Ditas. Year end gift to self!
 
If you haven't tried the combo, maybe tell me how the 240 goes with ie 800 balanced, since they are quite similar, both dynamics.
 
And if none of that info springs to mind, just IEM recommendations for the AK 240 are super welcome too!
 
Nov 25, 2015 at 11:39 AM Post #7,972 of 9,131
  Hey-hey fellow pre-Xmas audio-people. Considering a buy here and thought I'd ask if anyone has tried the AK 240 with Dita The Answer balanced edition? 
 
Any thoughts?
 
I'm considering buying an AK 240 and the Ditas. Year end gift to self!
 
If you haven't tried the combo, maybe tell me how the 240 goes with ie 800 balanced, since they are quite similar, both dynamics.
 
And if none of that info springs to mind, just IEM recommendations for the AK 240 are super welcome too!


Congrats!
 
What is your budget for the IEM and what type of music do you listen to?
 
Nov 25, 2015 at 12:38 PM Post #7,973 of 9,131
 
Congrats!
 
What is your budget for the IEM and what type of music do you listen to?

 
Well, the budget is pretty much unlimited, I could probably get Laylas if I wanted to. (Not boasting, seriously, had to work like insane to get here :D)
 
I like indie, rock, electronic. Not super interested in jazz or classic. 
 
I have shure se535s, which I like a lot, but find lacking in wow. And (probably fake) Sennheiser ie800s which are more impressive but the treble is intolerable. (Mostly why I think they're fakes, although I have other reasons too, got them dirt cheap off eBay.) But fake or not, they still gave me a taste of dynamic drivers vs the Shures balanced armatures and I got to say, I like the soul and PRAT and musicality of dynamics more from what I've heard.
 
Which is why I'm thinking of Dita The Answer, Truth editions. The other candidates would be Angie-Roxanne-Layla universals, Shure 846 and maybe if I lose my mind Shure KSE 1500, but that's not out yet and kind of defeats the purpose of getting an AK240, since the KSE 1500 needs (and comes with) it's own amp. 
 
Oh, and then there's Beyerdynamic/Astell&Kern T8ie, but that's not out yet either. So many possibilities, makes my head spin.
 
Nov 25, 2015 at 12:55 PM Post #7,974 of 9,131
   
Well, the budget is pretty much unlimited, I could probably get Laylas if I wanted to. (Not boasting, seriously, had to work like insane to get here :D)
 
I like indie, rock, electronic. Not super interested in jazz or classic. 
 
I have shure se535s, which I like a lot, but find lacking in wow. And (probably fake) Sennheiser ie800s which are more impressive but the treble is intolerable. (Mostly why I think they're fakes, although I have other reasons too, got them dirt cheap off eBay.) But fake or not, they still gave me a taste of dynamic drivers vs the Shures balanced armatures and I got to say, I like the soul and PRAT and musicality of dynamics more from what I've heard.
 
Which is why I'm thinking of Dita The Answer, Truth editions. The other candidates would be Angie-Roxanne-Layla universals, Shure 846 and maybe if I lose my mind Shure KSE 1500, but that's not out yet and kind of defeats the purpose of getting an AK240, since the KSE 1500 needs (and comes with) it's own amp. 
 
Oh, and then there's Beyerdynamic/Astell&Kern T8ie, but that's not out yet either. So many possibilities, makes my head spin.


I would recommend Noble K10 especially since those will be discounted by 20% this weekend. You will have to wait several weeks for delivery unfortunately. This will also let you try both balanced and SE output since the cables are detachable. I listen more to jazz and acoustic so I went more neutral so that's why I have Layas.
 
Nov 25, 2015 at 2:59 PM Post #7,975 of 9,131
I just picked up a used AK240.  The USB port connection is very sloppy with a great amount of wiggle when connected.  Is this normal for these devices or should I return the unit to the seller?
 
Thank you in advance for your time in answering my question. 
 
Nov 25, 2015 at 4:00 PM Post #7,976 of 9,131
  I just picked up a used AK240.  The USB port connection is very sloppy with a great amount of wiggle when connected.  Is this normal for these devices or should I return the unit to the seller?
 
Thank you in advance for your time in answering my question. 


USB ports are designed to where the cable gives long before the socket does. If you haven't already, try a new cable and see if you still have a lot of wiggle.
 
Nov 25, 2015 at 7:25 PM Post #7,977 of 9,131
Well, the budget is pretty much unlimited, I could probably get Laylas if I wanted to. (Not boasting, seriously, had to work like insane to get here :D)

I like indie, rock, electronic. Not super interested in jazz or classic. 

I have shure se535s, which I like a lot, but find lacking in wow. And (probably fake) Sennheiser ie800s which are more impressive but the treble is intolerable. (Mostly why I think they're fakes, although I have other reasons too, got them dirt cheap off eBay.) But fake or not, they still gave me a taste of dynamic drivers vs the Shures balanced armatures and I got to say, I like the soul and PRAT and musicality of dynamics more from what I've heard.

Which is why I'm thinking of Dita The Answer, Truth editions. The other candidates would be Angie-Roxanne-Layla universals, Shure 846 and maybe if I lose my mind Shure KSE 1500, but that's not out yet and kind of defeats the purpose of getting an AK240, since the KSE 1500 needs (and comes with) it's own amp. 

Oh, and then there's Beyerdynamic/Astell&Kern T8ie, but that's not out yet either. So many possibilities, makes my head spin.
If you want some dynamic sound check the good hybrids. The 846 is excellent if you like the 535, the same with much better bass. I find the JH iems much too large and unergonomic. The Tralucent iems sound great, much better than the IE800 IMO, build is so so. The Lyra and Oriolus might satisfy, both excellent, the former has better build, the latter better sound. The AkT8ie is indeed good, with special tone and great dynamics. It is more ergonomic than the Oriolus, but the Oriolus sounds better at lower price.
 
Nov 26, 2015 at 11:40 AM Post #7,980 of 9,131
Personally I wouldn't recommend AKT8iE. I went to try it out with high hope and was very disappointed. Disruptive bass and super dull reaction (and I'm talking about using the balanced line). It was a disaster listening to fast songs, feels like you step hard on the pedal yet the car just won't accelerate. I give it the benefit of doubt since I tried it out when it's out in the market for less than a few days, but initial impression it gave me was pretty bad. IE800, on the contrary, was enjoyable even fresh out of the box. I like IE800 so much that I got the balanced one, and am still keeping the stock one. When it comes to classical IE800 is just unbeatable.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top