The Astell & Kern AK240

[Malevolent]

thanks for your answer !

any idea for the sd card ?

Unfortunately, I've sold my AK240, so I can't really comment. But I believe it should be able to read a 256 GB card, in theory, at least.

 

[tienbasse]

It should, people don't seem to get that compatibility is not a question of size, it is a question of standard.
As long as the DAP accepts SD-XC cards (ex-fat file system), it will take 64/128/200/256Gb cards and future sd-xc cards.
Issues are usually when the DAP only accept cards formatted with fat32 formatting (= sd-hc cards), because formatting a sd-xc card in fat 32 may result in issues.

 

[BRCMRGN]

Unfortunately, I've sold my AK240, so I can't really comment. But I believe it should be able to read a 256 GB card, in theory, at least.

It does. I have a Samsung 256GB in mine.

 

[Psy974]

Thank you for your answers guys !

 

[Psy974]

Hello
i've received my ak240 and got few problems .

1st one , i've installed him as a DAC on my PC but my computer still doesn't recognize the AK and his memory to load music

2nd one , with a 256gb card , once playing a song , after few seconds or minutes , depending , it stops and restarts the song . ( it's a sandisk , not a cheap sd from ebay ) .

 

[muziq]

1st one , i've installed him as a DAC on my PC but my computer still doesn't recognize the AK and his memory to load music
2nd one , with a 256gb card , once playing a song , after few seconds or minutes , depending , it stops and restarts the song . ( it's a sandisk , not a cheap sd from ebay ) .

What version of firmware?
What OS and player?

 

[Psy974]

firmware 1.35
i use the standard ak app
win 8.1

 

[muziq]

firmware 1.35
i use the standard ak app
win 8.1

Okay, doesn't sound like a firmware issue.

Which software player are you using on your computer/laptop? I don't have a ton of experience working with windows (I'm using Audirvana on a Mac), but perhaps there's a known issue with your player and the AK in DAC mode. Can you share more info?

 

[jwbrent]

Hello
i've received my ak240 and got few problems .

1st one , i've installed him as a DAC on my PC but my computer still doesn't recognize the AK and his memory to load music

2nd one , with a 256gb card , once playing a song , after few seconds or minutes , depending , it stops and restarts the song . ( it's a sandisk , not a cheap sd from ebay ) .

I presume you installed the Windows driver that can be downloaded from the A&K site?

My 200GB Sandisk Ultra card is formatted as a Fat32 directory and I have had no issues.

 

[Psy974]

Hello , i finally found the problem and now my computer recognize the AK .
i had a incompatibility between my computer's sd card reader pilot and the ak240 pilot ( yes i tried the ak240 pilot from the website at first )

deleted everything and finally it worked ( i also tried the androit usb pilot ), but now it's my sb card reader which doesn't work lol.
will find a way to fix it.

 

[dapoopa]

Anybody else have an issue with the AK240 balanced jack in which a slight turn of the plug causes the sound to cut out in one channel?

I bought my AK240 in Feb. 2015 and of course wanted to get the most out of it and my SE846's, so I ordered a Silver Litz cable from Ted Allen with a 2.5 mm plug to utilize the balanced out . The sound difference with the replacement cable was immediate and very noticeable, and in my mind the balanced output was simply the icing on the cake. I had probably reached as reasonably close to the endgame IEM experience as I will ever get. Little did I know what awaited...

After maybe 6-9 months the sound on the right ear began to cut out, especially when on-the-go. At first, I thought the cable had somehow gone bad and considered sending it back to Ted. However, considerations of time and distance (I live in Moscow) convinced me to look for a local alternative.

Luckily, I found a fantastic local cable producer named Evgeniy at www.hybridaudio.ru. I ordered his top of the line cable, the Hybrid X3 mini http://www.hybridaudio.ru/photo/CID_243.html with a 2.5 mm Eidolic plug. After all, I simply gotta have that balanced out...

Guess what? After a month or two with the new cable the sound AGAIN started cutting out in the right ear. I tried the scotch tape fix and even wrapping the cable around the device vertically to exert some forward pressure on the jack...but to no avail. After perusing some threads here about defective balanced out jacks on the AK240, I sadly came to the realization that I had indeed purchased one of the early defective AK240 batches. GRRRR.....

So...I sent my cable back to Evgeniy and within six days he replaced the 2.5 mm plug with a 3.5 mm Oyaide. It fits and sounds wonderful. Which got me to thinking. Was the balanced out really ever worth it, especially if I am already listening through SE846's with a top-of-the-line cable? I can't imagine the downgrade in quality from balanced out is that perceptible. Heck, given the thicker plug and tighter fit, maybe the normal output actually sounds BETTER than the balanced for much of the music I listen to...dunno.

Anyway, glad to share my experience here in my first post as a head-fi'er.

 

[Buddhahacker]

From a simplistic view, of which I will probably be taken to task, a singled ended connection uses a common ground between the left and right channels (speaker/earpiece). There is some thought that you might get some feedback/interference using a common ground between the left and right channel. A balanced output replaces the common ground topology with dedicated grounds to each earpiece(speaker). Removing the potential for feedback. I have used both and with my ears I don't hear much if any difference. The other benefit with balanced is that some amps can output more "power" than single ended. I have experienced this and it can be beneficial if your device is struggling to drive "power" demanding headphones i.e. HD800. Since the vast majority of IEMs don't have an issue being driven you won't get anything out of having the additional available power.

So, I don't think you will hear much(any) difference using your SE846s in single ended or balanced terminations. I don't and I have the same IEM. I hear a slight benefit running balanced with my Layla's (wider soundstage?) but I suspect that is all in my head.

Just love the sound running single ended via the more secure 3.5mm plug.

 

[jwbrent]

From a simplistic view, of which I will probably be taken to task, a singled ended connection uses a common ground between the left and right channels (speaker/earpiece). There is some thought that you might get some feedback/interference using a common ground between the left and right channel. A balanced output replaces the common ground topology with dedicated grounds to each earpiece(speaker). Removing the potential for feedback. I have used both and with my ears I don't hear much if any difference. The other benefit with balanced is that some amps can output more "power" than single ended. I have experienced this and it can be beneficial if your device is struggling to drive "power" demanding headphones i.e. HD800. Since the vast majority of IEMs don't have an issue being driven you won't get anything out of having the additional available power.

So, I don't think you will hear much(any) difference using your SE846s in single ended or balanced terminations. I don't and I have the same IEM. I hear a slight benefit running balanced with my Layla's (wider soundstage?) but I suspect that is all in my head.

Just love the sound running single ended via the more secure 3.5mm plug.

Agreed.

 

[dapoopa]

Thanks for your input) When I first started listening through an amazing combination of device and IEM, I was naturally tempted to try to push the experience to the limit. Upgrading from the stock cable to a Ted Allen or hybridaudio custom is an absolute must, but after having listened through the AK240's normal out for a few days I can probably just forget about the balanced out at this point. If the difference in sound is essentially imperceptible to my ears, then the difference was always just a matter of perception, i.e. all in my head (pun intended!). In any event, from a durability standpoint I now feel a lot more comfortable with the solid and tight connection that the 3.5 mm plug offers.

I should also mention that while digging around this weekend I came across a bunch of old tips that I had acquired over the years. Among them were some comply foamies that were packaged along with my long-lost Shure SE530's. Up to this point I had been using some decent rubber tips but decided to switch in the foamies for my SE846's. The seal and sound difference are astounding and now I'm wondering what the heck I was thinking all this time....fussing around with the balanced out when I should have been focusing on the tips!

BTW I look forward to the replacement cable I just ordered from hybridaudio for my venerable Etymotic ER-4P's (the hybridaudio site is in Russian, but you can download a browser extension to translate). The cable is Evgeniy's latest offering for 2017 called the Nucleotide Hybrid V3 OCC Silver-Plated Copper

http://www.hybridaudio.ru/photo/CID_407.html

 

[Buddhahacker]

My first IEM was the original Koss "The Plug" and boy was it uncomfortable. I was working near O'hare at the time and took a short drive up to Etymotic's facility where one of the engineers let me try out the ER-4P. I loved them then and now. The side benefit of the 4P's is that after cramming those puppies down my ear canals with a mallet for 4 years I found that there isn't an IEM that doesn't fit

I also switched to the Comply tips for all of my IEMs with the exception of the 4Ps to which I still use the triple flanges. I use the T-500 w/wax guard.