[FlyinMN]

Heh, maybe I can bring my "golden" DX50 to Arly (DigitalFreak) at our next meet and we can compare my seventh batch to his ?first? batch, I believe. It would also be a compare of his ?apple? file loaded card to my fresh ripped EAC card (did this so it would work with the studio V, and it has worked fine with the DX50)...hhhhmmm time for a road trip...for the team...

It would be nice to swap SD cards from one user who is having no issues with someone who is having issues to validate that the problem lies in the files and not the hardware. Or vice versa.

 

[Frank I]

Hi Guys and glad my friend and colleague Michael Mercer linked our review here.  The card was not my issue as it worked in other players without a hitch, and is currently working in the HM 901 that  I am working on now without any hitch.  The albums the DX50 could not recognize are all recognized on the  HM 901. The issues with the DX50 were mostly related to what I described in the review and Arly had issues with two separate players but most of what he experienced is very similar to what I wrote in the review. The volume control stopped working and became an issue as I could no longer adjust the volume  up. I do think that when ibasso resolves the issue with firmware and get the player to work properly it will be a major success. Unfortunately I could no longer use mine and sent it to Warren Chi who opened it up and noticed the soldering on the switch had been the issue with the volume control 
 
I do hope Arly and I will have the opportunity to do a followup when the product . I am sure Arly will  jump in and share his experiences here as well. 

 

[headwhacker]

  Gotcha. I totally get it.
 
What about the Astell & Kern AK100?? Too pricey??
I know it's over-shadowed by its much pricier AK120 - I have both and I still rock the AK100
all the time - as it stacks really well on my ALO International, and that makes for a wickedly musical 
combo in my book!

I even wrote about it for Part-Time Audiophile! That whole rig included the LCD-3 however!
But I also dig my PHA-1, as I use iDevices - man its a disease isn't it - it could be worse!!
 
But I hear ya on needing to hold out for a player that meets your precise needs. 
 
I like the AK120 because it has enough juice to drive my Alpha Dogs, M-100s, or LCD-X/XC!
But it is pricey. That's undeniable. We had a roundtable about it at Audio360. 
 
This space (higher performance DAPS) is still in its infancy I believe. This whole segment is still developing so fast!
Most of the users today are experiencing their music through headphones! That's just an undeniable fact.
So the company that can NAIL an iPod alternative thats easy to use, easy to connect with and interface well - they'll
KILL it.
 
I haven't tried any Fiio gear - but I think I should change that...

 
The AK100/120 are great for the mentioned headphones above. But for me it completely missed it's intended purpose. It has a killer design, dimension and UI for the ultimate portable device. However, when you pair it with full size cans you immediately negate that purpose. The best sounding iems/ciems would have issues on them due to the output impedance. I know the AK100mkii is already modified to 3ohms like the AK120. But still high for most good sounding low impedance phones out there.
 
I was willing to bite the steep price of AK120 when I get the chance to demo it in the recent Mook in SG (AK100 won't appeal to me because I already got DX50). But everything really went bad when I tried it with JH16. The bass response on a handful (3 to be exact) of tracks I play really sounded off and lacking punch compared to DX50. Then again I use DX50 with an amp.
 
So I tried them with C5D, but then the AKxxx don't have a true line out. The sound I hear through C5D sounded a little bit colored but not entirely bad. As for the DX50 the dedicated LO is really clean and matches very well with portable amps I use it with.
 
At the end of the day, AK120 really failed on me. Like Lilfurbal mentioned, there is no other DAP like DX50 out there.It  makes a few bugs and annoyances tolerable at this point.

 

[cooperpwc]

   
I was willing to bite the steep price of AK120 when I get the chance to demo it in the recent Mook in SG (AK100 won't appeal to me because I already got DX50). But everything really went bad when I tried it with JH16. The bass response on a handful (3 to be exact) of tracks I play really sounded off and lacking punch compared to DX50. Then again I use DX50 with an amp.
 
So I tried them with C5D, but then the AKxxx don't have a true line out. 

 
You pegged the conundrum. The AK120's built-in amp cannot compete with a good stand-alone amp and there is no line-out. 

 

[Levanter]

The AK100/120 are great for the mentioned headphones above. But for me it completely missed it's intended purpose. It has a killer design, dimension and UI for the ultimate portable device. However, when you pair it with full size cans you immediately negate that purpose. The best sounding iems/ciems would have issues on them due to the output impedance. I know the AK100mkii is already modified to 3ohms like the AK120. But still high for most good sounding low impedance phones out there.

I was willing to bite the steep price of AK120 when I get the chance to demo it in the recent Mook in SG (AK100 won't appeal to me because I already got DX50). But everything really went bad when I tried it with JH16. The bass response on a handful (3 to be exact) of tracks I play really sounded off and lacking punch compared to DX50. Then again I use DX50 with an amp.

So I tried them with C5D, but then the AKxxx don't have a true line out. The sound I hear through C5D sounded a little bit colored but not entirely bad. As for the DX50 the dedicated LO is really clean and matches very well with portable amps I use it with.

At the end of the day, AK120 really failed on me. Like Lilfurbal mentioned, there is no other DAP like DX50 out there.It  makes a few bugs and annoyances tolerable at this point.

I think many people has made a big issue over the impedance. Trust me, 22ohms to 3ohms to modded below 1ohm you won't find a night and day difference in the bass. There is some difference, but not as exaggerated by most.
The tuning of the AK100/120 is on purpose in that manner to be more balanced without any boost or emphasis in other regions.
Unlike DX50 where the sound apparently differs in firmware updates as claimed by others. If you find the bass lacking you can just use the EQ settings.

 

[headwhacker]

You pegged the conundrum. The AK120's built-in amp cannot compete with a good stand-alone amp and there is no line-out. 

Yeah really sad. Its major flaw is something a FW update can't fix. It makes DX50 looked like a championship-caliber basketball team with no legitimate superstar.

AK120 in paper is the superior team and beats DX50 one on one (spec-wise). But the sum of the parts completely trumps AK120 and wins the title to me.

The RWAK mods though are the all-star teams. But I won't bite.

 

[ratinox]

Catching up on a few things here.

I stopped having playback problems when I retagged my master library with Mp3tag. I didn't have any freezes but I did have the odd play order issues. Went through the whole library, cleaned up the junk tags, fixed the track numbers. Didn't take long to do although it did take a while to save all the updates. Since then? No problems. Except for one and that was a damaged file system that would have caused problems with any player. I've been using FLAC files converted directly from Apple Lossless directly from CD via iTunes, and AAC and Ogg Vorbis files converted from those FLAC files. No problems with any of them once I got the tags cleaned up. iTunes... can be messy if you don't ride herd on it.

FiiO X5: interesting. I figure iBasso pushed DX50 out the door as fast as they could to get DX50 out well before Christmas and to head off X5. FiiO has the better UI but... side by side? X5 isn't $100-$150 worth of nicer. A $299 price tag and a single, full-sized SDXC slot instead of the dual micro slots would have made X5 competitive. As is? DX50 is going to be the winner in the end if iBasso can clean up the disaster that is it's UI.

AK100/120? Totally missing the point. Anyone forking over that much cash is going to want to pick their own perfect amplifier and headphones. That's usually going to be in-ears unless you're a wackjob like me who prefers over-ear monitors while out and about in which case having a super-powered amp in the case makes sense... except there's no way I'm forking over that much for a pocket music player. For that kind of cash I'd get a ~5" Android tablet and an outboard DAC/AMP. Better sound, more utility, less money, and only a little more bulk.

Should you upgrade the firmware even if you're not having problems? If it ain't broke then don't fix it. Stick with 1.2.2 or even 1.2.5 until whatever succeeds 1.2.6 is released. The playback crossfade really is unpleasant. That said, there's no harm in trying other firmware versions. Going backward from 1.2.6 to 1.2.2 (or even earlier) is the same process as any other firmware update -- it's just an update to an earlier revision.

 

[headwhacker]

I think many people has made a big issue over the impedance. Trust me, 22ohms to 3ohms to modded below 1ohm you won't find a night and day difference in the bass. There is some difference, but not as exaggerated by most.
The tuning of the AK100/120 is on purpose in that manner to be more balanced without any boost or emphasis in other regions.
Unlike DX50 where the sound apparently differs in firmware updates as claimed by others. If you find the bass lacking you can just use the EQ settings.

Well I'm not exaggerating. I am being specific about the gear being used and I trust my ears same as you do. Definitely, the difference is noticeable. JH16 is already bass-emphasized phone and you are telling me for this price range my only option is the EQ settings? I can already do that in DX50 then I still have the option to use an external amp..

Like I said the issue is only specific to low impedance phone. If you are talking about full size headphones then you are missing my point completely and I agree the output impedance does not matter.

 

[mikemercer]

Well I'm not exaggerating. I am being specific about the gear being used and I trust my ears same as you do. Definitely, the difference is noticeable. JH16 is already bass-emphasized phone and you are telling me for this price range my only option is the EQ settings? I can already do that in DX50 then I still have the option to use an external amp..

Like I said the issue is only specific to low impedance phone. If you are talking about full size headphones then you are missing my point completely and I agree the output impedance does not matter.

I gotta try my JH-13 Freqphase on my AK120!! Haven't done that yet.
and yeah I'm also a wackjob who prefers over-ears most of the time in public too - so the impedance issue wasn't a problem for me w/ regard to the AK100 as I was going to use it w/ my ALO International amp anyway.
I use IEMs for longer travel, hiking, mountain biking, etc. - but I haven't tried em yet w/ the 120... Honestly I got hooked on the AK stuff because my buddy Alex had the AK100 really early - and when I got to see it and hear it for my review, well - at first honestlyI just  looked at it as a means to have my high res files w/ me  - and the UI didn't give me ANY trouble. Plus I like the team at A&K  - good people and great service.
 
I'm also keen on keeping up-to-date with you guys and this thread as I would LOVE to have @frank_j and @DigitalFreak do a follow-up!!
PLUS: I need a reasonably priced DAP w/ a decent amp for a gift for a friend I'm indoctrinating into high performance personal audio!!
 
How is the service/interaction with iBasso????
 

   
The AK100/120 are great for the mentioned headphones above. But for me it completely missed it's intended purpose. It has a killer design, dimension and UI for the ultimate portable device. However, when you pair it with full size cans you immediately negate that purpose. The best sounding iems/ciems would have issues on them due to the output impedance. I know the AK100mkii is already modified to 3ohms like the AK120. But still high for most good sounding low impedance phones out there.
 
I was willing to bite the steep price of AK120 when I get the chance to demo it in the recent Mook in SG (AK100 won't appeal to me because I already got DX50). But everything really went bad when I tried it with JH16. The bass response on a handful (3 to be exact) of tracks I play really sounded off and lacking punch compared to DX50. Then again I use DX50 with an amp.
 
So I tried them with C5D, but then the AKxxx don't have a true line out. The sound I hear through C5D sounded a little bit colored but not entirely bad. As for the DX50 the dedicated LO is really clean and matches very well with portable amps I use it with.
 
At the end of the day, AK120 really failed on me. Like Lilfurbal mentioned, there is no other DAP like DX50 out there.It  makes a few bugs and annoyances tolerable at this point.

Interesting,
thanks for the info here. It's good to hear feedback like this, especially when we're covering these things over at Audio360.org.

 

[jamato8]

Interesting seeing the AK100 mentioned here and of course in other threads. No reason why not. I have mentioned this before and have the AK100 modified with the 22ohm resistance out of the signal path. I have taken the AK100 and the DX50 apart. The AK100 really has nothing over the DX50. The boards in both decent as are the electronics. The parts in the AK100 are of no higher standard and the screen is the same. The size difference with the Ak100 being smaller doesn't matter much to me as the DX50 is already pretty small anyway. The sound of the DX50 to my ear and having a number of good daps to compare to, is better in some ways than the AK100. It has a more live feel to me. I am also getting very good depth and placement with the DX50. At 3 times the price, for me, with no exchangeable battery and no line out, the AK100 would actually be a downgrade for my listening. It is all fun though and a good time DAPs. 

 

[Levanter]

Well I'm not exaggerating. I am being specific about the gear being used and I trust my ears same as you do. Definitely, the difference is noticeable. JH16 is already bass-emphasized phone and you are telling me for this price range my only option is the EQ settings? I can already do that in DX50 then I still have the option to use an external amp..

Like I said the issue is only specific to low impedance phone. If you are talking about full size headphones then you are missing my point completely and I agree the output impedance does not matter.

There is some difference due to the impedance issue, some noticeable in certain songs while other songs not as noticeable.
However the lack of bass you are finding is mainly due to the sound signature of the AKs, not so much the impedance issue.
Maybe your preference is more towards the dynamic sound of the DX50 than the more neutral sound signature of the AK.

 

[headwhacker]

There is some difference due to the impedance issue, some noticeable in certain songs while other songs not as noticeable.
However the lack of bass you are finding is mainly due to the sound signature of the AKs, not so much the impedance issue.
Maybe your preference is more towards the dynamic sound of the DX50 than the more neutral sound signature of the AK.

Point taken on sound preference. However, I highly doubt it's just my sound preference being the factor for the difference I hear. I'm talking about the details here in the bass region. The AK120 clearly lacking the weight on my JH16. If i get the change to listen to a RWAK120 then I can find out how much the output impedance really affect the SQ.

 

[headwhacker]

I gotta try my JH-13 Freqphase on my AK120!! Haven't done that yet.
and yeah I'm also a wackjob who prefers over-ears most of the time in public too - so the impedance issue wasn't a problem for me w/ regard to the AK100 as I was going to use it w/ my ALO International amp anyway.
I use IEMs for longer travel, hiking, mountain biking, etc. - but I haven't tried em yet w/ the 120... Honestly I got hooked on the AK stuff because my buddy Alex had the AK100 really early - and when I got to see it and hear it for my review, well - at first honestlyI just  looked at it as a means to have my high res files w/ me  - and the UI didn't give me ANY trouble. Plus I like the team at A&K  - good people and great service.

I'm also keen on keeping up-to-date with you guys and this thread as I would LOVE to have @frank_j
 and @DigitalFreak
 do a follow-up!!
PLUS: I need a reasonably priced DAP w/ a decent amp for a gift for a friend I'm indoctrinating into high performance personal audio!!

How is the service/interaction with iBasso????

Interesting,
thanks for the info here. It's good to hear feedback like this, especially when we're covering these things over at Audio360.org.

I totally agree, the looks, build and UI really not to mention the storage capacity is top notch and arguably justifies the price premium of the AK1xx. But as an audio entusiast, these factors come in second to SQ. I would still consider this as hi-res transport but again the option is also very limited.

As for Ibasso they have been active responding to feedbacks and each FW update fixes some bugs and improves the UI and add minor features. But it's not always smooth. The updates sometimes takes 2 steps forward and 1 step backward.

For me, at the latest FW version (1.2.6), the only major bug which is still annoying is the gapless playback (or lack of). Turning it off completely still shaves off 2 seconds at the end of each tracks and gets frustrating on some albums.

They fix this then I'm all set.

 

[Levanter]

Point taken on sound preference. However, I highly doubt it's just my sound preference being the factor for the difference I hear. I'm talking about the details here in the bass region. The AK120 clearly lacking the weight on my JH16. If i get the change to listen to a RWAK120 then I can find out how much the output impedance really affect the SQ.

To satisfy my own curiosity, I own both the AK100 and the Mk2, as well as demoing the modded one. From what I hear going down the ladder from 22ohms to <1, there is a noticeable difference in the bass, however not night and day and probably not within your preference if you have heard the 3ohms version.
This led me to understand their sound signature which is different than most DAPs which has more emphasis in the bass region. Have you tried Colorfly C3? Their bright neutral signature is lacking in bass even more than the AKs.

 

[DigitalFreak]

Hi guys, its me Arly, yes the same Arly who writes for audio360. I currently still have the Dx50 in my possession due to iBasso refusing me refund. To be fair and for the sake of a few yuks I'll try the latest firmware out this weekend and see if my file scanning issues and my freezing problems disappear. I tried to be fair on the DX50 and did my damnest to get it to work and to date those 2 issues are whats spoiling the player for me. Believe me, I'm not out to grind any axes with anyone. you guys think i should give it a 4th and 5th attempt...alright...I'll try. As it is, I really do hope the bugs eventually get worked out for everyone who has complaints concerning their DX50. Thank you all for being open minded and not grilling me like a couple of other people did on my YouTube channel.
 
God bless