The New iRiver/Astell & Kern AK100: A High-End DAP

[musicday]

Quote:

Yeah i really want to try out a Tera Player.
 
If this thing sticks around the $700 price point I just may do it...next year...lol
 

Yes if you can try the Tera Player, i am sure you will love it.I didn't belive it untill i tried with my W4R, now mine is in the making.
Merry Christmas to me

 

[mark_h]

Quote:

 
It will change the frequency response of sensitive IEMs and headphones. Pretty much that means you're IEMs won't sound as they were intended by the manufacturer. The AK100 will color them in an unpredictable way (rolled off bass, bloated bass, harsh treble, etc). The effects are random but they will happen. So pretty much this player is not suitable for 99.9 of IEMs period.

 
How?
 
http://en.goldenears.net/14001

 

[lee730]

Quote:

 
How?
 
http://en.goldenears.net/14001

 
It's a well known fact that any sensitive IEM or even headphones will be affected by output impedances higher than 1 ohm. The graphs you are showing me shows the measurements of the AK100. Not of the IEM it is plugged into. The AK100 has been tested by multiple sources on RMAA and all show 22 Ohm Output impedance. If you don't mind buying a product that is inherently flawed then more power to you.
 
http://en.goldenears.net/KB_Columns/1389

 

[VisceriousZERO]

Also you don't have a LO so you'll be double amping. At this price point that is also not acceptable. They really undermined themselves with this one lol. 

I tried the AK100 with an optical out into the Schiit Gungnir+Mjolnir and it worked really well, TBH. The digital volume out didn't affect the volume of the Mjolnir so it felt like it was a true optical out.

Line out's a different story though...

 

[Clemmaster]

Quote:

 
It's a well known fact that any sensitive IEM or even headphones will be affected by output impedances higher than 1 ohm. The graphs you are showing me shows the measurements of the AK100. Not of the IEM it is plugged into. The AK100 has been tested by multiple sources on RMAA and all show 22 Ohm Output impedance. If you don't mind buying a product that is inherently flawed then more power to you.
 
http://en.goldenears.net/KB_Columns/1389

 
You don't seem to mind buying IEM with their heavily varying impedance. From the 2, I don't know which one exhibit the biggest flaw (balanced-armature IEM or AK100)?
 
I'm not trying to minimize/neglect the AK100's potential issue here, nor do I have any intention of buying the DAP

 

[HideousPride]

Quote:

I tried the AK100 with an optical out into the Schiit Gungnir+Mjolnir and it worked really well, TBH. The digital volume out didn't affect the volume of the Mjolnir so it felt like it was a true optical out.
Line out's a different story though...

But for a pairing with the Gungnir/Mjolnir, I feel like that completely defeats the purpose of a DAP.
 
Ideally, it would be perfect for portable use without any additional add ons required.

 

[mark_h]

Quote:

 
It's a well known fact that any sensitive IEM or even headphones will be affected by output impedances higher than 1 ohm. The graphs you are showing me shows the measurements of the AK100. Not of the IEM it is plugged into. The AK100 has been tested by multiple sources on RMAA and all show 22 Ohm Output impedance. If you don't mind buying a product that is inherently flawed then more power to you.
 
http://en.goldenears.net/KB_Columns/1389

 
I would be interested in being shown some examples from real world testing, various BA's with different impedance and the altered responses. I have emailed AK in a professional capacity and await their response, I don't expect I will shall receive one. I have noted that in another thread you defend an expensive dap and argue in favour of subjectivism (Quote, "because they don't trust themselves and trust a piece of paper to tell them what they can and cannot hear") and in this thread you seem to argue the contrary?

 

[Achmedisdead]

 

[reginalb]

Quote:

 
I would be interested in being shown some examples from real world testing, various BA's with different impedance and the altered responses. I have emailed AK in a professional capacity and await their response, I don't expect I will shall receive one. I have noted that in another thread you defend an expensive dap and argue in favour of subjectivism (Quote, "because they don't trust themselves and trust a piece of paper to tell them what they can and cannot hear") and in this thread you seem to argue the contrary?

 
The last time I posted some graphs showing this, I was told the person that runs the blog was banned from these forums, so I can't post them any more. But a quick search of Google will turn up a wealth of information for you. 

 

[lee730]

Quote:

 
I would be interested in being shown some examples from real world testing, various BA's with different impedance and the altered responses. I have emailed AK in a professional capacity and await their response, I don't expect I will shall receive one. I have noted that in another thread you defend an expensive dap and argue in favour of subjectivism (Quote, "because they don't trust themselves and trust a piece of paper to tell them what they can and cannot hear") and in this thread you seem to argue the contrary?

Did you not read the link I gave you? If you read it it shows you real graphs of real IEMs compared and how their frequency responses are impacted by  high output impedance's (rolled off bass, boosted treble etc). Even explained in English for you .

 

[Clemmaster]

Did you not read the comment I made about that?
You say that a 20 Ohm headphone amp is totally unacceptable yet yoy don't seem to bother much about what one could call a totally flawed impedance response for the BA iems. If you are totally objective you would buy neither the AK nor BA iems.

I'm just giving another point of view from a apparent mismatch between the 2.

Who knows? This might be a perfect match for the RE-262, "ideal" damping factor!

 

[lee730]

Quote:

Did you not read the comment I made about that?
You say that a 20 Ohm headphone amp is totally unacceptable yet yoy don't seem to bother much about what one could call a totally flawed impedance response for the BA iems. If you are totally objective you would buy neither the AK nor BA iems.
I'm just giving another point of view from a apparent mismatch between the 2.
Who knows? This might be a perfect match for the RE-262, "ideal" damping factor!

Clemmaster, I've provided you with a link that explains output impedance and also gives graphs showing you the impact it has on the TF10 etc. Read and learn.
 
http://en.goldenears.net/KB_Columns/1389

 

[zachchen1996]

someone be getting coooked

 

[reginalb]

Quote:

Clemmaster, I've provided you with a link that explains output impedance and also gives graphs showing you the impact it has on the TF10 etc. Read and learn.
 
http://en.goldenears.net/KB_Columns/1389

 
I think that he is trying to argue that the problem isn't the player, but that a manufacturer would make a low impedance iem. That there are two possible solutions, either:
 
1. Lower output impedance on the amp
2. Higher input impedance on the iem
 
His inquiry is why 1 is what we demand, while we let headphones makers produce low impedance iems without questioning that.

 

[Dyaems]

pass the popcorn please