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

[Eric510]

Hi Everyone - So... I own both an AK120 and a AK100mkii (purchased over the last year, in that order). 
I love my AK120 - however, for some reason, the optical output on my AK120 stopped working. Thats the only reason I bought an AK100 - I needed something to pair with my Chord Mojo (which requires a digital signal). 

ANYWAY...

My AK120 plays everything I throw at it without any trouble at all... I have very clean tags and everything shows up well after a library sync. I have never had any trouble playing music with this device.

My AK100 on the other hand has been nothing but trouble from the start. It freezes mid library sync nearly every time. BUT, sometimes it actually works and finishes the sync. So, it's a frustrating problem, but one that I'm willing to deal with. The BIGGEST problem, (and one I'm not sure I can put up with) is the random freezing that happens both when simply navigating around the menus, and when playing music. 

I've read a fair amount of the posts in this thread referring to the freezing problems and most people seems to think it has something to do with file tags and/or the SD cards. In the spirit of troubleshooting, I've tried the three most recent firmwares, removed all SD cards, and am only syncing my favorite/most listened to albums to the internal memory on the AK100. Those albums are albums I've listened to many times on the AK120 without trouble. 

My question to you guys is, should I return/exchange this AK100? This thing is less then 3 days old, and I'm sure Amazon will take it back no problem... But, these issues are software based and not hardware based, am I right? Not sure I see the point in sending it back but wanted to know what ya'll thought. I guess one more question too - Do you guys ever see weird screen glitches? Hard to describe but, on occasion I see what looks like "artifacting" and weird color/pixelations usually oriented horizontally. It only shows up for a half second and then clears up. This is sometimes followed by a freeze, and sometimes it's not and it works fine (usually a 50/50 chance).

Welp... I'm happy to report that my problems seem to have been due to a faulty unit. I pulled the trigger on a replacement ak100 while shipping the troubled ak100 back. just got my refund on that this morning. And have happily been listening to the new unit (coupled to my Chord Mojo) without a single problem. I probably just jinxed myself in saying that but... all seems to be well with this new unit. I'm sure ill get the occasional crash here and there as that seems to be the norm with this dap but.... It's night and day more stable then the one I had to send back.

 

[Ivabign]

Welp... I'm happy to report that my problems seem to have been due to a faulty unit. I pulled the trigger on a replacement ak100 while shipping the troubled ak100 back. just got my refund on that this morning. And have happily been listening to the new unit (coupled to my Chord Mojo) without a single problem. I probably just jinxed myself in saying that but...

all seems to be well with this new unit. I'm sure ill get the occasional crash here and there as that seems to be the norm with this dap but.... It's night and day more stable then the one I had to send back.

Interesting - as I am having very odd issues with a new AK100MK2 - I can play any rate music from its hard drive. I can play 16/44 music from an SD card - but if I try to play anything high-res from SD, it plays 25 seconds and crashes - 24/88.2 it shuts off - 24/96 is skips, like an LP with a scratch, playing the same notes over and over....  So I figure it is my SD card - it happens on the next SD card (the firmware is MKII 2.42) 
 
Just so happens I have a first generation AK100 hooked up to a GloveAudio A1 - I place the SD card inside and I can play any rate music off the SD card - no problems whatsoever - I kinda thought this was the case since I have had that unit up and running for a few months and never noticed any issues. Now this unit has firmware 2.42 - NOT MKII 2.42 - is there a difference?
 
Anyone have an idea of what I am up against?

 

[Eric510]

 
Interesting - as I am having very odd issues with a new AK100MK2 - I can play any rate music from its hard drive. I can play 16/44 music from an SD card - but if I try to play anything high-res from SD, it plays 25 seconds and crashes - 24/88.2 it shuts off - 24/96 is skips, like an LP with a scratch, playing the same notes over and over....  So I figure it is my SD card - it happens on the next SD card (the firmware is MKII 2.42) 
 
Just so happens I have a first generation AK100 hooked up to a GloveAudio A1 - I place the SD card inside and I can play any rate music off the SD card - no problems whatsoever - I kinda thought this was the case since I have had that unit up and running for a few months and never noticed any issues. Now this unit has firmware 2.42 - NOT MKII 2.42 - is there a difference?
 
Anyone have an idea of what I am up against?

My initial thought was that perhaps you were using a slower SD card then one might want to use with higher bitrate music but... it seems to work in your other AK100 so....... I'm stumped. :-\ These Ak100s are enigmas... 
 
For whatever it's worth, my (second) newly purchased AK100mk2 came with 2.40 firmware and, i'm not planning on upgrading to 2.42. I'm usually the kinda guy that updates firmwares to the latest and greatest as soon as I get a new device but in this case... If it aint broke, I aint fixin' in.  Have you tried downgrading the firmware? I doubt it'll make a difference but, it's worth a shot. 

 

[Ivabign]

 
My initial thought was that perhaps you were using a slower SD card then one might want to use with higher bitrate music but... it seems to work in your other AK100 so....... I'm stumped. :-\ These Ak100s are enigmas... 
 
For whatever it's worth, my (second) newly purchased AK100mk2 came with 2.40 firmware and, i'm not planning on upgrading to 2.42. I'm usually the kinda guy that updates firmwares to the latest and greatest as soon as I get a new device but in this case... If it aint broke, I aint fixin' in.  Have you tried downgrading the firmware? I doubt it'll make a difference but, it's worth a shot. 

I'd like to - is it available at the AK website? And do I just replace the system files?

 

[NuClear235]

Now is new firmware for A100 II and AK120 II.
http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/1025497/5c9253db20/ARCHIVE
Newest Version: 1.28
1. AK CD-RIPPER support
2. Added CUE sheet support
3. Better firmware stability
 
BUT NOT for AK100 !
 
I hope will be developed for classic AK100 later!
Need support of CUE very much...
 
Their answer to me:
Astell&Kern MQS Portable System: Unfortunately, at this time, there are no plans to the AK 100 to support the CD-RIPPER or CUE sheets, but we'll pass your comments on to the R&D department, and keep our fingers crossed with you.

 

[Eric510]

I'd like to - is it available at the AK website? And do I just replace the system files?

The archive of ak100 firmwares can be found here - http://www.iriverinc.com/download/downloadList.asp?selectPart=02&selectPartProduct=P0082&findWord=

Just download one, stick the file in the root of your AK internal storage (not on an SD card), and it will auto install once you disconnect the ak100 from your computer.

 

[AlterSack]

  Now is new firmware for A100 II and AK120 II.
http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/1025497/5c9253db20/ARCHIVE
Newest Version: 1.28
1. AK CD-RIPPER support
2. Added CUE sheet support
3. Better firmware stability
 
BUT NOT for AK100 !
 
I hope will be developed for classic AK100 later!
Need support of CUE very much...
 
Their answer to me:
Astell&Kern MQS Portable System: Unfortunately, at this time, there are no plans to the AK 100 to support the CD-RIPPER or CUE sheets, but we'll pass your comments on to the R&D department, and keep our fingers crossed with you.

I wouldn't expect too much - AK100 and AK120 are basically dying products for them.
It was astonishing that they even offered version 2.42 for the AK100. (don't know the corresponding version for AK120)

 

[Gino]

Check if firmware updates are available. Also check if storage scanning issues pertain to micro sd cards. You may want to clean the cards or swap them. Lastly buy a new usb cable to rule that on out.

 

[beemarman]

Help please!
 
 
My AK100 is on version 2.30 and I can't seem to update it to version 2.40.
 
I have downloaded and copied the .hex file to the system folder on the AK100 and rebooted, but nothing happens. I have tried it a few times and still no joy.
 
 
Can anyone help?

 

[beemarman]

  Help please!
 
 
My AK100 is on version 2.30 and I can't seem to update it to version 2.40.
 
I have downloaded and copied the .hex file to the system folder on the AK100 and rebooted, but nothing happens. I have tried it a few times and still no joy.
 
 
Can anyone help?

 
Got it working.

 

[xtr4]

Hi all,
 
I'm having a weird issue with Optical Out.
If I use the Hugo supplied Mini Optical to Toslink cable, I can get a signal out. However, if I use a custom Mini Optical to Toslink cable, I can't seem to get a signal out no matter what. This is really baffling me.
Could it be a connector issue with the Mini Optical side? Are there non standard connectors out there?
What is weird is that the same cable can be used on the DX80 Optical Out.
Thank you in advance.

 

[TheGrumpyOldMan]

Not sure about your particular issue, but I used my AK100's optical out quite a bit in the past, and I had quite a time with it too. High quality glass miniTOS-TOS cables are hard to find and/or expensive, so I was looking for alternatives.
 
Alas there are several factors involved:
- dust & dirt: it's optical, so if anything, even tiny, is on the tip or in the receptacle, it will cause issues
- the socket & plug: I have a cable going into the optical-in of my dolby headphone processor that I have to wiggle just so, then it works fine, otherwise  everything sounds distant & almost mono
- the sensitivity of the DAC / the strength & quality of the DAP's output: a couple of cables worked on one DAC with adjustable jitter sensitivity, but barely on another with no jitter correction whatsoever. On another Dock-DAC optical connection, some cables worked for certain rates but not higher ones.
- the cables themselves: in the above case, using the AK100, I tried 2-3 plastic cables miniTOS-TOS: longer one no go at all, shorter one only up 16/44, tried a glass TOS-TOS with adapter: no go (I'd advise against adapters for optical, even though coax, USB etc. are usually OK).
 
Finally I bought one particular miniTOS-TOS cable (not even glass), pretty long too, and lo and behold it worked perfectly, even up to a max. 24-96 (which is actually outside of the standard spec)...
 
So my takeaway is that, while I appreciate the benefits like galvanic isolation etc., optical connections are a finicky business; if you find a cable that works, stick with it...

 

[xtr4]

Thanks for the awesomely long and detailed post. I do get the feeling that it's also the tolerances of the connector heads itself, similar to my experience with interconnects (but those are less susceptible unlike what you mentioned with Optical)

 

[jamato8]

Well trying to update my AK100. I still have the original FW on it. I downloaded the FW, unzipped it, put it on the internal memory, not in a folder but nothing. 
 
Never mind. I got it done but what a mess. I don't find that the downloaded Plus 4 worked well and then loaded the file onto my 100, turned it off and then back on and then it started to do the update. Too many daps to remember how they all update but I find a few other much easier. 

 

[Marat Sar]

Okay, you guys are probably getting real fed up with this question, but what the hell is going on with album art on the ak 100? 
 
1) What resolution and file type does it support?
2) Is there no firmware that would fix this?
3) Also, how do I use line out? Since I updated the firmware there is no maximum volume for line-out setting in the options and the unit just sounds double-amped running from headphones to a Cayin c5.