iPod Astell & Kern Music Player

[kaldezar]

A good dap reveals a lot in your music collection.
Maybe take a look at ibasso dx90, it's a vfm player

You could also check out the FiiO X5, horrible interface but great sound ( i use it with Shure SE535's with custom ear molds) and the ability to store up to 256GB on SDXC cards.

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Buy a portable Dac + amp for even better sound quality at a lower price than what AK has to offer.

Your still stuck with the relatively low quality source of the iPod Classics analog output, as far as i know there isn't an easy way to just get a digital out from the Classic. Even if you could the internal digital circuitry is way behind the AK and the FiiO.

 

[efib]

You could also check out the FiiO X5, horrible interface but great sound ( i use it with Shure SE535's with custom ear molds) and the ability to store up to 256GB on SDXC cards.

I do have fiio x5 with um Merlins and really love the combo but dx90 is more airy and the synergy is better with most of the iems
Fiio x5 is very powerful but if I was going to buy a new dap, at that price range, then dx90 would have been my choice, but I really like x5.
Hope that makes sense

 

[Scepticalscribe]

And I have just read this evening that Astell & Kern play to launch an even newer 'flagship' product to supersede the stratospherically priced (yet amazing) AK 240.

This will be marketed as the Astell & Kern (AK) 380……

As it is not scheduled to be released until June, as of yet, there are no reviews to drool over…..

 

[Bananas Ananas]

Only if those A&K products wouldn't be so expensive!

 

[GrindedDown]

They are definitely a pretty penny. I think if you listen to music a lot (I listen several hours a day usually), it's something worth investing in. I think the AK100ii so far is easily the best value and bang for your buck. And honestly, I have absolutely zero regrets or "wow that was a lot of money" thoughts. I absolutely love the thing.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Only if those A&K products wouldn't be so expensive!

Well, yes. True.

However, I think that the trick - partly (as one - this one - has done with Apple products in the past) - may be to buy the superseded model when a newer model comes out, as it is possible that a significant discount may be obtained.

The penalty, of course, is that you are not buying the 'latest and greatest' but that is a price I will happily pay on occasion…..

They are definitely a pretty penny. I think if you listen to music a lot (I listen several hours a day usually), it's something worth investing in. I think the AK100ii so far is easily the best value and bang for your buck. And honestly, I have absolutely zero regrets or "wow that was a lot of money" thoughts. I absolutely love the thing.

Needless to say, I agree with you.

For now, my internal debate now is whether I will buy the (original model) AK 120, or the (original model) AK 120 Titan.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I'm glad that you found about Astell and Kern and have had a chance to demo one of their products.

I personally love the simplicity of them. I like that when I use it, there are no pictures to look at or internet to surf of text messages or anything like that.

Music has always been a big part of my life, and I am constantly listening to it. My musical tastes are wide yet refined at this point. However, in regards to equipment, I hadn't tried very many options. I had used the Beats Studios and the 2.0 version for a long time and I loved both. They were stylish, comfortable, and still fun to listen to to my ears. I have had reasonable 2.1 systems for my computer and have a reasonal 5.1 home theater setup. All good quality and in lower end price brackets. However, I was really curious about the world of Hifi (been a lurker at head-fi for a little while). Boy did that turn out to be an expensive decision....

Earlier this year, I had some disposable income and I took two really huge plunges. First was buying a pair of Shure SE846 IEMs. Holy crap...........I'll never listen to music the same way ever again. These things are severely unreal. I can't explain away the cost to most people, but despite being expensive, I believe they were worth every penny to me (I also got them 20% off new from authorized dealer).

That led me to trying to find a really good quality source for my tunes. I comtemplated a portable dac/amp to pair with my iphone, but I realized I also wanted the native ability to play lossless files (I know, I know they have apps for it). A dedicated player really intrigued me. That's when I discovered A&K and their line.

I looked at all of their models including the older generation devices and I picked out the newer generation AK100ii because I'm cheap (as opposed to the bajillion dollar 240). I looks and behaves like a portable dac, can interface as a USB dac for desktop (PC and MAC), the volume knob is very cool much like what is present on most amps, and it is a dedicated player capable of high storage and lossless playback. It is also a beautifully designed object and even nicer to hold in person (was worried about the bulk of it based on pics, but it is very nice in the hand.) They are very expensive and there are certainly much less expensive DAP (digital audio player) options on the market that offer some similar features, but this thing is the package deal and the design of it is superb, which is a remarkably important feature for me.

After just one listen I was blown away. No noise and hissing, incredible clarity, detail and resolving power, and an overall perfect match for my SE846's. The battery life is excellent and charges pretty damn fast for what it is. These can be had for a good deal off the MSRP on amazon quite frequently.

I go to the gym a lot and I have to admit that I love tossing my phone in my bag, throwing in my headphones, turning this thing on and up (this thing can drive some pretty hard to drive cans at high volumes), and knowing that I can just focus without tons of phone related distractions coming my way.



Have you had a chance to peruse the options at all and see which player is the one you may want to get (if at all)?

If you say AK240ii......I'll shoot you....mostly out of jealousy....

Also, what kind of headphones are you using?

P.S. - If you like sticker shock, google the AK240 blue note edition..........hope you don't have blood pressure issues.....

Yeah I have no doubt that if you decide to get something like the 120, you'll be fully satisfied. The players are really something else and they sound just absolutely fantastic.

The big selling points for me of the AK100ii vs the old versions were the more generous screen size and impedance matching for my headphones. That is certainly something to be aware of for sure. My 846s are very easy to drive and having a player that had a low output impedance was a big plus to.

I completely understand though about how you feel about in ear headphones. I suppose they are sort of an acquired taste. For me I have adjusted to having something in my ears pretty well and while I very much enjoy the comfort of a full sized pair of headphones, portability and small size became increasingly important to me. That and, again, smaller and easy to drive IEMs mean I can carry around less equipment with me for the most part.

Given that you are a fellow aficionado of Astell&Kern products, this is just to let you know that I ordered, have fully paid for, and expect to receive the Astell & Kern 'ultima' sp1000 in the next few days.