Article: Astell & Kern AK100 Portable High Resolution Music Player Review

[aidan]

I found one review on Amazon -- it is too long and painful to read but has some good info on this.

 

Amazon.com: Astell&Kern AK100 Mastering Quality Sound (MQS) Portable System: MP3 Players & Accessories

[stevebythebay]

Anyone have a chance to compare it with Cowon players, both in terms of sound quality (first and foremost) as well as ease of use?

[monteverdi]

Very interesting product.

There is another DAP coming out: HiFiMAN launches HM-901 'high resolution' audio player, we go ears and hands on

It uses SDXC cards (128 Gb now) instead of microSDXC. Micro and standard SDXC should allow the same capacity but standard SDXC are now available up to 256 Gb.

One thing I am questioning about SDXC cards (especially micro) is thermal problems when transferring large amount of data (should be not a problem when playing)

[BattleScarze]

Chris, seems like size does matter...many comments are mentioning SD cards, microSD with the ability to expand. Given your relationship with the manufacturer your review can and does affect the sales performance...a less than stellar review can hurt a company. This is of course not news to anyone but you are in a unique position to be OUR voice in what WE want...the Audiophile community.

 

I am sure if conducted a poll many would agree the 32GB or even 64GB built in memory is not enough...I personally do not wish to mess around with SD cards...never mind trying to label them.

 

I realize that the Sound is paramount and at $700 I think that expectation is fair, you could always suggest to the manufacturer that more internal memory would likely increase sales? or owner satisfaction:)

 

Just a thought.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Chris, seems like size does matter...many comments are mentioning SD cards, microSD with the ability to expand. Given your relationship with the manufacturer your review can and does affect the sales performance...a less than stellar review can hurt a company. This is of course not news to anyone but you are in a unique position to be OUR voice in what WE want...the Audiophile community.

 

I am sure if conducted a poll many would agree the 32GB or even 64GB built in memory is not enough...I personally do not wish to mess around with SD cards...never mind trying to label them.

 

I realize that the Sound is paramount and at $700 I think that expectation is fair, you could always suggest to the manufacturer that more internal memory would likely increase sales? or owner satisfaction:)

 

Just a thought.

Hi BattleScarze - Thanks for the constructive comments. I definitely hear you and will be in communication with iriver this afternoon.

[ted_b]

Vinnie at Red Wine does an iMod-type mod for it and sells it for $895 (or just mod for $250). This is from Vinnie's site...FYI:

 

"We bypass the 22-ohm resistors in the output stage, and hard-wire (via Cardas copper litz solid core wire) from the output stage FETs directly to the pins of the headphone output jack. Besides bypassing the 22 output resistors, this also provides the shortest, cleanest path from the output stage to the headphone jack - also bypassing the tiny circuit board traces, and the header that connects the main board to the smaller headphone jack board. It's essentially a direct connection from output stage to the headphone jack. Output impedance is now under 1 ohm..."

 

Not trying to be an ad for Vinnie but just a response to some who wonder about its use with other headphones.

[labjr]

I guess there won't an update for DSD since the WM8740 supposedly doesn't support it.

 

To me, the knob looks like a kludge where someone just drilled a hole through the side and stuck it on. Since it's just an encoder, perhaps they could have done it a little nicer with buttons or on the screen.

[The Computer Audiophile]

I guess there won't an update for DSD since the WM8740 supposedly doesn't support it.

 

To me, the knob looks like a kludge where someone just drilled a hole through the side and stuck it on. Since it's just an encoder, perhaps they could have done it a little nicer with buttons or on the screen.

Hi labjr - I actually like the fact the volume is an old school spinning knob. It's just that it feels a bit cheap. When listening to the AK100 with the screen blacked out the volume knob is nice to have in that the screen doesn't illuminate when the volume is used and the rotary knob gives users a better sense of control over the volume adjustments.

[monteverdi]

I would be interested to use AK100 or HM901 not only as a portable player but also as a digital source for a secondary system.

Is the digital (optical) output of the AK100 restricted to 96/24?

Any comments about sound quality?

[wappinghigh]

So the micro SD cards use SDXC, not older SDHC technology? Is that correct?.. Does that mean they potentially can be developed to 2TB like the normal SDXC SD cards? If so. My bad. Sorry about that....

[wappinghigh]

^ as Aidan has pointed out he/she is using 64gb micro SDXC SD cards. And they work. My understanding is SDXC technology has a potential max capacity of 2TB. If this true. That the card slot in this device is SDXC compliant, this is awesome news. It gives the device a potential capacity of 4Tb! That is if/when the cards are ever available. Chris could you please clarify with the manufacturer? I agree. this is important info to clarify for future purchasers of this product. Thanks.

[stevebythebay]

Given the price drop in memory (DRAM, SSD, etc.) it seems that the product design was less than prescient. I've had removable memory in past devices like the Sandisk Clip+. The removal and swap of such cards fails over time. I'm guessing a lot depends on the quality of the memory reader. Still I'm someone who thinks that a more rigid, fixed approach, short of soldering, holds up best. These days it's much nicer not to have to deal with tape cartridges, or even CD's and DVD's when you can just move files to disk, or better still, SSD's.

 

A defense of volume POTS over electronics has always been sound quality. But even that has changed over time, though it's usually more costly to design and build out.

[MarkS]

I look forward to hearing how people think this device compares sonically to the new CypherLabs fully balanced dac combined with some of the more popular amps (e.g., Ray Samuels, ALO). I must concede the obvious; however, which is that one box is clearly desirable for portable use.

[Michael Cullinan]

From an exterior design point of view, it looks clunky. Couldn't it have been thinner and not just cube like.

[monteverdi]

The AX100 or similar DAPs like the HM901 may be not only excellent portable players but also a digital source for a DAC (I am thinking for a secondary system).

Is the AX100 restricted to 96/24 with its optical digital out or is 196/24 possible (no DAC function)?

How is the sound quality using a decent glass cable?

[ZDarkmon]

I just read the manual and the description on the web page. Both say this:

 

 

 

There is no mention of ALAC or AIFF. Have you tried it with those?

 

The current firmware update 1.3 adds Apple lossless. It was released a couple weeks ago.

[improvements]

1. Support AIFF , ALAC , AAC codec (Updated tutorial contents about APPLE codec)

[esimms86]

I by no means am looking to hijack this thread. My point is simply to point out how much memory storage is available in such a device as the current state of the art. The Altmann Tera Player, for example, is another(the only other?) portable hi rez player. As a point of comparison, it accepts SDXC cards and has been shown to work with maximally 128 Gb of memory with SDXC. Charles Altmann is hoping to get it to recognize up to 2 terabytes of SDXC memory but he's not there yet. Given that fact, a max of 160 Gb hi rez file storage for the AK100 looks pretty good. Any other comparisons between the two units is OT, not within my personal experience(having seen/used neither unit) and not the point of this post.

 

Esau

[wappinghigh]

^ Esau. We don't really know the facts yet on the ultimate storage capacity of the Astell & Kern. See my post above. If in fact it uses micro SD cards of the SDXC variety, there is no reason that the potential storage of this device would not theoretically reach just over 4 TB. (2x2TB). So as I said we need clarification which sort of micro SD reader is in the device and if it is capable of supporting SDXC micro SD cards.... We await in hope

[The Computer Audiophile]

^ Esau. We don't really know the facts yet on the ultimate storage capacity of the Astell & Kern. See my post above. If in fact it uses micro SD cards of the SDXC variety, there is no reason that the potential storage of this device would not theoretically reach just over 4 TB. (2x2TB). So as I said we need clarification which sort of micro SD reader is in the device and if it is capable of supporting SDXC micro SD cards.... We await in hope

Wap - You're talking about vapor ware with 2TB memory cards. By the time such cards are released, if ever, we may see the AK7000 and 25 versions between now and then.

[Boris75]

The Financial Times of London considers that the AK100 delivers good sound quality but is overpriced: Music players wired for fuller sound - FT.com

[wappinghigh]

Hi Chris. Regarding 2TB SD cards as "vapor ware", fair point. But I do think the company has to get real a bit and tell everyone precisely what specific memory is compatible. On the device website they said SDHC. "Supports a total memory of 96Gb memory" it says. And your review confirms this at each card maxed out at 32Gb. Yet someone on this thread already has confirmed 64Gb SDXC cards work... So is the device SDXC compatible or not? If it is, then there is no reason the new 128Gb cards won't work. ( I have just seen one of these on Amazon) Am I right? I don't know. But I think the company should test each card as it comes out and inform users as soon as possible. We are only trying to do the company a favour here. If it's SDXC, then capacity should be at a touch over 256Gb already. This then becomes a game changer, because my guess is that's near on the average *total* music library. It's more than mine with 5700 tracks and 30 odd High def albums.. This now makes this device a potential isolated battery operated music library Source (as other folks have pointed out). In other words a micro CAPS! This gives the device a totally new market. It may be all good, but the company needs to test things themselves then spread the potential Love Chris. Just trying to lend them a hand

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Chris. Regarding 2TB SD cards as "vapor ware", fair point. But I do think the company has to get real a bit and tell everyone precisely what specific memory is compatible. On the device website they said SDHC. And your review confirms this at maxed out at 32Gb. Yet someone on this thread already has confirmed 64Gb SDXC cards work... So is the device SDXC compatible or not? If it is, then there is no reason the new 128Gb cards won't work. ( I have just seen one of these on Amazon) Am I right? I don't know. But I think the company should test each card as it comes out and inform users as soon as possible. We are only trying to do the company a favour here. If it's SDXC, then capacity should be at a touch over 256Gb already. My guess is that's near on the average *total* music library. It's more than mine with 5700 tracks and 30 odd High def albums.. This now makes this device a potential isolated battery operated music library Source (as other folks have pointed out). In other words a micro CAPS! This gives the device a totally new market. It may be all good, but the company needs to test things themselves then spread the potential Love Chris. Just trying to lend them a hand

 

Hi Wap - I hear ya an understand where you are coming from. irivier officially supports the 32GB cards, but as you say the 64GB cards do work. Who knows if there are issues with larger cards that prohibit iriver from recommending them. Maybe scanning a library will take way to long or the player could malfunction. I'm just throwing out possible issues that are totally fake to illustrate my point. On the other hand maybe someone is asleep at the wheel at iriver. After communicating with them I don't think this is the case though. The guys are very on top of stuff and have been a very professional company to work with.

 

I know I sound like an irivier fanboy but I love the product. irivier doesn't advertise with CA and I'll be sending the player back next week. There's really nothing in it for me other than to inform the CA readers. Plus, you guys would have my head (virtually) if I talked so well about a product that clearly didn't deserve it :~)

[esimms86]

The Financial Times of London considers that the AK100 delivers good sound quality but is overpriced: Music players wired for fuller sound - FT.com

 

Well, maybe. The AK100 costs 700 USD whereas the Altmann Teraplayer does not have a screen for music selection(it has forward and backward arrows) and sells for 840 euros(about 1129 USD).

 

Esau

[wappinghigh]

^Thanks Chris..actually that Amazon card was a normal SDXC..but at least you get my drift.. 128 micro SDXC's can't be too far away. Any luck finding out if that toslink output handles 24/192?

[The Computer Audiophile]

Any luck finding out if that toslink output handles 24/192?

Just tested it with 24/176.4 and 24/192 and found no issues! Playback is bit perfect and flawless.