Cowon X7 vs AK120

[StuH]

SGirl said:

Thanks Flip, I'll check it out. Just as soon as I've got the notion of the AK240 out of my head.

I had the same choice to make. HUGO won just because it sounds that bit better and is a far more flexible product that will have good longevity, AK240 wins out on convenience. TBH although I haven't A/B'd directly, given that the HA-2 sounds better than my AK120 (at a fraction of the cost) and is only a smidgen behind the HUGO for mobile use, I suspect the HA-2 will probably be a match for the AK240.

http://www.custom-cable.co.uk/blog/chord-hugo-vers...

[SGirl]

Brilliant, thanks Stu - that's exactly what I need. I must admit, I'm leaning away from the Hugo a bit now because I did the whole two-device thing ages ago with the Fiio and the iPod, and while the Fiio made a huge difference to the sound I found myself being lazy about it and not bothering to plug it in half the time. So I suspect the Hugo might end up going the same way.

I'm currently sitting on my hands to prevent myself buying the AK240 on impulse. Very, very tempted though!

[Flip Martian]

Buy it! Buuuuuy ittttt!

Seriously, I could never ever justify spending 4 figures on something which will sit in my pocket while I walk to work/wander round tesco/sit out in the park at lunchtime. My ears would never ever know the difference. But the 240 looks like a great design - the body and the UI, decent size screen, loads of storage. How reliable they are, not a clue - didn't delve enough into it. If it had been in 3 figures I would be more torn, I suspect. Even very high 3 figures.

I suspect the DX90, Rockbox, a couple of spare batteries and a few memory cards will ultimately do me - but I shall be waiting a month or so before taking the plunge. In the meantime, the X9 is doing fine.

[SGirl]

Flip Martian said:

Buy it! Buuuuuy ittttt!

I did actually, not long after my last post in this thread. Well, I had to really - I was wasting my entire day reading reviews, and I knew I'd just not be able to resist the temptation to carry on doing that until I made a decision and got a device ordered. I've got stacks of work on my desk, so I thought "loads of work = money in bank and not much time to go out and spend it = may as well buy the device I want". You only live once, and all that. Much like the Cowon X7!

It'll be here tomorrow, I'll report back when I've had a play. It might be rubbish, you never know.

Flip Martian said:

Seriously, I could never ever justify spending 4 figures on something which will sit in my pocket while I walk to work/wander round tesco/sit out in the park at lunchtime. My ears would never ever know the difference. But the 240 looks like a great design - the body and the UI, decent size screen, loads of storage. How reliable they are, not a clue - didn't delve enough into it. If it had been in 3 figures I would be more torn, I suspect. Even very high 3 figures.

I suspect the DX90, Rockbox, a couple of spare batteries and a few memory cards will ultimately do me - but I shall be waiting a month or so before taking the plunge. In the meantime, the X9 is doing fine.

I spend a lot of time listening to music in some form or another, so that was why I wanted a decent device to play it on. I do love the sound quality of the X7, but it drives me mad at times. I can never work out how to leave an album and go back to the main display, and whenever I switch it on I always think "what if it's dead, what if it's dead...". So I'm expecting better from the AK240! I was a bit worried about wandering round with something that expensive in my pocket, but then I realised I don't really do that - and if I do decide to, I can take the X7 or even my iPod with me. I like being able to carry my music all round the house, though - and so the AK240 will suit me down to the ground. Apparently it can withstand being dropped, too - which is handy.

I did a fair bit of reading up before going for it, though, and most of the reviews are very positive (except for the claimed battery life, which seems to be nearer 6 hours than 14...). But since it'll rarely leave the house, that's not going to be a major problem. I've already been rummaging through my collection of headphones to try to work out which ones will be best. Fun fun fun!

Suppose I won't get any work done once it arrives tomorrow, either. Oh well.

Let us know how you get on with Rockbox when you get that far, I'm interested to know more!

[Finlandia]

SGirl said:

I did actually

So, headphones then, the JH Layla is a very good custom IEM, and the Abyss AB-1266 is a very good headphone

[Flip Martian]

SGirl said:

I was a bit worried about wandering round with something that expensive in my pocket, but then I realised I don't really do that - and if I do decide to, I can take the X7 or even my iPod with me.

Nope - 'cos the X7 will have been left a while, drained and bricked

Seriously, enjoy it! Do let us know how good it is when you've had a play - it does look very very nice. I'll come back once I've done the deed on my slightly less flash alternative

[SGirl]

Finlandia said:

So, headphones then, the JH Layla is a very good custom IEM, and the Abyss AB-1266 is a very good headphone

Shh!!! My Stax SR-207s haven't arrived yet, I'd better try those out for a while before I buy any more. I already have plans to upgrade the energiser... My Audio-Technics and Grados will just have to do for now.

Flip Martian said:

Nope - 'cos the X7 will have been left a while, drained and bricked

Seriously, enjoy it! Do let us know how good it is when you've had a play - it does look very very nice. I'll come back once I've done the deed on my slightly less flash alternative

No it won't - I've set it to power off when I switch it off, not to just sit in standby. I've mostly been pleasantly surprised by the fact it's not dead whenever I go to use it! Although it has been dead twice, but revived. Hallelujah!

So have you definitely made your decision on what to buy then, Flip? The DX-90?

[Flip Martian]

SGirl said:

No it won't - I've set it to power off when I switch it off, not to just sit in standby. I've mostly been pleasantly surprised by the fact it's not dead whenever I go to use it! Although it has been dead twice, but revived. Hallelujah!

So have you definitely made your decision on what to buy then, Flip? The DX-90?

I found the battery would slip away regardless - at least it did when I broke an ankle 2.5 years ago and didn't use it for about 2 months. I revived it that time though.

On the basis that whatever gremlins with iBasso players seem to be addressed by firmware updates - and the 90 seems better regarded overall than the 50 - in terms of using it, not just the sound quality, having a faster processor etc, then my thinking is going in that direction. However, my MX5 just decided to freeze a brake caliper today and is going into the garage tomorrow, so I won't have any spare cash this month now.

But yes, unless something else comes up like magic, that's what I'm looking at at the moment.

[StuH]

Congrats on the purchase SGirl

My current fave cans are my IE800 IEM's - spine tinglingly good! And the amazingly priced for what they are new Oppo PM-3

[Flip Martian]

SGirl is currently sat by the front door, waiting for the post to arrive...

[SGirl]

StuH said:

Congrats on the purchase SGirl

My current fave cans are my IE800 IEM's - spine tinglingly good! And the amazingly priced for what they are new Oppo PM-3

Thanks Stu! I do like decent headphones - I've got a few sets now, my current favourites are my ATH-A900Xs. But that will no doubt change next week, it usually does. I like my Grado SR375s as well, but they're not very comfortable to wear. No doubt my next thread in here will be "I'm thinking of buying some new headphones, what do you reckon...?".

Flip Martian said:

SGirl is currently sat by the front door, waiting for the post to arrive...

Nope. SGirl is currently sat in front of her PC, loading the thing with music.

Or trying to, anyway. It's been a bugger so far, my fault though. I connected it to a USB2 port at the front of my PC (hard to get to the back ports), but after about 10 minutes it'd think it'd disconnected. So I went and installed the USB hub I've been planning to put back on my PC after the old one failed (luckily all the cabling was still in place and the manufacturer sent me out an identical new unit!), connected the AK240 to a USB3 port on that - and touch wood, all seems to be going according to plan at the moment.

The firmware update was ridiculously straightforward - and wonder of wonders, when you touch a button on the device it actually responds first time, with exactly the button press you were wanting! Quite the novelty after the X7. I don't really know what to do with the X7 now, despite what I said about taking it out the other day I very much doubt I'll want to go back to it. Hm.

So mostly good so far. Haven't actually listened to it yet, though. It might be rubbish.

[Flip Martian]

SGirl said:

Nope. SGirl is currently sat in front of her PC, loading the thing with music.

• not jealous* (much)

SGirl said:

Haven't actually listened to it yet, though. It might be rubbish.

Well. That was an anti-climax! My breath has been baited all afternoon. Well, not really. I'm sure it will sound superb. Sounds a bit weird about the USB connection though.

[SGirl]

Flip Martian said:

• not jealous* (much)

Well, there might be an X7 going soon, if you're interested...

Flip Martian said:

Well. That was an anti-climax! My breath has been baited all afternoon. Well, not really. I'm sure it will sound superb. Sounds a bit weird about the USB connection though.

The USB connection is no surprise, really - I should've seen it coming. USB2 round the front of the PC - asking for trouble. Oddly enough though, it did the same thing when connected to the USB3 port as well, but much later on in the process. I've just got round it by copying stuff 40GB at a time, rather than all at once. No biggie - it's not like I'm going to reload stuff every five minutes. Once this big copy is done, I won't change it much. Until I get round to ripping more of my CDs.

All will be revealed shortly! Got about 20 minutes left on the copy, then I'll be able to give the playback a go. I'm trying not to get excited, but it's not working. At least I got some work done today after the postie arrived - before he turned up it was impossible to concentrate. I'll report back!

[Flip Martian]

I'll pass on the X7. Very generous offer, though it is.

[SGirl]

Flip Martian said:

I'll pass on the X7. Very generous offer, though it is.

Ah, you don't know what you're missing. Oh. Actually you do. Which is why you want to miss it.

Right, first impressions of the AK240. Well, what can I say? It's superb.

The UI is great. Clear, concise, accurate. When you use the knob on the side to adjust the volume, a display appears across the entire screen which you can also click - this removes the volume display so that you can continue fiddling with the device. At one point I accidentally clicked in the wrong place on the volume display and nearly took my own head off - it's that loud.

Firmware updates are nice and easy, just hook up to a wireless network and it does it all for you.

Storage space is excellent. I've got all my FLACs on there and some MP3s of things I don't have CDs for (and a few duplicates because I'm not very organised), and there's still room for more even before I've put an SD card in.

And, saving the best for last - the sound quality. Stunning. Incredibly clear and detailed. Although this is a bit of a downside as well. At one point I noticed I had 2 copies of one album on there, so I clicked on the first one, let it play and was very disappointed by the woolly reproduction and muddy sound. And then I looked - it was a 320kb MP3 file. So I went to the other copy and found a 16-bit FLAC file there, and the difference was unbelievable. Which is good in a way, but not so good in that some of the stuff I like isn't available in a 16-bit format. And also because I now have to go back through my entire CD collection and see if I've just been lazy and not bothered to rip some of them to FLAC.

I also tried the device with some B&W earbuds, just out of curiosity. It was horrible - very tinny. I gave up after about 10 seconds. The Audio-technica headphones are good, but no doubt there's room for improvement. I haven't tried the thing with my Grados or Parrots or any of the others yet, but that's mostly because I'm up to my eyeballs in work and haven't got time until the weekend. The Audio-technicas and Grados are probably the best that I have at the moment, but if anyone has any recommendations on headphones that will suit the AK240 better, then I'm all ears. But not literally, a standard two-ear configuration will do for me.

[Finlandia]

Glad you like

As for headphones, what are you looking for sound wise, bright, natural or dark, and how much are you willing to cough up? I already mentioned the custom IEM JHA Layla, a bargain at $2500

[SGirl]

Finlandia said:

Glad you like

As for headphones, what are you looking for sound wise, bright, natural or dark, and how much are you willing to cough up? I already mentioned the custom IEM JHA Layla, a bargain at $2500

Thanks Finlandia! I tend to prefer a slightly brighter sound, not too bassy. I also prefer over-ear headphones, which sadly rules out the IEM kit. I have a preference for closed-back because I don't like inconveniencing other people when I'm listening to music, but I appreciate that open-back is probably better sonically. Swings and roundabouts.

How much to spend? Dunno. As little as possible while getting optimum performance, I suppose. So how long is a piece of string?

Seriously - I don't know. If you come up with a couple of names, I can see whether any of our local hifi shops have got anything in stock and I can trundle down and do some demoing.

[StuH]

SGirl said:

Ah, you don't know what you're missing. Oh. Actually you do. Which is why you want to miss it.

Right, first impressions of the AK240. Well, what can I say? It's superb.

The UI is great. Clear, concise, accurate. When you use the knob on the side to adjust the volume, a display appears across the entire screen which you can also click - this removes the volume display so that you can continue fiddling with the device. At one point I accidentally clicked in the wrong place on the volume display and nearly took my own head off - it's that loud.

Firmware updates are nice and easy, just hook up to a wireless network and it does it all for you.

Storage space is excellent. I've got all my FLACs on there and some MP3s of things I don't have CDs for (and a few duplicates because I'm not very organised), and there's still room for more even before I've put an SD card in.

And, saving the best for last - the sound quality. Stunning. Incredibly clear and detailed. Although this is a bit of a downside as well. At one point I noticed I had 2 copies of one album on there, so I clicked on the first one, let it play and was very disappointed by the woolly reproduction and muddy sound. And then I looked - it was a 320kb MP3 file. So I went to the other copy and found a 16-bit FLAC file there, and the difference was unbelievable. Which is good in a way, but not so good in that some of the stuff I like isn't available in a 16-bit format. And also because I now have to go back through my entire CD collection and see if I've just been lazy and not bothered to rip some of them to FLAC.

I also tried the device with some B&W earbuds, just out of curiosity. It was horrible - very tinny. I gave up after about 10 seconds. The Audio-technica headphones are good, but no doubt there's room for improvement. I haven't tried the thing with my Grados or Parrots or any of the others yet, but that's mostly because I'm up to my eyeballs in work and haven't got time until the weekend. The Audio-technicas and Grados are probably the best that I have at the moment, but if anyone has any recommendations on headphones that will suit the AK240 better, then I'm all ears. But not literally, a standard two-ear configuration will do for me.

Arrange a day to try a few pairs out here - http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk - just make sure you have a fully loaded credit card

The phones that work best with my AK are my Senn HD-800 and Audeze LCD-X.

If you want to spend less and given you want bright side of neutral you might like the B&O H6 - I always assumed B&O was style over substance but I came away very impressed when I demo'd - I just prefer a slightly richer sound signature. Oppo PM-3 are amazing value for money and can be had in open and closed back form - http://www.headfonia.com/oppo-pm-3-opus/

[Flip Martian]

Glad you like it that much. Isn't it a pity you have to spend so much to get a device that manages all bases admirably...!

How does it compare against the X7? Does the X7 sound better on high bit rate MP3s than the 240 (re your comment about poor mp3 reproduction)? I couldn't honestly tell the difference on my old X7 between 320 mp3a and FLACs (this may well partly be down to my age-damaged hearing) - both sounded excellent to me and far better than anything else I'd used as a portable before.

Edited by Flip Martian on Saturday 18th April 08:06

[Finlandia]

I'm not an expert on full size cans, but Hifiman have excellent sounding headphones and Sennheiser HD600 and HD650, not to mention the HD800 are universally praised, Shure SRH1540 has good press too, and as a left field choice, the Soundmagic HP100 is very good.

Most of the full sized are open back design though, but there are quite a few closed back ones too.

Oh, and don't forget to check this out: http://www.hdtracks.co.uk/