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The above is a summary for the RMAA tests of the following devices:
Astell & Kern AK240
iBasso DX90
Sharp MD-DR7
iPod shuffle 512
All tests were performed with the same input hardware, a lowly Edirol FA-66. Volume outputs were matched to within 0,5 dB. These are unloaded scores.
(BTW, I like the AK240 more than I care to admit.)
Three M&D lads, two in plaid, one in navy
Two Fridays ago, Scott, Matt, and Drew of Master & Dynamic sat down to answer a few questions I had regarding their line of headphones including the MH40, which I rather dig. Key to their design/engineering strategy is focus. I digs it.
“M&D: As we move into a society where work spaces open up, we think that creative people will most enjoy our stuff. Our headphones help them tune out sundry conversations in collaborative work spaces around them and tune into their work. We designed our headphones to meet our needs. We are creating something for people like us. We are our demographic. And we think that everyone wants to be creative. And we want our phones to be part of the toolset that enables their creativity.
The other thing is that focus is paramount. If you start with intent, you can focus. By targeting a demographic, we were able to storyboard what we want, and sift out the stuff that we didn’t. We could really hone in on the problems we wanted to solve. And we want to make stuff that really connects to our customers. We want customers to return. It is kind of a Leica approach, where relationship and focusing on the long-term trumps a lot of other stuff.”
The Leica M (model 240) looks nothing like the Astell & Kern AK240, and it appears to lack optical output, not to mention support for DSD audio files. No matter. There must be a connection somewhere. I'm doing my damndest to suss it.
Sharp MD-DR7 Minidisk recorder (bottom); Astell & Kern AK120 RWA
In the course of reviewing Tralucent's 1Plus2 earphone, I have borrowed some pretty cool gear. Astell & Kern's now-outdated AK120 is one of those. It's got a decent quality output, a slick interface; best of all, it is compact. It has also fuelled the seller's market for portable toslink-equipped DACs.
Tralucent's own DAC/amp is a truly excellent option. Its performance is top-flight performance, it's battery life decent, and its form factor quite splendid. But when it hits online and retailer shelves, it will come with a price to match its performance. Across the board, that tends to be the story.
Except for the Minidisk recorder.
The above photo shows my twelve year-old Sharp MD-DR7 minidisk recorder. Beaters can be had for 20$, while ones in better shape go for up to 70$. Sharp turned a corner with the release of its Auvi series. Prior to Auvi (featuring 1-bit processing), Sharp was considered a second-tier option whose lineup was riddled with hardware problems. Auvi units were well built, easy-to-use, and good-sounding.
A testament to that is that my MD-DR7 lives on. And using it as an outboard DAC couldn't be easier.
Just pop in an MD, click record, plug in your headphones, and voila! you've got a DAC for chump change. There are a few benefits: noiseless headphone outputs, small form factors, good battery life, and, believe it or not, a bonafide living room-HiFi sound.
What do I mean by living room-HiFi? More channel bleed, higher levels of distortion, the use of older DAC units; but best of all, MDs are simple to operate. Channel bleed helps to emulate the convivial sound of speakers, where, because the stereo image travels through the same medium, L and R channels simultaneously arrive at both ears. Your brain does the filtering.
Rife with channel bleed and low L/R contrast, old MD recorders return some of the openness and natural imaging your ears are used to hearing, and that headphones stomp with relentless precision.
The problem MD recorders have is that their sync capabilities are limited to 16-bit/48 kHz, meaning you can't enjoy DSD music through an outboard MD DAC. Ho hum.
Today, MD recorders are inexpensive. But prices are ticking back up as they become rare commodities. I picked up a second MD-DR7 from Yahoo! Auctions for about 50$. So far, it's been worth it.
The above prototype Master & Dynamic's MH40 headphones fell into my hands earlier this week. They are comfortable, well made, and absolutely awesome. The leather pads attach magnetically, the band tighteners bear empirical marks, and there's more metal in them than any sub-400$ headphone out there. Sound-wise, they are smooth, with gobs of good bass, and plenty of space.
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Headfonics's MarcusD serves up a well-organised review of Westone's new W50.
“The Westone W50 is perhaps one of the hardest hitting bass signatures I have yet to hear from a universal BA IEM. It is leaps and bounds ahead of the older UM3X, perhaps even a little snappier and more forward than my UM Merlin’s and leaves the UE900 in it’s rear view mirror. Gone are the days when BA IEM’s are avoided when matching with beat heavy genres. Westone nailed this one and the W50 is anything but boring. Yet at the same time the slightly recessed mids and highs suffer with that kind of focus on the bass and it’s inherently dark tonality. It lacks dynamic headroom and top end articulation to really compete with some of the similarly priced heavyweight audiophile customs and IEM’s from AKG and Sennheiser.”
FitEar's MH335DW and Private 435 are excellent earphones, each with a completely different person in mind. Check out Headfonia for my full review of them.
Audeze' creations kick ass. And headfi, is father to much of the DIY headphone movement, kicks even more ass. This time, Audeze' Alex Rosson brings it to BloombergTV.
My gadget is smaller than yours, big boy. It's true. And that is only one of the reasons I love the original iPod shuffle. I swear, there are dozens of audiophile reasons, too; but I ain't listing them here. You can find a few of them at Headfonia:
Back to the Future Friday: the original Apple iPod shuffle (512)
In its 1,5 years at market, the AK100 has been replaced/updated thrice. So, too, has its younger sibling, the AK120 (once called the Ultimate Joy of Music). Now there's the AK240 (which bears the dubious: BE THE ULTIMATE tag). If Astell&Kern had a porn name, it would be Prejack Luvpump. Its signature move would be ejaculating every time the word 'sex' was mentioned. Somehow that sticky icky appeals to Mono and Stereo.
“The AK100 II and AK120 II replace the Wolfson WM8740 DAC with the Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chipset found in the flagship AK240. The AK100 II features a single DAC chipset like its predecessor, while the AK120 steps up to two (2) DACs (Digital to Analog Converters) that output audio signals independently to each channel, making the AK120 II a true dual mono (dual monaural) setup like those found in expensive hi-fi equipment. The dual Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chips found in the AK120 II dedicates each DAC chip to a completely separate left and right channel. In result, the AK120 II provides far superior depth, clarity, and spaciousness to the audio. By providing a much clearer sound with lower distortion, the AK120 II truly replicates how the original music was recorded. ”
Maybe I just don't get it. Or maybe, my hopes for luxury goods are higher, and clearer than iRiver's.
Luxury is a category established by superiority in service or product quality. It is punctuated by follow through, by grace, by snob appeal, and almost always, by lucid, intelligible copy. It is not established by escalating prices. It is not established by products or services whose relevance expires within a season, or whose copy contradicts itself. It is not established by Google translate and primary school editors.
Willy-nilly upgrades are the marks of indecisiveness; and indecisiveness is a mark of the cheap, of the mundane, of the mass market. It is a mark of the sticky-sheets adolescent who still chews his pronouns.
Tsukuba, Japan
