NEW! Astell&Kern AK240 Overview

[@classroomdj]

Thank you for the overview, Mike. Good information and humor are your specialties.

[@HiFiInsider]

thank you for taking the time to watch my videos. :)

[@TheGamingAudiophile]

Two words. Say it with me... Over... Priced. Only an idiot of epic proportions would buy this. A sucker is born every minute.

[@Alby911]

It makes no difference to those with extremely deep pockets.

[@TheGamingAudiophile]

bongmistt Yea, and extremely empty heads.

[@happyliferay1544]

TheGamingAudiophile you cant have extremely deep pockets with empty heads.

[@Rodgigo]

happyliferay Yes u can

[@happyliferay1544]

Rodrigo Segura its like becoming a millionaire with extremely low IQ; maybe with a billion dollar lottery? Otherwise its not possible for someone to be rich and at the same time stupid

[@DJPixcell]

Really wish I could afford one... it really does look beautiful in my opinion. The price is just beyond crazy though. I know it's not simply about price its a brand and image thing, but just... a little nuts.

[@SonicSatori]

GREAT vid as always HiFiGuy!!!! I was psyched to get a listen at CES - can't wait to spend more time with it - though admittedly I wish it were a bit cheaper ;) - but I can see why it costs so much. It's tough for people to realize how much went into the 240. But the sound was stunning next to my AK120 & 100 - and the styling reminds me of great Eames stuff.

[@winrx]

Extremely happy with my iPhone 6 with Shure 215 earbuds with Fiios replacement cable (purchased from eBay) - am curious about the new Sony high res player that should be coming out soon, however......

[@xXHardc0rExFaNXx1]

I'm only interested in the amount of gigs it has and I think that this would not be enough for me even with the micro SD card.

[@tonyfromconn4401]

Does the CF make is sound moar better?

[@-_-EpYoN-_-]

Mike whats the point on the button on the left hand side when yoi can the touch screen to change and play music... ??? They shud just remove them entirely

[@Opethfeldt]

Hardware buttons are more reliable and not as easy to be accidentally pressed. In addition, it makes it possible to change tracks while the device is in your pocket.

[@MrIceSweet]

What is ur fav ear phone with this ak 240? Where did u get those flac songs? Thanks.

[@matthewspaltro7701]

How many hours of music does one card store?

[@Remko1024]

I'd LOVE to see this go head to head against the upcoming 400$ Fiio X5.. Which does all this..

[@The_Wndr]

What a ridiculous and downright outrageous price point. $2500 for that?! Jesus Christ in a bottle, that's ludicrous. Anyway, good review, Mike! BTW, are you still planing on reviewing the Brainwavz HM5 (Fischer FA-003)?

[@UnstoppableBird]

how do these AK240 compare to Sony ZX1? and how does ZX1 compare to AK120?

[@HiFiInsider]

i am trying to get a ZX1 for review.

[@jamessiggers1211]

How about a comparison with the Lotoo PAW Gold? The Lotoo is £700 cheaper in the UK and looks better made.

[@hyraxist]

Interesting device would like to know how they coded their DAC chip. Thats the key to players such as these may be the 2500 is worth it may be it isn't but FLAC players will be a common thing annoyingly it takes Apple to implement it on their devices and promote it for the majority of people to catch on.

[@isaacbateman7004]

can you do a review of the Sony NWZ-ZX1 High-Resolution Walkman please :)

[@HeindelDavid]

Does it play AIFF formatted material?

[@MMunhuu]

yes

[@Steampunk915]

I wonder what version of android is it running and if someone can put cyanogenmod into it...

[@digitalblasphemy1100]

hmmmm i dont see 2500 bucks there. the foobar tests have made me extremely skeptical of the high end devices and equipment.

[@Stevencroasdale]

Beautiful Design :)

[@glennirish]

Think i will stay with my C4

[@nerdglider]

I like the 120 more but I will stick with my ipod for now cause I picked it up for $100 on ebay and it has 120GBs thats less than a dollar a gig!

[@aumkar2]

Man I want a CNC , perhaps a Mini CNC , that'll do :)

[@sheek1982]

Of course he's an Apple guy. He's already used to paying for over priced devices :P

[@MrViral20]

I've been meaning to get an Mp3 player that would replace my aging zune or ipod since MP3 players are on the verge of dying....but this, this is just rediculous the price point is beyond insanity

[@obelisk1616]

+MrViral20 You shouldnt consider buying this in the first place to play shitty mp3s lmfao

[@DJ_PROMO_PR]

If only I had the money...but for good sound quality on a budget try iPhone/iPod Touch + Audioforge Labs Equalizer app...or...Android + Viper4Android audio hack.

[@napalmhardcore]

Just looked at the price and nearly shat myself! That is ridiculous!

[@ryanzd522]

wait for the AK360

[@nixonliew]

and the price would be 3699 USD

[@shanagins007]

ITS SO PRICEY, BUT I WANT IT!

[@tylerchapman4301]

So this in a nut shell this is a review of a 2500 dollar iPod ther just saved u 12 minutes

[@seanchoi1613]

And this product's not for people like you with ears who cannot mark the difference of FLAC audio and mp3 audio.

[@tonyfromconn4401]

It's a $35 DAC chip, x2.

[@TheDorapapi321]

more like a 6$ WM8740 DAC X 2

[@borjok536]

otyer players are using the same dac chip for a lower price but how about the capcitors and the overall implememtation of this dac. was it maximized? 😀

[@ManicMindTrick]

This is not exactly the future of portable hifi audio. This will look as outdated as a walkman in 10-15 years. My bet is miniaturized DAC/amps followed by purely wireless solutions.

[@Headphoneaddict]

Hi! I think that the future of portable audio is in next generations of smartphones. They will support DSD and eventually we'll have data plans and services that allows us to stream DSD on demand over 4G. I also think that headphone manufacturers will continue creating more efficient cans with low impedance to allow smartphones and the like to work well enough. The biggest obstacle to portable audio quality is the need for closed designs to keep out ambient noise, and that's a tricky one to break.

[@ManicMindTrick]

HeadphoneAddictCOM Hi my Norwegian comrade. DSD is most likely a fad but I agree the future is in the type of mobile devices we already use and most likely some kind of wireless stream. Then again I'm surprised mp3 have stayed for such a long time when there are better alternatives that gives you smaller files with better audio so what do I know about DSD.. There is no way to walk around the ambient noise factor. Maybe Bose QC 10000 will manage to block out 99% of ambient noise with their NC in 20 years and the rest of the industry will follow.

[@TheENDEVOUR]

i can't imagine anyone under 50 yrs of age wanting one, there for old folk who sit in chairs all day doing sod all. and besides its an UNGLY MISHAPED mother of a thing Go for the Fiio X5 far cooler and cheaper and the sound is just as good

[@borjok536]

TheENDEVOUR the design is the best on the music playe imho. music player designs are not like smartphones design. the distinguishing factor ia very important, the classy look and gorgeous design of this is the best in its class plus the high end dac it came with

[@CmonGiveMeName]

That piece of equipment is kinda over the top.. There's just no way the music would sound good enough for that unbelievable price of 2499$... Of course the quality would be outstanding but still it can't be that good that you should pay that much money for it..

[@borjok536]

Hrrju u cant achieve the sound if ur only using it with an apple earbuds. hehehe

[@brelgno1]

for that price i would want a 10 year guarantee with it!

[@StefanConstantinDumitrache]

And when you think about FiiO X1 costing about 25 times less than this...

[@devinmccallum3816]

Holy shit that's expensive! but I can see why.

[@kittyjewel]

120=1200 240=2400

[@PawlOwl]

wow, its amazing how much a&k can milk the audiophile crowd. just slap a "audiophile" tag on the product and the idiots will flock no matter how over priced it is..

[@Mickice]

I'd rather the music sammich in my pocket :P

[@strongyang]

Just get a k1 will do. This is overprice stuff

[@hambankole]

dude i can buy a car with that kind of money

[@megajago990]

Looks cool but hell no 2400 bruh

[@martyz3170]

the look and style of this player is like nothing out there, it's a opinion and no need to bash anyone for having some style. If you piss poor just move on, why say anything if not being constructive?

[@martyz3170]

+Adam Zupancic I bought the ak240 and use run it with Weston W40s, hands down the best music experience I've experienced yet.

[@NOIZ-]

The design of the AK240 is terrible! It's awkward looking and bulky. Very disappointing. The AK120 / AK100 are much nicer. What happened at AK? Did they fire their design team and hire people from the 80s?

[@stijndries7832]

The new 100 II & 120 II are awesome-looking though.

[@HiFiInsider]

Steve Dries new AK120II is my fav.

[@getnoskillSCHWFF]

Overpriced piece of plastic

[@synigmas]

It's made from duralumin.

[@getnoskillSCHWFF]

Creating Paradise Overpriced collection of atoms.

[@synigmas]

It is indeed overpriced.

[@michael190576]

I do love Hi-Quality stuff too for sure, but more than $1000 for a DAP are just a hyper-marketing bullshit. Such absolute overpriced device are designed for naive people who throw the money away without to use the brain...

[@abs2fast2furios]

i bet most others like me can't get this cause its just an overpriced iPod according our parents

[@mariojohnson8317]

You yanks always get it cheaper than the UK, we have to pay £2,200

[@AliOmranxx]

$2500 for a music player? Who is gonna pay a $2500 for an ugly music player !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@borjok536]

Ali omran theres a lot and that excludes u for sure.. 😁

[@alejandroalartiz]

Fiio and Sony, do the same, for way less money. Choose this one, is a dumb choice.

[@LeonYuL]

u can kill someone by throwing this at him...I dont want any player this "portable"...

[@Thorge01]

Hell, who needs a 2500$ epic overpriced "Walkman" in 2014??? Come on, we ain`t live in the 80`s. Sorry, but i have my Sony Z2 and it can do much more than "just play music/vids" Sorry, but this device is just something for rich Freaks ;o)

[@averagez1]

Not worth it

[@alphaandliarize]

$2499? Bye.