[vadimkolchev]

Hi all,

Just hopped in to ask - do you have wifi interference (audible) in very sensitive IEMs (such as Solaris, Andromeda)?
Not that it disappoints me, but I clearly hear it while tracks are loading in background when streaming.

Is this a know thing or can be solved somehow?

Best regards,
Vadim

 

[paruvachian]

Hi all,

Just hopped in to ask - do you have wifi interference (audible) in very sensitive IEMs (such as Solaris, Andromeda)?
Not that it disappoints me, but I clearly hear it while tracks are loading in background when streaming.

Is this a know thing or can be solved somehow?

Best regards,
Vadim

Hello Vadim, not an SE200 but for the past few days I use an SP1000 with SE846 with several wifi signals around but I don't hear any"extra" hiss because of the wifi. Between tracks I can hear a very faint hiss whether in building with wifi or not.

 

[JasonNYC]

Happy holidays from your friends at Astell&Kern North America! To celebrate with you we will be running awesome promotions you won't want to miss! Available on our website or at a local authorized dealer near you.

Now through 12/27, select models will be available for special pricing or take advantage of our bundle packages! Promo pricing is only available to customers in the US and Canada. For holiday deals outside of North America, please contact your local authorized Astell&Kern dealer.

For a full list of deals, visit the Astell&Kern North America website - https://us.astellnkern.com/blogs/news/a-k-2021-holiday-promotions

**Promo pricing is only available to customers in the US and Canada. For holiday deals outside of North America, please contact your local authorized Astell&Kern dealer.**

 

[maksikanets]

Hi all,

Just hopped in to ask - do you have wifi interference (audible) in very sensitive IEMs (such as Solaris, Andromeda)?
Not that it disappoints me, but I clearly hear it while tracks are loading in background when streaming.

Is this a know thing or can be solved somehow?

Best regards,
Vadim

I'm using se200 with ando and don't hear any noise from WiFi, maybe just very faint hiss from amp but 200 still have one of lowest SNR
Try different steaming services and wifi form your friend/store, wherever you can connect to another network with good signal

 

[Valsi203]

Please, advice me.
Can you recommend me Noble Audio KAISER ENCORE with ASTELL KERN SE 200?
If so, also with a balanced cable?
THX

 

[GB148]

I recently purchased an SE200 (based a lot on the comments on this thread; thanks to all who posted their thoughts) and have been listening for a few weeks through original Solaris iems. I've been using identical Alo Super Litz cables terminated in 2.5 and 3.5, as well as a ddHiFi adapter on the 2.5 trrs to more quickly switch between se and balanced without replacing the cable on the iems. What I have found is that the single end output on the AKM side has much greater detail and texture, and a wider soundstage, than the balanced output. The balanced output has thicker tones, especially noticeable on vocals and guitars, and a more forward midrange, but that "thickness" in tone seems to hide the nuance and detail that se output provides. I haven't spent as much time listening to the ESS side.

I think it's worth noting that, according to A&K's press material, the balanced outputs on the SE200 run through completely different amp sections than the se outputs. To my ears, the nature of the dacs come through on both sides, but the balanced outputs are tuned differently than the se outputs on both sides. I wanted to ask Jason if he can comment on what the engineers were trying to achieve with the balanced amp they chose vs the se amp on each side, and if they were going for the same sound signature on se and balanced or not?

I don't usually post here, or anywhere, but wanted to comment that it is really a helpful site and I've been reading threads here for years. I know some members here also published their SE200 reviews online. This material was somewhat helpful, but also very misleading. Some people say right off the bat they never tried the balanced vs se or adjusting the settings for the filters - which seems like reviewing a Porsche without trying the different driving modes or ever shifting out of first gear. I read one review saying the timbre of the se200 was horrible. I play guitar and am kind of a tone junky as far as having small boutique tube amps as well as an original 70's Fender deluxe reverb, etc. I felt the AKM side sounded flat occasionally, and not on key, especially as songs would fade out. It didn't seem possible a digital player could be playing back too slow, and I realized that the default filter on the AKM side is called something like "super slow decay", and figured that might be what I was hearing. I changed it to slow decay, and the flat timber went away. Similarly, when I switched to the ESS side, I noticed weird sounds were preceding the attacks on the vocals. I remembered that the graphs in the AK ads show that some DAC filters produce small peaks ahead of notes, and changing the default setting on the ESS side got rid of that too. FWIW, I believe the filters are set opposite in their default configuration, with the ESS side set to a fast decay and a the AKM side set to super slow. It seems most prefer the AKM side, but setting the ESS side to slow decay got rid of a lot of things I did not like about it.

I'd love to hear others' thoughts on balanced vs SE, and if Jason can tell us if the amps on the balanced side were designed to mimic the se sound, or to give a more powerful midrange and sound overall, though with reduced texture and detail?

 

[SkaKidCaleb]

Hello all,

Hopefully this is a suitable place to ask this question. So here's my situation. I currently have an AK SR25mkii that I recently purchased and there are a lot of things I like about it and some I don't. For example, there seems to be a known wifi issue that causes frequent disconnects with many users which I am experiencing firsthand. Whenever I try to use AK Connect, I'm only able to stream the music for about 25-30 minutes before the wifi disconnects causing the app to freeze and I have to manually restart AK connect on the player. Another gripe is its subpar bluetooth performance. Even when using SBC, whenever I go to my gym, bluetooth is unusable with so many stutters and disconnects even when the player is right next to my bluetooth headphones. Also, I'm finding using streaming services such as Amazon Music and Spotify to be very clunky, slow, and buggy. Sometimes I try to click on a song in Amazon music, and it just loads forever and never brings up the song. And Spotify also has its fair share of issues. However, I love the form factor, battery life, and sound of the player, but this ultimately leads me to my main decision.


With the AK SE200 on sale everywhere right now for $1,400, I'm considering returning my SR25 mkii and upgrading to an SE200. Has anyone here owned both the SR25 or mkii along with the SE200 to let me know if you have experienced any bluetooth or wifi issues that seem present in the SR25? Both units use 2.4 wifi and Bluetooth 4.2, so they seem the same on paper, but I'm curious if the implementation in the SE200 improves on these aspects. I'm also curious if the sound quality is that much of a step up. The fact that the SE200 has two different DACs isn't the biggest selling point to me, but I think it is cool to have the option. Ultimately, I'm looking for an endgame DAP.

Some other things I like about the SR25mkii that the SE200 doesn't have though is the ability to use Replay Gain as well as have the SR25mkii to act as a bluetooth receiver. However, I do have a Fiio BTR5 that I could easily use instead of the SR25mkii though since I find if I'm using bluetooth, I feel I'm not going to be in it for the absolute maximum fidelity.

I think if the SE200 has much better wifi and bluetooth stability, I'm leaning towards upgrading to that unit. I'd like to hear other people's opinions if this seems like a worthwhile step up. The SE200 has an Octa Core processor as opposed to the SR25's Quad. From other's experience, is the performance of streaming services on the SE200 closer to that of a modern smartphone in terms of speed and stability? Also, I've heard talk that you can't do line out of the SE200 without some weird adapter that plugs into both the balanced and unbalanced ports of the player? I tried researching this, but can't really find anyone who mentions it.

Sorry for the long post, but any guidance or input would be much appreciated!

Thanks!!

 

[Mightygrey]

Hey guys, I've updated my SE200 with the latest firmware but I'm not seeing any option in Roon to select it as an endpoint despite it being on the same wifi network as my Roon core. Has anyone had any luck using the SE200 with Roon yet?

 

[rlw6534]

Hey guys, I've updated my SE200 with the latest firmware but I'm not seeing any option in Roon to select it as an endpoint despite it being on the same wifi network as my Roon core. Has anyone had any luck using the SE200 with Roon yet?

Did you enable it in Roon, under settings => audio?

 

[Mightygrey]

Did you enable it in Roon, under settings => audio?

It's not visible as a device, unfortunately.

 

[JasonNYC]

It's not visible as a device, unfortunately.

Did you turn on Roon Ready in the settings menu on the SE200?

 

[Mightygrey]

Did you turn on Roon Ready in the settings menu on the SE200?

That did the trick!

 

[JasonNYC]

That did the trick!

Just be aware, because Roon Ready devices broadcast their availability at regular intervals, the SE200 will not auto power off even if you have auto off set in the settings since the player remains active on the network. If you turn off Roon Ready, the player will auto shut off like normal.

 

[Mightygrey]

Did you turn on Roon Ready in the settings menu on the SE200?

Many thanks mate.

 

[samurais]

Can someone share an EQ which you are satisfied with? I am using Fiio FH7 btw. Thanks..