AK SR35 Review

[Jammin’James]

I purchased the AK SR35 in December of 2024 after reading all reviews. It was purchased from the U.K. and after receiving it, began having streaming drop offs using TIDAL. I spent hours researching the issue along with adjusting the playback bandwidth and finally came to the conclusion that there must be something wrong with the unit. I am living in China and needed to search out a solution and found a reseller in Hong Kong and made an appointment. After arriving and explaining the problem, I contacted the seller in the U.K. who agreed to issue a refund so the retailer in Hong Kong assisted in sending the unit back. We then thought the issue was due to my geographical location and if a unit engineered for China was purchased would alleviate the streaming issue so I placed an order and had to wait 4 weeks for the delivery. It was a hassle getting the unit due to customs but finally after receipt began downloading again using TIDAL. Well what do you think happened next? THE STREAMING ISSUE WITH THE UNIT DESIGNED FOR THE CHINESE MARKET HAD THE SAME PROBLEM! WIFI STREAMING IS ABYSMAL! If you are considering this unit for any WiFi streaming, STAY AWAY! I then went back to Hong Kong and was able to get a complete refund and provided my feedback to their company representative who is going to relay my issues back to their company in Korea. I must advise everyone how disappointed my experience has been. The sound quality when paired with my Focal Bathys headphones was excellent but if you can’t stream high resolution audio or master recordings as advertised then what good is it? Also the operating system is terrible and the TIDAL version supplied is inferior to the iOS version which is updated regularly. Downloads completed had breaks in the audio signal just as in the streaming. I warn any audiophiles considering this unit to use with any streaming service to STAY AWAY or you will be very disappointed! I listened carefully to the
AK SP3000M as a possible upgrade and its streaming had no issues in the store that advised their WiFi signal is not very strong but the unit had no problems. The sound and streaming is superior but I couldn’t justify its price which is almost 3 times as much as the AK SR35. Even the sales people acknowledged that they felt the price is too high. All other alternative brands tested that are supposedly on par with the AK SR35 are far too heavy to bring around and only the AK SP3000M was as lightweight but the price is in my opinion way out of line.