Review Astell & Kern SA700 + A&K Diana

[RobSys]

Hi all...!

A couple of months ago I bought new the A&K SA700 DAP at a ridiculously cheap price (AUD750 instead of AUD1800 retail) and have been using it extensively since. I mainly use it as my in-car entertainment source but also with a pair of Westone W30 earphones. Later I supplemented it with a pair of A&K Diana (also "on special" at less than 50%).

The SA700 is a really solid machine - easily the heaviest unit I've ever had! The sound is really excellent - particularly with the balanced Diana ear pieces. There is a slight dip in the frequency response in the upper mid / lower high region giving a warmish sound with tight and controlled bass. That's probably the Diana's rather than the DAP.

I do have a couple of issues with the SA700. Firstly, creating playlists on the DAP is a difficult process given the size of the screen and one cannot create playlists outside of the player. I have created .m3u playlists on my PC, edited them to precisely match the format in the SA700, transferred them to the player and they do not work.

The second issue I have is using the DAP in my car. A USB power source from car is incredibly noisy and cannot be used. Connecting the player to an external battery does work but there's still some noise when changing tracks. Charging the battery whilst playing music is also a serious no no.... I've not had this issue with either a Fiio X3 or a Hiby R5. Given that the SA700 has a "car mode" it is rather surprising that A&K haven't considered that the might be used in a car...

Another issue is that the player does not have a deep sleep mode. It's either ON or OFF. If I leave it on (when plugged into an external battery) it'll quickly drain... Switch it off and like my A&K Jr player, it takes quite a while to boot up...

The A&K Diana earphones are back with A&K for replacement. One of the earpieces kept working loose and fell off the cable...

Given these few issues, I'm still delighted with the player and the earphones... The sound combination suits my tastes precisely.

Rob

 

[micahrowlett]

Hi all...!

A couple of months ago I bought new the A&K SA700 DAP at a ridiculously cheap price (AUD750 instead of AUD1800 retail) and have been using it extensively since. I mainly use it as my in-car entertainment source but also with a pair of Westone W30 earphones. Later I supplemented it with a pair of A&K Diana (also "on special" at less than 50%).

The SA700 is a really solid machine - easily the heaviest unit I've ever had! The sound is really excellent - particularly with the balanced Diana ear pieces. There is a slight dip in the frequency response in the upper mid / lower high region giving a warmish sound with tight and controlled bass. That's probably the Diana's rather than the DAP.

I do have a couple of issues with the SA700. Firstly, creating playlists on the DAP is a difficult process given the size of the screen and one cannot create playlists outside of the player. I have created .m3u playlists on my PC, edited them to precisely match the format in the SA700, transferred them to the player and they do not work.

The second issue I have is using the DAP in my car. A USB power source from car is incredibly noisy and cannot be used. Connecting the player to an external battery does work but there's still some noise when changing tracks. Charging the battery whilst playing music is also a serious no no.... I've not had this issue with either a Fiio X3 or a Hiby R5. Given that the SA700 has a "car mode" it is rather surprising that A&K haven't considered that the might be used in a car...

Another issue is that the player does not have a deep sleep mode. It's either ON or OFF. If I leave it on (when plugged into an external battery) it'll quickly drain... Switch it off and like my A&K Jr player, it takes quite a while to boot up...

The A&K Diana earphones are back with A&K for replacement. One of the earpieces kept working loose rooftop snipers and fell off the cable...

Given these few issues, I'm still delighted with the player and the earphones... The sound combination suits my tastes precisely.

Rob

It sounds like you’ve had some issues with the player, but overall you’re still happy with it. I never face these issues.

 

[RobSys]

There's nothing actually wrong with the player. A&K emphasise sound quality over the overall user interface which is, I suppose, the way it should be. Although I do wish that they would pay a bit more attention to usability.

The only real issue I have with the player (as mentioned) is when it's used in a car...

 

[RobSys]

The A&K Diana earphones are back with A&K for replacement. One of the earpieces kept working loose and fell off the cable...

I've finally received a replacement set of the A&K Diana ear monitors today... That's taken almost 4 months from the first time I contacted the suppliers...

Not good enough really...

But at least I've got a new set. I'll be monitoring the cable connections - carefully(!).

Rob

 

[landco]

I do have a couple of issues with the SA700.

Humbly and with all due respect, however, I want to remind you that the year is 2023. Today there is no point in buying a separate “hi-fi player”. For example, I use a regular smartphone and Sony wireless headphones, which provide very good, rich sound.



You spent $1300 dollars and bought problems with your own money, you will have to carry this “brick” with you. I advise you to return the product back to the store.

 

[nopiano]

Humbly and with all due respect, however, I want to remind you that the year is 2023. Today there is no point in buying a separate “hi-fi player”. For example, I use a regular smartphone and Sony wireless headphones, which provide very good, rich sound.



You spent $1300 dollars and bought problems with your own money, you will have to carry this “brick” with you. I advise you to return the product back to the store.

That may be your opinion, and I likewise am not an enthusiast of ‘music on the move’, but you seem to have misunderstood the enormous market for these devices. Even in an age when smartphones offer good sound, these specific items are still popular and appear to offer sound quality and storage benefits.

Best portable MP3 players 2023: budget to hi-res music players

When your phone's sound (and storage) simply won't do

www.whathifi.com

 

[landco]

That may be your opinion, and I likewise am not an enthusiast of ‘music on the move’, but you seem to have misunderstood the enormous market for these devices. Even in an age when smartphones offer good sound, these specific items are still popular and appear to offer sound quality and storage benefits.

The manufacturer does not pay enough attention to the quality of these devices, because the market is small, audiophiles are a specific audience who are ready to forgive the poor quality of the device if they promise “magic sound”

 

[RobSys]

The manufacturer does not pay enough attention to the quality of these devices, because the market is small, audiophiles are a specific audience who are ready to forgive the poor quality of the device if they promise “magic sound”

There is a huge difference between a mobile phone sound and hi fi playback using a quality DAP and good earphones when on the move. A good DAP (like the SA700 has its made from stainless shell and very high quality components with a full Android interface.
A mobile phone just produces some noise - unless coupled to a high quality DAC/Amp in which case the phone is just a digital storage device, And becomes an unwieldy, messy system for on the move use...
That said, there's no way a DAP can replace a proper (quality) hi fi system!

 

[Al ears]

Humbly and with all due respect, however, I want to remind you that the year is 2023. Today there is no point in buying a separate “hi-fi player”. For example, I use a regular smartphone and Sony wireless headphones, which provide very good, rich sound.



You spent $1300 dollars and bought problems with your own money, you will have to carry this “brick” with you. I advise you to return the product back to the store.

I would be very careful in your comments if you would like them to remain undeleted.
Your opinion is not what is called for here.
If you have nothing beneficial to add the the OP then don't post.
Thank you.

 

[Al ears]

There is a huge difference between a mobile phone sound and hi fi playback using a quality DAP and good earphones when on the move. A good DAP (like the SA700 has its made from stainless shell and very high quality components with a full Android interface.
A mobile phone just produces some noise - unless coupled to a high quality DAC/Amp in which case the phone is just a digital storage device, And becomes an unwieldy, messy system for on the move use...
That said, there's no way a DAP can replace a proper (quality) hi fi system!

Why cannot a DAP have a place within a decent hifi system. Its simply a digital transport or indeed can be the main DAC.... Mine certainly is.
Note also a DAP into some decent powered speakers can create quite a nice system in the right environment.

 

[landco]

There is a huge difference between a mobile phone sound and hi fi playback using a quality DAP and good earphones when on the move. A good DAP (like the SA700 has its made from stainless shell and very high quality components with a full Android interface.
A mobile phone just produces some noise - unless coupled to a high quality DAC/Amp in which case the phone is just a digital storage device, And becomes an unwieldy, messy system for on the move use...
That said, there's no way a DAP can replace a proper (quality) hi fi system!

A player as a separate device only makes sense if you connect high-impedance headphones, because the amplifier is more powerful than in a phone. But why create problems for yourself? Just choose low impedance headphones, or better yet, wireless ones.

As for the DAC, you won’t be able to tell the difference between a phone and a player in a blind test.

 

[12th Monkey]

As for the DAC, you won’t be able to tell the difference between a phone and a player in a blind test.

Whilst you might be right (and I do mean might), I'd have thought that feedback elsewhere would be suggesting that stating your opinions as fact doesn't go down well. But back on topic!

 

[Al ears]

Whilst you might be right (and I do mean might), I'd have thought that feedback elsewhere would be suggesting that stating your opinions as fact doesn't go down well. But back on topic!

To put it bluntly the guy is talking self opinionated garbage. I wonder where this comes from and am watching future posts with interest.

 

[landco]

To put it bluntly the guy is talking self opinionated garbage. I wonder where this comes from and am watching future posts with interest.

Really?) I did a blind test, so I know what I'm talking about.

 

[Al ears]

Really?) I did a blind test, so I know what I'm talking about.

You might have , and that's my point.
You cannot do a blind Test on anything yourself and even if done correctly it really isn't going to mean anything to anyone else...

 

[12th Monkey]

Really?) I did a blind test, so I know what I'm talking about.

All that would mean is that you couldn't tell the difference between two specific things - it's going well beyond that to say that no-one else can tell the difference between any two other things.

 

[RobSys]

Why cannot a DAP have a place within a decent hifi system. Its simply a digital transport or indeed can be the main DAC.... Mine certainly is.
Note also a DAP into some decent powered speakers can create quite a nice system in the right environment.

I totally agree that a DAP can indeed be an excellent source for a hi fi system - feeding into an amp or powered speakers. In my case though, I have a reasonable home hi fi system with its own media sources/player and only use the DAP/ear phones when on the move.