Sound Analysis.

The sound analysis of SE180 was done using Oriolus Traillii, playing a selection of test tracks, such as Agnes Obel “The curse”, Sandro Cavazza “So much better” (Avicii remix), C-Bool “Never go away”, Ed Sheeran “Shape of you”, Alan Walker “Darkside”, Galantis “Hunter”, Iggy Azalea “Black widow”, Indila “Boite en argent”, Dua Lipa “Love again”, Counting Crows “Big yellow taxi”, David Elias “Vision of her”, and Michael Jackson “Dirty Diana”.  I was told that each module had about 60hrs of playback time when I received it, and I put another 20-30hrs on each, thus plenty of burn in time.

I prefer to describe the DAP sound based on the comparison to other DAPs and pair ups with different IEMs/headphones since the DAP by itself doesn’t have a “sound”.  What we hear is how it sounds through connected IEMs/headphones or the difference in sound relative to source comparison using the same pair of IEMs/headphones.  This is my subjective opinion, describing how I hear it while analyzing the sound difference between SEP1 (SE180ESS) and SEP2 (SE180AKM).  One thing to note, it will heavily depend on what you are testing it with since in some pair ups the difference was more noticeable while in others it was more subtle.

SE180ESS vs SE180AKM – AKM card has a more revealing tonality and more transparency in sound (less coloring) while ESS card sounds a little smoother.  One of the reasons why I hear it that way because to my ears AKM card has more sparkle in treble while ESS card has a slightly stronger bass impact and smoother treble.  From a technical perspective, AKM card sound is tighter, faster, with a blacker background and faster transient of notes, while ESS is more relaxed, laidback, more soulful in comparison to AKM card.  Also, AKM card has a wider and more holographic soundstage while ESS gives sound a more intimate feeling with a slightly narrower soundstage expansion.  ESS module soundstage is still wide, but relative to AKM module I found the latter one to be wider.

You will get two different tuning flavors depending on your pair up preference.  And, each card has a full set of shared headphone/line out ports, normal and high gain setting, and access to digital DAC filters.

2.5mm/4.4mm (BAL) vs 3.5mm (SE)

Just like in my testing with other A&K DAPs, the difference in power output is definitely noticeable when going from SE to BAL where I always have to lower the volume.  Another noticeable difference is BAL output having a wider soundstage and blacker background.  Other than that, the sound signature and tonality are nearly the same within corresponding module.

Comparison.

In every comparison I used Oriolus Traillii, volume matched while listening to the same test tracks between DAPs.  Also, for a more meaningful comparison I tried to match other DAPs with either SE180 ESS or AKM based on similarities in tonality.  Furthermore, I only covering the difference in sound as I hear it, not the design and other functionality.

SE180AKM vs Hiby R8 – didn’t expect it to be that close, but it was nearly impossible to tell them apart in a blind test.  These DAPs have the same tonality, the same soundstage expansion, and the only difference I can pick up is a little more air/sparkle in pair up with R8, but I could be splitting hair here.  In a blind test I got them wrong more than half of the times.  Both use AK4497EQ x2.

SE180ESS vs Cayin N6ii w/E02 – nearly the same tonality, being smoother and more soulful, with the main difference of SE180ESS being a little more neutral and balanced while N6ii w/E02 having a slight lift in mid-bass, giving the bass more impact.  Another variation is N6ii w/E02 having more width in soundstage (similar to SE180AKM), with the sound stretching wider while SE180ESS has a more intimate soundstage expansion where it sounds like you are a few rows in front of the performer.  Both use the same ES9038Pro dac and have replaceable DAC/amp cards.

SE180ESS/AKM vs iBasso DX300 – this one is a little trickier because I feel like DX300 fits somewhere in between of comparison to ESS and AKM cards.  The bass of DX300 has impact similar to ESS card, while its tonality is closer to AKM card due to having more sparkle and more revealing sound presentation.  Also, DX300 soundstage is closer to AKM card than ESS.  Thus, I couldn’t narrow it down if DX300 with its CS DACs fits closer to ESS or AKM cards.  SE180 has replaceable DAC/amp while DX300 has replaceable amp card only.

And last, but not least…

SE180 AKM vs SP2000 SS – SP2k has a better technical performance with more 3D soundstage expansion and better layering of sounds with more air between the layers.  The tonality is very similar to AKM and a little more revealing than ESS.  SP2k treble has more sparkle and air which improves the sound layering in comparison to both AKM/ESS cards.  Also, SE180AKM has a slightly narrower soundstage while the gap in soundstage expansion with SE180ESS is even more noticeable relative to IEMs I tested it with.  SE180AKM uses AK4497 while SP2k uses AK4499.  And it actually makes you wonder that in theory they can make another dual AK4499 dac/amp card and tune it identical to SP2k.

Pair up.

Here is how SE180 pairs up with some IEMs and headphones.  Unfortunately, this is going to be a very short section of the review because I didn’t have as much time to go over different pair ups and spent more time using Traillii for sound analysis in comparisons above.  Thus, these are just brief notes.

I found SE180 to drive full size headphones, regardless if it is high impedance or planar or full-size dynamic driver, with the same authority as SP2000 SS.  And with full size cans the gap in sound performance using SEP2 (AKM card) was less noticeable between SE180 and SP2000 SS.  As a matter of fact, Meze Audio Empyrean (planar) was driven better by SE180AKM then SP2k, with tonality being more transparent and the sound being more detailed.  But Audio-Technica R70x (470ohm) and Beyerdynamic T5p (2^nd gen) were driven and sounded nearly the same between SE180AKM and SP2k.

With IEMs, I spent more time testing with Oriolus Traillii and enjoyed more revealing nature of SEP2 (AKM) module, but with IEMs it will come down to pair up synergy.  Brighter and more revealing IEMs paired up better with a stock SEP1 (ESS) card, while I preferred a pair up of more neutral and warmer tuned IEMs with SEP2 (AKM) card.  But either one worked fine.  Of course, if you want to squeeze out every ounce of technical performance, SP2000 is still at the top, but compared to SE180AKM the gap was not as big.

And for those who are curious, neither SE180ESS nor SE180AKM hiss with sensitive IEMs like Campfire Audio Andromeda or Solaris.

Wired and wireless connections.

Besides being a portable DAP, you can expand SE180 functionality as a transport to drive external DAC/amp, to use external AMP, or to turn the DAP into wired/wireless usb DAC.  And of course, you don’t have to be limited to wired headphones, and can take advantage of Wireless Bluetooth connection.

Wireless/Bluetooth.

I tested SE180 BT Tx with various headphones; SE180 paired up within seconds and had the acknowledgement message on the screen to indicate which codec was used.  I was able to change volume from SE180 and from wireless headphones, as well as control the playback and skip tracks remotely.  Wireless connection worked about 30ft away from SE180 in open area.

SE180 also has Bluetooth Sink Mode to enable BT DAC “Rx” mode to use SE180 as a wireless DAC.  Once turned on, I was able to find and pair up with SE180 from my Galaxy smartphone and set LDAC codec.

USB Audio Out.

Connected to L&P W2 USB DAC/amp without a problem.  In notification bar of SE180 have to be sure External USB is selected to enable USB Audio mode.  Volume was fixed on SE180 at 150, and I can adjust it from W2.  The sound characteristics was typical of W2 DAC/amp while using SE180 as a digital transport.

USB DAC.

Recognized right away by my ThinkPad T480s (Win10Pro).  In notification bar of SE180 have to tap USB Mode to select DAC.  Volume can be adjusted from Laptop or SE180.  No need to install any additional drivers, and the sound was typical of SE180 headphone output.

Line Out.

Connected to Cayin C9, I had to select Line Out from notification bar and was able to control the volume from both external amp and SE180.  If you need to color your sound with an external amplifier or need to drive more demanding headphones, access to LO is convenient.  Plus, I was finally able to use 4.4mm to 4.4mm interconnect cable from SE180 without any adapters.

Conclusion.

You can probably sense from my review that I was impressed with this new release.  Last year A&K stepped it up with SR25, and now did it again with SE180, blurring the lines between their entry, mid-fi, and summit-fi DAPs.  There is no longer a big gap in performance based on the price alone.  And if I were A&K, I would narrow down their product line to SR series as a small, portable, all-day battery, entry/mid-fi level pocket warrior.  Then, combine SE and SP series as their swiss army knife modular flagship, including high resolution upper end modules to bring it closer to SP flagship level of performance.  And keep KANN series for those who need a more powerful output to drive demanding headphones with a desktop level performance in a pocket.

Regarding SE180, A&K took the concept of their SE200 dual dac/output model and expanded it into a modular design while actually lowering the price, though SE180 with stock SEM1 and optional SEM2 modules cost nearly the same as SE200.  The modular design has a clever release mechanism that doesn’t require screws.  Furthermore, both modules come with 3.5mm SE and both 2.5mm and 4.4mm BAL outputs, something A&K fans been wishing and praying for years.  LDAC wireless protocol is here to stay as well.  Plus, you have other improvements not available even in some of their previous flagships, such as access to gain control and DACs digital filters, a more noticeable semi-Parametric EQ adjustment, and a brand-new Navigation bar.  It is an impressive design and a great A&futura series update.  Makes you wonder, if they put so much work into SE180, what are they going to come up with in SP series next?