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Acoustic Research AR-M20 Digital Audio Player
01 / 08
Acoustic Research AR-M20 Digital Audio Player
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1K requests
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173 Sold
Product Description
The Acoustic Research AR-M20 combines the user-friendly interface of a smartphone with the features audiophiles want—all in a super light, slim package. This wireless-enabled music player can run the apps of popular streaming services, like Tidal and Spotify, and it also includes Bluetooth for connecting to external devices Read More
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keyboard_arrow_downA community member
Oct 17, 2018
"Flagship" with no balanced outputs? Oh hell yeah what a deal.
A community member
Oct 17, 2018
FlognardeIf your equipment isn't good enough or your hearing is too poor to tell the difference, then lucky you! Unfortunately I can absolutely hear the difference thanks to my current setup.
muscleangelM.J
10
Mar 20, 2019
Hey guys I am user in Korea. Sorry that Im not good at English
I looked comments on this drop and want to tell about this machine.
Many of you wonders
which is better between this or dp x1 or fiio x5iii using same dac.
Conclusion is
USING SAME DAC CHIP IS NOT SAME SOUND
for example ak380 and fiio x7 use the same dac I remeber. Is this sounds same?
Never
ak380 is better.
dac chip is just one facter of deciding sound quality
Heres simple example
if i Use same meet with Gorden ramsay
Can I cook better than him?
No
Ramsay cooks more better than me.
Like this
using same dac
no same sound quality
expensive is better
my personal opinion
ar m20= arm 200 >>=dp x1>>>>>>fiio x5iii
Evshrug
3772
Community
Apr 2, 2018
This player may be worth a second look and some background research, on merits of high sound quality, good pocket size, and slightly longer 15 hours battery runtime. Acoustic research may not be well-known in the headphone community (apparently the brand has been around for like 60 years), but a friend of mine who writes professional reviews has the older Acoustic Research M2. Apparently, it has unusually high sound quality, and beats the sound from his other DAPs (including FiiO X5 mk III) and smartphones including the LG series, which it should since it’s a purpose-driven music device.
I have been looking into the AR M200, their latest, least expensive player, because it has a balanced Pentaconn output and I have a cable for that. I got to hold one and borrow it for the night from a friend at CanJam NYC, but it slipped my tired mind and I forgot to give it a listen. For having a balanced output and an amp operating in Class A for most headphone loads, the player was impressively small and pocket friendly. My FiiO X7 isn’t so pocket friendly, it’s very thick and square and you need big loose pockets, not the kind of thing you can ignore when worn.
I’ve only found AR players from a few vendors (M200 only direct from the Manufacturer), and $200 off is a nice deal.
One concern/question I would have about this “bigger brother,” is it running Android to allow for downloading Spotify/Tidal offline music? Some players have proprietary OSes and can only stream, while others like my FiiO have weird partition schemes and can only hold like 20 songs, any attempt to download songs from Spotify to the MicroSD card fails.
Edit Oct 19, 2018: Apparently, they solved this issue by having 2-way Bluetooth. So, the AR players use a Purpose-made proprietary OS, and can be a source to transmit Bluetooth audio out to Bluetooth headphones... but also can connect to a Smartphone with Bluetooth, allowing the user to stream almost any audio from a phone to the high-quality guts of the AR DAP and then play through wired headphones. In this scenario, your phone becomes like a wireless remote control while you can use any headphone with the wire routed where it won’t get in the way (to your backpack, under a shirt, to a pocket or bag that isn’t easy to access). Sony just added this feature to many of their latest DAPs in a firmware update, Shanling players have had this feature for years, and other examples of this feature many exist.
I have been looking into the AR M200, their latest, least expensive player, because it has a balanced Pentaconn output and I have a cable for that. I got to hold one and borrow it for the night from a friend at CanJam NYC, but it slipped my tired mind and I forgot to give it a listen. For having a balanced output and an amp operating in Class A for most headphone loads, the player was impressively small and pocket friendly. My FiiO X7 isn’t so pocket friendly, it’s very thick and square and you need big loose pockets, not the kind of thing you can ignore when worn.
I’ve only found AR players from a few vendors (M200 only direct from the Manufacturer), and $200 off is a nice deal.
One concern/question I would have about this “bigger brother,” is it running Android to allow for downloading Spotify/Tidal offline music? Some players have proprietary OSes and can only stream, while others like my FiiO have weird partition schemes and can only hold like 20 songs, any attempt to download songs from Spotify to the MicroSD card fails.
Edit Oct 19, 2018: Apparently, they solved this issue by having 2-way Bluetooth. So, the AR players use a Purpose-made proprietary OS, and can be a source to transmit Bluetooth audio out to Bluetooth headphones... but also can connect to a Smartphone with Bluetooth, allowing the user to stream almost any audio from a phone to the high-quality guts of the AR DAP and then play through wired headphones. In this scenario, your phone becomes like a wireless remote control while you can use any headphone with the wire routed where it won’t get in the way (to your backpack, under a shirt, to a pocket or bag that isn’t easy to access). Sony just added this feature to many of their latest DAPs in a firmware update, Shanling players have had this feature for years, and other examples of this feature many exist.
ElectronicVices
2937
Mar 6, 2019
That's awesome, I used to love flipping through A/V catalogs at a teen, always liked the design of AR speakers. By the time I picked up my first set of towers AR was all but gone.
Tienbasse
132
Apr 2, 2018
Unusual proposal from a small brand.
Feature-wise, it doesn't differ much from an audiophile smartphone like a LG V10/V20 (1 memory slot, 32Gb, Android-based, lacking a few navigation buttons that would distinguish it from a phone), but if you go beyond that, it is solid player with a decent autonomy.
The price is relatively good as well (current price is higher indeed), but rather high if you consider you can get a LG V20 easily for half the price.
Brosefstalin42
260
Apr 2, 2018
TienbasseI did exactly that, got the V20 which is 64gb + at least 256gb SD, plus an easily replaceable/upgradeable battery so it won't die off until the actual screen dies or the processor fries, can do GPS navigation, and I'm putting in a project fi data only SIM so it can be a backup to my Pixel 2 XL.
I guess this is mainly if you want the BurrBrown and possibly native DSD without using the Android software decoding apps for that, right?
I guess this is mainly if you want the BurrBrown and possibly native DSD without using the Android software decoding apps for that, right?
siliway
51
Mar 7, 2019
Do anymore know those steaming apps (Spotify) can be installed and played smoothly?? I most worried this one come with the dated OS, the latest apps are not supported at all.
MaverickAH
747
Mar 7, 2019
siliwayFrom what I've read, apps like Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, etc., must be installed through the Amazon app store. Using the Google Play store is not an option.
As far as the OS goes, it's not a full Android system. AR has their own proprietary firmware for handling the music portion.
I'm seriously considering joining this drop. I really don't need a third party app as I have thousands of CD's that I can upload directly. I'm not big on streaming. I find it to be both resource & battery hungry.
RDS0908
2
Apr 5, 2019
I tried downloading Tidal through the Amazon App Store but says the app is not compatible with the device. Any help please!
Wilburnio
3
May 12, 2019
RDS0908Does anyone know if Tidal runs through the android system or is it part of the standalone ar player. I thought it might due to it being in the drop down menu of the player!
brainwave
704
Apr 9, 2019
Questions for current owners
1) What version of Bluetooth?
2) Is it possible to install HiBy app for BT remote control?
3) Will 256GB microSDXC card work with it? anybody tried?
Thanks in advance to all who responds.
(Edited)
Wilburnio
3
Apr 7, 2019
Well, I'm two days in with this player. My first impressions are that it's a great sounding player. One caveat it has with me is that it seems to be buggy in that it will crash on occasion for no apparent reason. I'm hoping everything settles in soon. I would be curious to get others impressions of this player in this latest drop!
Wilburnio
3
Apr 9, 2019
Well, in terms of richness and full deep-end, it destroyed my iPhone 7+ with fast click a/b testing on both headphones and speakers. But, that's probably a no-brainer. I'll post more details as I get used it. Side note: It didn't come with plastic covering the screen....did I get an open box item? Grrr....
derzulya
126
Apr 9, 2019
I also use LG G7 and got myself IFI Nano BL. Main reason was the MQA rendering capability, since I mostly listen via Tidal. It works pretty well and sounds really good (both IE Match and standard), however the MQA is only available via USB Audio Player Pro, which means you can't go offline. That's the only downside. Other than that, the combination works perfect for me.
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