FAQ

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Terms of Warranty
Q
Why is my warranty void?
A
Warranty is void under, but not limit to, the following circumstances:

i. Abuse, misuse or damage of any kind.

ii. Wear and tear or deteriorate of appearance

iii. Damage due to natural forces such as, but not limit to, natural disasters, etc.

iv. Not being able to provide authentication for warranty or authentication materials are damaged.

v. Modification of any kind, including the use of third party cables, transformers, amplifiers, etc.

vi. Customer failed to provide an original proof of purchase. Photocopies, snapshots, photos, etc. are not considered to be original.
Q
What does the warranty terms cover?
A
i. We provide warranty for products purchased directly from us, or from our authorized dealer only. With a complete set of authentication and after proven that the product has been used under normal circumstance, repair service will be provided with no extra cost from the customer within one year of purchase.

ii. We provide warranty for products purchased directly from us, or from our authorized dealer only. After one year upon purchase, with a complete set of authentication and after proven that the product has been used under normal circumstance, repair service may be provided under extra cost for inspection and parts. If the parts cannot be provided by the vendor, ECT is not liable to provide further repairmen. The inspection fee will NOT be refunded.

iii. Warranty covers the repairs for functional parts and software used under normal circumstances only. Misuse, modification and abuse voids the warranty. Cosmetics issues, non-factory data/media are NOT under the coverage of this warranty. Any loss of data/media upon repair is NOT under the liability of ECT.

iv. ECT bears no liability for any loss or damage in transit.

v. Warranty will be voided IMMEDIATELY if any modification is done to the warranty label or if the warranty label is unclear or damaged.

vi. The physical condition of the warranty label is the liability of the customer. ECT will not reissue warranty label under any circumstances.
Q
How long is the period of warranty?
A
i. Warranty last for ONE YEAR upon date of purchase except for accessories (including vacuum tubes, cables, etc), misuse and abuse voids warranty *Please see appendix for further details

ii. The warranty for vacuum tubes limits to 30 days upon purchase, misuse and abuse voids warranty;

iii. Cable warranty limits to 6 months upon purchase, misuse and abuse voids warranty;

iv. If the product life has come to an end, warranty stops immediately upon the official end-of-life (EOL) date provided from the vendor. ECT is not liable to provide warranty if ECT did not disclose or announce the EOL information.

v. Repair of any products during warranty will not extend the original warranty term.
Q
What do I need for Warranty?
A
A complete set of authentication for warranty MUST be provided for warranty to be valid:
i. Warranty Card
ii. Original Packaging
iii. ECT Authentication Label(Valid for HKSAR and Macau ONLY)
* Label renewed on 1st April, 2015
iv. A warranty sticker form/label with completed information
v. Serial Number
vi. Original Proof of Purchase at our authorized dealer (Photocopies are NOT accepted)
vii. AK Club Member Card (Valid for AK Club members who extended warranty for their DAPs)
About Dowloads
Q
Where can I download the drivers/firmware/manual of my product?
A
The Drivers/Firmware/Manual, if any, will be available on the download page of the corresponding product. Please visit the product page of your product to download the latest drivers/firmware/manual.
ALO
Q
Continental Dual Mono: What do I need to install for high resolution audio playback?
A
Windows:

-DSD Driver Installation

Install driver package DSD-1.06-(QT).zip

Download all files, run the "setup.exe" please do not execute the installer located inside the .ZIp file

Driver supports Windows XP/7/8/8.1

-Foobar 2000

Install foobar2000 (http://www.foobar2000.org/)

Install Foo_input_sacd (http://sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/files/ foo_input_sacd/)

Download foo_out_asio (http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_out_asio)

Execute foobar2000

(1) File -> Preference -> Components -> click “Install...”

(2) Choose “foo_out_asio”, “foo_input_sacd”

(3) Click “Apply”

(4) File -> Preferences -> Playback -> Output -> ASIO -> double click “foo_dsd_asio”

#1: ASIO Driver: choose “ASIO for USB Device”

#2: DSD Playback Method: choose “ASIO Native”

(5) File -> Preference -> Tools -> SACD -> Output Mode: choose “DSD”

(6) Click “Apply”

(7) File -> Preferences -> Playback -> Output -> Device: choose “ASIO: foo_dsd_asio”

(8) Click “Apply”

(9) Play DSD music to enjoy the sound

-JRiver

Install JRiver (http://www.jriver.com/download.html)

Execute JRiver

(1) Tools-> Options -> Audio -> Audio Device -> choose “ASIO for USB Device [ASIO]”

(2) Tools-> Options -> Audio -> Settings -> Bitstreaming -> choose “YES (DSD)”

(3) Click “OK”

(4) Play DSD music to enjoy the sound

Mac:

Driver Installation

Download and Open CmediaDoPInstall.dmg

Select file CmediaDoPInstall to begin installation wizard.

Connect Continental Dual Mono to your Mac and enjoy DSD audio.
Audirvana Plus
Launch Audirvana
Go to Preferences, Audio System, and under Preferred Audio Device select "Continental Dual Mono"
Then under Active Audio Device be sure to select DSD over PCM standard 1.0
Q
Can I use the DAC with my iPhone and iPad?
A
Yes, all you need is a Apple lightning to USB camera adapter cable. Connect the Apple camera cable to your iPhone or iPad and the other end to the supplied USB cable, plus the USB cable into your CDM and make sure the selector input switch is toggled in the direction of the USB input on the back of your CDM.
Q
What happens when I need to replace my battery?
A
The CDM battery is easily replaced and we sell the batteries at our customer service center, no soldering is needed.
*Within the one year warranty period, we provide free battery changing service. Customers still have to pay for the battery, but the service is free of charge!
Q
When should I recharge my battery?
A
The battery used in the CDM is a high quality 3 cell Panasonic NCR18650B. It does not have a memory effect so we recommend you top off the battery charge often rather than letting it run down to 0.
Q
I hear noise when my cell phone is near my CDM, why?
A
Cell phones generate large amounts of electromagnetic energy that can cause poping, clicking and other noise in the amplifier. The CDM is a world class state of the art hifi device that uses vacuum tubes. We designed the CDM as a no compromise audiophile solution with the number one priority of the amp being audio performance. We could have have implemented measures to have better isolation against cell and TDMA noise but the cost of this is compromise of the audio performance. Therefor we recommend that if you use a cell phone for your source and want to do critical listening please put your cell phone in airport mode. Or if you have cell phones located near the CDM please move them away from the amp.
Q
My CDM gets very hot, is this normal?
A
The CDM uses two 6111 subminiature vacuum tubes that will generate a lot of heat when running normally. These tubes are the main source of heat you feel from the amp. In addition some IC on the PCB will also generate heat. The design of the CDM uses the enclosure as a heat sink that transfers this heat safely away from the PCB and dissipates this heat into the enclosure. It is normal for the enclosure to be 90 - 130 F. All of the components on the CDM are rated for these temperatures. Please also note that when using the DAC the CDM will generate the most amount of heat. We recommend that you do not obstruct the enclosure and allow for sufficient ventilation, do not stack or cover the CDM, or obstruct the vent holes when using the DAC functions.
Astell & Kern
Q
Caution of installing 3rd part apps
A
The source of apps listed is unknown and not provided by Astell&Kern. Please be aware that if any app is installed, the device may be damaged and personal data compromised. If you install an app from an unknown source, despite the warning, Astell&Kern and ECT is not responsible for any damages to the device and data resulting from the app's installation, and downloading and installing such apps may limit the scope of after-sales services provided by Astell&Kern.

Installation of any app is under the discretion of the user.
Q
Which Astell&Kern DAP can allow streaming via OpenAPK services?
A
The below Astell&Kern DAP allow streaming via OpenAPK services:

A&Ultima SP1000, SP1000M, A&futura SE100 (Normal and M.Chat special version), A&norma SR15
Q
Which streaming platforms can be used on AK players?
A
The below streaming platforums can be installed in AK DAP models that supports OpenAPK:

Amazon music / Spotify / Tidal / Sound Cloud / Pandora / Melon / Bugs / Music Mate / AWA / QQ Music / KK BOX

16/10/2018 update - adding the below:
Sirius MX / Tune-In / myTuner / KT genie / bandcamp / Joox / Moov
Q
How to connect my AK player to my OSX devices?
A
1. Disconnect AK from PC
2. Download the filetransfer driver at Android File Transfer site.
http://www.android.com/filetransfer
3. Install the file downloaded according to the attached guide in pdf.
4. Use AK after connection with PC.
Q
What is MQS?
A
24-bit, 192kHz high-resolution audio is considered studio quality and also referred to as: Mastering Quality Sound (MQS).

Astell&Kern; natively supports MQS (24-bit / 44 - 192kHz) which is the closest to the original sound that the original recording artist intended. Mastering Quality Sound (MQS) is an acronym of collective lossless & high-resolution audio source formats that typically comes encoded with 24bit, 44 to 192kHz of bit/sampling rates. Since MQS delivers about 6.5 times more detail than a conventional CD (16bit/44.1kHz), listeners can enjoy more a realistic music experience.