Astell & Kern AK100 II initial review

[Puma Cat]

This is a small, initial review of the Astell & Kern AK100 II digital audio player.

I have to admit I had not even heard of Astell & Kern until reading the year-end issue of TAS in mid-December. Read the review of the $2500 AK240, but immediately dismissed it as being way too expensive for consideration.

Recently bought a pair of Sennheiser Momentum Over-Ear cans and as part of that, started researching portable music players that would work with them. It was during this research I stumbled on the very nicely designed A&K web site, and read about the new models, the A&K AK100 II and AK120 II, which were designed to improve further on the orignal 100 and 120, most notably using balanced circuitry.

During that time-frame, I also purchased a LNIB used pair of Senn HD600s, which I still have not heard with anything other than a LH Geek Out 450 to drive them, but was sufficiently impressed (very impressed) with them to go to my local B&M audio store to investigate headphone amplifiers. It was at this visit that I also happened to listen to the original AK 120, the model with dual DACs. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I also listened to the new Pono that, and while it was nice, it could not match the A&K for sound quality; plus it's shape is weird, and it just did not seem like a practical device. As they were an A&K dealer, I asked them if they had the AK100 II version in stock. They actually didn't even know about the version II models, so of course, they didn't have one in stock (they don't keep sh*t in stock, basically, not even basic-level Audioquest cables), but I digress.

So, I ended up ordering one; and it arrived on December 24...right before Christmas! I had it delivered to my sister's place where I was for the holiday, and I had my Senn Momentums with me when it arrived.

The AK 100 is actually the third rev of the entry level model; the second model was the AK100 MkII, which was a rev on the orignal "classic iPod"-looking unit.

I had read about the presentation and build quality of the A&K units, but actually getting the current model impressed me more than I had expected.

It arrives in a black box with the AK logo embossed on the front, packaged as expertly and luxuriously as anything by manufactured by Apple.

So, with that, let's introduce the Astell & Kern AK100 II...

[Puma Cat]

Et voila...





The AK100 II is hewn from a solid piece of aluminum billet, grained and finished to give it a modern, clean look. It has what is referred to as a hairline and diamond-cut finish. It's got the heft and weight of a precision instrument, and reminds me of the build quality of my Fuji cameras, which owners will know are beautifully crafted photographic instruments. It comes with a silver-gray leather case that is so precisely sewn that it fits like the proverbial glove. A&K also provides screen protectors, and had the forethought to actually apply one of them to the player fresh out of the box, so you don't have to fuss with putting one on.

It's an innovative design that is both functional and elegant in it's simplicity. There are only five physical controls, a button the top that acts as an on/off and home button, and a knob for adjusting volume, and three small buttons on the side for pause, forward and reverse. The knob is also machined, with precise knurling and has a groove machined into it to fit an O-ring that provides some additional texture for fine control. The volume knob is a stepped attenuator that adjusts volume in 0.5 dB increments, which are displayed on the large touch screen as a set of concentric yellow rings, the rings moving outward as the volume increases. There is a flash card on the side for adding an additional memory via a micro SD card, and by adding one you can obtain up to 192 Gb of storage (64 onboard plus a 128 GB card in the slot). The bottom of the player has a micro USB port for connecting a USB cord for file transfer and charging.

The AK100 II uses a capactive touch screen about the size of an iPhone 4S for accessing content, creating playlists, and accessing system controls and settings. It has a very intuitive interface that is very similar to the iPod Touch or iPad. The display is very high resolution, it may not be Retina level, but it's close. It comes with WiFi connectivity, and will download and upgrade it's own firmware from your local WiFi network. It will also stream content from your local NAS via WiFi and the MQS protocol, and can function as standalone DAC on PCs.

Loading files is straightforward, at least on Macs. Download the Android file transfer app, connect your A&K to your computer, and drag music files onto the device via the app. The player will usually also download the album art as well, but like iTunes, it's not perfect on finding album art, but in those situations, you can get it to display album art by dragging a 500 X 500 pixel album JPEG into the album folder, and the player will see it and display it. The AK100 II supports playback at 24/192 PCM and playback of DSD via conversion to PCM, probably via the DoP protocol (but I may be wrong). All content is switched and played completely seamlessly.

Overall, the overall impression of this product is that everything is fully thought out, the design, the materials, the functionality, the interface, the packaging. It adds up to a luxury experience of a beautifully crafted and superbly engineered product.

So...how does it sound?

[Puma Cat]

In a word, astonishing.

The A&K 100 II is surprising in both it's transparency and resolution, but also it's accuracy of reproduction. It's very neutral, but that does not mean it's analytical, cold or sterile in any way whatsoever. It has the remarkable kind of neutrality that makes the very best of music reproduction, much like Quad electrostatics or Sennheiser HD600 headphones in creating naturalness and musicality. You hear all the way into and through the music, and you hear what is really there, rather than colorations or biases that the playback device is imposing on the music. Music comes through as clear, clean but full of body and texture, never thin or analytical. What warmth is there is from the music and recording itself than from the player. I heard things on this device with even my Momentums that I had literally not heard before on recordings I had heard many times. The bass is tuneful, articulated and textured, the mids are pure gold, and highs are clean, natural and detailed, with beautiful shimmer, but never strident, sibilant, or etched....just gorgeous. The sound is beautifully balanced, nuanced and layered. Imaging is open, airy and spacious and there is depth and ambience revealed in music that has these attributes accurately recorded. Detail and micro-detail are beautifully revealed and transients are crisp and clean but never cutting or hard. Compared to an iPhone 5 running the Onkyo HF app, the AK100 II rips its arms and legs off and kicks it into the weeds. It's not a little better, it's a LOT better.

I recently started listening to music with this on my Shure SE535 IEMs, and am even more impressed than with the Momentums....even more detail and resolution. I can only imagine what it would sound like with a pair of Jerry Harveys or Westone CIEMS.

The AK100 II also has a balanced output jack for a 2.5mm TRRS plug, and I've heard from owners that it sounds EVEN better with balanced rather than single-ended output, which is pretty amazing to think about.

Overall, I give this player the highest possible marks, it has completely surpassed my expectations for quality, operation, and most importantly, it's amazing music reproduction. I just LOVE listening to music on this thing.

Unreservedly one of the best audio purchases I've ever made.

[Masterlu]

Stephen... I enjoyed your review; very strong endorsement.

[Puma Cat]

Thanks, Ivan!

[Glisse]

Very well written and thorough review! Thank you

I have a 120 II, and agree with many of the comments.

[Yamaki]

Fantastic review, Stephen. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Thank you!

[Antonmb]

Great review Stephen, this sounds like a fantastic unit. I missed this review when I was deciding on the Sony. Now you have me back up in the air again. Guess I'll have to find a way to listen to both.

[bart]

Stephen, thank you for your detailed description!

I was thinking about purchasing a portable headphone amp to connect with my iPod, but this might be the way of traveling even lighter and still having better sound quality.
What is your opinion about Chord Hugo and the likes in comparison with the Astell & Kern devices?

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

Great review Stephen, this sounds like a fantastic unit. I missed this review when I was deciding on the Sony. Now you have me back up in the air again. Guess I'll have to find a way to listen to both.

I would listen to one, if I were you. I like the fact that the A&K supports DSD, which I have an ever-growing library of content.

It is a fantastic unit. And it's expandable up to 192 GB of storage, which I don't believe the Sony unit is.