Entry-Level High-Res Player from Astell & Kern

by The Audio Beat | June 28, 2016

stell & Kern's AK70 ($599) is a new entry-level high-resolution portable digital player. It uses a single Cirrus Logic CS4398 chipset that supports high-resolution playback up to 24 bits/192kHz PCM and double-rate, 5.6MHz DSD, which is converted to PCM.

The AK70 has 64GB internal flash storage and a single microSD card slot for up to 200GB of additional capacity. It's WiFi enabled and supports OTA firmware updates and streaming music from other devices on the same network. For further control, it can utilize the AK Connect app for iOS and Android devices.

As a hi-fi source, the AK70 can be connected to a Mac or PC to bypass the internal sound card and output hi-res audio. With CD-Ripper, users can rip music directly to the player without the need for a computer.