ASTELL&KERN AK300 HITS OZ

Astell & Kern’s AK300 has the same styling and connectivity as the top-line AK380 but economises by containing only one rather than two DACs… though it does offer 64GB of storage space. ‘ Riding the wave of the impeccable sound quality and accessibility of its models AK380 and AK320, Astell & Kern has worked to succeed its current stateof-the-art DAC and scalability with the AK300,’ said George Poutakidis, of BusiSoft AV. ‘ This model combines the unsurpassed sound quality and portability of previous models, while its lower price makes it more accessible to a broader audience.’

The aluminium-bodied Astell & Kern AK300 is expandable, by adding options such as the Astell & Kern ‘Amp’ for additional amplification, the ‘Cradle’ for balanced audio functionality, the ‘CD-Ripper’ to conveniently rip CDs on the go, and the ‘Recorder’ which can turn the AK300 (or any 300 series A&K model) into a hi-res recorder using DSD up to 128 or PCM up to 32/384. By using Astell & Kern’s ‘AK Connect’ app, music can be streamed to the AK300 from any network shared device connected to a WiFi network. ‘ Thanks to this capability the AK300 will provide accessibility and breathtaking sound well beyond the limits of other portable music and media players,’ Poutakidis told Australian Hi-Fi Magazine, ‘ making it perfect for the on-the-go audiophile or busy traveller.’

Another feature of the AK300 is Astell & Kern’s integrated parametric equaliser, Poutakidis explains it operates via DSP, which ‘frees up CPU cycles previously needed for calculating graphic equalisers, allowing a more detailed and accurate calculation presentation of audio.’ Available now, the Astell & Kern AK300 retails for $1,399 (RRP).