Astell&Kern ACRO CA1000

> £1,999 > astellnkern.co.uk

> If you’re an audiophile, the chances are you’re kitted out with some high-end headphones to ramp up your aural experience. But you can’t get the most from your audio setup without a dedicated headphone amp and digital–to–analogue converter (DAC). But don’t worry, because the new Astell&Kern ACRO CA1000 amplifier could be just the ticket.

This combines a high-quality headphone amp with a premium DAC to make your music, podcasts and more sound as close to the original, intended output as possible (a goal boosted by native DSD512 high-resolution playback). There’s also a Crossfeed function to help reduce ear fatigue, and it doubles as a digital audio player with a controllable touchscreen. Impressive portable audio power.