Astell&Kern AK Jr

A PINT SIZED HIGH RES AUDIO PLAYER THAT HAS SOME GROWING UP TO DO.

THE PREMIER ARM of iRiver has released an entry-level hi-res audio player that supports a staggering amount of audio formats, albeit with a skinny feature set. Jr’s bigger brothers are impressive, so there’s a lot riding on the smallest A&K.

If we could judge this player by looks alone it’d get ve shiny, refined stars. While the case’s corners are a little pointy, this slab of aluminium and glass embarrasses other designer-tech thanks to its simplicity and beauty. ere’s a lot of merit in physical controls, and both the buttons and volume dial are easy to nd and use -- clicking and rolling actual buttons a er touch screen controls feels remarkably satisfying. e volume dial is lovely, and provides a long, smooth transition from dead silence up to an imposing decibel level.

Sound quality is spectacular, and you can throw a massive variety of audio les at the Jr. If you’re going to take advantage of hi-res audio you’ll need headphones that are geared up for the task, else the gains from this hardware compared to a major smartphone manufacturer will be minimal. 64GB of storage is built in, with a microSD expansion slot that’ll let you add another 64GB -- lots of space for monstrous 40MB-plus lossless les.

Here comes the but. e touchscreen and UI are infuriatingly slow, enough to ruin the experience. ‘Functional’ would put it kindly, in the same way a shopping trolley is a functional mode of transport. And, there’s something funky happening in the rmware, as trying to skip backwards to previous songs is trial and error -- most of the time the song will just restart, over and over. e Jr will suit if you’re busting for a portable hi-res player, but it comes with some infuriating compromises.