Astell & Kern AK 100 II

A new standard for listening to music was proposed while developing the AK100. Astell&Kern recognized that certain aspects of the AK100 needed improvement during research and development for a successor. While considering how to improve the AK100, they realized that there was a difference between measured audio specifications and what they felt sounded good. After much deliberation, their development efforts were focused on making the AK100 2nd Generation "feel" right to their senses rather than mechanically boosting technical specs. The original AK100 was developed according to audio specification standards, but development of the next-generation AK100 was developed to the "New Standard" of how the music sounds. We present "A New Standard in Listening to Music" with the AK100 2nd Generation.

Although the dramatic depth in sound quality delivered by the Balanced Out was proven in Astell&Kern's flagship model, we wondered if the same benefit could be gained by implementing the Balanced Out with a Single DAC. The newly designed demo board delivered the ear-pleasing sound quality they needed. The value of a Balanced Out with a Single DAC is confirmed with every musical note.

The AK100 2nd Generation provides a rich, warm sound experience through the re-tuned A-amp designed specifically for the CS4398 Single DAC.

With the next-generation AK100, it's no longer necessary to turn on the PC, search for music, connect a device, and transfer files. Simply connect the AK100 2nd Generation to your PC or Mac via Wi-Fi on the same network and download or stream music wirelessly.

- "Astell&Kern MQS Streaming Server" software must be installed on your PC or MAC with a shared folder saved for MQS Streaming to work.

The new AK100 2nd Generation utilizes a 3.31" AMOLED screen, an 82% increase over the previous screen's size. Now, users have access to more on-screen information than ever before. In addition, a full touchscreen means convenient, smartphone-style control.

The Album View screen has been completely overhauled. The larger screen offers a view of six albums compared to the previous version's four, and the album art view offers intuitive search functionality.

A more accurate EQ setting is available by doubling the bands (from 5 to 10) and halving the dB steps (from 1 dB to 0.5 dB). In addition, multiple user EQs are supported so that users may create custom EQs to fit each music genre and change them whenever desired.

The AK100 2nd Generation includes 64GB of internal flash storage. With the addition of a 128GB microSD card, the AK100 2nd Generation supports up to a total memory of 192GB. With 64GB of internal memory, the AK120 2nd Generation can store about 625 MQS (24bit/96kHz, 4 minute-long, 90MB) songs.