Astell&Kern Adds New Features To Latest Line Of Portable High-Resolution Audio Players

The following is a press release issued by Astell&Kern.

October 13, 2016 | Irvine, CA – Astell&Kern, the global leader in high resolution portable and home audio playback devices, will add new features for the AK70, AK300, AK320 and AK380 portable high-resolution audio players this week with a firmware update starting Thursday, October 13.

The new features being added to players include:

TIDAL
One of the most requested features from Astell&Kern users, support for TIDAL will make its debut on Astell&Kern’s full line of portable high-resolution audio players.

TIDAL is a global, experiential, entertainment platform built for fans, directly from artists around the world. TIDAL members enjoy exclusively curated content that?directly connect artists with their fans in multiple ways. The service offers high-fidelity, CD sound quality music, high resolution video, an opportunity to discover new artists, and unique experiences via TIDAL X. TIDAL is available in more than 52 countries, with more than a 42.5 million song catalog and 140,000 high quality videos.  For more information, please visit www.tidal.com.

TIDAL support will be added first to the AK70 and AK300 Series players this week and will roll out to the AK240, AK100 II and AK120 II Wi-Fi enabled players soon after.

aptX™ HD Support
This week’s firmware update for the AK70 and AK300 series players will add support for Qualcomm®’s aptX™ HD protocol. 

aptX™ HD supports streaming of 24-bit/48 kHz high-resolution audio over Bluetooth.  Astell&Kern is the first portable high-resolution audio player manufacturer to feature support for high-resolution audio streaming via Bluetooth.

When paired with devices supporting aptX™ HD, such as the Astell&Kern XB10 Bluetooth DAC ($189), users can now playback high-resolution audio wirelessly from their players to headphones or speakers without being physically tethered to their player. 

New AK Recorder Features
A popular use for the Astell&Kern AK Recorder module is to digitize vinyl so users can listen to their collections on an AK300 series portable player on the go.

With the latest firmware update for the AK300 series players, the AK Recorder now features a new LP Recording feature that will separate songs recorded from vinyl into individual tracks and then add full album information and artwork via Gracenote lookup.  Now it is even easier for you to take your entire music collection with you, anywhere in the world.

To see the LP Recording feature in action, please view the video here – https://youtu.be/8DWFn_bbhw4

The new firmware for the Astell&Kern AK70, AK300, AK320 and AK380 high-resolution audio players will be available starting October 13 and can be downloaded by enabling Wi-Fi on the players.  Once the update is ready to be downloaded, the player will notify the user a new update is available.  After clicking ok, the firmware will be downloaded and installed automatically.

 Astell&Kern products can be purchased online directly at us.astellnkern.com and are found at high-end audio retailers around the world.

About Astell&Kern
Astell&Kern is the audiophile high-end brand from IRIVER and was launched in October 2012. Included in the current product range are high-resolution audio players such as the AK Jr, AK70, AK100 II, AK120 II, AK240, AK300, AK320 and AK380, which can play back high-resolution music signals up to 32 Bit/384 kHz. With Mastering Quality Sound (MQS) and audio formats such as DSD, Astell&Kern players provide the highest sound standards. Astell&Kern’s lineup also includes accessories such as a full line of In-Ear monitors and headphones, Astell&Kern portable player docking stations, Bluetooth remote controls and home audio products including the 500N Network Music Server and AK T1 all-in-one sound system.