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Three Astell&Kern Portable High-Resolution Audio Players Receive CES 2018 Innovation Awards

Three Astell&Kern Portable High-Resolution Audio Players Receive CES 2018 Innovation Awards

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

New York, NY | November 16, 2017 – The three newest portable high-resolution audio players from Astell&Kern, the global leader in high-resolution portable audio players, have been named as CES 2018 Innovation Award winners.  Astell&Kern will display these award-winning products and other products in the lineup at CES 2018, January 9 – 12, 2018 in their booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall, booth # 18218.

The A&ultima SP1000 has been named the CES 2018 Best of Innovation Honoree in Portable Media Player and Accessories Category.

The A&ultima SP1000 is the latest high-end player from Astell&Kern. The A&ultima SP1000 features 256GB of internal memory, microSD card slot for additional storage, a new, upgraded DAC chipset and faster octa-core CPU order to provide listeners with the ultimate sound experience.  Featuring two AKM AK4497EQ DACs, a bezel-less design, the 5 inch, HD-resolution screen, a redesigned GUI and intuitive menu system that is centered on music playback, the A&ultima SP1000 provides the ultimate music listening experience. USB Type-C 3.0 support allows data transfers that are twice as fast as other Astell&Kern players.  The A&ultima SP1000 also provides 12 hours of music playback and with support for fast charging.

The A&ultima SP1000 is currently available worldwide in stainless steel and copper versions for $3,499.

The Astell&Kern KANN and AK70 MK II portable high resolution audio players have also been named as CES 2018 Innovation Awards Honorees in the Portable Media Player and Accessories Category.  

The Astell&Kern KANN combines the best features of higher-end Astell&Kern players, including support of native playback of 32-bit/384kHz high-resolution PCM audio and native playback of DSD audio, up to Quad-rate (DSD256).  KANN also features a Parametric EQ (PEQ), VCXO Reference Clock (Femto Clock) for minimal jitter and a single AKM AK4490 DAC.   

New options not available on previous generations of Astell&Kern players including dedicated 3.5mm unbalanced/2.5mm balanced headphone out and 3.5mm unbalanced/2.5mm balanced dedicated line out; full-size SD and microSD card slots for additional storage (in addition to 64GB of internal storage); USB-C connection for faster charging; larger battery and a built-in headphone amplifier.

KANN is currently available for $999 and comes in two colors – Astro Silver and Eos Blue.

The Astell&Kern AK70 MK II is a dual DAC player, featuring two Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chipset, one each for the left and right channels and features almost twice the power output from the 2.5mm, 4-pole balanced output than the previous generation AK70.  With 4.0Vrms of balanced power output, the AK70 MK II can drive any headphone on the market today with ease, even the most inefficient headphones being used today.  The AK70 MK II features 64GB of internal memory and microSD card slot for additional storage.  

The Astell&Kern AK70 MK II is available now for $699.

All of Astell&Kern players feature Wi-Fi connectivity, support for the AK Connect app, USB DAC function, DLNA networking support, OTA software updates, digital audio output via USB, apt X HD Bluetooth, and support for high-resolution music streaming services including TIDAL and Groovers+ (support for streaming services varies by country).  In addition to internal memory storage, all Astell&Kern players feature expandable memory via a microSD (up to 400GB) and/or full-sized SD card (up to 512GB) slot, depending on model. 

Products chosen as CES Best of Innovation and CES Innovation Honorees reflect innovative design and engineering in some of the most cutting edge tech products and services coming to market.

All entries are evaluated on their engineering, aesthetic and design qualities, intended use/function and user value, unique/novel features present and how the design and innovation of the product directly compares to other products in the marketplace.

The A&ultima SP1000, KANN and AK70 MK II will be displayed at CES 2018, which runs January 9-12, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The SP1000, a Best of Innovation Honoree will also be displayed at CES Unveiled New York, 3:00-7:30 PM November 9 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City.

About Astell&Kern
Astell&Kern is a high-end luxury brand specializing in high-resolution audio products and accessories launched in October 2012 by IRIVER. Astell&Kern’s goal is to provide customers with the ultimate digital music source that delivers Mastering Quality Sound or MQS, supporting high-resolution digital audio up to 32-bit/384 kHz PCM audio and Quad-rate DSD.  The brand mission is to provide natural and original sound without distortion or compression so that listeners can enjoy music the way the artist, producers and recording engineers intended it to be heard. Our products offer the exact presence with every detail you couldn’t have noticed from other music systems, The Way Music is Meant to be Heard!

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