Astell&Kern
Astell&Kern is a South Korean company that focuses on creating some of the most popular DAPs (Digital Audio Players), CD players, headphones, and home cinema products on the market. The company was founded in 2013 by iRiver with the debut of their AK100 digital audio player (DAP). Later that year they released the AKR01 in-ear monitors to go along with the new music player. The brand name Astell&Kern was created in October of that year to develop their in-brand products.
Astell&Kern products stylistically stand out from the crowd with their modern metals aesthetic, sharp edges, and sleek designs. Their digital music players look like the future. They are best known for high-end music players, portable audio devices, or hi-res “iPods.” As the Financial Times notes, Astell&Kern, much like Chord Electronics, is committed to fidelity and quality. To say Astell&Kern media players are HOT would be an understatement. As consumers learn about the need for higher resolution music files to feed our high-quality media players, those made by Astell&Kern have thrived.
Astell & Kern's music players are natural partners with great DACs and amps such as Chord's Hugo 2 and Mojo and great headphones or in-ear-monitors (IEMs) such as Astell&Kern Layla AION IEMs, Audeze LCD-4, Fostex TH900 mk2, Sennheiser HD800S, and of course Astell&Kern's very own AK T5p 2nd Gen.
What makes AK different?
Astell&Kern creates the best music players in the world as our customer reviews note plus their technology is easy to learn and navigate as a newbie or a technology wizard. Our founder, Drew Baird, P.E., and the staff at Moon Audio recommend Astell&Kern high-resolution music and media players for people who love “mobile audio.” Astell & Kern (A&K) music players are "iPods on steroids". If you love to listen to music “on the go” and want hi-fi sound AK Digital Audio Players (DAPs) are essential listening gear with Mastering Quality Sound (MQS).
MQS includes high-resolution digital music recording formats from 16-bit/44.1kHz to 24-bit/192kHz. Sound engineering tech-speak can be confusing. More is usually better. Higher amounts of information can mean better sound with crisper highs and fuller lows (bass). The trick is to process and play as much information as possible or as much information as your recordings started with in the first place.
Playing all the high-res information captured during the music recording process is Astell & Kern’s expertise. You will not believe what your ears were missing once you try AK music players!
F.A.Q.
Digital Audio Player (DAP)
What is a digital audio player?
Digital Audio Players are electronic devices capable of storing and playing high-resolution music or media files. Many digital formats, resolutions, and encodings exist. Most DAPs can comfortably play most digital files, especially higher-resolution or “lossless” digital files. To learn more about Digital Audio Players and what they do, check out our guide to “What Is A DAP”
What is High-Resolution Audio?
High-resolution audio can be defined as music that is better than CD-quality, or rather audio that has a sample rate greater than 44.1 kHz and a bit depth larger than 16-bit. Although some streaming services tout CD-quality audio as “High-Definition” or “HD Audio,” the consensus on Hi-Res is better-than-CD quality. Learn more about High-Resolution audio in our guide to Digital Music
What is Lossless Audio?
Lossless files perfectly reproduce the sound quality of your CDs. When a lossless file is ripped from a CD and decompressed, it is converted back to the original, high-resolution data as the CD. Lossless files are the best way to experience your favorite music.
What is the largest compatible memory card size supported by Astell&Kern players?
Current generation Astell&Kern music players officially support up to 1TB microSD cards. Current generation players consist of all Octa and Quad-Core series DAPs. All previous generation players officially support up to 512GB SD/microSD cards. Disclaimer: use of external memory cards is at the user’s own risk. Astell&Kern and Moon Audio is not responsible for lost or corrupt data stored on 3rd party manufactured memory cards.
What is AK Connect?
The “AK Connect” feature allows AK users to stream music stored on a computer, music server, or network-attached storage (NAS) device to Astell&Kern media player on the same Wi-Fi network. AK Connect supports the DLNA networking protocol for streaming from devices that support DLNA.
Do Astell&Kern music players support music streaming services?
All Wi-Fi-enabled Astell&Kern players feature Tidal Music service built-in. No additional software installation is needed. Current generation players that include the OpenApp service allow additional music streaming services to be added to the music players by installing the service’s Android APK file. To learn how to install these APK files, check out our blog below
https://www.moon-audio.com/blog/astellkern-music-players-support-android-based-apk-streaming
What music streaming services are supported by OpenApp?
Astell&Kern currently supports the following music streaming services – 7Digital, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Audiobooks by Audible, AWA, bandcamp, BBC iPlayer Radio, Bugs, Deezer, DS Audio, FooBar2000, IDAGIO, Joox, KK BOX, KT genie, Last.FM, Melon, Moov, Music Mate, myTurner Radio, Nugs.net*, Onkyo Music, Pandora*, Player FM, Qobuz, QQ Music, Sirius XM, SoundCloud, Spotify, Tidal, and Tune-In Radio.
Please note, not all services are available in all countries and certain apps are not available on certain player models. To learn more about installing streaming services on your Astell&Kern music player, read our blog: https://www.moon-audio.com/blog/astellkern-support-open-app-services
Do Astell&Kern players support XAPK files?
Yes! To install a supported music service available as an XAPK file:
- Confirm you have the APK Pure XAPK Installer installed as an app on your OpenApp supported Astell&Kern player under the services menu.
- If you have not installed the XAPK Installer, download XAPK Installer from this link - https://apkpure.com/xapk-installer/com.apkpure.installer
- Copy to OpenService folder. Once it appears in the services menu on the player, install the XAPK installer on the player like you would any other APK.
- Copy the XAPK of the music service you would like to install to OpenService Folder.
- Open XAPK Installer app in the services menu on the player. Choose the XAPK file you would like to install and click install.
Can I download music from my favorite streaming service to listen to when I am offline and not connected to the Internet?
Most of the streaming apps that we support do have a download or offline mode where you can download music to the internal memory or external memory of your player to listen to when you are not connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi. Options vary by app. Please refer to the instructions from the streaming service on how to configure offline storage locations and what can be downloaded for offline use.
PLEASE NOTE – Due to DRM restrictions, offline music downloaded to the player is only available for playback in the streaming app where it was downloaded from. You will not be able to play tracks downloaded from a supported streaming service from the main player interface. See more info HERE.
Does Astell&Kern offer customer support or help with installed apps?
All apps are designed and maintained by third-party companies and services. Astell&Kern has no control over apps, features, or bugs in a particular application. While we recommend certain APK download sites to obtain streaming APKs, the original source of the apps listed is unknown and not provided by Astell&Kern.
Please be aware that by installing third-party apps, your device may become unstable, damaged and/or personal data compromised. If you install an app from an unknown source, despite this warning, Astell&Kern is not responsible for any damages to the device and loss of data resulting from the app's installation. All apps are installed at the user’s own risk and any issues caused by installed apps that force a player to not work properly and require service will not be covered under warranty and will incur additional costs for service by the owner.
Can you rip music directly from the AK Ripper to your Astell&Kern music player?
Yes. That is exactly what the AK Ripper was designed to do. Astell&Kern has even made the ripping process much easier for those who want to bypass a computer interface and just rip music directly to the audio player. Computer drives (quality) can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, causing breaks in the data stream, data loss, and slow rip times. A&K implemented improved algorithms and product design to create more stable and accurate copies, thus creating a high-quality alternative to a computer. For a step-by-step tutorial on ripping music to your AK music player, check out our blog below:
https://www.moon-audio.com/transferring-files-on-your-astell-kern-player