New Astell&Kern DAP: the seriously fast KANN

Astell & Kern has long set the stage for high end digital audio players. Their latest release is named KANN.

Quite an odd name and I am sure it must be an abbreviation of sorts, I guess we will find out at a later stage. Though it looks like they have a winner. A few features:

  • USB-C connector with usb3 speed (fast),
  • 2 D-card slots, one micro, one full size (fast, huuuuge),
  • 6200mAH battery (long battery life),
  • 3.5 times more power output than previous Astell&Kern players (powerful).

Now this is seriously good news if you are in the market for a new DAP. And if there is one thing you can’t fail Astell&Kern, it’s the superior build quality and how well the devices feel in your hand. And this player looks gorgeous.

Another benefit this player apparently has, is dedicated Line-out (balanced and single ended) and headphone outputs that are as well balanced 2.5mm and single ended 3.5mm.

The DAC chip used is a AKM 4490 the current flagship model of Asahi Kasei. The player will feature 32bit/384kHz bit to bit playback without any upsampling, conversion etc. pure unaltered, exact and precise music.

Price – rumored to be around $999 US.

Check Astell & Kern Digital Audio Players

KANN Specs:

Single DAC, AKM4490

32bit/384kHz Bit to Bit Playback & Native DSD Playback

3.5 times more power output with high-gain setting

6200mAh battery

USB 3.0 Type-C Connection

Type-C USB. Allows for faster charging and data transfer compared to micro USB connection.

Dual SD Slots

micro SD and full size SD card.

We have abundance of storage space, fast transfers thanks to USB 3, one of the best DAC chips available today and a stellar design. This looks VERY promising! By the way, is it only me or does the design look a bit familiar to the cigarette lighters of old from Dunhill and Cartier?

Coincidence?

 

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