Astell&Kern Reveal MQA-enabled SA700
Astell&Kern, in case you didn’t know, is pretty much the equivalent of the Lamborghini brand in the realm of portable music players. Not quite as exotic as Pagani (Lotoo), but with more of a focus on performance and design flair than something like Audi (FiiO). In fact, A&K’s devices often feature a design-language which is unmistakably that of Astell&Kern even if you can’t see the branding on the device. The latest addition to their lineup is called the SA700 and it features a number of interesting design choices, as well as boasting compatibility with the MQA format.
Looking at the overall design of the SA700, it seems exceptionally unlikely that anyone (who does not suffer from impaired vision) will say something along the lines of “meh, looks pretty bland and boring”. From the fantastically-retro rotary dial to the gorgeous combination of glass and brushed metal, the SA700 is truly stunning to look at.
The majority of the front is taken up by the 4.1-inch display which boasts a pixel-density of no less than 358PPI. It’s a pity that the device does not offer a near-bezel-less design like iBasso’s DX160, but the pixel density is still roughly 15% more than FiiO’s recently-unveiled flagship M15.
Under the hood lies a pair of AK4492ECB DAC chips from AKM, and the SA700 is the first portable music player to implement this particular dual-DAC setup.
It also features both a 3.5mm single-ended output as well as a 2.5mm balanced output, and these are rated to deliver up to 2.0Vrms and 4.0Vrms respectively.
As mentioned, Astell&Kern products tend to be quite exotic, and with that comes a premium price-tag as well. In the case of the SA700, that means that you can expect to pay a retail price of roughly $1299 (which may not include applicable taxes and/or shipping charges), which is the same as FiiO’s aforementioned flagship M15.
