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Astell & Kern AK120 High-resolution portable music player

Item # 838AK120

You might think a portable music player isn't capable of delivering stunningly good sound quality on its own.

You might think a portable music player isn't capable of delivering stunningly good sound quality on its own.

1 question - 5 answers

Item # 838AK120

Shop all Astell&Kern Portable High-res Music Players

About the Astell & Kern AK120

David Brown

Take high-resolution music to new heights...and new places

You might think a portable music player isn't capable of delivering stunningly good sound quality on its own. Well, then you haven't heard the Astell & Kern AK120. Their AK100 portable player dropped a few jaws around here when we first heard it. Now Astell & Kern is taking portable high-resolution sound to even greater heights. With two Wolfson DACs (digital-to-analog converters), USB DAC capability, and gapless playback, this high-resolution player is truly in a class by itself. If you think your headphones sound good out of your iPhone®, you ain't heard nothin' yet.

Astell & Kern AK120 high resolution portable music player

The AK120 features dual Wolfson DACs for uncompromised playback of high-resolution and other digital music files.

Take high-resolution music to new heights...and new places

You might think a portable music player isn't capable of delivering stunningly good sound quality on its own. Well, then you haven't heard the Astell & Kern AK120. Their AK100 portable player dropped a few jaws around here when we first heard it. Now Astell & Kern is taking portable high-resolution sound to even greater heights. With two Wolfson DACs (digital-to-analog converters), USB DAC capability, and gapless playback, this high-resolution player is truly in a class by itself. If you think your headphones sound good out of your iPhone®, you ain't heard nothin' yet.

Dual DACs open up your music to new possibilities

What's the secret to the AK120's audiophile-quality sound? It's the high-performance Wolfson DACs, the same ones found in many high-end digital source components. The AK120 uses dual Wolfson DACs — one for the left channel and one for the right. This results in outstanding detail and dynamic range, as well as a wide-open soundstage. Plus, this player can handle high-resolution music files with its sophisticated 24-bit/192kHz decoding. So if you've downloaded high-resolution FLAC, Apple Lossless, or AIFF files from sites like HDtracks, the AK120 lets you play them in their native resolution without being tethered to a computer. Pull out your finest pair of headphones — the AK120 will make them really shine by feeding them more power than most portable players.

It's also a USB DAC

The AK120 is actually two powerful devices in one. Thanks to a USB input, the AK120 can also be used as a stand-alone DAC. Connect it to your computer and your receiver or amplifier to listen to digital music files through your home speakers with more clarity and dynamics than your computer's soundcard can deliver. Or use the miniplug optical input to connect it to a component with a digital optical output, like a CD player or Apple TV. That's more versatility than you'd ever expect from a portable music player.


"The AK120 gets an A+."

"...the more you listen to it, the more addicted you become to its subtle benefits. If you can afford the tariff, the AK120 will reward your investment."

— From Alan Taffel's review in The Absolute Sound, October 2, 2013
Read the full review


Astell & Kern AK120 high resolution portable music player

The bottom of the AK120 features a USB input for using the player as an outboard DAC as well as microSD card slots for memory expansion to 192GB.

Improved touchscreen interface

Navigating the AK120's menu system is a snap thanks to the 2.4-inch full-color touchscreen. Astell & Kern improved on the AK100's already impressive user interface, making it more responsive and intuitive. But the touchscreen isn't the only way to control this player. An analog volume wheel offers 150-step volume control and is protected by a clever contoured guard. Manual controls on the other side of the player let you play, pause, and skip tracks without having to look at the display or remove the player from your pocket.

Expandable memory to 192GB

You might be saying to yourself, “This all sounds great, but I bet it can't hold a lot of music files.” Oh yeah? How does 192GB sound? With 64GB of built-in memory and two slots for optional 64GB microSD cards, you can carry around a huge music collection in your pocket. All of it will sound lively and bold — even those compressed MP3 files. Loading up the AK120 is as easy as dragging and dropping files into a folder on your computer. With that much memory, your music collection is more portable. And you'll look good carrying it in the included leather case, custom-designed for the AK120's form and functions.


Need headphones? Looking for great-sounding headphones for this player? Check out our selection.

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Product highlights:

  • digital music player — plays MP3, FLAC, WAV, ALAC, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, AIFF, APE, WMV
    • plays Direct Stream Digital (DSD) files (.dff and .dsf formats up to 2.8MHz resolution; requires firmware 1.30 or higher)
  • dual Wolfson WM8740 24-bit/192kHz DACs for bit-perfect playback of high-resolution audio files
  • 64GB internal flash memory
  • 2 microSD card slots for cards up to 64GB (up to 192GB total memory)
  • 2.4" color touchscreen
  • analog volume knob provides fine level adjustments (150 levels)
  • 3 side-panel control buttons (Play/Pause, Next/FF, Previous/Rewind)
  • USB and miniplug optical digital inputs for use as an external DAC
  • supports gapless playback
  • stereo minijack line level/optical output for connection to a powered speaker, receiver, or external DAC
  • Bluetooth 3.0-compatible (A2DP)
  • built-in 5-band EQ with touchscreen interface
  • built-in rechargeable battery provides up to 14 hours of playback
  • high-speed USB interface (cable included) for drag-and-drop file transfer and battery charging
  • brushed aluminum casing
  • volume knob guard
  • includes handmade leather case
  • output impedance: 3 ohms
  • total harmonic distortion: 0.0008% (1kHz)
  • signal-to-noise ratio: 113 dB
  • 2-5/16"W x 3-1/2"H x 9/16"D
  • weight: 5.0 oz.
  • warranty: 1 year
  • MFR # AK 120

What's in the box:

  • AK120 digital music player
  • 40" USB cable (Type A USB on one end and Micro USB on other end)
  • Leather case
  • Screen protectors
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Warranty sheet
  • Serial number card

Customer reviews for Astell & Kern AK120

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4.5 out of 5 stars
6 reviews

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More details on the Astell & Kern AK120

Mark G.

Product Research

Features

Overview: The Astell & Kern AK120 from iRiver is a portable high-fidelity audio system, capable of playing Mastering Quality Sound (MQS)--high resolution digital audio from music mastering studios. It has a sleek, brushed aluminum body with a 2.4" touch screen display and an analog rotary volume control on the side. The AK120 has a built-in 64 GB flash memory with dual microSD slots for adding even more memory. The unit is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery, and charges via a Micro USB cable. It comes with a leather case to protect it from scratches.

Dual Digital-to-Analog Converters: The AK120 is equipped with two Wolfson WM8740 24-bit, 192kHz DACs, the same as found in some high-end audio equipment (AV receivers). Each DAC delivers outstanding performance with a 113dB signal-to-noise ratio, a super-clean 0.0008% THD+N rate, a -128dB Crosstalk specification for superb left-right separation, and a 10Hz-70kHz Frequency Response at +0.02dB to -0.02dB. One DAC is used for the left channel, and one for the right channel.

External DAC: With Optical In and Optical Out ports, the AK120 can be used as an external optical DAC. You can connect the unit to an optical out port on your computer or CD player to convert your digital music files for listening with headphones, a powered speaker, or through the Auxiliary input of your car or home stereo. You can also use the AK120 as an external USB DAC, connecting the unit via USB from your computer and listen to your stored digital music with headphones, powered speaker, or home stereo.

High Fidelity: The AK120 is capable of playing high resolution digital music up to 24-bit, 192kHz, the same as used in the music mastering process. This Mastering Quality Sound (MQS) includes all of the high resolution formats, including WAV, AIFF, FLAC, and ALAC. These lossless files provide approximately 6-1/2 times more detail than a CD (16-bit, 44kHz), and can be played at sample rates of 8kHz-192kHz and 8/16/24-bits per sample. In addition, the unit can play MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, and APE compressed audio files.

Built-in and Optional Memory: The Astell & Kern AK120 is equipped with 64 GB of internal memory and dual microSD card slots, that support up to 64 GB each. That gives you a total of 192 GB of storage space that can be used for saving music files. The microSD slots have a sliding cover to help keep dust out.

User Interface: The AK120 features a high-quality user interface to make it easy to find and select your music files, change the volume, and adjust the sound:

  • 2.4" LCD Touchscreen: The full-color LCD touchscreen has a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. The screen displays the title and artist of the currently playing song, along with elapsed and remaining time, with the album art in the background. On the touchscreen, you can touch the Play/Pause, Previous/Rewind, or Next/Fast Forward icons to control playback. You can make adjustments to the EQ, set the repeat and random modes, and add the song to a playlist, all using the touchscreen interface.
  • Rotary Volume Knob: The AK120 has a side-mounted analog-style rotary volume knob. The volume control range is 00.0 to 75.0 with detents at every 0.5. As you adjust the volume, the volume range is shown numerically on the display.
  • Hardware Control Buttons: There are four physical buttons on the unit: a top-mounted power button, along with side-mounted Play/Pause, Previous/Rewind, and Next/Fast Forward buttons.

Drawing Equalizer: The AK120 has a 5-band Equalizer that lets you set the EQ levels by "drawing" the curve on the touchscreen. You can set the levels of each band from -10dB to +10dB at 62Hz, 250Hz, 1kHz, 4kHz, and 16kHz. Each band can be set one at a time by touching the desired level on the screen, or set them all at once by a single swipe of the finger across the screen in the shape you desire.

Micro USB: The AK120 has a Micro USB port on the bottom of the unit for connecting the unit to your computer for downloading music files and for charging the battery. The AK120 is compatible with Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8, as well as Mac OS X 10.6.5 and up.

iRiver Plus4: iRiver Plus4 is an integrated software built into memory of the AK120 that can be loaded onto your computer when you first connect your device. With iRiver Plus4, you can rip CDs to your computer and transfer the music files to the device. You can manage music files using a drag-and-drop method on the software interface.

Power Requirements: The AK120 is equipped with a 2350 mAh 3.7V Lithium-Polymer battery. The battery charges via USB in about 6.5 hours. A fully charged battery can provide up to 14 hours of continuous playback time (Standard--Music: FLAC, 16-bit, 44kHz, Volume at 37, EQ off, and LCD off).

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Customer Q&A

1 question already asked

Q
Can you have more than one micro sd card to switch around?
khang  Dec 27, 2014
5 answers
A
Yes, your library can be unlimited. There are two micro-sd slots, I believe the maximum is 64G cards, plus the internal memory, I recall about 192G total? Mine is far from completely full, mostly lossless flac files, two 64G cards installed. When you swap cards, the database will take a few minutes to update on the AK120, can set to manual or automatic (mine is set to manual, to speed up the boot time).
gregory  Dec 31, 2014
A
Yes, mine takes two cards in addition to the built in storage.
wayne  Dec 28, 2014
A
Yes, I believe so, though I haven't worried about it because I've got plenty of room on the player itself.
james w  Dec 28, 2014
A
The unit holds two SD cards. Although I have not used an SD card in my unit, IIRC the manual suggests you power down before swapping cards. My guess is that when you power the unit back up it will detect the card swap and re-scan all music. Depending on the size of your collection this can take between thirty seconds and a minute.
walter  Dec 28, 2014
A
Yes. You can install 2 64GB sd cards giving you a total of 192 GB of memory.
donald n  Dec 28, 2014

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