AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
So, let’s take a closer look at what I found. I didn’t have time for a lot of my usual pair up and comparison examples, but I still tried to cover as much as I can to paint a detailed picture of this new A&K DAP from A&futura series. I received SE180 as a loaner for 2 weeks because this is the first and the only demo unit available in US now, and I appreciate the opportunity to test it. Today is a different story with a highly competitive market, and A&K responded with a highly competitive product release. Years ago, DAP competition was less fierce. While A&K didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel here with a modular dac/amp design, they improved it and set a high bar to even challenge their current flagship. SE180 announcement caught everyone by surprise, and not only because of LDAC and 4.4mm BAL output, but also a modular DAC/amp design and a reduced price. And if you thought it was just a fluke or one-time thing, here comes the latest A&futura series SE180 modular DAP release with LDAC and 4.4mm BAL, along with 2.5mm and 3.5mm, on stock SEM1 and optional SEM2 modules. In October of last year, they finally introduced 4.4mm BAL output, in addition to Wireless LDAC protocol, in an all-new KANN Alpha DAP. Looks like I can’t use “when hell freezes over” anymore when talking about Astell & Kern DAPs. Manufacturer website: Astell & Kern, Available for sale directly or from on-line retailers like Audio46. The review was originally posted on my site, and now I would like to share it with my readers on Head-fi. The product was loaned to me for the review purpose in exchange for my honest opinion.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |