Astell&Kern SE200 - Hi Res Audio Player

The new Astell and Kern SE200 Hi Res player is the latest in addition to the A&Futura range. The A&K SE200 is the first DAP on the market with a choice of 2 switchable DACs and DAC filters to tailor the sound to your liking. 

With excellent battery life, offline playback and a gorgeous light indicator around the scroll wheel to let you know the audio quality you are listening too. 

Here's what Astell and Kern say:

The A&futura SE200 is the world's first Multi DAC player.
Since the release of the Dual DAC AK120 player in 2013, we have not seen any products feature more than Dual DACs in the last seven years.
This prompted us to ask the question, "Why hasn't there been more than two DACs in a player?"
So, we set out to become the first manufacturer to use more than two DACs and the result is the SE200.

The SE200 features the latest audiophile DACs from ESS, the ES9068AS in a Dual DAC configuration. We then added a single AK4499EQ, AKM's flagship DAC that is used in our flagship SP2000. Combining the three DACs, we have produced the world's first multi-DAC DAP.

This pairing exhibits the philosophy of the A&futura line to pursue fundamentally different sound than found in typical DAPs.
To properly implement multiple DACs, we needed to spend twice the amount of time on development and double the amount of time in properly tuning the player.

Astell&Kern is not content to keeping things the same all the time. We are constantly working to improve on what we have already achieved to bring the most accurately reproduced and best sound to our products.

The SE200 was not designed with one AMP circuit, but multiple, different AMP designs to optimize the different characteristics
of the AKM and ESS DACs that are used in the player.

By separating the signals for each channel of Balanced and Unbalanced,
we designed independent circuits that do not interfere with each other to provide the best sound possible.

The SE200 goes beyond selecting the best DAC for type
of music you are listening to.

You can now further customize your sound by choosing from
a variety of DAC filters provided by the DAC manufacturer.

With the SE200, you can now choose your own preferred sound profile.

The SE200 maintains a similar design identity to the SE100 which combines trapezoidal straight lines and curves.
These curves are the result of ultra-precision metal processing that has been perfected by Astell&Kern.

After experimenting with different materials for the rear of the SE200, we created a new ceramic rear cover, instead of the glass found on the previous generation SE100. This material not only improves wireless network performance, but produces a more premium feel to the player.

New manufacturing techniques were developed to precisely mold the high-gloss ceramic cover involving seven separate processes. A low-speed processing method is used to prevent cracking and produce a durable backing. The results are a rear cover that is not just beautiful, but functional.

The Aluminum body on the S200 provides maximum sound quality, while suppressing noise as much as possible. The use of laser ground extension technology gives you the best sound possible, without interference or distortion.

The vibration-free processing machines used by Astell&Kern are the same ones used by expensive Swiss luxury watch manufacturers. This is reflected in the crafting of the volume wheel which is processed precisely like the crown of a luxury watch for the best operating feel.

Astell&Kern products are designed to achieve perfect integration at whatever angle you look at it in your hands.
Astell&Kern combines these small parts to make a big difference in the quality of our products that no other manufacturer can match.

The SE200 features a volume wheel LED that displays a variety of music playback information including volume range,
bit-rate of track currently playing and the current DAC that is being used for playback of music.

MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is an award-winning British technology that delivers the sound of the original master recording.
The master MQA file is fully authenticated and is small enough to stream or download. Visit mqa.co.uk for more information.
Astell&Kern SE200 includes MQA technology, which enables you to play back MQA audio files and streams, delivering the sound of the original master recording.

General Specifications

Audio Performance

Clock source

Battery

Memory

OS