Astell&Kern; A&futura; SE200 With Mix ‘n’ Match DACs
Astell&Kern has announced its A&futura SE100 - the world's first multi-DAC portable music player, they say.
Astell & Kern has announced its new A&futura SE200 only a couple of months after the impressively high-spec entry-level A&norma SR25.
The SE200 (£1,799) sits between the SE100 and SP1000M in the top-tier A&futura range. The newcomer's extraordinary superpower is that it claims to be the world's first player to utilise a multi-DAC set-up. Before you start proving us wrong, we are not talking merely sporting dual or even quad DAC designs.
We mean that the SE200 uses a combination of DAC chips – a pair of Sabre ESS9068AS DACs (in a dual configuration), as well as a single AKM4499EQ (as found in Astell & Kern's flagship SP2000 player). Now, do you see?
"What's the point?" you may ask. Well, this intriguing system means that you can customise the SE200's sound based on your preferences and music type. Additionally, there are also DAC filters to tweak the sound even more. Oh, and to prevent the ESS and AKM DACs from clashing Astell & Kern has used independent amp circuits for each, within which balanced and unbalanced signals are also separated to ensure the music signal's integrity.
Elsewhere, the A&futura SE200 is every bit Astell&Kern with its angular aluminium body, 5-inch HD touchscreen, octa-core CPU, and large volume wheel. The main update is that the rear panel is ceramic, instead of glass. There is an LED ring around the base of the volume control that changes colour to display bit-rate and DAC status. Naturally, there is built-in Wi-Fi and music streaming apps, as well as support for aptX HD Bluetooth. It will also play nice with files up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256 and with full MQA decoding.
The SE200 boasts 256GB of storage onboard - twice more than either the SE100 or SP1000M - this can be augmented by a further 1TB via microSD card. The battery offers 14 hours of stamina, again more than either of its earlier mentioned siblings.
Finally, the SE200 has a power output boost too. The 2.5mm (balanced) is up from 4V to 6V, whereas the 3.5mm (unbalanced) headphone jacks have been increased from 2V to 3V.
The Astell & Kern A&futura SE200 is available now, priced at £1,799.
For more information, visit Astell&Kern.
Jay Garrett
StereoNET’s resident rock star, bass player, and gadget junkie. Jay heads up StereoNET as Editor for the United Kingdom and Europe regions. His passion for gadgets and Hi-Fi is second only to being a touring musician.
Posted in: Hi-Fi | Headphones
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