Astell&Kern improves the sound quality of its portable hi-res player with the SR25 MKII
This pocket player packs a punch
Astell&Kern is well-known for its hi-res digital audio players and its latest $749/£699 is the second generation of its SR25 compact portable player – known as the SR25 MKII.
The uniquely-styled ‘Mercury Dark Silver’ player improves on the audio performance of the original. Astell & Kern claims the player offers more detail than the original SR25, with a more rounded sound overall. The player includes a few other new features such as a 4.4mm headphone jack option (there’s already 3.5mm and 2.5mm) and automatic volume adjustment up to 24-bit/192 kHz (there’s a larger volume wheel, too). As with the company’s other players you can wirelessly drag and drop files to it, while it supports tracks up to and including DSD256 and 32-bit/384KHz PCM.
Bluetooth connectivity (LDAC and aptX HD) has been made simpler to use, in particular for connection to a phone, while there’s also extra shielding inside the SR25 MKII to protect playback from any electromagnetic interference.
The Astell&Kern A&norma SR25 MKII will be available from early November.