Astell & Kern AK100 Mastering Quality Sound (MQS) Portable System DAP

Build & Usage:

Good looking, very nice feeling player, it looks like a really sold build, and it's an all-metal construction. Not much to say about it, you can check pictures. I wasn't satisfied with the overall usage of the player because of quite a few flaws. The screen isn't so good both when it comes to viewing angles, colors and resolution, it is sufficient, but again, for this kind of money (~700$) more is expected in every segment, including that. It's also a touch screen (2.4 inches 320 x 240), and it's quite small for that, especially if you have thick fingers (and most of the people interested in audio things are men, that have larger fingers than women so...). It's fairly responsive but not nearly as responsive as an average smartphone or iPod touch for example, not nearly like that but it's ok; it's responsive.
Now one of the biggest flaws with usage was that volume wheel on the side. It's ridiculous. It's so badly designed it's unbelievable. It sticks out in a really bad way, so it's fairly easy to damage it while putting the player in a pocket that volume wheel is always bugged outside of pocket so you need to put it inside carefully. It's also so sensitive that volume will adjust itself by accident inside pocket, which can be truly frustrating (when you are placing it in the pocket it will adjust as you push it down your pocket). It's really badly thought out and even tho they fixed it with the AK120 (those shields next to the volume wheel) that doesn't make the life of AK100 any easier! It's a disaster in my opinion, especially for this kind of money. You can turn off volume wheel feedback in settings but then you will just have useless wheel sticking out of the right side of player that is not doing anything. Big flaw!
The user interface is decent, for that small screen it couldn't be much better, again it's not really fast UI (I found FiiO X3 user interface to be less laggy than AK100 for example) but it's ok, you are going to listen to music anyways, who cares if it's a bit slow while changing song, not a big deal but again, for this kind of money you expect something a bit faster. This is nowhere near iPods (classic or any other) or smartphones.
It also uses 2000 mAh battery, I didn't get battery life nearly as stated (up to 16 hours) but it wasn't bad, surely it will last a bit more than using a smartphone for music.



Sound & Comparisons:

It sounds good, no distortions on high volumes, no hiss on low volumes and runs good with all kinds of headphones, but then again, if you have some really hard to drive, you might need an external amp, tho it's not that different from other similar portable players. It uses Wolfson WM8470 DAC, which is fine, a good DAC. But the problem is to me THE SAME sounding FiiO X3 has the same DAC, that very same Wolfson DAC and it costs over two times less, which is... hard to find the word! Honestly, there isn't much if any difference with this player or any decent smartphone (iPhone for example) if you use low impedance easy to drive earphones (like I do, IE80) but if you try to drive something harder to drive it certainly outdoes the smartphone. The good thing is that it has two micro SD card slots, which is rarely seen with players (even the latest Astell & Kern ones have one slot).



Summary:

Honestly, not worth it. Yes, it sounds good and looks good but the flaws are way too big, price is way too high and the competition is way too good. For literally over half the money, there are the likes of FiiO X3 with the same performance and even exact same DAC but with fewer design flaws (such as frustrating useless volume wheel and somewhat slow UI). Let alone that for the money you can get new FiiO X3 second generation and have left for mid - high end 400$ headphones/earphones, or X5, which is maybe an even better option. My conclusion is that this is an overpriced product not nearly worth the trouble and hype. Some people are sold by nice and shiny aluminum built and "premium" feel but not me. I've returned mine and bought FiiO X3, and I'm more than happy with my decision. Don't get me wrong, it's overall a decent product, it's a good player, very nicely built and good looking, with sound to back that up but for the price it's unbelievable. Not worth even half of it.

  
 
Intro:
A little about me… I am a 22 year old (somewhat) newbie here at Head-Fi. I have been a music enthusiast as far back as I can remember, but started getting more serious about the quality of the music I listened to and equipment I used about a year ago. I enjoy a wide variety of music, ranging anywhere from Michael Jackson to Dave Matthews Band to Skrillex. I would not call myself an audiophile, just a music lover who loves trying new gadgets.
 
After spending quite a few hours with the AK100 I wanted to write a formal review of my experiences, which will hopefully help you decide whether or not to spend the money and buy the AK100.
 
Specifications:
Technical Specs
Dimensions: 2.32" x 3.11" x 0.55" (in)
Weight: 4.3oz
DAC: Wolfson WM8740 (24bit/192kHz)
Display: 2.4" IPS Touch Screen (320 x 240)
Memory: 32GB Internal / Dual Micro SD card slots (32 GB each)
Audio Formats: WAV/FLAC/MP3/OGG/WMV/APE/AAC/AIFF/ALAC
Bluetooth: 3.0/A2DP
Output Level: 1.5 VRMS
THD+N: < 0.0008%/1kHz ; < 0.001%/10Hz ~ 20kHz
Signal to Noise: 110 dB
Frequency Response: ± 0.14 dB/10Hz ~ 20kHz
Jitter: 90 PS
 
Equipment Used:
AK100 > Focal Spirit Classic
AK100 > Heir Audio 3ai
AK100 > Aurisonics 1.2
 
Aesthetics
The AK100 is a beautiful unit. The brushed metal looks and feels luxurious, though I must say that it makes no difference, as it has been hiding underneath a leather case. The glass back is a fingerprint magnet, although that is no issue with the case as well. Though I now find the volume knob to be intuitive, it took some getting used to, and I accidentally changed the volume a few times as my index finger naturally rests around that vicinity. The button and port placement is good, no complaints in that area. One issue, which was rectified on the AK100 II, is the fact that there is room on the front of the AK100 for a much longer screen. I have no clue as to why there is brushed metal on the front of the device. It looks and feels as if the entire front panel should be a screen. Otherwise, the size and weight of the player are exceptional.
 
UI
The UI of the player is pretty simple to use and is pretty, but it is a bit slow and laggy. This can be a little frustrating coming from a smartphone which is much quicker, but not a huge hindrance. The touch screen interface is pretty good, and scrolling through hundreds of artists is not a problem.
 
Battery Life
I was able to consistently get 10 hours of battery life with the AK100.
 
Sound
The sound quality of the AK100 is excellent, which is to be expected for a $700 DAP.
The sound of the AK100 is best described by meas open, detailed, and clear. I would describe the sound signature as fairly neutral. The music just sounds clean and very pleasing. The soundstage is excellent, and the bass is not overly boomy, while not lacking either.  The detail in the music really shines, and instrument separation is great as well. The highs are not overly emphasized, and I did not experience fatigue when listening for extended periods of time. When playing compressed lossy files, the sound is not as harsh as I expected, which is usually the case with high-end sources.
 
Comparison:
For the comparison I hooked both units up to a Sescom A/B switch and played the same songs at the same time, going back and forth.
AK100 vs Fiio x5
To my ear, the AK100 feels a tad bit more neutral, and the detail retrieval is slightly better. Could go on, but in the interest of brevity, gonna keep this concise. Is this a $350 difference? No.
 
Summary:
The AK100 is a nice little player. The build quality is top notch and aesthetically pleasing. The sound quality is phenomenal, and the usability issues are minimal if you are using iem’s or plan to use an amp. The value for the price is not great, but if you can find a good deal on it, the AK100 is recommended by me. If you plan on paying $500 USD or more, you can use your money more wisely in my opinion.