Astell&Kern Launches KANN ALPHA Digital Audio Player

[Figjam]

Ok, here’s an update. Tried it this morning, and it works just fine !
I open Roon on my iPad, select the Alpha, and it sprung to life.
Genuinely don’t know what’s different this morning, from last night, unless it heard me threatening to throw the Alpha against a wall.
Playing DSD files too.
it’s a shame I have to use the iPad to control it though, apart from pause, skip, etc.
I was hoping to be able to run Roon properly on the Alpha, but that’s not happening.

I am the opposite. I love the fact that I can now use my phone as a remote control. The added bonus is that it saves battery-hungry screen time on the KA too.

 

[Kiats]

If you’re having wifi drop out issues with a newer type of router, try turning off some of the beamforming settings on your router. The Kann Alpha obviously doesn’t support 5ghz so I split my signal back to 2.4ghz and 5ghz and I just keep alpha on the 2.4ghz signal. Hasn’t dropped out at all.

Sadly, that means that unlike the SP2000, which supports SRC up to 384/24, the maximum SRC that the KA seems to support is 192/24. Which is a pity. But it is what it is.

 

[aleniola76]

Am I right saying that the Alpha will work as an endpoint only? I can't access any Roon setting or browse any library. I can just control music that is being played.

 

[Scubacrazy]

Am I right saying that the Alpha will work as an endpoint only? I can't access any Roon setting or browse any library. I can just control music that is being played.

Yes, that is correct. I can only control the tracks on the album/queue which is being played. I control it from my ipad/iphone and it's fine.

 

[aleniola76]

Yes, that is correct. I can only control the tracks on the album/queue which is being played. I control it from my ipad/iphone and it's fine.

Thanks for confirming
This is my use case too, now I can "forget" about the Alpha and control music from my laptop, which is great when I work from home.

 

[Luvdac]

What the heck, I pulled the trigger and I hope I won't regret it. I need a new player and it will give me ( some sort of) roon readiness.

 

[Scubacrazy]

What the heck, I pulled the trigger and I hope I won't regret it. I need a new player and it will give me ( some sort of) roon readiness.

Good decision ! I tend to use my Alpha as a player for my ripped CDs, ripped as FLAC, and also the high res downloaded albums, DSD etc. I also stream using Qobuz, which for me works really well. Roon is just the cherry on the cake, handy because it's easier to navigate using my iPad pro, rather than the small touchscreen on the Alpha.
But the most important thing is the sound. It sounds amazing, but don't forget some decent headphones/iems or whichever you prefer !
Enjoy .

 

[aleniola76]

Good decision ! I tend to use my Alpha as a player for my ripped CDs, ripped as FLAC, and also the high res downloaded albums, DSD etc. I also stream using Qobuz, which for me works really well. Roon is just the cherry on the cake, handy because it's easier to navigate using my iPad pro, rather than the small touchscreen on the Alpha.
But the most important thing is the sound. It sounds amazing, but don't forget some decent headphones/iems or whichever you prefer !
Enjoy .

+1 !
@Luvdac, on top of that I would avoid using ALAC files, I had a lot of issues with those

 

[Luvdac]

I only use .wav and .dsf files which have given me no problems on my older Kann player, whose battery is dying....Anyone know of a replacement battery for the old Kann please let me know.
As for headphones, I got myself the fiio em5 earbuds 'cause I can't stand in ears and can just tolerate over ears. The em5's turned out to have great synergy with the Kann and I'm just loving them. Highly detailed, a bit on the bright side but not fatiguing with plenty of bass slam and dynamics and a soundstage that envelops my head in a 360 degree kind of way. I'm hoping that they perform the same way with the KA.

 

[Sebbai]

How snappy UI does Kann Alpha have? Currently in possession of the iBasso DX160 and think it sometimes are slow. Does anyone know what processor inside?

 

[aleniola76]

hi everyone,
my Alpha is not turning off automatically since the last update.
I got the auto power off set at 30 minutes but it's not working.
Did anyone else notice that ?

 

[JasonNYC]

hi everyone,
my Alpha is not turning off automatically since the last update.
I got the auto power off set at 30 minutes but it's not working.
Did anyone else notice that ?

If Roon Ready is turned on in the settings, the player will not automatically shut down because the player broadcasts itself as a Roon endpoint over your network at a set interval. If you turn Roon Ready off, the player should shut down normally.

 

[aleniola76]

If Roon Ready is turned on in the settings, the player will not automatically shut down because the player broadcasts itself as a Roon endpoint over your network at a set interval. If you turn Roon Ready off, the player should shut down normally.

Thank you @JasonNYC , this makes sense now

 

[Damz87]

I got bored and decided to open my sealed replacement Kann Alpha, and I’m actually glad that I did! This unit is working perfectly. Zero wifi drops for the past 2 hours. No tidal freezing.

Now I feel like I can actually appreciate how this DAP sounds rather than being frustrated with how it operates.

Just wanted to give an update on my KA impressions since opening my replacement unit.

Well, I still haven’t had a single wifi drop or freeze with this new unit. Everything is rock solid, much like my SP2000. Couldn’t be happier on that front.

In terms of sound, the Alpha has a very pleasing, neutral-ish tonality with a touch of bass warmth to my ears. It has great clarity, especially in the midrange. I hear a fairly large staging presentation too. It pairs well with every IEM I’ve tried it with so far. Haven’t heard any hiss yet, however I still need to test it with my ultra sensitive IEM’s (CA Andromeda and Solaris) which I’ll get to soon.

My opinion has definitely changed on Kann Alpha. I think it’s quite a good dap, and its great to see the software kinks are finally getting ironed out and new features being added like Roon Ready. This amount of output power from such a small portable device is a fantastic feature, especially if you want to use hard to drive full-size cans on the go or around the house. For IEM’s it’s probably a bit overkill, but it is handy for power hungry monitors like VE Elysium or Sony IER-Z1R.

 

[Arthur Weston]

I’ll take a deal any day…