[RichyKMoon]

Astell&Kern SR25 DAP Music Player

https://www.moon-audio.com/astell-kern-sr25-music-player.html

Introducing the SR25, the 2nd player in the Astell&Kern A&norma line. Features include dual Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs, 32-bit/384KHz PCM, and DSD256 native playback. 64GB of internal memory with support for 1TB microSD cards, a 3.6-inch HD touchscreen, OpenApp, and MQA. A first for Astell&Kern players, the SR25 supports both aptX HD and LDAC Bluetooth streaming to compatible wireless headphones, speakers, and IEMs. The SR25 more than doubles the playback time of the SR15 with 21 hours of continuous playback on a single charge. Available soon.

Check out more info on the Astell&Kern SR25 HERE.​

 

[musicday]

No 4.4 balance anytime soon I guess.

 

[RichyKMoon]

No 4.4 balance anytime soon I guess.

I'm not holding my breath. :/
SR25: 3.5mm unbal out and 2.5 bal out (only 4-pole supported)

 

[glassmonkey]

Yeah, Astell & Kern will assume the world has ended before that happens. Pretty infuriating.

No 4.4 balance anytime soon I guess.

 

[twister6]

Yeah, Astell & Kern will assume the world has ended before that happens. Pretty infuriating.

But, LDAC is there, which is a big surprise.

 

[glassmonkey]

But, LDAC is there, which is a big surprise.

LDAC only changes one chip. Takes less to do. Astell & Kern pioneered the 2.5mm connector, which is why they are the last to offer 4.4mm even though it is far superior and makes them look bad. 4.4mm also takes more board space.

 

[tazzbass]

How 4.4mm Pentacon balanced sounds better than 2.5mm balanced?

 

[musicinmymind]

Wanted to buy sony 507 dap, almost same price range. Will wait for some reviews.

 

[Chimmy9278]

Let's see how long it take for this to fall in my budget.
I feel like the price will deflate faster than my wallet will inflate though!

 

[glassmonkey]

How 4.4mm Pentacon balanced sounds better than 2.5mm balanced?

No difference in sound, difference in robustness. 2.5mm is fragile. 2.5mm also doesn't make much sense with big cans, due to that same fragility.

 

[Kevintj604]

Got super excited about this only to read one post down to realize there's no 4.4.

All of a sudden this is a hard no for me. No 4.4mm in 2020 is ridiculous.

 

[Hanesu]

So many people are talking about 4,4 being fragile. But one hardly hears about real first hand experience that 2,5 plugs actually broke easier than bigger ones? I find it actually more annoying that plug standards seem to be changing every year.

 

[Nayparm]

So many people are talking about 4,4 being fragile. But one hardly hears real first hand experience that 2,5 plugs actually broke easier than bigger ones. I find it actually more annoying that plug standards seem to be changing every year.

I've repaired / replaced broken 2.5mm and
3 5mm sockets but not had to do 4.4mm as yet.

 

[DaYooper]

I haven't broken any 2.5 sockets but I have had two plugs just fold over sideways from minor tug then break off.

 

[twister6]

LDAC only changes one chip. Takes less to do. Astell & Kern pioneered the 2.5mm connector, which is why they are the last to offer 4.4mm even though it is far superior and makes them look bad. 4.4mm also takes more board space.

I'm looking at this from a different perspective. LDAC and 4.4mm are the Sony legacy, while 2.5mm was A&K legacy My conspiracy theory was always that A&K doesn't want to give in. Thus, I was surprised about LDAC. Btw, received a demo unit this morning. Don't have any experience with AK70/SR15, but curious to hear how the entry level A&K sounds.