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Class-leading sound quality, unbeatable format support, streaming functionality, gorgeous look and feel – and now free high-res music when you buy. No wonder Astell&Kern is acclaimed to make the world’s best portable players!

The gorgeous model under the spotlight here is the AK120 II, an update to the popular AK120 with a fresh design that gives a nod to both the original models and the new AK240.

The AK120 II replaces the AK120’s Wolfson WM8740 DAC with the Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chipset found in the flagship AK240.  Again like the AK240, the AK120 II features double DACs that output audio signals independently to each channel, making the AK120 II a true dual mono (dual monaural) setup like those found in expensive hi-fi equipment.

The dual Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chips found in the AK120 II dedicates each DAC chip to a completely separate left and right channel. In result, the AK120 II provides far superior depth, clarity, and spaciousness to the audio. By providing a much clearer sound with lower distortion, the AK120 II truly replicates how the original music was recorded.

Both players include Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing users to stream music from any computer or NAS drive located on the same network.  From low-bitrate MP3s to studio master quality 24bit music files, all can be accessed and enjoyed as easily as music stored on the player itself.

Firmware updates are also performed over the air, eliminating the need to connect the player to a computer to update. 

A recent firmware upgrade has added the ability for AK120 II users to download music direct from music service, Qobuz, via a new A&K by Qobuz app (also available for the AK100 II and AK240).

This allows AK120 II users to:

• Browse all the tracks of the world’s largest HD musical catalogue
• Listen to extracts of tracks in High Definition, and to order them straight from the device
• Access full updated content and information relating to songs and albums
• Download purchases made on Qobuz.com directly onto the HD audio player via Wi-Fi

And until June 2015, you can claim £50 of free Qobuz downloads with the purchase of any Astell&Kern player. See www.qobuz.com/ak for more details.

Like the flagship AK240, the AK120 II features balanced and unbalanced analog outputs, giving audiophiles a wider range of listening options.  With a 3.31” AMOLED screen, the player displays more information than the first generation models in a crystal clear, high resolution display.

Single-rate and double-rate DSD playback is supported via DSD to PCM conversion done in real-time via the player’s software.  In addition to DSD support, the Astell&Kern portable players support 24-bit, up to 192khz digital audio files, and Apple lossless formats in addition to many other lossy music formats users may currently have.

The AK120 II features 128GB of internal memory, plus a microSD card slot that supports up to 128GB cards – giving you 256GB of storage.

Finally, the AK120 II can also be used as a USB DAC, allowing the user to connect the unit to a computer to provide higher quality sound processing than most sound cards available today.

The player comes with a high-quality black leather case, with a docking cradle available as an optional extra.

The AK120 II is available now, from a wide range of quality audio retailers, priced £1499.

General specifications

• Model – AK120 II
• Body colour – Stone Silver
• Body material – Aluminium
• Display – 3.31inch WVGA (480 x 800) AMOLED Touchscreen
• Supported Audio Formats – WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE(Normal, High, Fast), AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF
• Sample rate – FLAC, WAV, ALAC, AIFF : 8kHz ~ 192kHz (8/16/24bits per Sample)
  / DSD : DSD64 (1bit 2.8MHz), Stereo / DSD128 (1bit 5.6MHz), Stereo
• Output Level – Unbalance 2.1Vrms / Balance 2.3Vrms (Condition No Load)
• DAC – Cirrus Logic CS4398 x2 (Dual DAC)
• Decoding – Support up to 24bit/192kHz Bit to Bit Decoding
• Input – USB Micro-B input (for charging & data transfer (PC & MAC))
  / Connection Mode : MTP (Media Device)
• Outputs – headphones (3.5mm) / Optical Out (3.5mm) / Balanced Out (2.5mm, only 4-pole supported)
• Wi-Fi – 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)
• Bluetooth – V4.0
• Dimensions – 2.16 ”(55 mm) [W] x 4.64 ”(118 mm) [H] x 0.58 ”(14.9 mm) [D]
• Weight – 6.24 oz (177 g)
• Feature Enhancements – Firmware upgrades supported (OTA)

Audio Performance

• Frequency Response – ±0.023dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Unbalance & Balance
  / ±0.3dB (Condition: 10Hz~70kHz) Unbalance & Balance
• Signal to Noise Ratio – 116dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 117dB @ 1kHz, Balance
• Crosstalk – 130dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 135dB @ 1kHz, Balance
• THD+N – 0.0007% @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 0.0005% @ 1kHz, Balance
• IMD SMPTE – 0.0004% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Unbalance / 0.0003% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Balance
• Output Impedance – Balanced out 2.5mm (1ohm) / PHONES 3.5mm (2ohm)

Clock source

• Clock Jitter – 50ps (Typ)

Battery

• Capacity – 3,250mAh 3.7V Li-Polymer Battery

Memory

• Built-in Memory – 128GB [NAND]
• External Memory – microSD (Max 128GB) x1

OS

• Supported OS – Windows XP, Windows 7,8 (32/64bit), MAC OS X 10.7 and up