If you’re part of the group of chaps that actually pay attention to the music they’re listening and the way it sounds, here’s something to feed your hunger for such gadgetry – a professional top notch portable MQS player – the Astell&Kern AK120 by iRiver.
The device was unveiled on the occasion of the High End 2013 in Munich, Germany. In fact, iRiver is the first brand to introduce Mastering Quality Sound – MQS – gadgetry, while the AK120 is the second device to be manufactured under the Astell&Kern branding. It is aimed towards professional audiophiles and musicians, just those “who demand the very best in sound available”.
This technological wonder is a power packed portable player with dual Wolfson WM8740 DAC chips, 2.4-inch IPS touchscreen, 64 GB of internal memory expandable to 192 GB via two microSD card slots and two DACs (Digital to Analog Converters). It is compatible with pretty much all audio formats like APE, ALAC, AIFF, WAV, MP3, OGG, WMA, FLAC and AAC, while DSD will be joining the list shortly. In addition, the AK120 is accompanied by a leather case, manufactured by hand from the finest Italian leather on market.
Availability-wise we know nearly nothing, but the price is quite heavy – $1,300 a piece.
[Engadget]
