The KANN Alpha was announced at the end of 2020 and is the third player in the series and won us offer thanks to its bombproof build-quality and excellent sound skills.
Astell&Kern's Alpha is the 3rd generation in the KANN series of digital audio players, equipped with a powerful, built-in headphone amplifier providing high power output, enabling it to drive any headphone without the need for a separate amplifier.
The KANN Alpha we reviewed was in a stylish Onyx Black, but now you have the option of stunning Urbanely Blue. However, and perhaps more crucial than the snazzy new hue, the A&K KANN Alpha also boasts support for the multi-music platform, Roon. This means that you can wirelessly stream all your high-resolution music, whether from Tidal, Qobuz or from your library stored on a hard drive, computer or NAS drive, from this immersive music platform to the player.
As well as being accredited with Roon Ready certification, you still get an impressive 14.5 hours of battery life and a noiseless 4.4mm balanced output headphone port, and excellent crosstalk measurement (141dB) that all goes towards the unit's impressive audio performance.
Naturally, there's wireless support for 24-bit aptX HD and LDAC codecs and the ability to play up to 32-bit/384Hz PCM and DSD256 files. Furthermore, there is also support for MQA playback via downloaded MQA audio files and through the Tidal music app.
The Astell&Kern KANN Alpha is available now in Onyx Black or Urbanely Blue for £1,099.
Visit Astell&Kern for more information
Posted in: Hi-Fi | Headphones | Technology
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