for the select few audiophiles who have inexplicably demanding sound holes, Astell&Kern has just the portable media player for you. meet the uber high-end, pocket-sized media player AK240 MQS Portable Player. we do not know exactly how much this ultimate opulence in music enjoyment will cost you, but the last we have seen from A&K, the AK120 is now going for $1,299 a pop and considering the AK240 is several steps up from the firm’s previous offerings, we are not surprised if it cost in a region of between 2-3 grand. shocking? that’s why only richie rich needs to apply.
as for the innards, the new AK240 now packs dual DAC, supporting 192KHz/24-bit audio, an XMOS chip for native DD audio processing and balanced audio output, plus a massive 256GB of internal storage. being a complete sucker for design, the AK240 definitely has our attentions with its sleek aircraft-grade aluminum enclosure, albeit in a rather unusual ‘diamond-like’ form. if you are keen (which we assume you have a pool of cash to drop), you will be glad to know that this latest model of Astell&Kern’s MQS portable player supports a wide range of audio formats including DSD, WAV, AIFF and FLAC, along with the usual bunch of formats.
the device runs on an Android-based OS and has a large 3.3-inch touch display touting 800 x 480 pixels. other aspects of the spec-sheet includes built-in WiFi (wireless n) for wireless audio streaming from online sources, Bluetooth 4.0, microSDXC card slot (supports up to 128GB), and a 3,250 mAh battery. additionally, it is not just a high-end MQS portable player, it can also be connected to your computer via a USB cable and doubles as a high-end digital audio converter for your headphones or speakers. exact availability is unknown at this point.
