Astell & Kern is a South Korean company that is part of the iRiver family of audio products. The A&K branding has been around for several years now and is well-known in the portable audio world for making high-end and unique designs for music on-the-go. This quick set of impressions will take a look at two of their devices, the very large Kann Cube, which was released in 2019, and their newest model, the small SR25, which is an update to the SR15. (Cube review is in the cube thread)
Both of these units were loaned to me by the fine folks at Headphones.com and will be returned to them shortly.
SR25
Build
This model is a slightly larger version of the SR15 with a silver colorway instead of the darker tone of the older sibling. It’s unique look of the titled screen is very polarizing, but I really dig it, because it looks correct when you’re holding it in your hand.
And this is small enough to do so unlike the Cube, and that makes this one very easily transported in your pocket or by hand. It does have some square edges all around that may be annoying to hold, but a case can fix that up from my experience.
Features
Like the Cube, above, the SR25 has USB-C, 3.5mm and 2.5mm balanced, 3 unknown marked buttons, and a clicky volume knob. The latter of these are all shrunken down in size to fit the smaller form factor.
The SR25 still suffers from lag that I experienced with the SR15. This isn’t really seen if you just use the normal player and play only offline files, but when you start to use the app service and load up a streaming app, in my case Quboz, it becomes slower. It will vary a bit from time to time from running normal to grinding to a halt, especially if you’re searching while listening to music, or doing offline downloads.
This really limited by both the weaker processor and the limited RAM on the device. I wish A&K, and most of these DAP manufacturers would put more effort into picking a more modern SOC and adequate RAM for using an Android system. It would solve speed, memory and battery issues.
Now the good news is the that the larger screen is a little easier to navigate than the small SR15 screen. I’ve gotten semi-used to working through a smaller screen of the ZX507, so using the SR25’s similarly sized screen isn’t too challenging, but folks with larger hands or fingers may find it problematic if you need to type.
Sound
The sound here is very A&K house sound. It’s very mid-range focused with a warm and thicker sound. It’s not quite as intimate and rich as the SR15 was from memory, as I feel its a tad leaner and the treble isn’t as laid back,but it is still colored. It’s very similar to my ZX507, though maybe with a bit more lower mid-range and bass emphasis even. This type of sound is very “musical” and people who enjoy that warm, liquid-type sound will probably enjoy this one or the other A&K DAPs, besides the Kann Cube.