Astell & Kern KANN

$1,349

One player to rule them all

Astell&Kern's KANN provides a new power standard for mobile music performance. Combining a high-quality audio player and a high-performance amplifier, KANN draws on the technological expertise of Astell&Kern, the leading Portable Hi-Fi Audio manufacturer.

Focusing on a strong output and crystal-clear sound, the all-in-one KANN offers the following features

Truly powerful,
high-quality output

Astell&Kern has introduced a new product design that cleverly incorporates a high-performance amplifier into a player for a perfect merger of two independent devices. Supporting the output of 7Vrms when connected via high-gain balanced output, the KANN not only drives high-impedance headphones without an additional amplifier, but also reliably reproduces high-quality sound with low-impedance speakers.

Output optimized to
user's listening environment

KANN, the first Astell&Kern product, is equipped with a line-out circuit designed to set the output values in 4 levels,
depending on the user's listening preference a significant step up from previous products, which did not provide output/volume control.
With the selectable output function, you can fine-tune your sound to suit a home system, car audio, or any other listening environment.

KANN also supports Astell&Kern's 2.5-mm 4-pole balanced outputs (2 Vrms).
Unlike the unbalanced type, balanced output removes noise (common mode noise) from "signal + inverting amplifier signal"
and has the strength to increase output with its double transmitting signals.

Deliver the perfect original sound

KANN offers the optimal condition to deliver perfect original sound.
KANN is capable of bit-to-bit playback up to 32bit 384kHz and native DSD playback up to 11.2MHz,
delivering detailed, distortion-free sound just as the artist intended.

Scalability using USB Audio

To increase flexibility of use, you can connect additional USB Audio to KANN via the micro USB port.
KANN allows output conversion according to the specifications of the external USB Audio that supports DoP (DSD over PCM) or PCM,
and provides continuous music playback with charging via the Type-C USB port while connected to the external USB Audio.

USB audio (Digital Out) output is available only when digital input is possible through USB.
DoP (DSD over PCM): This is a standard for transferring DSD data to USB interface.
This standard sends DSD data by mounting them onto PCM data frames.
To link KANN with an external USB Audio, an OTG cable (purchased separately) is required.
The separately purchased cable connecting the OTG cable to an external USB Audio must be appropriate for the specification of the USB Audio

The finest sound quality
from audio files stored on a PC

Supporting the bit-to-bit playback up to 32-bit 384kHz when connected to the PC for use as a USB DAC,
the KANN produces richer sounds with superior spatial effects and resolution that go far beyond the limits of any PC sound card.

Dual memory card slots

KANN has an internal memory of 64GB, but this can be easily and flexibly
boosted via the unit's dual memory card slots. KANN supports both standard
SD cards and micro SD cards, so users can select their preferred memory type.
The memory is expandable up to 768 GB to easily handle larger audio files.

Fast charging

Enjoy up to 6.5 hours of your favorite music with a single 1 hour charge through the fast charger. There is no fear of a dead battery when on a long journey as the 6,200mA large capacity battery offers 15 hours of continuous playback.

* The maximum 15-hour continuous play is based on 16-bit/44 kHz, FLAC file format, screen off, 50 of volume, and Normal playback.
* Fast charger (9V/1.67A) and general Charger (5V/2A) are not included in the package.

Specifications

Model

KANN

Body Color

Astro Silver, Eos Blue

Body Material

Aluminum

Display

4inch WVGA (480 x 800) Touchscreen

Supported Audio Formats

WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE(Normal, High, Fast), AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF

Sample rate

PCM: 8kHz ~ 384kHz (8/16/24/32bits per Sample) / DSD Native: DSD64(1bit 2.8MHz), Stereo
/ DSD128(1bit 5.6MHz), Stereo / DSD256(1bit 11.2MHz), Stereo

Output Level

[Phone Out] Normal: Unbalance 2Vrms / Balance 2Vrms (Condition No Load)
High: Unbalance 4Vrms/ Balance 7Vrms (Condition No Load)
[Line Out] Unbalance 2Vrms / Balance 2Vrms (Condition No Load)

DAC

AKM AK4490 x1 (Single DAC)

Decoding

Support up to 32bit / 384kHz Bit to Bit Decoding

Input

USB Type-C input (for charging & data transfer (PC & MAC)) / Connection Mode : MTP (Media Device)

Outputs

[Phone Out, Line Out] PHONES (3.5mm) / Balanced Out (2.5mm, only 4-pole supported)
[USB Audio] micro USB Connection / PCM: Up to 32bit 384kHz / DSD 2.8MHz, 5.6MHz

Wi-Fi

802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)

Bluetooth

V4.0 (A2DP, AVRCP, aptX^TM HD)

Dimensions

2.80 ”(71.23 mm) [W] x 4.56 ”(115.8 mm) [H] x 1.01 ”(25.6 mm) [D]

Weight

9.83 oz (278.7 g)

Feature Enhancements

Firmware upgrades supported (OTA)

Audio Performance

Frequency Response

[Phone Out] ±0.067dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Unbalance & Balance
±0.75dB (Condition: 20Hz~70kHz) Unbalance & Balance
[Line Out] ±0.07dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Unbalance & Balance
±0.75dB (Condition: 20Hz~70kHz) Unbalance & Balance

Signal to Noise Ratio

[Phone Out] 110dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 109dB @ 1kHz, Balance
[Line Out] 116dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 117dB @ 1kHz, Balance

Crosstalk

[Phone Out] -108dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance / -130dB @ 1kHz, Balance
[Line Out] -135dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance / -135dB @ 1kHz, Balance

THD+N

[Phone Out] 0.004% @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 0.0008% @ 1kHz, Balance
[Line Out] 0.0008% @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 0.0007% @ 1kHz, Balance

IMD SMPTE

[Phone Out] 0.0008% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Unbalance / 0.0008% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Balance
[Line Out] 0.0006% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Unbalance / 0.0006% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Balance

Output Impedance

[Phone Out] PHONES 3.5mm (0.65ohm) / Balanced out 2.5mm (1.3ohm)
[Line Out] PHONES 3.5mm (1.9ohm) / Balanced out 2.5mm (5ohm)