In addition to the SSD storage, the AK500N lives up to its network-audio-player designation by playing files from a NAS drive, which can be as large as your budget permits. I think they also have lower jitter than hard drives. Why use expensive SSDs instead of much cheaper hard drives? According to Astell&Kern, the SSD is about five times faster than a hard disk drive, is much more durable, and is silent in operation. Music file storage is handled internally by solid-state drives (SSD), with up to four drive bays available. Inside the AK500N, two Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chips take care of the digital decoding chore. It also provides lots of digital outputs, so you can use an external DAC of your choice, which strikes me as a wise fail-safe provision no matter how good the internal chip is, there’s bound to be a better one eventually, and considering how fast DAC development is progressing, it may not be too long before a better one is available. Unlike many servers, the AK500N includes an internal DAC. And what’s that “MQS” thing in the title? Have we added yet another acronym to our lexicon? Well, it seems that Astell&Kern uses MQS to mean Mastering Quality Sound, its term for high-resolution audio. Due to its dimensions, the AK500N won’t fit on most hi-fi equipment racks it’s essentially a top-shelf unit-in more ways than one. And the price tag is equally hefty: $12,000. Although not really large, the AK500N looks very solid, and at a hefty 25.1 pounds it definitely is solid. The touchscreen provides all the controls necessary.
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When the touchscreen is raised and positioned vertically, the total height of the unit is about 14½”. (OK, that’s not quite a cube, but it’s cube-ish.) The main body of the AK500N is supported by an aluminum plinth with four feet.Ī 7″ touchscreen LCD panel folds flat on top of the chassis-it’s like having a small tablet computer built into the player. The AK500N looks like an aluminum cube with a faceted front panel, which measures 8.4″ x 9.6″ x 9.4″. The casework is milled from thick aluminum plates, machined smooth and anodized black or silver. The result is the AK500N network player, a product whose strikingly original industrial design is as innovative as the product itself.
#Minimserver and wma files portable
Having already established a line of portable players, it was natural for Astell&Kern to bring its technology to a home system.
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Capable of playing native DSD and carrying a $3495 price, the latter is reportedly a spectacular implementation of a portable music player. Korean firm Astell&Kern began its involvement with high-end audio by manufacturing advanced portable music players, from its $499 AK Jr through the premium AK380.