The Astell and Kern room on the 4th floor of the Hotel Irvine was bumping. One side of their two room residence was occupied by their extensive line of portable products while the other was filled with the their all-in-one soundsystem called the T1 ($3.7k) as well as the new Focal Sopra No. 3 ($20k) paired to their AK500 series amp and digital server.
But the real news items came courtesy of two new portable products, the single DAC version (and least expensive) of the 3oo series of players called the AK300 ($900) and the new recording device that pairs with any 300 series player. Astell and Kern spokesperson Jimmy Moon gave us the lowdown in person in a live stream to the interwebs on the Thursday preview day. I was amazed at his capacity for recall against the towering number of models and specs, but we both managed to make it through the entire portable line in a single 15 minute stretch. If you don’t have the disposable time to make it all the way through, feel free to jump to the 6:22 mark on the video below for more details on the new AK300 player, and the 11:15 mark for the new recording sleeve.
AK products on B&H: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1163696-REG/
More info: http://www.astellnkern.com