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Astell and Kern (made by iRiver) AK100 and AK120 players. Have not been on Head-Fi for a while but came across these now that I browsed the forums. The AK100 is already available - around the $700 mark - while the AK120 is planned for mid to end May release with a price tag estimated at $1200 plus.
They are slated as "Mastering Quality Sound" players..."capable of playing MQS from music mastering studios. MQS refers to all of the high resolution digital music recording studio formats up to 24-bit/ 44 ? 192kHz". The AK120 uses a Dual Wolfson WM8740 DAC (can be used as an external optical DAC). Will support up to 192GB of music too.
Some interesting info over at the Astell and Kern website. From threads on Head-Fi, with software updates planned later this year it will be able to be used as a USB DAC and also play back DSD files.
They are slated as "Mastering Quality Sound" players..."capable of playing MQS from music mastering studios. MQS refers to all of the high resolution digital music recording studio formats up to 24-bit/ 44 ? 192kHz". The AK120 uses a Dual Wolfson WM8740 DAC (can be used as an external optical DAC). Will support up to 192GB of music too.
Some interesting info over at the Astell and Kern website. From threads on Head-Fi, with software updates planned later this year it will be able to be used as a USB DAC and also play back DSD files.
