All
Astell&Kern
Website:http://astellnkern.com/
Est. year: 2013
Astell&Kern is a South Korean maker of portable digital audio players, founded in Seoul in October 2013 as the high-resolution successor brand to iriver, whose AK100 player had appeared at the start of that year. The brand shaped the modern hi-res player format with its metal chassis, dedicated volume wheel and balanced headphone outputs. Beyond players it sells in-ear monitors, headphones, USB DACs, a CD ripper and a small home audio range, and it runs the ACTIVO label for lower-priced portable players.
Range & what it's known for
The core of the range is the player families. A&ultima is the top tier, currently the SP4000 and SP4000T with the SP3000 and SP3000T below them, and the T models add a vacuum tube output stage. A&futura sits in the middle with the SE300 and SE180, A&norma, with the SR35 and SR25 MKII, is the least expensive series, and the KANN line, including the KANN ULTRA and KANN MAX, trades pocket size for higher output power. Earlier generations such as the AK240 brought Wi-Fi and Android to the format in 2014, and the brand introduced its own Mastering Quality Sound label for 24-bit playback. The recurring engineering choice is more than one DAC chip per player feeding balanced output stages, with the SP4000 also offered in a copper body.
Who owns it and where it's made
Astell&Kern is wholly owned by Dreamus Company, the Seoul firm that started life as ReignCom in 1999, took the iriver name in 2009 and was bought by SK Telecom in 2014. Since 2025 the largest shareholder of Dreamus has been bemyfriends. Product design and engineering are done in Seoul at the company's Seocho headquarters, and the manufacturing location is not disclosed on the company's public pages. Several in-ear monitors were developed with outside partners, among them Jerry Harvey Audio and Beyerdynamic.
The lineup in this catalog
Digital audio players and headphones (3). The smaller players start at roughly USD 500, and the A&ultima flagships go past USD 3,000.
Who it's for
Astell&Kern is for listeners who want a purpose-built portable source rather than a phone with a dongle, and who keep a local library of high-resolution or DSD files alongside streaming apps. First-time buyers usually pick an A&norma or ACTIVO player and later move to A&futura, and the KANN models suit anyone driving demanding full-size headphones on the move. The A&ultima tier is for buyers who treat a player as a long-term reference source and want the tube option or the heavier metal bodies.
Range & what it's known for
The core of the range is the player families. A&ultima is the top tier, currently the SP4000 and SP4000T with the SP3000 and SP3000T below them, and the T models add a vacuum tube output stage. A&futura sits in the middle with the SE300 and SE180, A&norma, with the SR35 and SR25 MKII, is the least expensive series, and the KANN line, including the KANN ULTRA and KANN MAX, trades pocket size for higher output power. Earlier generations such as the AK240 brought Wi-Fi and Android to the format in 2014, and the brand introduced its own Mastering Quality Sound label for 24-bit playback. The recurring engineering choice is more than one DAC chip per player feeding balanced output stages, with the SP4000 also offered in a copper body.
Who owns it and where it's made
Astell&Kern is wholly owned by Dreamus Company, the Seoul firm that started life as ReignCom in 1999, took the iriver name in 2009 and was bought by SK Telecom in 2014. Since 2025 the largest shareholder of Dreamus has been bemyfriends. Product design and engineering are done in Seoul at the company's Seocho headquarters, and the manufacturing location is not disclosed on the company's public pages. Several in-ear monitors were developed with outside partners, among them Jerry Harvey Audio and Beyerdynamic.
The lineup in this catalog
Digital audio players and headphones (3). The smaller players start at roughly USD 500, and the A&ultima flagships go past USD 3,000.
Who it's for
Astell&Kern is for listeners who want a purpose-built portable source rather than a phone with a dongle, and who keep a local library of high-resolution or DSD files alongside streaming apps. First-time buyers usually pick an A&norma or ACTIVO player and later move to A&futura, and the KANN models suit anyone driving demanding full-size headphones on the move. The A&ultima tier is for buyers who treat a player as a long-term reference source and want the tube option or the heavier metal bodies.
