Astell&Kern A&Futura SE200

Astell&Kern A&Futura SE200

The answer to the value of premium found in SE200

The SE200 is the second model from the Astell&Kern A&futura premium line of Digital Audio Players.

After the first model SE100, they were once again thinking about the nature of the word premium and asked themselves,
“What is the value of premium in Hi-Fi and how can they express it with a product?”
They decided to “Let’s make One device that nobody can duplicate”
Wanting to try something no one else has tried before, including Astell&Kern. The result is the A&FuturaSE200.

Equipped with the world’s first Multi DAC (1x AK4499EQ + 2x ES9068AS)
Independent AMP structure designed to compliment each DAC’s characteristics and DAC Filters to create your own sound
Audio performance to feel premium Hi-Fi sound presented by Astell&Kern
Upgrades that add a Premium value experience 

World’s First Multi-DAC DAP

The A&futura SE200 is the world’s first Multi DAC player.
Since the release of the Dual DAC AK120 player in 2013, A&K have not seen any products feature more than Dual DACs in the last seven years.
This prompted them to ask the question, “Why hasn’t there been more than two DACs in a player?”
So, they set out to become the first manufacturer to use more than two DACs and the result is the SE200.

The SE200 features the latest audiophile DACs from ESS, the ES9068AS in a Dual DAC configuration.

They then added a single AK4499EQ, AKM’s flagship DAC that is used in their flagship SP2000.

Combining the three DACs, they have produced the world’s first multi-DAC DAP.

This pairing exhibits the philosophy of the A&futura line to pursue fundamentally different sound than found in typical DAPs.

To properly implement multiple DACs, they needed to spend twice the amount of time on development and double the amount of time in properly tuning the player.

Astell&Kern is not content to keeping things the same all the time.

They are constantly working to improve on what they have already achieved to bring the most accurately reproduced and best sound to our products.

Your own sound style

The SE200 goes beyond selecting the best DAC for type  of music you are listening to.

You can now further customise your sound by choosing from a variety of DAC filters provided by the DAC manufacturer.

With the SE200, you can now choose your own preferred sound profile.

Unique manufacturing technology that takes a step further

Astell&Kern products are often compared to art sculptures, with colorful faces and angles that are not found in other products.
This crafting is done using precise metal processing technology.

The SE200 maintains a similar design identity to the SE100 which combines trapezoidal straight lines and curves.

These curves are the result of ultra-precision metal processing that has been perfected by Astell&Kern.

After experimenting with different materials for the rear of the SE200, they created a new ceramic rear cover, instead of the glass found on the previous generation SE100.

This material not only improves wireless network performance, but produces a more premium feel to the player.

New manufacturing techniques were developed to precisely mold the high-gloss ceramic cover involving seven separate processes.

A low-speed processing method is used to prevent cracking and produce a durable backing.

The results are a rear cover that is not just beautiful, but functional.

The Aluminum body on the S200 provides maximum sound quality, while suppressing noise as much as possible.

The use of laser ground extension technology gives you the best sound possible, without interference or distortion.

The vibration-free processing machines used by Astell&Kern are the same ones used by expensive Swiss luxury watch manufacturers.

This is reflected in the crafting of the volume wheel which is processed precisely like the crown of a luxury watch for the best operating feel.

Astell&Kern products are designed to achieve perfect integration at whatever angle you look at it in your hands.

Astell&Kern combines these small parts to make a big difference in the quality of our products that no other manufacturer can match.

Playback information reflected in light

The SE200 features a volume wheel LED that displays a variety of music playback information including volume range,
bit-rate of track currently playing and the current DAC that is being used for playback of music.

* LED can be turned on or off according to user setting.

The design of the A&futura SE200 maintains a similar design identity to the SE100,  combining bold curves while maintaining a trapezoidal shape identity.

The design of the blended curves on the side of the trapezoidal body of the SE200 is meant to express  the idea of the merging of two different types of DACs into one unified player.

The volume knob is divided into two to symbolise the two different DACs used, and harmonises with the curves on the side of the player to reflect soft light.

The precision processing of diagonal lines shows the unique sophistication Astell&Kern is known for.

Specification A&Futura SE200

General Specifications

Body Color Moon Silver

Body Material Aluminum

Display 5.0inch (720 x 1,280) Touch display

Supported Audio Formats

WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, MQA

MQA playback

Services(Tidal Masters), Local files, External USB, MQA-CD(ripped)

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

Unbalanced: AKM 3.0Vrms / ESS 2.0Vrms (Condition No Load)
Balanced: AKM 6.0Vrms / ESS 4.0Vrms (Condition No Load)

CPU Octa-Core

DAC Multi DAC: AKM AK4499EQ x1 (Single DAC) / ESS ES9068AS x2 (Dual DAC)

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

Input USB Type-C input (for PC & MAC)

Outputs

Unbalanced Out (3.5mm) x2 / Balanced Out (2.5mm, only 4-pole supported) x2

Wi-Fi

802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)

Bluetooth

V4.2 (A2DP, AVRCP, aptX^TM HD)

Dimensions

3.02 ”(76.9 mm) [W] x 5.20 ”(132.2 mm) [H] x 0.62 ”(15.8 mm) [D]

Weight

9.66 oz (274 g)

Feature Enhancements

Firmware upgrades supported (OTA)

Audio Performance

Frequency Response

Unbalanced: AKM ±0.015dB, ESS ±0.023dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz)
/ Balanced: AKM ±0.010dB, ESS ±0.015dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz)
Unbalanced: AKM ±0.050dB, ESS ±0.065dB (Condition: 20Hz~70kHz)
/ Balanced: AKM ±0.030dB, ESS ±0.10dB (Condition: 20Hz~70kHz)

Signal to Noise Ratio

Unbalanced: AKM 124dB, ESS 121dB @ 1kHz / Balanced: AKM 125dB, ESS 123dB @ 1kHz

Crosstalk

Unbalanced: AKM -138dB, ESS -138dB @ 1kHz / Balanced: AKM -144dB, ESS -144dB @ 1kHz

THD+N

Unbalanced: AKM 0.0003%, ESS 0.0006% @ 1kHz / Balanced: AKM 0.0004%, ESS 0.0006% @ 1kHz

IMD SMPTE

Unbalanced: AKM 0.0003%, ESS 0.0003% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1)
/ Balanced: AKM 0.0003%, ESS 0.0003% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1)

Output Impedance

Unbalanced Out 3.5mm (AKM 0.7ohm, ESS 1ohm) / Balanced out 2.5mm (AKM 1.3ohm, ESS 1.6ohm)

Clock source

Clock Jitter

25ps(Typ)

Reference Clock Jitter

200 Femto Seconds

Battery

Capacity

3,700mAh 3.8V Li-Polymer Battery

Continuous Playback Time

About 10 hours (Standard – AK4499EQ, MUSIC: FLAC, 16-bit/44.1kHz, Unbalanced, Volume 50, EQ OFF, LCD OFF)
About 14 hours (Standard – ES9068AS, MUSIC: FLAC, 16-bit/44.1kHz, Unbalanced, Volume 50, EQ OFF, LCD OFF)

Charge Time

About 2.5 hours (Standard – 9V/1.67A Fast charging)

Memory

Built-in Memory

256GB [NAND]

External Memory

microSD (Max. 1TB) x1

OS

Supported OS

Windows 7,8,10 (32/64bit), MAC OS X 10.7 and up