Astell&Kern calls their new server an "MQS Network Audio Player", where MQS stands for "Master Quality Sound". WIth all the talk at the show about Meridian's new MQA technology, at first I confused it for "Master Quality Authenticated" and did a double take. Nonetheless, A&K's new product is quite a stunner as presented both on a stand with amplifier and as shown here, on a table top by itself.
There is a CD slot on the front, for ripping discs and grabbing meta data à la Sooloos, and a slick touchscreen on top for controlling the various processes (in addition to an app that runs on Android pads). One unique feature that caught my eye was the use of a built-in battery that the company claims is for noise reduction. In other words, it plays off the charged battery and not the AC. I was told it could play 6-7 hours with a charge and automatically starts recharging when capacity drops below 4%.
Inside, the AK500N converts all PCM to DSD64 (24/352 PCM gets directly converted to DSD64 with no down-sampling). There is a 1TB SSD in the $12k base product, expandable up to 4TB and using RAID 5 for data safety (meaning you'll have 3TB available for music). Connections on back are complete with both balanced and unbalanced outputs, and there's a headphone jack and nice big volume knob on the right side of the box.
The AK500N will be available at the end of January, and based on looks and build quality alone, should find a ready market.
