Astell&Kern KANN Alpha Portable High Resolution Audio Player, Onyx Black

I haven't been a fan of ESS DAC implementations in DAP's until I tried this player. This is an excellent sounding DAP. I have had no serious issues but I use this DAP only to play music files from a micro sd card in the player. In that limited use I have had no issues. I can't speak for anything beyond that. That said, this player is sonically excellent. Top notch sound quality. I have just one small issue that keeps me from rating 5 stars. THE CLOCK. I don't use wifi so I set the time manually and it loses about a minute every 4 or 5 days. Considering that you can buy a $5 digital watch that will keep nearly perfect time, I would expect that a $1K plus DAP would be able to do that same. I would have sent that DAP for an exchange had I noticed it within 30 days but I didn't. If the replacement experienced the same issue however, I would have kept it anyway. This DAP just sounds to damned good to give it up for a buggy clock.Aside from that, while the Alpha has a load of power, it doesn't have quite as much as I had expected. I'd like to see an output power rating into a specified load. Better yet, I'd like to see a standard power rating system across manufacturers (but I'm not holding my breath). Regardless, that's not a complaint, moreso just an observation.Absolutely fantastic sounding player ... but it has to get docked one star because it's a $1K+ player with a digital clock that can't keep time.Edit: 7/4/21 ... The recent firmware update that was only supposed to update the embedded Tidal app. also seems to have taken care of the issue of the clock not keeping time (when manually set). So, I'm revising my review and giving the player 5 stars.

Everything you expect for the best sound quality, power and built quality is on the Astell & Kern Kann Alpha.The sound quality is superb thanks to the ESS ES9068AS dual DAC providing a warm, clear, balanced and detailed sound in all frecuencies; deep and full bodied bass, clear mids and sharp highs. I use my Shure SE846 with a 4.4mm balanced cable and the results are amazing.The Shure SE846 handle the massive power of the Kann Alpha without problems at any volume level, providing the same clarity, detail and the high fidelity sound.The Kann Alpha have a powerful amplifier with an output level of 12Vrms to manage all kinds of demanding headphones.The battery life is good with no downsides; of course it depends on the settings like amplifier gain, volume, file formats, etc.The Kann Alpha supports the latest music formats like FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, WAV, DSD256, MQA and also support wireless Bluetooth 5.0 codecs SBC, LDAC, aptX HD, etc.Feels really good in the hand, heavy but solid, well crafted with excellent materials.The process to install streaming services is not user friendly but works and if we count the sum of virtues, the Alpha deserves a solid 5 stars, definitely checks all boxes.

Love the player. The interface is slower than a phone but you get this item for the sound quality and at that it doesn’t disappoint. I would recommend to any friend. They pair really well with my focal clear headphones and my moondrop starfield IEMS

Awesome product. This is the best music player- perfect sound, portability and ease of use. Very pleased with player.

I'll keep this short and sweet.Playback skippingVolume jumpingCan't let the screen go off or it loses its placeKinda low resolutionSmooth playback when not having issues2/5

The device in very well constructed but it had a defect that was automatically taking the first song of every album and it putting it into an unknown folder. I tried many times to delete the albums and sync them again and the same problem occurred. For the high price there should be a phone number to call for support , very disappointed. I will not repurchase.

No support.I cannot install apps on the device. and couldn't connect to the internet.

Absolutely first rate sound!