--- product_id: 66783602 title: "Astell and Kern AK100 Personal MQS & Ultimate Portable Hi-fi Music Player" brand: "astell&kern" price: "€ 0.73" currency: EUR in_stock: false reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/66783602-astell-and-kern-ak100-personal-mqs-and-ultimate-portable-hi store_origin: HR region: Croatia --- # 24bit/192kHz MQS audio support Up to 96GB expandable storage High-fidelity DAC for pristine sound Astell and Kern AK100 Personal MQS & Ultimate Portable Hi-fi Music Player **Brand:** astell&kern **Price:** € 0.73 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Summary > 🎶 Elevate your ears — never settle for less than ultimate sound. ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Astell and Kern AK100 Personal MQS & Ultimate Portable Hi-fi Music Player by astell&kern - **How much does it cost?** € 0.73 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/66783602-astell-and-kern-ak100-personal-mqs-and-ultimate-portable-hi) ## Best For - astell&kern enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted astell&kern brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Ultimate portable design:** Compact and lightweight for premium sound on the go. - • **Massive expandable storage:** Carry your entire high-res library with up to 96GB capacity. - • **Continuous firmware updates:** Stay ahead with ongoing improvements and gapless playback. - • **Audiophile-grade sound clarity:** Experience music with unmatched depth and 3D sound imaging. - • **Seamless high-res format support:** Play MQS files up to 24bit/192kHz for vinyl-like richness. ## Overview The Astell & Kern AK100 is a compact, high-fidelity portable music player designed for discerning audiophiles. Supporting high-resolution audio up to 24bit/192kHz and expandable storage up to 96GB, it delivers crystal-clear sound with a premium DAC. Despite a slightly rough UI and occasional hardware issues reported, its continuous firmware updates and superior audio quality make it a top-tier iPod replacement for professionals craving an immersive listening experience. ## Description The ultimate portable high-fidelity audio system. Review: The dark ages of low definition audio are over, hail Astell & Kern! - Astell & Kern exposes a mighty chasm of difference between the so called "audiophile" experience and listening to music from your phone or an iPod but you'll require a descent set of headphones to truly appreciate the AK100's impressive capabilities. The user interface a little rough around the edges but this can easily be forgiven given the phenomenal audio experience on offer and firmware updates are being released all the time. I discovered the AK100 when considering a replacement iPod. Through online forums I'd discovered that the iPod classics have an older DAC (digital to audio convertor) and that the newer iPods reportedly sound better. I went in to test the differences myself and was surprised that the iPod classic actually did sound inferior to an iPod nano or touch, the music was somehow flatter, less alive but rather than leave with a new iPod touch on was now on a mission. I'd already purchased a nice set of headphones, had begun re-ripping my CD's into a lossless format... was this the best I could get? A resounding "hell no" would be the answer. It turns out that not all zeros and ones are recreated equally and that's where the Astell & Kern shines. In fact the DAC in this player is so good that if you connect this player to a HiFi unit (via headphone jack to phono etc) you'll probably blow people away. The clarity and definition from base to treble is much more precise and pronounced with a more detailed and better represented 3D sound image. An absolutely stunning sound. While the same 256/320Kbps MP3 will sound much (much much) better on the AK100 than on iPod etc this player supports high definition file formats of up to 24bit at 192Khz (9216Kps) and I wouldn't recommend anything less than CD quality music at 16bit at 44.1Khz (1411Kps) otherwise this would be analogous to driving around in a high performance sports car but never going faster than 20Mph. 24Bit music offers the same richness and depth of vinyl but without any of the pops or crackles. The files are significantly larger but now that now that memory isn't the premium that it use to be, with the AK100 you can finally leave the dark ages that Napster, iTunes and Spotify plunged us into and embrace a high definition future. The AK100 provides up to 96GB of storage space (32GB on board plus another couple of slots for a further two 32GB micro SD's). Some forums are reporting that the AK100 supports up to 64GB micro SD but I haven't found this to be the case (even after careful instruction), however, it only takes a few minutes to rescan your library and if you really wanted you could purchase a number of micro SD's and carry them around in a micro SD wallet. So where can you get HD music? In the UK & Europe I've found Lynn Records and High Res Audio (Germany) offering a number of albums that helped kick start my HD music collection. HD Tracks in the US offers the largest number of HD titles but for licensing reasons only a few albums are available internationally like The Doors, Nina Simone etc. If you were in the UK visiting from the US and wanted to purchase from HD Tracks then you could use a VPN like Witopia and use Paypal as a payment method, just remember to delete your cookies first (if first browsing HD Tracks from within the UK). I've also noticed a recent trend of artists releasing their new albums in 24bit through their website for example Goldfrapp, Kate Bush, Muse and Nine Inch Nails all offer 24bit versions of their latest albums and if you have a look around you'll find The Beatles catalogue through the official Beatles website so worth keeping your eyes out, new stuff is becoming available all the time and checking with label and artist websites will reveal the odd delight. This is a beautiful peace of kit with a solid build quality and was much smaller than I was expecting. Perhaps the design of the volume dial lets the unit down a little, if feels a little cheap in comparison to the rest of the build but seems solid enough and wouldn't prevent me from purchasing another. I would recommend this to any audiophile or music lover, someone who is looking for an iPod replacement and wants to try high resolution audio or someone who just wants to listen to their CD's in lossless. This little player is amazing, the best thing I've purchased in a very long time. NB: make sure that you update the firmware so that you get gapless playback (found within the settings) as well as any further improvements they've made since launch. Review: Didn't work - I just got mine. Very nice packaging. Very beautiful finishing. Not working at all. Cable worked fine with my mobile, but the player did not show any sign of live whether connected or disconnected. And after 8 hours (supposedly) charging. Just dead. It is a shame to receive such a bad score for a product that apparently was brilliant... for others. But you cannot win a Pulitzer prize for a fantastic story that was not true or a Nobel prize for a incredibly clever idea that didn't work. In those cases you don't receive a prize at all but a bad reputation. Sorry, but only thing I can say is that behind a gorgeous looking I got a bad quality product. ## Features - Portable ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B00AENWKLK | | Guaranteed software updates until | unknown | | Item model number | AK100 | | Manufacturer | iRiver | | Product Dimensions | 5.84 x 1.52 x 7.87 cm; 122 g | ## Product Details - **Brand:** Astell&Kern - **Colour:** black - **Compatible devices:** Earphone, Laptop, Personal Computer - **Connectivity technology:** USB - **Item weight:** 122 g - **Media type:** AAC, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, PCM, WAV - **Memory storage capacity:** 32 GB - **Screen size:** 2.4 Inches - **Special feature:** Portable - **Supported standards:** MP3 ## Images ![Astell and Kern AK100 Personal MQS & Ultimate Portable Hi-fi Music Player - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51L+S2oThSL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The dark ages of low definition audio are over, hail Astell & Kern! *by B***S on 13 September 2013* Astell & Kern exposes a mighty chasm of difference between the so called "audiophile" experience and listening to music from your phone or an iPod but you'll require a descent set of headphones to truly appreciate the AK100's impressive capabilities. The user interface a little rough around the edges but this can easily be forgiven given the phenomenal audio experience on offer and firmware updates are being released all the time. I discovered the AK100 when considering a replacement iPod. Through online forums I'd discovered that the iPod classics have an older DAC (digital to audio convertor) and that the newer iPods reportedly sound better. I went in to test the differences myself and was surprised that the iPod classic actually did sound inferior to an iPod nano or touch, the music was somehow flatter, less alive but rather than leave with a new iPod touch on was now on a mission. I'd already purchased a nice set of headphones, had begun re-ripping my CD's into a lossless format... was this the best I could get? A resounding "hell no" would be the answer. It turns out that not all zeros and ones are recreated equally and that's where the Astell & Kern shines. In fact the DAC in this player is so good that if you connect this player to a HiFi unit (via headphone jack to phono etc) you'll probably blow people away. The clarity and definition from base to treble is much more precise and pronounced with a more detailed and better represented 3D sound image. An absolutely stunning sound. While the same 256/320Kbps MP3 will sound much (much much) better on the AK100 than on iPod etc this player supports high definition file formats of up to 24bit at 192Khz (9216Kps) and I wouldn't recommend anything less than CD quality music at 16bit at 44.1Khz (1411Kps) otherwise this would be analogous to driving around in a high performance sports car but never going faster than 20Mph. 24Bit music offers the same richness and depth of vinyl but without any of the pops or crackles. The files are significantly larger but now that now that memory isn't the premium that it use to be, with the AK100 you can finally leave the dark ages that Napster, iTunes and Spotify plunged us into and embrace a high definition future. The AK100 provides up to 96GB of storage space (32GB on board plus another couple of slots for a further two 32GB micro SD's). Some forums are reporting that the AK100 supports up to 64GB micro SD but I haven't found this to be the case (even after careful instruction), however, it only takes a few minutes to rescan your library and if you really wanted you could purchase a number of micro SD's and carry them around in a micro SD wallet. So where can you get HD music? In the UK & Europe I've found Lynn Records and High Res Audio (Germany) offering a number of albums that helped kick start my HD music collection. HD Tracks in the US offers the largest number of HD titles but for licensing reasons only a few albums are available internationally like The Doors, Nina Simone etc. If you were in the UK visiting from the US and wanted to purchase from HD Tracks then you could use a VPN like Witopia and use Paypal as a payment method, just remember to delete your cookies first (if first browsing HD Tracks from within the UK). I've also noticed a recent trend of artists releasing their new albums in 24bit through their website for example Goldfrapp, Kate Bush, Muse and Nine Inch Nails all offer 24bit versions of their latest albums and if you have a look around you'll find The Beatles catalogue through the official Beatles website so worth keeping your eyes out, new stuff is becoming available all the time and checking with label and artist websites will reveal the odd delight. This is a beautiful peace of kit with a solid build quality and was much smaller than I was expecting. Perhaps the design of the volume dial lets the unit down a little, if feels a little cheap in comparison to the rest of the build but seems solid enough and wouldn't prevent me from purchasing another. I would recommend this to any audiophile or music lover, someone who is looking for an iPod replacement and wants to try high resolution audio or someone who just wants to listen to their CD's in lossless. This little player is amazing, the best thing I've purchased in a very long time. NB: make sure that you update the firmware so that you get gapless playback (found within the settings) as well as any further improvements they've made since launch. ### ⭐ Didn't work *by E***N on 14 June 2013* I just got mine. Very nice packaging. Very beautiful finishing. Not working at all. Cable worked fine with my mobile, but the player did not show any sign of live whether connected or disconnected. And after 8 hours (supposedly) charging. Just dead. It is a shame to receive such a bad score for a product that apparently was brilliant... for others. But you cannot win a Pulitzer prize for a fantastic story that was not true or a Nobel prize for a incredibly clever idea that didn't work. In those cases you don't receive a prize at all but a bad reputation. Sorry, but only thing I can say is that behind a gorgeous looking I got a bad quality product. ### ⭐⭐ Very expensive for so many niggles *by B***H on 11 February 2014* I'm not an audiophile but have a very large library of (British Folk and Classical) music that I need to listen to on the move. I've been using the AK 100 for just about a month now (a Christmas present!) and these are my initial findings. This device: + is a handy size and seems sturdy +/- comes in sexy packaging that is probably over-kill and must add a lot to the overall cost of the product + gives an excellent sound reproduction for my (mainly) .wma music files + seems to have an acceptable battery life + boot up time is acceptable, but I haven't yet loaded all my music files which will need both micro sd card slots to be used. I can't give it any higher star rating than 3*, however, because: - the screen size is tiny making file navigation tiresomely tricky - the "settings" options are not very well designed and seem limited - it took a software/firmware update to provide a facility to turn gapless playback on/off - the "random" playback option DOESN'T WORK! I use this facility all the time with my other players and this is a "must have" feature for my listening pleasure. The AK 100, however, favours certain tracks and plays those much more frequently that it should if the "random" selection really was unbiased. I will be taking this issue up with Astell & Kern. - the gapless selection facility (see above) DOESN'T WORK. All the "off" selection seems to do is add about one extra second to the original track before cutting it off. My tracks have generally been recorded by me so that they end where I want them to, but even with the "off" button selected, I am still losing about 2 seconds from the end of each track. This is unacceptable and, again, I am taking this up with A&K. If anyone has any solutions to these last 2 negative points I'd be interested to hear them. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hr/products/66783602-astell-and-kern-ak100-personal-mqs-and-ultimate-portable-hi](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/66783602-astell-and-kern-ak100-personal-mqs-and-ultimate-portable-hi) --- *Product available on Desertcart Croatia* *Store origin: HR* *Last updated: 2026-07-18*