Quick Summary
The Astell&Kern PS10 is a digital audio player and DAC with very impressive spec and a striking new look.
It'll be priced at £2,499 ($2,500 / AU$3,945) and deliveries start in May.
Astell&Kern has announced a new Hi-Res Audio player that makes it easy to add Hi-Res playback and streaming to an existing system.
The PS10 digital audio player also introduces a new design direction for the brand, which is very different from existing players, such as the Astell&Kern CA1000T. It includes a new colour scheme and a dramatically different dock.
This is an interesting choice, because while the design is a big improvement to my eyes, I'm surprised A&K didn't introduce it with one of the flagship models first. With a RRP of £2,499 ($2,500 / AU$3,945) this is mid-range in relatively pricing terms.
Astell & Kern PS10: key features and specifications
The PS10 is three things: a portable Hi-Res Audio player and headphone amp, a desktop component, and an external wired or wireless DAC.
The included dock has USB-C and XLR balanced outputs and when you connect headphones to the player, it automatically detects their impedance and sets the amp accordingly.
This is a dual-amp player. The normal gain amp "reproduces delicate details and delivers high-purity sound", while the high gain amp renders audio signals "more vividly", according to the manufacturer.
Inside, you'll find four AKM AK4498EX DACs and two separate AK4191EQ chips that handle digital signals. The PS10 is also the world’s first digital audio player to incorporate the newly-released AK4498EX chip.
It comes 256GB of internal memory and support for microSD cards up to 2TB. There's dual-band 2.4/5Ghz a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and DLNA, and the USB connector can deliver digital audio or connect to your computer to become an external DAC. That feature is also available over Bluetooth 5.3.
The Astell&Kern PS10 is available to order now from the likes of Audiologica for deliveries in May 2025.
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