When it comes to portable Hi-Fi players, the name Astell&Kern has long been synonymous with the highest sound quality and uncompromising design. Their models are not just devices for listening to music, but true engineering works of art that set the tone for the entire industry.
Today we will take a look at one such device — the A&futura SE100. At first glance, this player impresses with its solidity: its body is carved from a single block of aluminum, and its weight of almost 250 grams feels serious and expensive in your hand. But the main thing hidden beneath this premium facade is the brand's signature sound architecture, which promises to immerse you in a world of musical details and nuances that you may not even have suspected existed.
Why does it cost so much? What technologies allow it to sound better than a smartphone? And, most importantly, is the difference in sound quality worth the significant investment? We will try to figure all this out in our review, without delving into the depths of technical specifications, but trying to focus on the real experience of using it.
The Astell&Kern A&futura SE100 is not just a player, but a real audio tank in your pocket: after six months of testing, it has proven itself to be a powerful, tastefully assembled device that plays cleanly, clearly, and with such detail that it feels like you are sitting in the studio next to the musician. Heavy, solid, uncompromising — it's not for everyone, but for those who really hear the difference, it's at least a serious step forward in sound quality.
Very “extra”
In general, Astell&Kern players are the quintessence of the word “extra.” Everything about them is “extra,” especially their appearance. And I like that. In a world full of rounded, glossy shapes, the geometric asymmetry of the Koreans looks not just brutal, but provocative. Yes, of course, it has the flaws inherent in any avant-garde product: the SE100 weighs as much as an atmospheric V8, and I think its sharp edges could easily tear your pockets. But visually, it's just cool.
Interestingly, the large size does not affect ease of use—the volume wheel is easy to reach and turns smoothly with a pleasant clicking sound. The buttons are responsive and easy to press. The interface benefits from a large 5-inch, 720×1280 screen. I didn't notice any particular pixelation, and tapping on the enlarged menus became much easier than on the SR15. One peculiarity is that the screen tends to yellow when the player is turned to the right or left, but the color scheme of the interface (the same as on the SR15 and SP1000) skillfully hides this. Traditionally, there is a touch button under the screen that returns the user to the main screen.
If you put the player in your pocket with the headphone jacks facing up, the first button your finger touches will be Rewind, followed by Pause, and only then will you find the Next Track button.
A noticeable difference between the older model and the SR15 is the amount of built-in memory: they didn't skimp on it, installing a 128 GB module. With a MicroSD card, you can expand the music library by another 400 GB. My test set of tracks is traditionally stored on a very old 8 GB card, and despite its venerable age, there were no problems reading it.
The device connects to a PC in USB DAC mode and to a charger via USB-C — the connector is located on the bottom edge, next to the card slot. Two hexagonal screws are playfully placed on either side of the connectors. The playback control buttons (forward, backward, and pause) are on the left side closer to the top edge, and the volume wheel is in a recess on the right. The power button and headphone jacks — balanced and unbalanced, combined with optics — are located on the top edge. Unlike the SR15, the screen on this player is not angled, but the body itself is parallelogram-shaped in cross-section. The rear panel is traditionally decorated with a pattern typical for Astell&Kern — this time with tiny triangles forming rhombuses.
The knob spins smoothly
The player had already been used a bit before I got it, so there were a few small scratches here and there on the glass. The scratches are not visible on the rough metal texture.
Floor emulator
A proportionate battery has been fitted into the large player: on a single charge, it can play FLAC files for 11-12 hours. It takes about three hours to charge from zero to 100% (and even faster with the Qualcomm QuickCharge fast charging block). One strange feature: unlike the younger SR15, the player does not support playback control from headphone remotes. Apparently, the manufacturers believe that headphones suitable for this class are not available in the headset format. Well, it's my job to check and report back.
The labels near the connectors are small, which makes the player seem even larger.
The heart of the player is the ES9038Pro DAC chip from ESS. It is an eight-channel chip that works alone, but does so in an interesting way: the left and right channels each get four DAC channels. Synchronization is provided by a precision femtosecond clock generator. According to the developers, this has allowed them to achieve a more detailed sound without the instruments on stage getting mixed up. The DAC can handle signals up to 32-bit/384 kHz PCM and native DSD up to 11.2 MHz.
As usual for this brand, there is no mention of the amplifier and output signal power in the specifications, but there is information about the output voltage: 2 V on balanced outputs and 4.1 V on unbalanced outputs. For the headphones I have, including the Astell&Kern Billie Jean armature headphones from the Sirens series, the player had more than enough power — I turned the volume above 100 (out of 150) not because I needed to, but simply because I wanted to listen to this player loudly.
At both low and high volumes, the player does not lose tracks, continuing to play them clearly and accurately. Volodymyr Bibopovsky, recorded on a knee, sounded better than expected when played on the SE100 (but it was not possible to read the track names due to unsupported encodings). The rich hum of the double bass blended perfectly with the simple drum parts and did not interfere with the piano solo, without losing the deep, sometimes drawn-out reverberations. If, at high volume, you feel like smashing a bottle of whiskey and getting into a dirty fight with a “rose” while listening to tracks on the SE100, then at low volume the marginal effect is less pronounced — you just want to drink the whiskey. Overall, the SE100 conveys the atmosphere perfectly.
The situation is no worse with more party-oriented tracks: the accumulation of electronic samples remains distinguishable and legible in both Infected Mushroom and Bomfunk MC's. In the native “Freestyler,” the barely audible effect of slightly chewed tape at the very beginning becomes clearer, and the treble seems brighter, which only benefits such a track. At low volumes, the high frequencies calm down noticeably and stand out less.
And with this player, I also managed to catch the claustrophobic effect I hate when listening to classical music, which usually manifests itself on large speakers: even in the seemingly light and joyful beginning of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, performed by Karl Böhm and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, there is too much musical information, and it would be fine if the player presented the melody as a continuous stream, but it doesn't. It highlights each part, each instrument demands attention, each is played differently, and I simply cannot keep track of them all, and they line up around me like a Pink Floyd wall, looming, burying me beneath them, and the music becomes frighteningly large, and I become small. True, it took the player longer than large stereo systems to throw me off balance with classical music — about twenty minutes instead of the usual ten to fifteen. But this effect still says a lot about the SE100's serious resolution and its ability to convey the scale of compositions.
Traditional holography on the backrest, this time with diamonds
With symphonic music that is more familiar to me — soundtracks from games and movies — the situation is less frightening, but similar: due to the simplicity of the compositions themselves, the melodies sound more cohesive, but the scale and grandeur remain unchanged. The player's ability to separate tracks into their constituent parts transformed 65daysofstatic's matroko piano and drum riffs into detailed but non-aggressive audio stories.
The player also performed well with @sasha_belyaev's selections of non-standard jazz, featuring syncopated rhythmic patterns, ethnic instruments, and sometimes completely psychedelic motifs. The SE100 handled the transition from ringing silence to explosive chords with flying colors.
Not just in your pocket, but on your desk
The player can be used not only as a portable device, but also as part of a home setup. It can take on the functionality of a wired DAC or network player. In the latter case, the AK Connect function comes into play, allowing the device to communicate with the music library on a home server or any other source accessible via the MSQ program, as well as network speakers.
I did use this functionality in a non-standard way: I connected the player via Wi-Fi to a music library on a laptop in another room and sent the signal to a Bluetooth speaker sitting next to me. But the presence of an optical output allows it to be used in more serious systems.
The network functionality is not limited to home file storage — the player has access to Groovers+ and Tidal streaming services.
All in all, the Astell&Kern SE100 lives up to its hefty weight and price tag. This device is for those who are really into high-quality sound and are willing to make some compromises for it. It doesn't try to be everything to everyone, but focuses on the main thing — music.
Its powerful sound, detail, and that signature “Astell” character will leave no one indifferent. Yes, the interface may not seem the most nimble, and a pocket without strong seams may not be the best place for such a gadget. But as soon as playback begins, these minor flaws fade into the background.
The SE100 is more than just a player. It is a personal portable concert where every note and every nuance of sound is under your control. If you are looking for the pinnacle of portable audio and are not put off by its weight, this quarter-kilogram device will be a source of many years of true audio pleasure.
