An iconic aesthetic, absolutely unmistakable, constitutes the letter of presentation of the AK HC4, the fourth amplifier of headphones with USB DAC from Astell&Kern, designed to provide high resolution sound from any computer or mobile device. As more and more mobile phone manufacturers remove headphone jacks from their devices, the AK HC4 offers users the ability to get extreme musicality with the headphones and helmets they already own. Thus, it incorporates a D/A conversion chip AKM AK4493S that supports DSD files up to DSD256 and PCM up to 32-bit/384 kHz. In this regard, it must be emphasized that it is the first USB DAC from the South Korean firm equipped with a DAC from the Japanese AKMa component that instantly won the favor of audiophiles when it was included in Astell&Kern digital audio players, but due to the small size of USB DACs and the challenges of amplifier design it has until now been difficult to implement in a product like the AK HC4.
Furthermore, the aforementioned AK4493S has been further enhanced with a superior control of noise, a lower consumption of energy and a ultra-precise amplification technology, the result being High Fidelity music with exceptional quality. As for connectivity refers, the AK HC4 has Dual Outputs with 3.5 mm and 4.4 mm connectors that allow it to be used with the majority of headphones available on the market without the need for additional adapters or cables. In this sense, it should be noted that the balanced shot With a 4.4 mm connector, it delivers no less than 3 Vrms, thus maximizing the performance of high-sensitivity headphones, while at the same time ensures clear separation of channels and minimal noise. For its part, the unbalanced socket The 3.5 mm jack accepts most existing headphones thanks to its 2 Vrms output.
Of the superb engineering that is under the hood of the new Astell&Kern also attest to the use of microcapacitors and microresistors discrete (non-integrated) and the presence of the exclusive “Digital Audio Remaster” technology (DAR), used until now only in the brand’s portable players and which allows it to resample the sampling rate of any original content. Finally, let us point out that the AK HC4 includes UAC 2.0 and UAC 1.0 sockets intended for the enjoyment of video games with audiophile features, while two interchangeable shielded cables with USB-C and Lightning connections ensure the compatibility with Android and iOS devices.
