Astell&Kern A&Norma SR25 Portable High Resolution Audio Player, Moon Silver

I'm really happy with this player. The price gave me pause for a while, but I finally decided to pull the trigger. Every time I use it I feel a little better about paying so handsomely for it. For years I've been listening to an iBasso DX90. The sound quality of the DX90 was very good, but the tiny and finicky touchscreen was a pain. And the UI was just pretty clunky, like it's a decade old design. Which it surely nearly is. I've become a regular user of Amazon Music HD and wanted a DAP that could not only play my AIFF music files from a MicroSD, but could also play very high quality sound from streaming services. The SR 25 has not disappointed. The UI is really good and pretty intuitive. Smooth, responsive and fluid in use. Battery life seems to be really good as the specs indicated. My fully charged iBasso usually pooped out 4-5 hours into a flight from NY to LA. I've got a few albums from HDTRacks that are 96k or 192k for example and the SR25 plays them at full resolution. I thought it would do the same with The Ultra HD tracks at Amazon HD Music, but I've discovered via the Google that there's a hiccup (Amazon's fault not A&K) that prevents the SR25 from playing Amazon HD tracks at any higher than 48k. Not a dealer breaker. Hoping Amazon fixes that. Most importantly, the sound quality. The SR25 sounds great. Really detailed, great soundstage/separation, etc. Bass is strong, but not muddy or overdone. I thoroughly enjoy listening to music with this player. 2 other frames of reference. I also have an Audioquest Dragon Fly red, and prefer the sound of the SR25 for sure. My headphones are Denon AH-7200's. They are the best headphones I've ever owned.

So, one day I reached into my pocket to pull out my audio player and was shocked to find a full array of internal bits freely hanging out of my device. Rather shocked to realize that the entire back panel was glued on. Really, glued on!!! there are no latches, hooks, or other mechanisms in place to affix the back panel; just a thin layer of glue.So it happened that on a warm day, using my audio player wasn't an option as it just melted the glue, bloated the battery and popped the back panel off.Speaking to support, after realizing a 1 year warranty had expired, I knew this was going to be trashy support. they offered my a 52$ estimated repair (presumably to glue the panel back in place), but will likely charge me for a new battery because the crap they used doesn't fit in the case and only fits secondary to sheer mechanical force and a thin layer of glue.52$ AND DID I MENTION SHIPPING TO AND FROM KOREA! No way.I paid enough. I'll just tape the thing back together and warn everyone I can that this company cannot be trusted. This shows complete lack of care for the consumer beyond 1 year as the model and design is destined to fail. I am disappointed, but I know better now and will definitely spend my money elsewhere when bits of dust find their way into my failure-of-logic designed audio player.Sounds good tho, but who wants some acid burns when the battery bloats and explodes the back panel off! DO YOU! your choice.BTW< this review, yeah there are like 3 others here that say the same. Don't buy this brand. check other sites and reddit, this happens a lot, and you will have a nice acid burn if you are lucky (tho international lawsuits are pretty expensive- more expensive than a hole in your leg even).

This product has blown away all my expectations. In the past I would sit in the center of my theater to really enjoy music, but this with good head phones trumps the sound quality and precision I get from my Martin Logans. I found myself sitting for two to three hours listing to new detail in songs I have listened to for a decade. This experience is with standard files, having not yet down loaded any HD content. You cant pull in your play list from Apple but you can easily create playlist on this device. I originally purchased a Plueme device and sent it back after two weeks of interface struggles and no easy playlist capability. This devise also beats that device in sound quality, as well as functionality. The only issue I have noticed is the drop out of bluetooth if it in my pocket. I use Sony WF 1000XM4 in ear devices. I use Yamaha HPH-MT7 Monitor Headphones.