Astell&Kern A&norma SR25 Portable Hi-Fi Music Player Released – See Features, Specs and Price

Astell&Kern recently announced the A&norma SR25 portable hi-resolution music player. The A&norma is basically an updated or upgraded version of the SR15. The S25 features the same Cirrus Logic DAC in dual DAC configuration, but offers several improvements like better circuitry design, better display, improved sound quality, longer battery life and many more. The A&norma is A&K’s entry-level lineup, followed by the A&futura series and their top of the line A&ultimate series.

Astell&Kern A&norma SR25 Hi-Res Music Player-02

What’s new in the A&norma SR25 Music Player?

The A&norma SR25 is an improved version of the SR15. It replaces the SR15, since the SR25 comes at the same MSRP as the SR15. I’m not sure if the SR15 will be discontinued, but more or less the SR15 is headed that way.

So, what’s new with the A&norma SR25? Astell&Kern has upgraded its processing power with a quad-core CPU. It still uses the same dual Cirrus Logic CS43198 “master Hi-Fi level” DAC that was first used on the SR15; but A&K implemented a new circuitry design. With the help of the new (internal) design, there are improvements on the sound quality and changes on the sound characteristics as well.

The new SR25 now supports native DSD playback up to DSD256. The SR15 only supports native playback up to DSD64. Aside from that, the SR25 also supports PCM up to 384kHz. It now also supports Tidal and Bluetooth (v4.2) LDAC, together wit aptX HD, AVRCP and A2DP for an improved wireless sound quality.

When it comes to the physical aspects of the A&norma SR25, it still features a similar design – a tilted front screen. The body is also maid with aluminum, but color theme is now “Moon silver”. The display is now slightly larger and comes with a higher resolution. The screen size is now 3.6-inch and the display resolution is upgraded to 720×1280 from the 480×800 on the SR15.

Micro USB port is a thing of the past and the SR25 now features USB Type-C connector for data transmission and charging. Although, I am not sure if it is a USB 3.0 (Type-C) or the slower USB 2.0 version. It’s also using the same 3150 mAh battery, but thanks to the changes in the circuitry design and CPU; the SR25 can last up to ~21 hours. The older SR15 only last up to around ~10 hours.

The new A&norma SR25 runs on Android 9.0 and supports Open App service. This means you can install third party (music streaming) apps using their APK. The rest of the changes can be seen on the specifications table below.

Price and Availability

The Astell&Kern A&norma SR25 comes with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $699 USD. If I am not mistaken, A&K already rolled out the SR25 through retail stores. So, we should be seeing them in stock from your favorite (audio) retail stores very soon.

Astell&Kern A&norma SR25 DAP Specifications

Below is the full specifications of the A&norma SR25 vs SR15:

SpecificationsA&norma SR25A&norma SR15
Body ColorMoon SilverDark Gray
Body MaterialAluminumAluminum
Display 3.6inch WVGA (720 x 1,280) TFT LCD3.3inch WVGA (480 x 800) TFT LCD
Supported Audio FormatsWAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, MQWAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF
MQA playbackServices(Tidal Masters), Local files, External USB, MQA-CD(ripped)
Sample ratePCM : 8kHz ~ 384kHz (8/16/24/32bits per Sample) / DSD Native: DSD64(1bit 2.8MHz), Stereo
/ DSD128(1bit 5.6MHz), Stereo / DSD256(1bit 11.2MHz), Stereo
PCM : 8kHz ~ 192kHz (8/16/24bits per Sample)
/ DSD Native : DSD64(1bit 2.8MHz), Stereo / DSD to PCM : DSD128(1bit 5.6MHz)
Output LevelUnbalance 2.0Vrms / Balance 4.0Vrms (Condition No Load)Unbalance 2.0Vrms / Balance 4.0Vrms (Condition No Load)
CPUQuad CoreQuad Core
DACCirrus Logic CS43198 x2 (Dual DAC)Cirrus Logic CS43198 x2 (Dual DAC)
Built-in Memory64GB [NAND]64GB [NAND]
External MemorymicroSD (Max. 1TB) x1microSD (Max. 1TB) x1
DecodingSupport up to 32bit / 384kHz Bit-to-Bit PlaybackSupport up to 24bit / 192kHz Bit to Bit Decoding
InputUSB Type-C input (for PC & MAC)USB Micro-B input (for charging & data transfer (PC & MAC)) / Connection Mode : MTP (Media Device)
OutputsUnbalanced Out (3.5mm) / Balanced Out (2.5mm, only 4-pole supported) PHONES (3.5mm) / Balanced Out (2.5mm, only 4-pole supported)
Wi-Fi802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)
BluetoothV4.2 (A2DP, AVRCP, aptXTM HD, LDAC)V4.1 (A2DP, AVRCP, aptX HD)
Dimensions (W x H x D)2.5" (63.5 mm) x 4.26" (108.3 mm) x 0.63" (16.1 mm)2.26" (57.5 mm) x 3.92" (99.7 mm) x 0.63" (16.1 mm)
Weightabout 6.27 oz (about 178 g)about 5.43 oz (about 154 g)
Feature EnhancementsFirmware upgrades supported (OTA)Firmware upgrades supported (OTA)
Frequency Response±0.014dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Unbalanced / ±0.011dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Balanced
±0.10dB (Condition: 20Hz~70kHz) Unbalanced / ±0.12dB (Condition: 20Hz~70kHz) Balanced
±0.030dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Unbalance / ±0.024dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Balance
±0.038dB (Condition: 10Hz~70kHz) Unbalance / ±0.065dB (Condition: 10Hz~70kHz) Balance
Signal to Noise Ratio122dB @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / 123dB @ 1kHz, Balanced122dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance & Balance
Crosstalk-138dB @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / -144dB @ 1kHz, Balanced137dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance & Balance
THD+N0.0007% @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / 0.0008% @ 1kHz, Balanced0.0008% @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 0.0009% @ 1kHz, Balance
IMD SMPTE0.0004% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Unbalanced / 0.0003% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Balanced0.0004% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Unbalance & Balance
Output ImpedanceUnbalanced Out 3.5mm (1.8ohm) / Balanced out 2.5mm (1.6ohm)Balanced out 2.5mm (1.6ohm) / PHONES 3.5mm (1.1ohm)
Clock Jitter25ps(Typ)70ps (Typ)
Reference Clock Jitter200 Femto Seconds
Battery Capacity3,150mAh 3.7V Li-Polymer Battery3,150mAh 3.7V Li-Polymer Battery
Continuous Playback TimeAbout 21 hours (Standard - MUSIC: FLAC, 16-bit/44.1kHz, Unbalance, Volume 50, EQ OFF, LCD OFF)up to 10 hours
Charge TimeAbout 2.5 hours (Standard - 5V/2A Charging)
Supported OSWindows 7,8,10 (32/64bit), MAC OS X 10.7 and upWindows 7,8,10 (32/64bit), MAC OS X 10.7 and up

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