Astell&Kern A&norma SR25 High Resolution Audio Player Moon Silver

I wouldn’t consider myself an audiophile but I do love my music and the SR25 ticks the boxes for me. While I would have preferred the shape and size of the AK70 MKII which I’m replacing the SR25 with, I’m more than happy with the improvements that come with it. Delivery took a big longer than expected but with the constant updates from Richard of Audiologica you could hardly complain.

A TRUE JEM!!!

I am not new to Astell & Kern so I know what to expect from the, SR25 delivers great sound quality, smooth performance and excellent battery life.Justin from Headamp , as always hipped it super fast. I am enjoying the SR25 with the Campfire audio Andromeda 202 and Solaris 2020 and the sound (got both of them from Headamp) and the sound quality is spectacular. Well priced player. Bluetooth works perfectly too. Thanks Justin/Headamp!

A lovely player

I am extremely happy with my purchase - once again CeX come up with a great quality product at an excellent price. The player is in superb condition. Thanks!

Awesome SR25 DAP from AK

Premium DAP that walks the walk! The AK SR25 has the goods, Bluetooth connected flawlessly to both my Bose headphones and my car. AKs' Open APP picked up Amazon HD music and played HD and UHD files, no problem. Stored downloaded files for playback on my trips up to the ski area (no cell service) on the Sandisk Extreme 1 TB microSD I added to the SR25 easily. One odd thing is that, the sample files can play thru the AK Connect to my Sonos speakers (thru the WIFI IP address) BUT none of the Amazon music will play thru the Sonos. This could be a Amazon CODEC issue, but I wish the SR25 AK connect/Open APP could get it together to play through my Sonos speaker system. That not withstanding, this is an excellent premium DAP with a host of tremendous features.

Back down the rabbit hole of hi res audio

It's been many years since I cared about what I was listening to. For the longest time, it did not matter. My background is one steeped in audiophile, so the deflection away was a bit of a stumble, as they say(hey now). I'm back, and the SR25 has proven to be a good welcome mat back into audiophile-ism. I did a fair amount of research before pulling the trigger on the Astell & Kern. There's quite a few players that are a bit less expensive, but I am totally satisfied with my choice. I thought about going all in for the flagship player, but I'm glad I did not, because now I have something to look forward to down the road in the not too distant future, like maybe less than a year! Everything associated with this player is miles ahead of what I was listening to. Add ... MoreIt's been many years since I cared about what I was listening to. For the longest time, it did not matter. My background is one steeped in audiophile, so the deflection away was a bit of a stumble, as they say(hey now). I'm back, and the SR25 has proven to be a good welcome mat back into audiophile-ism. I did a fair amount of research before pulling the trigger on the Astell & Kern. There's quite a few players that are a bit less expensive, but I am totally satisfied with my choice. I thought about going all in for the flagship player, but I'm glad I did not, because now I have something to look forward to down the road in the not too distant future, like maybe less than a year! Everything associated with this player is miles ahead of what I was listening to. Add 24bit-192kHz files to it and my ears have not been this happy in a very long time. Even in the car w/Bluetooth, the imaging and the gained clarity of my music with this player has me grinning while driving! When I'm not driving, Shure SE535's do the trick. For the last 10 years, the Klipsch speakers with the modest Denon Receiver has been used for the television. That is all about to change. I'm baaack!

Cracking Sound Quality, Operating System and Price

This DAP (Digital Audio Player) is fantastic. Previously I played my MP3s on an iPod Classic and it did me proud for years. But the jump in sound quality when I bought this Astell & Kern SR25 was amazing.I did expect it to be good, as I'd read the reviews and obviously it's original RRP is quite high, compared to what I'm used to buying. My expectations were not disappointed. The layout and operating system are a joy to use and it is extremely responsiveness as well.The only small niggle is that occasionally the Bluetooth drops out. But this has only started happening since the last software update, so I hope & expect it will be fixed in the next update. The other good points listed far outweigh this and it deserves it's 5* rating, particularly given CeX are ... MoreThis DAP (Digital Audio Player) is fantastic. Previously I played my MP3s on an iPod Classic and it did me proud for years. But the jump in sound quality when I bought this Astell & Kern SR25 was amazing.I did expect it to be good, as I'd read the reviews and obviously it's original RRP is quite high, compared to what I'm used to buying. My expectations were not disappointed. The layout and operating system are a joy to use and it is extremely responsiveness as well.The only small niggle is that occasionally the Bluetooth drops out. But this has only started happening since the last software update, so I hope & expect it will be fixed in the next update. The other good points listed far outweigh this and it deserves it's 5* rating, particularly given CeX are selling it at around half it's original retail price.

Incredible sound. Amazing build and design quality. Where’s the firmware to speed it up?

Sound quality is incredible. On par with Ibasso dx300 (maybe better to my rear). All AK DAPS belong in the modern art section of The Louvre.It’s got PLENTY of power. Drives my over ear cans brilliantly. IEMs sound amazing.Astell and Kern. Why oh why do you clock your processors so slow? And it’s not just the less expensive ones. They all run like an iPhone 4 on 3g.Where’s the firmware upgrade!Pleaseee bring it on.As always, the guys at HeadAmp are awesome! They are so great about getting things shipped out quickly is mind boggling. I ordered this at like 5:20pm and it showed up at my door 16 hours later.

Lush and Luxury.

They say, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and that is a true statement. I sure thought that SR25 was beautiful when I first saw it grace the webpages of the world wide web, but when I held it in my hand and saw its graceful lines and genius design up-close I knew I was looking at a work of art. Every button has a nice click to it especially the volume knob and it sounds so satisfying. The ingenious tilted screen is perfectly strait when the player is held in the hand. I couldn't help but admire the luxurious design and high quality craftsmanship of this DAP.As I plugged in my Mangird Tea IEMs into the 2.5mm balanced jack I was instantly immersed in luscious musical notes and whisked away to my happy place. I would describe the sound of SR25 as smooth and ... MoreThey say, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and that is a true statement. I sure thought that SR25 was beautiful when I first saw it grace the webpages of the world wide web, but when I held it in my hand and saw its graceful lines and genius design up-close I knew I was looking at a work of art. Every button has a nice click to it especially the volume knob and it sounds so satisfying. The ingenious tilted screen is perfectly strait when the player is held in the hand. I couldn't help but admire the luxurious design and high quality craftsmanship of this DAP.As I plugged in my Mangird Tea IEMs into the 2.5mm balanced jack I was instantly immersed in luscious musical notes and whisked away to my happy place. I would describe the sound of SR25 as smooth and luscious. The CS43198 Dual DAC chips reproduce all of the frequencies accurately and with finesse. I get plenty of detail, resolution, layering of the instruments and soundstage. Most importantly I immensely enjoy listening to my music library using SR25 and at the end of the day this is why we purchase HIFI hires equipment. In my opinion Astell & Kern SP25 is a premium lookin, feeling, built and sounding device that deserves your consideration.

Review of excellent service from CEX Farnborough

I bought an Astell & Kern SR25 from CEX last month, mostly by part exchange of £300 worth of items. I just wanted to point out what an excellent service Wayne & Craig provided in the Farnborough shop. BTW the player is excellent

SR25: Very Nice Audio Player and Easy to Use!

My previous player was a Pioneer XDP-30 (Still in use). I needed to replace it when I purchased a second Bose Revolve+ and discovered the XDP’s Bluetooth didn’t support using both of them in Stereo Mode. So, I went on search for a new player. My search included various brands and ended with the now-on-sale Astell & Kern SR15 as the newer SR25 replaced it. After reading comparison reviews of the old and new, I decided to go with the newer version SR25.The SR25 is a very nice piece of technology. The old XDP-30 seems bargain basement stuff in comparison. It feels like a premium quality device the moment you pick it up and start using it. It runs on Android, which I have not used before being an Apple Mac/iPad/iPhone sort of person. The menus are straight forward and ... MoreMy previous player was a Pioneer XDP-30 (Still in use). I needed to replace it when I purchased a second Bose Revolve+ and discovered the XDP’s Bluetooth didn’t support using both of them in Stereo Mode. So, I went on search for a new player. My search included various brands and ended with the now-on-sale Astell & Kern SR15 as the newer SR25 replaced it. After reading comparison reviews of the old and new, I decided to go with the newer version SR25.The SR25 is a very nice piece of technology. The old XDP-30 seems bargain basement stuff in comparison. It feels like a premium quality device the moment you pick it up and start using it. It runs on Android, which I have not used before being an Apple Mac/iPad/iPhone sort of person. The menus are straight forward and easy to use. I was even able to download and install the Amazon Music HD app onto the SR25 without issue or complication. I also have a micro SD card installed with my music library when away from wifi.I use the SR25 in several ways. It works great over Bluetooth with my Bose Revolve+ pair in stereo mode for outside patio use. I use the usb-c connection to send music to my Schitt Stack desktop Dac/PreAmp/Amp and Audioengine speaker setup. And, I use the SR25’s 2.5mm balanced output with my JH Audio IEM and Shure Aonic 50 Headset (when working). The point is, the SR25 works no matter what I want to use it for. Across applications, I notice that the volume output is different depending on which way I am using it. Otherwise, it works the same. Awesome!For listening to music and it’s flexibility, I don’t think I’ll be needing anything better for a very long time. It will probably take something new in the future to come along and expose a weakness I’ll need to overcome. In the mean time, the SR25 makes me just as happy as any of my Apple products. It works great and is just as pretty to look at - lol.