Astell & Kern A&norma SR35

Astell & Kern won't stop; its 'entry-level' music player just keeps getting better and better

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“It’s déjà vu all over again,” one of the famous malapropisms by baseball legend Yogi Berra, feels like a fitting reaction to unboxing the Astell & Kern A&norma SR35. We get the overwhelming sense that we have been here before. And again before that. It’s understandable really; the new SR35 is the fourth iteration of this portable music player we have reviewed in as many years, and the model’s appearance has varied little more than Mickey Mouse’s over their careers.

Either the South Korean portable audio specialist is needlessly determined to compete with the annual smartphone launch cycle, or it keeps finding ways to improve upon its entry-level player and cannot resist sharing it with the world. Let’s go with the latter.

Compared with its predecessor, the A&norma SR25 MKII, the SR35 has indeed evolved both the features offering and performance, though it should be said that it hasn’t done so without hoisting up the price by £100. The SR35 certainly tests the definition of ‘entry level’, and is a rung or two up the ladder from the budget Sony Walkman and most affordable Cowon and FiiO hi-res players, but it is still considerably more affordable than Astell & Kern’s next-model-up Kann Max (£1199).

The new SR35 is the first model in the A&norma line to feature the company’s in-house designed New Generation AMP technology and a quad-DAC arrangement that allows the owner to engage all four of its Cirrus Logic CS43198 DAC chips for a more engaging sound. (Or, Dual mode can be selected for times when power consumption might be more of a priority than outright sound quality.)