Astell&Kern Launches Its First Carriable Headphone Amp, the ACRO CA1000

Astell&Kern, a global leader in hi-resolution audio products and accessories, expands the ACRO desktop/home audio product line with the release of their first carriable headphone amplifier, the ACRO CA1000. The CA1000 will be available in late January/early February 2022 at authorized Astell&Kern dealers worldwide.

The ACRO CA1000 is a headphone amplifier that combines the functions of a high-performance amplifier and the portability of a Digital Audio Player. The ACRO CA1000 is equipped with an 8,400mAh large-capacity battery to provide clear, distortion-free premium sound without the need for a separate power connection. Support for USB-PD 2.0 charging allows the ACRO CA1000 to charge to 50% in one hour, and fully charge in about 2 hours and 30 minutes. The CA1000 can also charge and be used when plugged into AC power.

The Astell&Kern ACRO CA1000 is equipped with four ES9068AS DACs, providing perfect decoding capabilities with Astell&Kern’s amplifier circuit technology. Bit-to-bit playback is possible up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and native DSD512 (22.4MHz), so even the smallest details the artist wanted to express in the music can be heard without distortion.

The ACRO CA1000 features a variety of outputs that can be used by everyone from general users to audiophiles. 3.5mm, 6.35mm Unbalanced, 2.5mm and 4.4mm Balanced output jacks are available to accommodate a variety of headphones/earphones. The ACRO CA1000 can be used as a Hi-Fi audio system by connecting devices using a variety of digital inputs/output (Optical, Coaxial, Type-C USB) and analog inputs/outputs (RCA). All Input/output settings can be easily and conveniently selected using the CA1000 touch screen.

To perfectly drive the most sophisticated headphones, a device must be able to fully deliver output that matches the characteristics of the headphone. The ACRO CA1000 supports four (4) levels of gain settings so that almost any existing headphones can be driven to an optimal state. The gain setting circuitry implemented in the CA1000 can drive even high-impedance headphones without degrading the sound quality using a max output of 15Vrms.

The Astell&Kern ACRO CA1000 will be available in late January/early February 2022 at authorized Astell&Kern dealers worldwide. Pricing and additional specs will be available soon.