Astell&Kern A&futura SE300

Astell & Kern SE300 : Superb Analogue Experience - Redefining R2R Performance!



Summary & Objective:

The Astell & Kern SE300 is the first ever R2R DAP release by Astell & Kern in 2023. The SE300 combines the best of both worlds - R2R DAC ensuring analogue experience, while combining with Class A & AB amplification. This combination is unique and I have found this to be profoundly better than any of the other R2R implementations I had come across earlier.





Introduction:

The Astell & Kern SE300 comes with excellent build quality and superb sound performance - a unique combination of R2R with Class A & AB amplification makes a big difference in the music experience. The Analogue sound of R2R comes alive with the transparent amplification of class A & AB. Not to forget the superb build and the overall good software experience.

The Astell & Kern SE300 is priced at $1899.



Disclaimer: This unit was sent by Astell & Kern for the purpose of an honest review. Everything mentioned in this review are purely my own based on my experiences with the DAP.


Design, Build & Features:

I wouldn't want to make this a very long review by describing each feature but for people who want to know, here are some extracts from the Astell & Kern website.





Specifications:

The Astell & Kern SE300 comes with $1899 price tag and the specifications are as below:

https://www.astellnkern.com/product/product_detail.jsp?productNo=146

Astell & Kern SE300 have used all of expertise and technology to build this unique R2R and class A amp combination.
Furthermore, it comes with a glossy silver build which looks very premium and luxurious.



Specifications are as follows:

• Fully Discrete 24 bit R-2R DAC
• Equipped with 96 ultra-precision 0.01% & TCR10 resistors
• New Dual AMP (Class A/AB) mode
• Option for OS / NOS modes
• Implemented self-developed and optimized FPGA technology
• New Crimson theme UI/UX
• Supports Bluetooth 5.0 and wireless Hi-Fi

Software & Connectivity:

I have seen many people complain about the really slow/bad software experience on some selective A&K DAPs and I myself had also faced some similar issues in the KANN Alpha.
However, the experience on the SE300 is very different. The software & keyboard experience is very fluid & smooth. The UI are much faster than typical android and I have not come across any random freeze or app not functioning cases which I have come across in many android based DAPs.

From a connectivity perspective - and by connectivity I mean scope of third party streaming apps like: Roon, Qobuz, Tidal, etc... is all present and available in the SE300. I have been using Qobuz mostly throughout the review duration and have not come across any bugs or glitches that hamper the overall experience.
Rather, the overall experience was much smoother than the typical android ones.



Unique Features:

The SE300 comes with quite a few nifty features that have a very positive impact on the overall user experience.
They are as follows:

R2R NOS vs OS: This is all about personal preference. Some people prefer the original analogue with no over sampling (NOS), while others may prefer over-sampled more detailed version with higher resolution that is closer to the regular digital output. Anyone can easily switch between the modes from the settings and also the scroll down menu. This makes it very easy for the users to switch between the modes for different tracks.

High Gain: The high gain allows a higher power and thereby accommodating power hungry IEMs and headphones to perform at their peak power.

Class A/AB switching: While both class A & AB modes provide superior transparency when compared to other modes of amplification, the AB mode enables wider staging and more concert-like experience, while the class A is for more vocal focused and up close experience. Preference may differ from person to person and from track to track. In the SE300, anyone can switch easily between the modes from the scroll down menu or the settings menu. it is very easily accessible and works instantly.

The above unique features is what gives the SE300 a big mileage over any other DAP in similar price range. These features amplify the overall user experience and gives the user much more flexibility.




NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SOUND....

Items Used for this Review:

IEMs:

IEMs of different ranges:

below $300: QoA Aviation, Moondrop Aria 2
$500-1000: Softears Twilight
$1200 - 1700: @UniqueMelody MEST MKII
$2000 and above: @Vision Ears EXT, Hifiman SVANAR

Well these are the ones I have with me presently... and have used for the review.



Extrenal Amplifiers used: Cayin C9
Streaming Source: QOBUZ

Pairing:

The SE300 pairs well with all IEMs that I have come across, but sometimes it is not powerful enough to support the peak performance of some power hungry IEMs and headphones. Hence, I had paired it with the Cayin C9 which also features discrete class A/AB amplification and is powerful enough to power any IEM and most headphones. I must say that the SE300 pairing with the C9 gives a superb sound experience that is quite mesmerizing and I was awestruck by the performance.
The Best performance I have had is with EXT/SVANAR + SE300 + C9.



Tracks Used:

The tracks I have used can be found from the below playlist that I have used and generally use for most reviews...





ASTELL & KERN SE300 Sound Impressions in Short:

Tonality:
The discrete R2R DAC delivers superb analogue sound with the right warmth and without any additional coloration & the sound is very transparent and natural through the Class A & AB amplification.

The BASS:

The Bass sounds just Superb. Bass has details in the sub-bass region and is thick and creamy with enough muscle in the mid-bass to make the instrument attacks sound very natural and realistic. In tracks like : "Anna R. Chie (Remastered) - Konstantin Wecker" and "Dreams (2001 Remaster) – Fleetwood Mac" you can feel the the deep attack of the different instruments with just enough details. The thumps and slams are very enjoyable. The layering & separation is also superb and you can distinguish each instrument from the other one easily.

The MIDS:

The Midrange is excellent in terms of every single element. It is able to produce an good creamy smooth and textured midrange that is soothing to the ears while having enough details and layering in it. The vocals are natural and both male and female vocals come with good amount of details. Instruments sounded natural and can be identified easily from the other instruments owing to superb separation capabilities. In tracks like: "Anchor - Trace Bundy" and "Ruby Tuesday - Franco Battiato" while you will love the overall midrange specially transients of the guitars, violins etc... instruments and the vocals.





The TREBLE:

The Treble is very natural with enough extension & air as the track commands. It seems very natural and organic and is very very enjoyable.


STAGING & RESOLUTION:

The staging and resolution is excellent and significantly better than many other DAPs that I have come across so far. Resolution is also better considering R2R and provides a very transparent representation while maintaining clarity and sense of direction. Tracks like: “ She Don't Know – Melody Gardot” or “Bohemian Rhapsody (live aid) – Queen” sound good & enjoyable. In this category this can rival many $500 - $800 DAPs easily.




Comparisons:

Based on many people's request, I had been able to compare the A&K SE300 with the Cayin N7, as both DAPs come in a similar price range, despite the differences in the architecture. The Cayin N7 features a 1-bit architecture which is different from the R2R, but also comes with class A & AB amplification and android OS supporting all streaming platforms.

Hence, it made more sense to compare these 2 DAPs - both being great performers in their own way.
I have loved using each of them and can vouch that both are great performers individually.
Given the similarity in features and price range this comparison has been amongst the most asked for in the facebook groups.





COMPARATIVE IMPRESSIONS:

Build & Features: Both of these DAPs come with solid build. The Cayin N7 being a aluminum & glass build while the SE300 feels a lot more luxurious and premium with the glossy silvery finish. Both DAPs support Class A/AB switching and high gain modes. The NOS/OS mode is unique to the SE300 being R2R whereas the N7 has a 1-bit dac architecture. The N7 however comes with a leather case out of the box, something that is missing in the SE300. While, the N7 features both 3.5mm & 4.4mm ports, the SE300 supports all 3 ports: 2.5mm, 3.5mm, 4.4mm thereby supporting a lot more audio gears out of the box.



Portability: The Cayin N7 is a hefty device and much heavier than the SE300. The SE300 seemed more portable from a size & weight perspective.

Software Performance: The N7 features android OS while the SE300 features their own very customized OS. Both DAPs support all streaming platforms. The SE300 I have found to be more stable software performances while the N7 in some rare occasions had some android based app freezes. I felt that both UI were fluid and user friendly. While N7 being android, was more flexible regarding the different apps to be used, it also came with some caveats such as Youtube Music has issues, etc.



Battery Performance: This is where things get very very interesting. The N7 comes with a bigger battery. having said that, the endurance and performance is not that great. The SE300 featuring a slimmer profile has a better battery performance and doesn't require as frequent charging like the N7. The N7 however fares much better than other android DAPs but falls short of the SE300 when it comes to longer music listening experience and battery endurance.

Overall Sound Performance: While both DAPs feature class A & AB amplification, it's fair to say that the N7 is the more powerful amongst the 2 DAPs and is able to power power hungry IEMs and headphones better. In order to separate out the amplification performance from the DAC, I had paired both with the Cayin C9.
As far as the DAC tonality and performance is concerned, both of the DACs are warm sounding but the R2R is obviously more analogue. However, the SE300 seems to have retained some finer details & nuances which I found missing on the N7. The N7 sound seems more fuller and meatier, but then again missing some of the finer details. The SE300 is in no way thin or lean sounding. it has just the right amount of details and sounds full and textured though not as meaty as the N7.
In my experience, the SE300+C9 was much more preferable to the N7+C9. Though the N7+C9 pairing experience is held high in the experiences of many other reviewers, in case of the SE300 - it seemed that the C9 combination yielded better results. The sound was clearer and more bold, the staging and imaging and separation had quite a bit improvements and this combination was able to power all the IEM combinations that I was able to try with.


In summary, both DAPs are superb performers in their own way. While the SE300 lacked a leather case out of the box, it made up for that and more with the sound experience, the battery life and the smooth software experience.





Conclusion :

It seems that Astell & Kern this time had come up with a solid performer and regardless of the price tag, the SE300 ticks more boxes in terms of better sound & user experience overall. This makes is an easy recommendation to people who can afford and are looking for an analogue sounding DAP or prefer warmer sound.

You can find more of my reviews here: https://www.audionervosa.pl/

I was able to borrow Astell SE300 for a few days for a proper evaluation. Here is my take on it.


It’s big, quite heavy and with interesting design features.



The volume knob is backlit.



Traditionaly with Astell it’s also meticulously finished more in line with a crown from an expensive watch.



One side has a slight curvature so it’s the same time bulged and recessed in order for a better grip and less protruding volume knob.



On the other side there is slight indentation so that the physical buttons does not stick out outside the outline of the main body.



Back is well finished as always.



There is not much really to say about the system, features and usability. Everything you would expect from a modern DAP is here and works well. Screen is not the best I’ve seen and the system is not the most snappy but both of them are still very good - just not the best. It’s quick and usability is fine but nothing earth shattering.


The star of the show is of course R-2R Dac implementation



There is also an option to switch between class A and AB amplifier.



I've been listening to it for a few days now and holy cow, I can’t get enough of it. This is not my first meeting with NOS dac or R-2R because I used to have NOS dac based on 8x TDA1543 chips and I also had pleasure to use R-2R Metrum Amethyst and I'm not surprised I like SE300 so much as this sound is right from my alley. The NOS dac on TD1543 was very musical, but technically it wasn't very advanced, although I couldn't switch to anything else for a long time because everything sounded digital, unnatural and not very musical. Only the 7 times more expensive Hegel HD20 managed to wipe my tears of, but that’s a different story. I also liked the Metrum because it was very natural, energetic, fluid and weighty, although it played a bit from a distance and did not impress me with detail, separation or size of the soundstage.

Not every R-2R is created equal, altough they share some characteristics, but the SE300 plays in a higher league. If I had to describe it in two words, it would be: spectacular realism. Natural, even very much so, the sound is weighty, full-bodied but not bloated. The contour is smooth but not softened, thanks to which the sound is expressive and overall impresses with purity. It sounds big, on a large scale with a incredibly perceptible impact. Music is served up close directly to the listener and as a result extremely engaging. I am not afraid to use the term that it's spectacularly musical. It seems to be bubbling with energy contained in the music, which invites you to personally participate in the event, not just listen to it.

At the same time, it's surprisingly proficient when it comes to broadly understood technicalities. I have already mentioned purity. We also have a really impressive resolution and good dynamics. Brilliant outline of the edges that is expressive but not over-sharpened, just polished and naturally fluid. It sounds incredibly realistic to me. The space it renders is very large in the sense that the virtual sources can reach far beyond the head, while their character is on the intimate side. It is not overly spread out, nor is it especially airy. This is also not the last word when it comes to squeezing up the details or getting too much into micro-nuances. We are already in the world of high-end, however we do not loose anything from musicality, which is usually not so obvious. From the devices that can be included in similar category, i.e. those that focus on pleasure over analysis, the SE300 definitely stands out with its great technical features. To put it differently. I don't know anything else that would be so absorbing and equal at its general technical level. It allows you to absorb the music without getting in the way of good recordings, and yet it manages to help the worse ones, which makes them sound less digital, without unwanted residue, without over sharpening - just alive. You can literally feel the pulse of the music as if the SE300 drew inspiration from the original waves, not from the zeros and ones under which they were written. It does not exaggerate or introduce pastel colors that usually tubes can do, which of course is their charm. In a way, they create their own vision of music, where the SE300 is much closer to live realism.

The SE300 is not warm, because it is neither soft, nor dark, nor mellow, nor does it lack’s anything in any band. It is also not sweetened, it tries to sound realistic, but in a very natural and organic way, as if bypassing the entire electronics path. It's sounds analog, but with an unexpectedly high overall class.

Interestingly, it is probably the first player that slams as pleasantly as the Sony WM1A. It's not even that they have an exceptionally large amount of bass, but the way it is delivered is truly addictive. Supernatural power, but under full control. Neither too hard nor too soft. Diversified, thunderous, it kicks, hits, explodes and I can't get enough of it and I still want more and more. I tried to decide which I prefer and it turned out that the SE300 has a little more mid-bass and the WM1A goes a little bit more in to sub-bass region, but generally it's like trying to decide whether the 5.0 from Ford or the 5.7 Hemi V8 sounds better. Whichever you wouldn't prefer, each one on their own will blow everything else out of the water. I'm far from being a basshead mind you. If something does not sound as it should, I prefer to have to little bass than to have too much, but when we talk about this level of mastery, I definitely consider myself the connoisseur of the bass eruptions.



I also tested the differences in terms of operating modes and what I heard is as follows:

Amplifier Modes:

The AB class slightly pushes the sound away, makes more space in front of the listener, a bit wider, a bit more concert-like, with a stronger outline and a bit firmer.

Class A focuses more, ads a little bit of heft, plays closer and seems even more energetic. It also slightly warms up and adds colors in the midrange. A little more intimate vibe.

For example, a female vocal in class AB is like sitting very close to the stage, while in class A it's like sitting just as close, but as if your eyes met the singer's and she sang straight to you. Legendary stuff.


DAC operating modes:

OS (over sampling) - It seems to separate the bass a bit, placing it lower than the rest of the music. Slightly thinner shapes, slightly brighter and sharper up top. More audiophile vibe.

NOS (non over sampling) - the bass seems to be higher together with all other ingredients, and yet it does not sound too thick, it sounds just right and homogeneous. More smooth and meaty.

The differences are easily noticeable, but they are not colossal, so they do not change the overall character of the SE300. In each configuration it is very musical and energetic, depending which mode we choose it’s only more or less so. No configuration destroys the technical abilities, and no matter what we choose, it sounds impressive.

I mostly used NOS mode and Class A but every configuration has its place here. For example, I prefer classical music in AB, and I prefer small ensembles and vocals in class A.

Comparisons:

The Ibasso DX300 - also sounds impressively and strongly with a big and bold sound, but compared to the SE300 it sounds cooler, brighter, not so relaxed, a bit harder, more monumental, but it also happened to sound a bit too heavy for my taste because of that.

Sony WM1A - I would classify both of them in a similar category of playing both well technically and engaging at the same time. The WM1A plays with a more "mixed" sound. It emphasizes both the extremes of the band and the more resonant and sweeter midrange. Brighter is some places, darker in others. Soundstage is not as big, scale of the image is smaller, not so clean and sharper in the treble, although it better renders the depth of the soundstage. The SE300 sounds more even, more realistic, more faithful and still extremely engaging.

Chord Mojo2 - both sound strong, energetic, clear and without sharpening. Mojo plays a bit more aggressively and has a bit more technical flair. The SE300, apart from giving a larger image and much bigger soundstage, sounds just as energetic, if not more, but without a trace of aggression. Both sound very clean, although the black background is deeper in Mojo2 suprisingly. Chord sounds harder, as if stiffer and more serious. The SE300 sounds more relaxed, smoother, a bit warmer and softer, better reflects the subtleties, which personally engages me a little more in music. To be honest, Mojo2 sounds darn good for its size and price, but still the SE300 sounds better and more mature, however the usability is completely different. Even with Poly, Mojo still requires a smartphone and Astell is a complete package.

Chord Hugo2 - technically he left in the dust everything portable a long time ago and nothing can catch up to him in this respect. The SE300 fails to match him as well. It’s not as dynamic, it doesn’t have this level of separation and it’s not as airy. Hugo forgot to take the baggage called "joy of music" and has to come back for it, so on the way back the SE300 waved to him. Yes, you can hear more on the Hugo, but only slightly less on the SE300, and yet there is more emotion here, you can feel the pulse of the music and just joy where Hugo needs to be slowed down with the right headphones.

Astell SP2000 – it sounds sweeter, has better spatial imaging, more three dimensional soundstage but it also sounds more delicate, airy and even a bit shy. It's more melodious where SE300 is more exciting, stronger, more intimate and engaging. Which one better? I will answer this way. Most of the time I would like to listen on the SP2000 but on the SE300 I want to listen all the time

The Cayin N8 is more colored and in tube mode even more so. Not too exaggerated, but it sounds more colourful, rounder, softer and more resonant. It has a slightly boosted bass and softened highs, which makes it overall warmer and sweeter. The SE300 is more neutral, sounds cleaner at the same time, probably even more natural in a truer way and the N8 is more flattering to music, which is not a con, they just sound differently.



Yes, at the moment SE300 is my top 1 among daps because it sounds natural, realistic, exciting and with really classy technical stuff. A bit a uncompromising beast. I have to say, it messed with my head. However, there is a topic of price.... I'm looking for a sponsor to buy one for myself Highly recommended.

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The product was loaned to me for the review purpose in exchange for my honest opinion. The review was originally posted on my site, and now I would like to share it with my readers on Head-fi.

Manufacturer website: Astell & Kern. Available for sale directly or from on-line retailers like Bloom Audio and Musicteck.

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Intro.

When it comes to Astell & Kern, their A&ultima (SP series) flagship releases are often considered to be early adopters of the latest AKM DACs, such as SP1000 and AK4497, SP2000 and AK4499, and SP3000 with AK4499EX/4191EQ. Then, their more budget-oriented A&norma (SR series) are optimized for portability and exceptional battery life while on the go. But it’s their A&futura (SE series) where you are going to find all the cool new features, like a dual independent DACs design in SE200 or a modular design in SE180. Thus, it came as no surprise when A&K announced their first discrete all resistor DAC design to be featured in SE300.

In addition to an all-discrete R-2R DAC, Class A and Class AB selectable amp modes, and NOS and OS oversampling modes, SE300 also features the same new digital platform as in their flagship SP3000 which includes faster processor and newly updated and more responsive interface. This all-new A&K DAP is going to make its debut at the upcoming High End Audio show in Munich. Luckily, I got a chance to spend almost a week with it, and now would like to share what I found. Originally, it was supposed to be just a First Look short review, but as I started testing, I ended up with a full write up of A&K SE300.



Unboxing and Accessories.

Since I received SE300 without the official packaging, I’m not able to share unboxing pictures, but was told the experience should be like their previous A&futura SE-series DAP releases. Thus, we should probably expect a more compact storage box along with additional accessories like screen protectors and quality USB-C high speed cable for charging, data transfer, and USB DAC functionality. I’m sure, a quick start guide, and a warranty card will be included as well.

One thing to note, SE series usually comes without a leather case. These DAPs are beautiful to look at and I hate putting them in a case, but I find it necessary to enhance the grip for a more secure handling, especially on the go.

Design.

With its dimensions of 139.5mm x 76.5mm x 17.6mm, SE300 is very close in size to its big brother, flagship SP3k, though it is lighter at about 317g vs 494g (SP3k). I wasn’t surprised here since they used the same size display and needed extra room for discrete resistors. The weight is probably lighter due to chassis material, which is a mix of aluminum and stainless steel, unlike SP3k which uses Stainless Steel 904L. At the time of the release, the only available color is platinum silver.

The focus of the design is still around a large 5.46" HD touch screen occupying the front view. This time, the front view of the DAP is more symmetric since only the right side has a slightly bulging-out area with a sculptured wavy design, just a bit recessed around the volume wheel. And just like in SE180, there is a separate power button at the top in the right corner, with a typical long press to turn the power on/off followed by confirmation to shut down or a short press to turn the screen on/off, though personally I like a double tap to wake up the screen. After using SP3k, I often forget and try to push the volume wheel, forgetting that SE300 has a separate power button.

The volume wheel is easy to turn using a thumb, though it's not loose and has some resistance with a click action felt with every rotation turn of 150 volume steps. Implemented here is also a multi-function LED behind the wheel to indicate charging status or bit depth depending on the source file (16bit – red, 24bit – green, 32bit – blue, DSD – purple). LED light could be disabled in Settings, and you can also enable/disable LED indicator light intensity as you adjust the volume. The design of the volume wheel has a unique crown pattern with a copper center, a design reminiscent of a wristwatch.



On the left side you have Play/Pause and Skip controls, three identical small rectangular buttons located in the upper part of the left side in the slightly recessed area. They do have a nice tactile response and spaced evenly with just enough room in between to avoid pressing an adjacent button by mistake, unless you have “fat” fingers. The top of the DAP has access to 3.5mm phone output port which also used for Line Out and Optical out. Next to it, you have 4.4mm and 2.5mm balanced phone ports that could also be configured for corresponding Line Out. All the way to the right you will find a power button.

At the bottom to the left, you will find a spring-loaded microSD card slot. In the middle, there is USB-C port, used for charging (including Fast Charging), data transfer, USB DAC connection, and USB OTG external device connection for digital audio out. The back of the DAP has a symmetric design with a carbon fiber back panel. Overall, the shape of SE300 is rectangular and the exterior design has less aggressive lines, not as flashy as their other DAPs.









Under the hood.

Unlike the traditional Delta-Sigma DACs from AKM, ESS, TI/PCM, or CS, SE300 uses R-2R Ladder DAC which is made of discrete matching resistors. There are different implementations of this design, and A&K settled on a fully discrete 24bit R-2R precision DAC which requires 48 pieces of resistors per channel, a total of 96 ultra-precision resistors. And these are not some generic off the shelf components, but rather matching parts with a high accuracy tolerance of +/-0.01%.

In addition to R-2R discrete DAC, A&K also implemented new dual amp architecture with a selectable Class A and Class AB amp modes. Plus, they utilized a selectable Over-Sampling (OS) and Non-Over Sampling (NOS) modes which have different sound processing implementation and reproduction. Furthermore, I was pleased to see 2 gain settings, Normal (NG) and High (HG), which could be useful when dealing with some sensitive IEMs. I will go over how I hear sound differences of these different options in the Sound Analysis section of the review.

Keeping up with their 2.5mm balanced “legacy”, just like SP3k flagship, SE300 includes all 3 headphones outputs, 2.5mm, 3.5mm, and 4.4mm. The single ended 3.5mm PO has output impedance of 1.3ohm and 2Vrms (NG) and 3Vrms (HG) and balanced 2.5mm and 4.4mm POs have output impedance of 1.3ohm and 4Vrms (NG) and 6Vrms (HG), with Vrms measurements based on unloaded condition. Each port can be switched to Line Out, and 3.5mm also has Optical SPDIF output.

The touch display is 5.46” HD with1920x1080 resolution, the same as in SP3k. The interface is very fast, like just in SP3k, noticeably faster than in other A&K DAPs. I didn’t see in the spec if this is the same Snapdragon 665 SoC as in SP3k, but I suspect it could be due to the same interface speed. This is still closed Android so it is hard to compare to other open Android DAPs since I can’t run 3D benchmark test app. There is plenty of processing power to do flawless audio decoding while supporting all the popular lossy and lossless formats, such as WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, and DSF, with PCM rates up to 32bit/384kHz and DSD rates up to DSD256. Also, MQA playback support, covering Tidal Masters, Local files, External USB, and MQA-CD (ripped).

The internal storage is 256GB just like SP3k, and you also get microSD external memory expansion up to the latest largest capacity card (A&K tested with 1TB). I guess it doesn’t matter as much today since many people are streaming and high-capacity microSD cards are relatively cheap. Furthermore, USB-C OTG supports external hard drive storage or usb stick expansion. It even uses the same high capacity 5,050mAh (3.8V LiPo battery) and supports fast charging (QC3.0) to give you a full charge in about 3.5hrs (under 9V, 1.67A charging condition). I did run a battery test, and from 4.4mm bal output in High Gain with Class AB and NOS selected while playing hi-res flac files in the loop, I was getting about 11.5hrs of playback time with occasional screen usage to check battery status.

To support fast charging and to speed up data transfer, SE300 uses USB 3.0 Type-C interface for charging, data transfer, and USB DAC functionality. WiFi is dual band, supporting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Along with that you have OTA firmware update support and of course streaming of many popular apps. Furthermore, Bluetooth is up to 5.0 with a wireless support of not only aptX HD but also LDAC protocols for 24-bit playback over Bluetooth, plus both Bluetooth Rx and Tx.



GUI.

When it comes to A&K DAPs user interface, once you are familiar with one, you will feel like at home using the rest because they share the same interface, down to their smaller display SR25 model. There have been small updates here and there, like a Floating Back button on a screen or playback controls when you swipe down notification bar while running apps. A few other Android related features were added in the past, but SE300 together with SP3k flagship takes it to the next level with a newly updated 4th generation interface that has improved ergonomics.

When you start the player, the greeting screen has a carousel where you can swipe through and access your songs in alphabetical order. It’s a fun way to view the song’s artwork along with other info, and it is very fast as you swipe through it. As you swipe right->left above or below the artwork of the song, you have Media Category Browser screen to view your Playlist, Folders, Songs, Albums, Artists, Genres, Favorite, MQS/DSD, CD Library, and then Settings and Category change to rearrange the order of the categories above as well as being able to disable Home screen carousel. Btw, when enabled, the Home button at the bottom of the screen takes you to this Home screen carousel, and every time you touch the Home button, it randomly brings up another song. I wish there would be a way to assign a different screen to Home button, but if you disable Home-carousel view and rearrange Media Categories, touching Home button will always bring you to the first selection in that list. I know, it is probably hard to visualize it by just reading this, but it is a lot of fun playing with it, especially since GUI is relatively fast.



All the way at the bottom of the screen you have 3 shortcuts buttons, Services (for easy access to all the apps), Home button which I already talked about before, and Back button, which is no longer floating while covering the screen, it is dedicated and always visible button at the bottom of the screen. Above it in the Main Home screen, you have a Playback control strip with a name of the currently playing song/artist and Play/Pause and Skip controls. Tapping on it brings up a familiar Playback screen window where the embedded artwork occupies top half of the screen and tapping on it expands the view and shows lyrics if one is available. Swiping this window down brings you back to the main Home screen. Below it you get a summary of song format (bit depth, sampling rate, file type) and a shortcut to tag the song as Favorite or another 3-dot shortcut with additional functions. Then, you have song artist/title and a scrub bar to advance through the song. Playback touch controls are underneath of that along with Play mode controls.



Swiping down notification bar gives you access to shortcuts to access various controls which you can toggle on/off or long press to get to their corresponding Settings screen. Here you have Wifi, Bluetooth, NOS/OS, AMP (Class A/AB), EQ, Car Mode, Line Out, Gapless, Wheel Lock, and Settings. At the bottom of open notification bar, you also have Brightness control. The full Settings window has more controls, partitioned in sections. Other controls you can find here are to select Bluetooth Codec, AK Connect and File Drop, L/R balance, Playback setting. Other usual controls for A&K CD Ripper, USB Mode and Audio output format, S/PDIF Conversion, Car Mode, setting Volume limit, enabling Double-Tap Screen to wake, LED indication options. And the typical date/time change, language and keyboard selection, timer settings, FW update, System info, and System Reset.






EQ is a big deal for some audiophiles, and here it hasn’t been changed. You still have one blank EQ preset and no other genre specific presets, and you can add many custom EQ presets. EQ interface has two modes: Main and Advance. In the Main you have standard Paragraphic EQ sliders for 20 bands (30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, 250, 380, 500, 750, 1k, 1.5k, 2k, 3k, 4k, 6k, 8k, 12k, 14k, and 18k) where you can either slide the bar or use a precise 0.1 adjustment, as well as scrolling through available frequencies. As you adjust, it gets reflected in the lower right corner, showing the overall shape of EQ. Switching to Advance, turns EQ adjustment into Semi-Parametric EQ with a full GUI view of EQ shape where underneath you have FREQ band selection (a choice of 20), Gain selection in 0.1 and 0.01 steps, and Q bandwidth. Since bands frequency is fixed, I consider this to be semi-Parametric EQ.



Sound Analysis.

The sound analysis of SE300 was done using Aroma Jewel, playing a selection of test tracks, such as Agnes Obel “The curse”, Sandro Cavazza “So much better” (Avicii remix), C-Bool “Never go away”, Ed Sheeran “Shape of you”, Alan Walker “Darkside”, Galantis “Hunter”, Iggy Azalea “Black widow”, Indila “Boite en argent”, Dua Lipa “Love again”, Counting Crows “Big yellow taxi”, David Elias “Vision of her”, and Michael Jackson “Dirty Diana”. I had about 100hrs of burn in time before I started analyzing SE300.

I prefer to describe the DAP sound based on the comparison to other DAPs and pair ups with different IEMs/headphones since the DAP by itself doesn’t have a “sound”. What we hear is how it sounds through connected IEMs/headphones or the difference in sound relative to source comparison using the same pair of IEMs/headphones. This is my subjective opinion, describing how I hear it while analyzing the sound of SE300, and you will get a bigger picture about this DAP’s sound in the follow up sections of Comparison and Pair up.

In a summary, SE300 has a smooth natural tonality with an analog texture that adds a bit of warm coloring to the sound. It has a wide soundstage expansion, though not too wide or holographic, bringing the listener closer to the music, giving you a more intimate feeling, like you are a few rows away from the stage and the performer. The smoother analog tonality also yields a more natural layering and separation of the sounds, and by that, I mean not too much "air" between the layers. Despite smoother nature of the tuning, the retrieval of details is still very good, with the sound being quite resolving though not exactly micro-detailed.

With many IEMs I tested, the sound tuning does stand out with an excellent rendition of bass, enhancing its impact, weight, and texture. It doesn't just boost the lower end, but enhances its performance, especially when dealing with DD drivers. Also, I noticed with many IEMs the mids had a fuller body and a distinct analog texture. And the same with treble, sounding more natural, and a bit smoother to my ears. Furthermore, while I wouldn’t say the background was super black like in SP3k with details popping out of the blackness, it was dead quiet with sensitive IEMs even in high gain setting.

4.4mm/2.5mm vs 3.5mm – When comparing balanced versus single ended outputs, the sound tonality is identical. The only difference I hear is in soundstage expansion where the perception of 4.4mm and 2.5mm balanced outputs is wider than 3.5mm. As expected, 4.4mm and 2.5mm are the same. And another obvious difference is SE being less powerful, requiring me about 10 more clicks to match the volume of BAL output.

NOS vs OS - NOS gives the sound a smoother and more analog flavor. I went a dozen of times back and forth, and even in a blind test it is not hard to distinguish how NOS takes a digital edge off the sound, giving it a smoother tonality with a little more analog texture.

Class A vs Class AB - I hear a noticeable change in tonality and "speed" of the sound. Class A has a fuller body mids and more laidback sound with a slower attack, slower pace of the rhythm. When you switch to Class AB, the mids are a bit more revealing and the overall sound has faster attack, faster toe-tapping pace. I preferred Class AB with EDM, Pop/Rock, and any Top40 songs. For acoustic, instrumental, or classical music I like Class A setting. It will also depend on earphones and headphones and their pair up synergy with either A or AB.

Normal vs High Gain - the difference in volume is about 8 clicks. The sound change associated with a gain setting will depend on your earphones and headphones. With most of the multi-BAs or BA/EST hybrids it didn't make much difference. With some hybrids that included DD/BA/EST, high gain had a slight improvement in texture, though it could be related to an artifact of higher volume of listening. On the other hand, 470ohm ATH-R70x came alive with improved dynamics and tighter bass when switched to high gain.



Comparison.

In every comparison I used Aroma Jewel, volume matched while listening to the same test tracks between DAPs. Also, in this comparison I mostly focusing on the difference in sound as I hear it.

SE300 vs SP3000 - 3000 not going to be 10x better than 300 , but there are differences between the SP flagship and SE model. SP3k tonality is more neutral, the background is blacker, and the soundstage is wider. In comparison, SE has more analog coloring, not warmer by a margin, but smoother in comparison to SP. And the same goes for the background where SP is pitch black, while relative to SP the SE background is not exactly. SE soundstage is wide but not on the same level of width as SP. SE is more like a smoother and more analog tuned version of SP with a little more intimate presentation of the sound. Also, both share the same updated fast interface.

SE300 vs SE180 w/ESS board (SEM1) - Right away noticed a difference in soundstage presentation where 300 has more width and brings sound closer to you, while 180 has a narrower soundstage and extends the sound further out of your head. 300 tonality is smoother, more analog, more textured, while 180 is brighter, more revealing, and more digital in comparison. One thing that stood out was the punch and the extension of Jewel's bass with SE300 while with SE180 the bass was more relaxed, slower, and not as layered. I used SEM1 with ESS dac due to its smoother tonality in comparison to another SEM2 (w/AKM), but still, SE300 felt more analog and smoother in comparison. Not to mention that SE180 is built on an older SE platform with a slower processor and older interface, making SE300 operation a lot of faster and smoother, like SP3000.



SE300 vs Cayin N6ii w/R01 - A few differences in this comparison. While the soundstage expansion is not too far off, SE was just a touch wider in comparison with R01. Tonality of SE is a little warmer and smoother in comparison to R01. I also can hear a little blacker background with R01, but all these intimate comparison details will depend on the sound sig of your IEMs or headphones. For example, it was easier to pick up differences with Jewel, and not so much with RN6.

SE300 vs L&P P6 Pro - relative to testing and comparing with Jewel, their tonality is not too far off. P6 Pro is just a little bit smoother, but you can get close when switching SE300 from Class AB to Class A. Also, P6 Pro soundstage is a bit wider, and I did find P6 Pro to have a blacker background. And of course, even with its closed Android system, SE300 still has more functionality in comparison to audio playback only P6 Pro which has a more limited interface.

SE300 vs Hiby RS6 - Another R-2R comparison some might be interested in. From a soundstage perspective, I thought SE300 was just a touch wider. Other than that, they both have a similar technical performance, including a similar level of vertical sound dynamics expansion and the level of background blackness. But their tonality is different. RS6 is brighter, more revealing, while SE300 is smoother, with more analog texture, and warmer coloring.

SE300 vs Hiby RS8 - Decided to compare this one as well. Relative to Jewel, SE300 soundstage width is very similar, maybe with SE being even a touch wider than RS8. RS8 tonality is more revealing in comparison to smoother more analog tonality of SE300. I also noticed RS8 to have some improvement in vertical dynamics and layering of the sounds, but SE yields a much better bass impact, stronger and more articulate punch in comparison to RS8 having a little slower and more laidback presentation of the bass.



Pair up.

Here is how SE300 pairs up with some IEMs and headphones. In each pair up I noted my preference of gain setting and amp mode setting. All were connected using 4.4mm BAL.

IEMs.

FirAudio RN6 - High gain boosted the bass impact, pushing it more toward L-shaped sound sig. Then, Class A made lower mids thicker in tonality, taking away clarity from the mids. Thus, I preferred to switch to Normal gain and Class AB which made the sound sig more balanced, improving bass control (decay), and giving mids more clarity and better retrieval of details.

Aroma Jewel - Here, I preferred high gain over normal because it gave its DD bass more texture, tighter control, and better articulation. With amp modes, I thought that Class A sounded better due to more revealing nature of Jewel's tuning, but Class A took a step back in terms of resolution and made mids a bit smoother for my liking, so I switched back to Class AB for higher resolution and more precise layering.

EE Odin - This one was a bit of a surprise because I thought Odin's DD bass will be a perfect fit with High gain, but it made upper frequencies a bit piercing to my ears, so I switched to Normal gain which made upper mids and lower treble sound more natural in tonality. With Class A vs AB, it wasn't even a question, A added more warmth to the mids, giving the sound more organic tonality without compromising the resolution, so Normal gain with Class A hit the sweet spot with Odin to my ears.

UM Mentor Multiverse - here, either Normal or High gain made no difference in tonality, aside from me just adjusting the volume. So, either one is fine with MM. But Class A vs AB did make a noticeable difference, giving the sound a more laidback tonality with A vs "sharpening" the details and improving layering and separation of the sounds with AB. Also, with Class AB I can hear a bit more air in treble. For MM, I enjoyed Normal gain and Class AB.



Headphones.

Audio-Technica ATH-R70x - As I already mentioned, R70x came alive when switching to High gain. I heard improvements in sound dynamics, with more vertical expansion vs being a bit more compressed in Normal gain. Also, bass sounds tighter, faster, more precise in High gain. With amp mode selection, Class AB complemented nicely the High gain setting, improving the layering and separation of the sound. In comparison, Class A made mids a bit duller, losing some of the nuances in sound and having lower level of detail retrieval.

Meze Audio Empyrean - When it comes to full size and planar magnetic, you would assume that high gain will be better, but turned out that here it made no difference with either High or Normal gain, just had to adjust the volume to compensate for lower gain. But it made a noticeable difference switching Class A vs Class AB. Class A made mids a bit muffled and took away from clarity in vocals. Switching to Class AB improved the retrieval of details and "cleaned up" lower mids to give vocals better clarity.



Wired and wireless connections.

Besides being a portable DAP, you can expand SE300 functionality as a transport to drive external DAC/amp, to use external AMP, or to turn the DAP into wired/wireless usb DAC. And of course, you don’t have to be limited to wired headphones, and can take advantage of Wireless Bluetooth connection. Here is what I tested.

WiFi Streaming.

As I already mentioned, while SE300 has a closed Android system, you have a whitelist of available popular streaming apps to install. These are full app versions that look and function the same as if you would be running it on your Android smartphone or Android DAPs. Also, you no longer need to rely on a floating “back” button since this one is fixed at the bottom. Furthermore, while running streaming apps, you can swipe down the notification bar to see app’s playback controls.



Wireless/Bluetooth.

I tested SE300 BT Tx with Final ZE8000 TWS and Hiby WH2, confirmed operation within 25ft, including full remote control. 25ft operation in open space was OK and the sound was the same as when connected to my S22, except I get close to 50ft when using it with my smartphone.

SE300 also has Bluetooth Sink Mode (BT Receiver) which sets the DAP as a wireless DAC/amp. Under Bluetooth setting of SE300, turn on Sink Mode and then scan for BT devices from your phone to pair up with SE300. Once connected, under the paired-up device on your smartphone click settings and turn on LDAC for SE300. The volume can be adjusted from both your smartphone and DAP, and SE300 will display the song/artists name, and I was able to control the playback (play, pause, skip) straight from the DAP.

USB Audio Out.

I tested and verified this one with various popular USB DAC dongles, such as Cayin RU6, Lotoo S2, and L&P W2, and found it to work flawless, just plug and go. Once connected, volume on SE300 is fixed at max 150, thus it is helpful to use external USB DAC dongles with their own volume control. The sound quality was no different than when connected to my Galaxy S22 phone.

USB DAC.

Tested this one with my ThinkPad T480s under Win10. Once connected, by default USB mode is set to MTP so you can view the storage. In settings of the DAP, go to USB Mode and select DAC Input which going to activate USB DAC mode. Within seconds SE300 was recognized as AK USB DAC output in Windows sound settings, and I was able to control the volume from both, the laptop and SE300. The sound using DAP by itself vs USB DAC connected to the laptop was the same.

Optical Out.

Was using iFi micro iDSD BL for this testing, nothing needs to be selected or enabled, just connect optical cable to 3.5mm port and start playing. Optical output was detected automatically, SE300 volume was set to max 150, and I was controlling the output from micro iDSD. Other than that, no surprises using SE300 as a transport to drive the external DAC/amp where I’m hearing a typical micro iDSD tonality.

Line Out.

I tested LO with Cayin C9 amp. Just connect either SE or BAL outputs, select Line Out from Notification bar shortcut or go to Settings, and under Line Out option select the output voltage level where you have 4 choices of unbal/bal: 0.7V/1.4V, 1V/2V, 1.25V/2.5V, or 2V/4V. Then, as you turn the volume wheel, you activate Line Out by switching it to a fixed voltage output. The volume was adjustable from C9 amp.



Conclusion.

As I already mentioned in my other DAP reviews, we are at the point where it is hard to come up with groundbreaking innovations, and there is no longer a huge gap between mid-fi, upper mid-fi, and summit-fi audio performance. When it comes to Astell & Kern and their flagship A&ultima (SP) releases, their focus is more on fine tuning improvements rather than drastic changes in sound or the design. On the other hand, their A&futura (SE) series became a platform for cool new features you won’t find in A&ultima. This was the first one for A&K, stepping away from a traditional design with Delta Sigma DACs, and switching to an all-discrete resistor ladder design of R-2R DAC, complemented with Class A and Class AB amp modes, and even NOS to bypass the oversampling.

It's not the first DAP to implement these features or R-2R discrete resistor DAC design, but it’s one of the first A&K DAPs with such a plethora of sound tuning options that was truly a fun to play around with as I was switching between Gain settings, Amp modes, Oversampling and Non-Oversampling to find a sweet spot while fine-tuning the natural analog tonality of this hi-res DAP in search of the best pair-up synergy with my earphones and headphones. SE300 will appeal not just to diehard fans of A&K DAPs, but also to many other audiophiles looking to complement their one-trick pony sources with something different and more fun. I think even SP3000 owners will find SE300 quite appealing.h