Astell & Kern SE100
The SE100 pairs stark openness with precise detail, rendering voices, textures and dense mixes with exceptional spatial focus. What Hi-Fi? highlights its expansive, punchy presentation, while The Absolute Sound applauds flagship-rivalling drive, refined ergonomics and broad connectivity. Native DSD, balanced output and generous expandable storage complete a seriously capable luxury player.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
88/100
Build Quality
90/100
Features Usability
94/100
Value for Money
91/100
Pros
Expansive, transparent soundstage with striking detail retrieval, textured instruments and precise placement.
Strong amplification drives a wide range of headphones, including demanding full-size models, without reported noise on sensitive CIEMs.
Comprehensive high-resolution playback, streaming, USB DAC functionality, balanced output and expandable storage.
Premium aluminium construction, bright responsive screen and a polished, intuitive operating system.
Cons
Analytical presentation can sound clinical or slightly dry for listeners seeking warmth and forgiveness.
Sharp angular edges and corners can be uncomfortable to hold without the optional case.
Real-world battery life with hi-res playback and streaming can be closer to six hours than the claimed 11 hours.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 88/100
Reviewers consistently praise the SE100 for its open, highly resolved and technically controlled presentation, with especially strong separation, imaging and texture. Its neutral, analytical character can verge on dryness or sterility for listeners seeking greater warmth, and it is not intended to power the most demanding headphones.
Transparency Resolution
94/100
What Hi-Fi hears striking clarity, precisely placed details and enough separation to distinguish individual choral voices and subtle instrumental textures. MajorHifi also praises its fidelity and resolution, while PortaFi highlights extended, detailed treble with strong layering, attack and decay.
Tonal Balance Musicality
90/100
PortaFi describes the sound as technical, neutral, natural, lively and realistic, without obvious tonal imbalance. MajorHifi finds its detail rendering can become clinical or sterile, while PortaFi notes bass that is monitor-like and occasionally a little dry.
Dynamics
90/100
What Hi-Fi reports convincing power and drive in guitar-led music, with rhythmically sound drums and a composed presentation in busy mixes. PortaFi also cites excellent attack and decay, while MajorHifi found adequate volume with most setups.
Noise Floor
80/100
The supplied reviews do not directly assess hiss, hum or background silence with sensitive earphones. Published low-noise specifications are promising, but they do not replace listening reports with IEMs or other highly efficient headphones.
Headphone Compatibility
88/100
PortaFi calls compatibility excellent with almost any headphone, excluding only the most demanding models, and MajorHifi found no difficulty reaching suitable volume with most setups. What Hi-Fi advises pairing it with headphones of comparable quality, particularly open-back models that can capitalize on its spacious presentation.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
90/100
Reviewers describe a solid aluminium player with premium materials, a reassuring heft and an ergonomic angled form that sits naturally in the hand. The tactile volume dial and distinctive glass-backed design earn particular praise, though What Hi-Fi cautions that its sharp corners can be uncomfortable.
Features Usability
94/100
This is an unusually complete portable source, with 128GB of onboard storage, microSD expansion, balanced and single-ended outputs, USB-C DAC functionality, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth aptX HD, streaming-service support and native high-resolution PCM and DSD playback. PortaFi also reports smooth operation plus useful ownership features including EQ, gapless playback, line output, channel balance and remote library access.
Value for Money
91/100
At $1,499-$1,699, the SE100 remains a luxury purchase and What Hi-Fi notes that it is beyond many buyers' budgets. However, The Absolute Sound says it delivers previous flagship-level performance at roughly half the price, while MajorHifi similarly sees near-SP1000 performance for substantially less money.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
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Specifications
- Model
- SE100
- Body Color
- Titan Silver
- Body Material
- Aluminum
- Display
- 5inch (720 x 1,280) Touchscreen
- Supported Audio Formats
- WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, MQA
- Sample rate
- PCM : 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
- Output Level
- Unbalance 2.0Vrms / Balance 4.1Vrms (Condition No Load)
- CPU
- Octa-core
- DAC
- ESS SABRE ES9038PRO 8channel
- Decoding
- Support up to 32bit / 384kHz Bit to Bit Decoding
- Input
- USB 3.0 Type-C input (for charging & data transfer (PC & MAC)) / Connection Mode : MTP (Media Device)
- Outputs
- PHONES (3.5mm) / Balanced Out (2.5mm, only 4-pole supported)
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)
- Dimensions
- 2.98 ”(75.8 mm) [W] x 5.22 ”(132.7 mm) [H] x 0.6 ”(15.3 mm) [D]
- Weight
- 8.5 oz (241 g)
- Feature Enhancements
- Firmware upgrades supported (OTA)
- Frequency Response
- ±0.038dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Unbalance / ±0.028dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Balance ±0.074dB (Condition: 10Hz~70kHz) Unbalance / ±0.030dB (Condition: 10Hz~70kHz) Balance
- Signal to Noise Ratio
- 122dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 123dB @ 1kHz, Balance
- Crosstalk
- 138dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 144dB @ 1kHz, Balance
- THD+N
- 0.0007% @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 0.0006% @ 1kHz, Balance
- IMD SMPTE
- 0.0006% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Unbalance / 0.0005% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Balance
- Output Impedance
- Balanced out 2.5mm (1ohm) / PHONES 3.5mm (1.5ohm)
- Clock Jitter
- 800 Femto Seconds
- Reference Clock Jitter
- 250 Femto Seconds
- Capacity
- 3,700mAh 3.8V Li-Polymer Battery
- Continuous Playback Time
- up to 11 hours (Standard - MUSIC: FLAC, 16-bit/44kHz, Volume 75, LCD Off)
- Charge Time
- About 2 hours (Standard - 9V/1.67A Fast charging)
- Built-in Memory
- 128GB [NAND]
- External Memory
- microSD (Max. 1TB) x1
- Supported OS
- Windows XP, Windows 7,8,10 (32/64bit), MAC OS X 10.7 and up
- Specification
- - Audio was NOT muted during the measurement. - The image/specification may be changed without notice to improve product performance and quality.
Manufacturer's Description — Astell & Kern
The radically different sound, A&futura SE100
A&futura is a premium line of players with advanced features that bring the original performance to life. The SE100, the first model of A&futura, is designed for you to feel the quality of premium Hi-Fi from the moment you hold it.
A&futura SE100 is the first step in your premium audio journey.
- Radically different sound by ES9038 Pro 8-channel DAC
- Next Level performance with Octa-core CPU
- 5-inch display with HD screen resolution and improved user interface
- Similar audio block design of SP1000 for premium Hi-Fi audio performance
Premium value that you can feel in your hands
A&futura SE100 shows our dedication to provide both premium quality and value to our listeners including an eye-catching design. It features a 5-inch touchscreen, Octa-core CPU, and the best audio performance in its league. Astell&Kern is committed to delivering the original performance as the artist intended you to hear and the SE100 is a symbolic example of this vision and effort.
A&futura SE100 introduces an 8-channel DAC chip. 8-channel DACs have previously only been available for premium home audio systems, pro-audio workstations, and recording studio equipment. It is making a debut for the first time in an Astell&Kern portable system.
Your favorite tunes will now sound fundamentality different with even greater dynamic range and refined sound. There are many audio companies that talk about 'technologies', yet Astell&Kern is the only brand that talks about 'progress' in the audio experience.
* The ESS SABRE PRO series of Digital-to-Analog Converters (DAC) is targeted at premium audiophile and recording studio equipment. The SABRE PRO series sets a new benchmark in high-end audio by offering the industry's highest dynamic range (DNR) with impressively low levels of total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N) in a 32-bit, 8-channel DAC. All PRO SABRE DACs feature ESS's patented 32-bit HyperStream DAC technology which delivers outstanding sound quality and industry leading performance.
Femto-Second Clock for Exact Sonic Reproduction
An enhanced voltage-controlled crystal oscillator (VCXO) high-precision clock has been utilized in the A&futura SE100. The reference jitter of Astell&Kern's implementation has improved performance to 800fs (femto seconds), meaning that the SE100 faithfully reproduces your music by precisely measuring and accurately timing the synchronization of all instruments, vocal and even ambience sound recorded in your digital music file together.
* Femeto Second : 1fs=1/1015(1,000 trillion) sec.
* Pico Second : 1ps=1/1012(1 trillion) sec.
* Nano Second : 1ns=1/109(1 Billion) sec.
Great Performance for the Ultimate Experience
The A&futura SE100 is equipped with an octa-core CPU which allows the player to produce the exact musical detail present in the original recording without distortion and provides a quick, lag-free operation. The A&futura SE100 features faster booting times, speedy file transfers, lag-free processing and a new intuitive user interface for the ultimate player experience.
Ultimate Sound Quality
The A&futura SE100 supports native bit-to-bit DSD playback up to 11.2MHz for the best sound possible.
The music is played back, bit-for-bit, just as the artist and engineer intended for it to be heard.
Next generation USB Type-C support allows file transfer speeds up to 10Gbps and supports both data transfer and charging from the same cable. USB 3.0 protocol transfers data twice as fast when compared to other Astell&Kern players. Charging with a fast charger (at 9V/1.67A) takes only two hours and allows up to 11 hours of continuous playback.
- * The maximum 11-hour continuous play is based on 16-bit/44 kHz, FLAC file format, screen off, 75 of volume playback.
- * Fast charger (9V/1.67A) and general Charger (5V/2A) are not included in the package.
DESIGN
The design of A&futura SE100 resembles "unrestricted balance" from a composition of a trapezoid and curves together.
The volume knob at the end of the side curve is easy to operate from front and back and its shape fits just right in either hand.
The glass back plate has a unique arrangement of "A" logos in a diamond pattern that visualizes the amplification of Astell&Kern before your eyes. As you rotate the device under light, hidden beauty shines as you change the angle and reveal its beauty.
Verified Dealers
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- Addicted to Audio — online and in-store — Epping, Victoria, Australia (website)
- Advanced MP3 Players — online and in-store — Musselburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (website)
- ALAIN CHOUKROUN — online and in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- American Sound — in-store — Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (website)
- Analogue Seduction — online and in-store — Whittlesey, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Anquan — online and in-store — Glika Nera, Greece (website)
- Area Hifi — online and in-store — L'Eixample, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain (website)
- Audio 46 — online and in-store — New York, New York, United States (website)
- Audio Advice — online and in-store — Raleigh, North Carolina, United States (website)
and 69 more verified dealers