Astell & Kern unveils the AK HC5 ultra-high resolution USB DAC

Astell & Kern has unveiled the AK HC5 ultra-high resolution USB DAC, with support for both balanced and unbalanced headphones.

The AK HC5 uses an AK4191EQ digital processor to process digital audio inputs for the AK4499EX DAC, which then outputs analog audio to a dedicated amplifier designed for ultra-low noise headphone output from 20 Hz to 70 kHz with a total distortion of ±0.06 dB, and an even lower ±0.006 dB across 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

The HC5 DAC accepts uncompressed PCM and DSD audio inputs, with the ability to upscale them using DAR (Digital Audio Remaster) technology. 48 kHz PCM inputs can be upscaled to 384 kHz PCM for playback; optionally, both lower-quality PCM and DSD inputs can be upscaled up to DSD256 for playback through balanced 4.4 mm and unbalanced 3.5 mm headphones. Six impulse response filters are available to further tune the sound character.

Balanced headphone users can expect a signal-to-noise ratio of 125 dB @ 1 kHz, with crosstalk of -141 dB and THD+N of 0.0004%, while unbalanced head phone users can expect a signal-to-noise ratio of 121 dB @ 1 kHz, with crosstalk of -139 dB and THD+N of 0.0005%, according to the company. A 150-step rotary dial is used to adjust the volume, and status is displayed on a 1.62-inch OLED display.

The Roon-compatible AK HC5 supports UAC 1.0 and UAC 2.0 over USB connections to Android and Apple smartphones, Windows and Mac computers, and game consoles, including the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

Readers can expect the $450 AK HC5 USB DAC to be available in the Astell & Kern store on Amazon within the next month or two.