Audiophilepure

Astell&Kern KANN MAX DAP: Review

Most of the over-ears I wear while travelling are considerably easier to drive and so with all that power available, noise floor becomes a real issue.  By dropping gain back to medium, the MAX performs well with the Campfire Cascade and DCA Aeon Closed and with its 8 channel volume control placed between the DAC and amplifier sections of the MAX, clarity and distortion stays nearly the same at all gain levels.   

It certainly takes more effort to wrangle 8 independent volume controls, but by placing them on the output of the DAC and before the amplifier, the volume control is in the best position to adjust overall output without introducing additional noise.

The Bluetooth features remain largely the same as the KANN Alpha with support for LDAC, and aptX HD; the KANN MAX also supports the Bluetooth Sync feature which allows you to use the KANN MAX as a Bluetooth-enabled source device for supported loudspeakers or headphones.