High fidelity audio for the discerning music lover on the go
A and Norma SR25
I grew up at a time when HiFi separates, vinyl and cassette tapes were all the rage. As soon as I could, I bought the biggest speakers I could afford with a powerful amplifier and anything else that might improve the quality of my audio setup. Looking back on it now I can see I spent far too much time obsessing over speaker cable length, bi-wiring options, amplifier power and specification and not enough time listening to the music for enjoyment’s sake.
I loved vinyl but didn’t enjoy having to deal with noise and scratches. Tape cassettes were convenient and you could record on them, but you couldn’t quickly skip to the start of a track and sound quality wasn’t fantastic.
Despite my keen interest in audio quality and love of music, I don’t profess to be an audiophile. I have learned that you can get carried away with the infinite pursuit of excellence to the detriment of enjoyment.
Long before the first MP3 players hit the market, Sony released the first cassette tape Walkman in 1979 followed by the Sony Discman in 1984.
I remember reviewing some of the early MP3 players in the late 90s and then the iPod in the early 2000s. These brought a myriad of advantages like the ability to store hundreds of tracks albeit at the expense of sound quality. However, storage was limited and MP3 files were highly compressed to make the files as small as possible.
Today the market is flooded with convenient ways to listen to your favourite music from streaming services on your phone to smart speakers in the home. Sound quality has improved and although the MP3 is still popular today, other high resolutions options are also available.
For the last few months, I’ve been using the Astell & Kern A&K Norma SR25, a dedicated high-res audio player that’s rekindled my passion for music and high fidelity audio.
The SR-25 has a distinctive design with angular lines and a futuristic look. There’s no square or rectangular shapes on any side other than the 3.6-inch display on the front, which is set in the SR25 at an angle. I held the SR25 in my left hand and while closing my eyes I put it out in front of me. When I opened my eyes the display was perfectly upright because I was holding my hand at an angle. This is good ergonomics combined with a design aesthetic that works both visually and functionally.
The SR25 was designed for the sole purpose of playing audio. You get three dedicated buttons on the left edge for playback. On the right is a large ‘clicky’ volume dial that’s a strong design anchor as well as being incredibly practical. On the top is the power/wake button, a 3.5mm and 2.5mm balanced headphone jack. On the bottom edge are the USB-C data/charge port and microSD card slot.
Apart from the physical controls, you also get touch controls via the screen and stripped-down Android 9.0 operating system. The small 3.6-inch display is a little fiddly to use when you compare it to a large screen phone. The SR25 does feel a little sluggish at times, but on the flip side, it more than makes up for this in the audio department.
You can load audio files directly to the SR25 via the USB-C port and play them using the inbuilt player. It also supports streaming apps like Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify and others. Tidal comes preloaded, so I had to download the APKs for Qobuz and Spotify from APK Pure. The process is fairly straightforward, as long as you follow the instructions from the Astell and Kern website. Once I was up-and-running with Qobuz, I was able to create playlists, save favourites and even download tracks for offline playback using the internal memory.
The handy Car Mode is activated from the pull-down menu on any screen and turns the built-in player into full-screen mode with large playback controls. This works really well but unfortunately, doesn’t work with any of the third-party apps.
Astell and Kern claim up to 21 hours of playback with the volume set to 80% and the screen mostly off. In general, I got a little less than that since I liked the volume set between 90% - 110% most of the time. Maximum volume goes all the way up to 150%, which I found too loud for my ears. A full charge should take approximately two hours, but you don’t get a power adaptor in the box so I found it varied depending on the charger I used.
The SR25 is powered by a quad-core CPU paired with dual Cirrus Logic CS43198 Master Hi-Fi level DAC (digital audio converter) with native playback support for DSD-256. This audio format is a true audiophile digital format, created by Philips and Sony for use in SACDs (Super Audio CD). The DSD format benefits listeners because the sampling rates go up to an incredible 2.8MHz or 5.6MHz and 11.2Mhz, which is 64 or 128 and 256 times greater than the rate of a standard audio CD, respectively.
In addition to 24-bit music playback via aptX HD Bluetooth as in previous Astell&Kern players, the SR25 also supports LDAC for the highest possible wireless high-resolution audio streaming.
I used Sony headphones to test LDAC and there’s a noticeable improvement in detail over standard codecs.
When you connect headphones via Bluetooth, a message pops up on the screen to say which codec is being used. The SR25 had no problem powering any of my over-ear headphones or more sensitive wired IEMs (in-ear monitors).
I used eight different headphones during the course of my testing. These ranged from wired and wireless headphones, wired IEMs, as well as budget and high-end Bluetooth earbuds. I also hooked the SR25 up to my amplifier and B&W floor standing speakers which brought my tired old setup to life.
After weeks and weeks of listening to the SR25, I can say the quality of the headphones or speakers you listen with will make the biggest difference to the sound. However, combining good headphones with the SR25 is an upgrade over what you can get from a mobile phone.
There’s no point in spending your money on a high-res audio player if you’re not willing to invest in good headphones or speakers.
For most people, there’s no need to buy good headphones or extra devices for playing music. However, for those who enjoy really listening to music and want a sound that is clean and clear without compromise, the SR25 is superb and you don’t have to be an audiophile to appreciate it.
Portable audio players have come a long way over the last four decades and we can now have the conveniences of modern technology as well as high fidelity audio while on the go or at home. There’s no doubt that the majority of people are perfectly happy using their phones to listen to their music. However, if you’re looking for high fidelity audio then the Astell & Kern, A&K Norma SR25 is an attractive option at a reasonable price considering their flagship player A&ultima SP2000 will set you back €3,769.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
