Astell&Kern SE300 Music Player Review: A New Standard for Innovation | Moon Audio

[@joshuakarp2586]

I appreciate the honesty in this review. I have the SR35 and was considering “upgrading” to the SE300. But I DO like my BASS so I’ll skip.

[@arturdatczuk152]

I got SE300 and found bass exactly as it should be:fleshy, full and responsive - however not dominating. A&K SE300 simply description is: very natural, musical, depth and holographic scene and retail separation of the instruments. I am seriously impressed.

[@AF-rd2vf]

Great sounding DAP

[@doubledown4957]

Se300 vs sony wm1am2? Sound department only. Disregard the price as well. Which is better?

[@mf241]

How does se300 compared to ibasso dx320? I would be very happy if you answer my question🙏

[@рецептДем]

Is it enough power for Audeze LCD-2 ?

[@AbhisarMohapatra]

Hi , i am terribly confused between kann ultra and se300.please advise.Sound quality wise which one would be preferrable? Also can se300 power hifiman ultra organic

[@imosolar]

Please can roonlab Arc work on the DAP

[@CSEducator]

How does this DAP stackup to the 3000 DAP?

[@joshuakarp2586]

Yeah, I’d love to hear about this comparison as well!

[@moon-audio]

The SP3000 is still the top-of-the-line that A&K has to offer, so we find the sound quality and the built quality to be some of the best out now. The SE300 is great at it's price point, and a portable R-2R DAC of this size is a big accomplishment. The SP3000 has more of a traditional high-end audio sound where as the SE300 sounds a bit more warm and natural. Both are great option, but if you can spring for either the SP3000 has the better performance of the two.

[@doubledown4957]

@@moon-audiodo you mean se300 is better than sony wm1am2?

[@AF-rd2vf]

The SP3K has better technicalities but the SE300 sounds like music.

[@ferryjunigwanmurdiansyah4307]

How does se300 compared to Cayin N7?

[@moon-audio]

Both are excellent, the Cayin N7 has a bit of a natural advantage if you primarily listen to DSD music, and the SE300 has a warmer and more organic and natural sound with standard PCM files. Both are excellent DAPs! The N7 has more of a stock Android interface whereas the SE300 has Astell & Kern's more streamlined UI.

[@unworthyServant08]

Have you had a chance to compare it to the HiBy RS6, which is also R-2R based?

[@robbyr.n8461]

this high end version astell ?

[@moon-audio]

Hi there, the SE300 is a part of Astell&Kern's A&futura line which is considered their mid-tier. They also have the A&norma line for entry-level players and the A&ultima line of flagship players. You can check them all out at the link below. Hope this helps! 🙂 www.moon-audio.com/brands/astellkern.html

[@thedar7164]

Asking this kind of money and no cover for the micro-SD slot ... really? crazy

[@flipninja55]

While I’m interested in the product, this design is repulsive. Reminds me of those egg seats, a trendy design which will disappear as fast as it arrives.

[@unworthyServant08]

I considered this DAP as well, but struck it off my list because of that volume wheel, especially. Having owned watches without crown guard, and knowing A&K design always has guards around their volume pots, I was disappointed with this... Especially as I have kids who mess around with my gear every now and then. And then include the problems that users have expressed on Head-Fi about the flagship SP3000 diminishing my confidence in this player. A&K, no matter how polished its DAPs look, doesn't seem to be able to truly deliver the "full package" on any of their DAPs, at least, as far as my use cases are concerned.

[@doubledown4957]

@@unworthyServant08 whats the problem with the sp3000?

[@tzj21]

These DAPs have cpus that are 10 years out of date. Shame, makes them basically unusable.

[@AF-rd2vf]

Not true. I find the SE300 to be quite snappy for streaming Tidal and Qobuz. There are other use cases where I find this player exceptional. BTW, I’ve had both the SP2K and SP3K and to my ears the SE300 is more musical.

[@rahulshelby]

So 5000 dollars for this sound 😬