Astell & Kern USB C Dual DAC

Small, but Mighty

Full Metal Housing Design

Dual-DAC HiFi Audio Chipset

Silver-Plated Copper Shielded Cable Small Size, but Powerful Output

The Astell&Kern USB-C Dual DAC CABLE has been designed as an extension of existing Astell&Kern DAP lines. Smartphone manufacturers are removing headphone jacks from their products. Without a headphone jack, how do you listen to music on your smartphone with the headphones and earphones you currently own? As streaming services begin to support high-quality, high-resolution audio, are wireless earphones and headphones able to provide the full audio playback experience?

How can you enjoy high-quality music playback or games with dynamic and realistic sound on your computer without an expensive high-end sound card? Our development team set out to create a product that would answer these questions.

Dedicated Dual DAC with Hi-Fi, Ultra-High Resolution Sound

The Astell&Kern USB-C Dual DAC Cable features two Cirrus Logic CS43198 MasterHIFI™ DACs which supports native DSD256 and 32bit/384kHz playback.

With the USB-C Dual DAC Cable, you can experience premium, high-resolution audio from your computer or mobile device.

Small but Powerful Output, Astell&Kern’s Signature Sound and Design

Astell&Kern’s expertise in audio circuit design has allowed us to create a complex and highly integrated circuit chip on a small, six-layer PCB the size of 14 x 41 mm.

In order to create a small device, micro resistors and tantalum capacitors, exclusively created for Astell&Kern were used. These same capacitors, which are used by AK DAPs, optimize the audio circuit to suppress power fluctuations, creating a USB DAC that provides stable operation and superb audio performance.

The dual CS43198 DACs are paired with an independent analog amplifier, designed to provide true audio playback so you can feel the live, warm and clear sound as intended, without distortion.

This is possible based on years of Astell&Kern’s expertise in AMP design. Although it is a small and simple cable type external DAC, it is able to sufficiently drive high impedance headphones with a 2Vrms (Condition No Load) output level.

Plug & Play with Most Devices

The Astell&Kern USB-C Dual DAC Cable features a USB-C connection, which can be found on the latest Android-based smartphones and Windows and Mac computers.

Since the USB-C Dual DAC Cable draws power from the playback device it is connected to, there is no need for a separate charger. The USB-C Dual DAC Cable supports any headphone or earphone with a 3.5mm connector.

The USB-C Dual DAC Cable brings the famous signature Astell&Kern sound to your devices for a reasonable price.

*Both earphones and headphones that support 3-pole and 4-pole 3.5mm plugs can be used, but the in-line controller and microphone functions built into 4-pole earphones and headphones are not supported.

Noise-Shield Customized Cable

We developed a custom-made, 4-core cable to express the sound you want to reveal through the cable and enhance durability against disconnection. The cable is reinforced to withstand up to 200N of tensile force using aramid fiber.

This cable is made by wrapping silver-plated copper wire and the copper wire in a spiral form around a center core made of Technora Aramid fiber to block external noise.

A separate shielding treatment is applied to the cable to block distortion and noise of digital and analog signals from the playback device.

The silver-plated copper wire used in the USB-C Dual DAC Cable is thicker than typical silver-plated copper wire (0.3μm, usually 0.1~0.15µm). The addition of copper wire provides clear and rich spatial sound.