Acclaimed portable audio brand Astell & Kern has engaged in what I’m going to call a “reverse Toyota.” The Japanese hero of affordable and reliable motoring wanted in on the premium automotive action and so developed an entirely new luxury brand called Lexus. (Fun fact: the brand stands for “Luxury Export US”).
Astell & Kern, having established itself as the planet’s leading supplier of high-performance, high-brightness, high-price, high-resolution digital audio players, has developed Activo. It’s a sub-brand that allows Astell & Kern to compete in those areas of the digital audio player market it long ago abandoned in its relentless upward push.
Of course, when you compare this P1 device with competitors from people like FiiO and sony It really doesn’t seem that affordable. Entry level is relative, and the P1 has launched itself into an area of the market that is, if anything, even more competitive than the rather rarefied areas that Astell & Kern is contesting these days.
But it’s not that the Active P1 hasn’t been equipped to compete; A quick glance at its specifications is enough to confirm that it has what it takes. Is Astell & Kern lite worth the extra cost? That depends on how much you care about appearance.
Photography: Simón Lucas
Great converters
The P1’s crucial digital-to-audio conversion is handled by an ESS ES9219Q Saber dual DAC system that can handle digital audio files up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD256 resolution. Amplification is done through the Astell & Kern Teraton Alpha system, which the company considers good enough to take over the business of digital audio players that cost 10 times more than the Active P1.
An octacore processor promises a sleek and responsive user experience, and the interface itself will feel familiar enough for anyone familiar with Android devices. The inclusion of the Google Play store as a built-in app means it’s easy to add to your collection of music streaming apps (Apple Music, Qobuz, Spotify and Tidal, as well as a dedicated Active player). Sixty-four gigabytes of internal memory is a bit small, but the SD card slot can expand it up to 1.5TB if you provide your own card.