I tested it, and Astell & Kerns new pocketable smartphone DAC is a clear winner for detail, marred just slightly by bantamweight bass

Date:
Tue, 30 Jun 2026 21:30:00 +0000

Description:
Astell & Kern realises we cant all afford one of its lovely digital audio players. So its trying to bring a little of the A&K magic to your humble smartphone

FULL STORY ======================================================================Astell
& Kern AK HC5: two-minute review Astell & Kern builds some outstanding
digital audio players, and the company also knows how to charge us for them. But its taken pity on those of us without the wherewithal, and has developed this HC5 headphone amp/DAC.

It is a portable device intended to transform your bog-standard smartphone into a viable source of hi-res audio for anyone with the wired headphones
good enough to take advantage of it. With high-end AKM digital-to-analog conversion components on board, Astell & Kerns digital audio remaster and
high driving mode technologies included, and both balanced and unbalanced headphone outputs, the HC5 is specified to get the job done. It also features half- a-dozen digital filters, as well as a huge range of volume adjustment and some slightly imprecise-feeling physical controls that serve to undermine the robust and tactile overall nature of the device just a little. In operation, the Astell & Kern is slightly lightweight at the bottom of the frequency range it doesnt have quite the heft or substance that it really should have, and can lack a little apparent punch as a result. In every other meaningful respect, though, its a very accomplished device indeed. Its dynamic, lavishly detailed, creates a large and well-organised soundstage,
and communicates through the midrange like nobodys business. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

If you want to turn your humble smartphone into a device that bears
comparison with some of the best three-figure digital audio players around, and if you have suitable headphones too, then you ought to be after one of
the best DACs around. And you should absolutely hear the Astell & Kern HC5. (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Astell & Kern AK HC5 (Silver) at AV.com for 219 Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Price & release date The Astell & Kern HC5 headphone amp/DAC launched at the very end of 2025 and hit shelves in January 2026.

In the United Kingdom it sells for 399. Youll need to part with more like
$489 in the United States, while in Australia the going rate is around
AU$779.

This makes it a reasonable (rather than 'cheap') option, of course at only $85 / 85 (or around AU$120) the iFi Go Link 2 Max would be an example of something more affordable, while the $4,499 / 4,499 (around AU$8,999) iFi
iDSD Phantom (albeit a desktop solution) proves this A&K is hardly at the costly end of the market either. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Features AK4191EQ digital processor AK4499EX DAC - 32bit/768kHz; DSD512 Granular volume control Apparently this is the first time that AKMs flagship AK4191EQ digital processor and AK4499EX digital-to-analog converter have appeared in a product as small and as relatively affordable as this one. AKM suggests that splitting the d-to-a decoding into two stages preserves signal integrity and Astell & Kern agrees. Mind you, that hasnt stopped Astell & Kern bolstering the AKM chipset with its own DAR (digital audio remaster) upsampling technology; it functions with both PCM and DSD content, increasing the sampling rate by quite a degree, and it can be switched off if you so desire. The upshot, though, is a DAC that supports 32bit/768kHz and DSD512 resolutions.

Astell & Kerns high driving mode technology is also making its debut appearance in an affordable product. The horizontal op-amp layout helps keep the physical size of the HC5 to a minimum, but also allows for significant driving power. It's worth bearing in mind, though, that the HC5 has no power supply of its own, and the prodigious amplification power it can muster will cut into the battery life of your source player more than somewhat.

There are a total of six digital filters for the user to explore, but this is the extent to which you get to influence the sound of the Astell & Kern. Perhaps oddly, theres no sign of the EQ adjustment thats commonplace on quite a few of the HC5s nominal rivals. Features score: 4.5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Sound quality Open, revealing and organised sound Dynamic and detailed in more-or-less equal measure Bantamweight rather than heavyweight where bass is concerned The
proof that the digital-to-analog conversion abilities of your smartphone or laptop are pretty rotten can be found in the number of extremely affordable USB DACs that are on sale now TechRadar has rounded up the best of them, as I've previously alluded to.

But theres no denying that spending $489 / 399 (or equivalent) on an Astell & Kern HC5 takes the sound of your laptop or smartphone to another level entirely. Provided you have the headphones to properly exploit its talents, anyway.

Load up a 24bit/48kHz FLAC file of Off Course by Oh Sees and all will rapidly become clear. When its dealt with by the HC5 the recording is more open and spacious, and yet somehow more singular and unified at the same time. The soundstage from which it comes is big in every direction, and the spaces and silences on it suddenly become almost as significant as the actual occurrences. Each participant has more than enough room in which to operate without crowding any other.

Theres real positivity and energy to the way the Astell & Kern delivers the recording, a sense of engagement and enthusiasm which is strongly at odds
with the sound served up by a bog-standard smartphone. But at the same time the presentation is poised and balanced despite its direct and upfront nature
theres never any suggestion the HC5 is not fully in control. This authority is especially apparent at the bottom of the frequency range, where the attack and decay of bass sounds is observed with such care that rhythmic expression is always confident and naturalistic. Down at the bottom end is where the Astell & Kerns most significant shortcoming lurks, though. Just like the rest of the frequency range, the low end is lavishly detailed where timbre and texture are concerned theres more than enough information revealed and contextualised to let you know youre getting a very full account of a recording. But theres an appreciable shortage of body and substance to the
low frequencies the HC5 generates. It can dig respectably deep but it doesnt hit as hard, or with as much weight, as is ideal.

Otherwise, though, the frequency response is just as pleasing and convincing as everything else about the Astell & Kern. Its articulate through the midrange, communicating the attitude and intention of a voice every bit as willingly as it reveals the details of tone and technique. The top of the frequency range is bright and similarly detailed, but carries enough
substance along with it to prevent it sounding thin or aggressive and this
is true even if you like to listen at considerable volume.

Theres ample dynamic headroom available for when the attack or intensity or simple volume of a recording ramps up, and a similar facility with the less obvious (but no less important) dynamics of harmonic variation. Its not
enough for the HC5 to identify and reveal the most fleeting, most minor details in a recording - it is able to put them into the sort of context that means they serve as part of an overall picture, rather than treating them
like some kind of academic exercise. Sound quality score: 4 / 5 (Image
credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Design 64 x 32 x 16mm (HxWxD) Aluminium construction 46g Theres portable and then theres the Astell & Kern HC5. Unlike quite a few nominal rivals, (some of which look
like hip flasks ) this headphone amp/DAC is sufficiently small (64 x 32 x 16mm, HxWxD) and light (46g) enough to be taken out even by those not wearing a coat with sturdy pockets, or carrying a bag of some kind.

The aluminium construction is impeccable, the proportions are almost instinctively suitable for a palm, and those concave sides only add to the tactility. Obviously Astell & Kern is a past master at this sort of thing,
but its nice to be reminded it can do it for a 400 product as readily as it can for something costing 4K . Design score: 5 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Usability & setup Supplied with USB-C and Lightning cables Clear, legible display Physical controls feel imprecise At one end the HC5 has a USB-C input its supplied with both USB-C
/ USB-C and USB-C / Lightning cables, so you should have no problem
connecting your source of music. At the other there are 3.5mm unbalanced and 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs.

Next to the USB-C input theres a relatively large, knurled dial that takes care of volume the HC5 features a frankly excessive 150 steps for ultra-granular control. It feels just slightly wobbly and a little less premium than the main body of the device.

Thats also true of the little button on the side of the HC5 that is basically your control for everything that isnt volume; it feels just fractionally imprecise. Thankfully the display it works in conjunction with, which
occupies fully half of the front of the device, is crisp and bright and legible. Heres where youll turn the digital audio remaster algorithm on or off, and choose between the six available digital filters and this, in essence, is what constitutes set up where the Astell & Kern is concerned. Usability & setup score: 4 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Value It's a very little product but that is one of its biggest strengths It more than levels up your phone's audio without you noticing it's there If and its quite a big if you have wired headphones capable of taking advantage of the HC5s unarguable sonic abilities, and if
you have a streaming service subscription that includes lots of hi-res content, then theres no arguing with the difference the Astell & Kern can
make to your portable listening experience. Which has to count as value in anyones language, doesnt it? OK there are cheaper devices out there too, but none look or feel quite as good as this one and there are also much more expensive ones out there Value score: 4 / 5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Should I buy the Astell & Kern AK HC5? Buy it if

You own good wired headphones Because no good can come of plugging them straight into a smartphone

You have access to truly hi-res content The HC5 can deal with the biggest real-world resolutions around

You think portable should mean portable Small and palm-sized, the A&K can genuinely go anywhere without becoming a burden Don't buy it if

Your headphones are on a 6.3mm jack Youll need an adapter to use them with the HC5

You place a lot of value on the physical interface The feel of the physical controls isnt as premium as it might be

Your source player doesnt have huge battery life The A&K uses your players power, and quite a bit of it (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Also consider Where price and performance is concerned, the most obvious rival to the Astell & Kern HC5 is the Chord Mojo 2 . In absolute terms it probably has the edge over the HC5, and its EQ adjustment facility is worthwhile too but it stretches the meaning of the word portable quite a distance How I tested the Astell & Kern AK HC5 At one end I connected the Astell & Kern HC5 to an Apple iPhone 15 Pro, a FiiO M15S digital audio player, and an Apple MacBook Pro this way I was able to access a whole lot
of content of various genres and resolutions, and also to assess the devices performance against the extremely impressive D-to-A abilities of the FiiO
DAP.

At the other end I connected a pair of Austrian Audio The Arranger
open-backed over-ear headphones to the 3.5mm unbalanced output and a pair of Sennheiser IE900 in-ear monitors to the 4.4mm balanced alternative. Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee First reviewed: July 2026 Astell & Kern AK HC5: Price Comparison Low Stock 219 View Low Stock 399 View No price information Check Amazon We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices powered by



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/dacs/astell-and-kern-ak-hc5-review


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