Astell & Kern Activo P1 evaluate: The DAP that is all that!

This evaluate brings again a little bit of nostalgia. One of my all-time favourite MP3 gamers was the iRiver iFP-180T, pre-iPod, circa 2002. The Activo P1 I’ve been utilizing for a while has iRiver roots, each owned by Korean dad or mum firm Dreamus. With that pedigree, the Activo P1 seems to be extra like an iRiver venture than one thing from the angular, metallic builds of Astell & Kern’s luxury-priced DAP laboratory.

Despite trying extra iRiver than Astell & Kern, what the Activo P1 doesn’t do is skimp on A&Ok high quality in construct or performance. In a time the place individuals are attempting to reduce distractions, a DAP like this might match into your life properly as your on a regular basis carry, wired or wi-fi, standalone music supply, although that Google Play Store entry could tempt you so as to add non-music apps.

You get what you pay for: Lots!

Launched on July 22, 2024, the Activo P1 is out there for $430, which can appear to be some huge cash for a digital audio participant. That worth level is “accessible” once you evaluate it to the price of a few of Astell & Kern’s different digital audio gamers — I’ll consult with them as DAPs going ahead — which might value upwards of $1,000 or extra.

It needs to be famous that the P1 is offered because the P1 by Astell & Kern in North America, in a couple of different areas, and on Amazon.com. In the UK, Germany, Japan, China, and different elements of the world, it’s offered because the ACTIVO P1. The physique, equipment, options, and firmware are the identical whatever the title and area. The solely materials distinction would be the packaging.

So, what precisely do you get for $430? Cracking the field open provides a touch of the refinement on supply. You’ll discover the P1, a display screen protector, one quick and one lengthy USB-C cable, the guarantee card, and a few vouchers to take a look at Roon. The exterior feels sturdy — a stable construct that feels nice in hand, with aluminum for a lot of the physique and white plastic polycarbonate on the high and backside.

You’ll get a number of methods to get pleasure from your music because the DAP performs recordsdata regionally from the 64GB of built-in storage or the microSD slot, which helps as much as 1.5TB microSD SDHC and SDXC playing cards. Then there’s the Bluetooth 5.3 connection, which helps numerous audio codecs similar to aptX HD, LDAC, LHDC, and the lower-quality AAC and SBC codecs.

Of course, it’s the wired connections which can be the celebs of this present, with the P1 supporting nearly each “bodily” file format from WAV to FLAC to ALAC and no scarcity of playback and sampling charges with as much as PCM 32bit/384kHz, MQA, and as much as DSD256 native decoding.

All of that is powered by an octa-core CPU, an ESS SABRE ES9219Q twin DAC chip, A&Ok’s Teraton audio resolution, and an A&Ok simplified model of Android. Your file streaming is powered by dual-band WiFi 5 assist, so that you’ll haven’t any issues downloading bigger recordsdata or streaming them over the web or out of your native community with Roon assist.

A pleasant contact within the design division is the flexibility to manage the participant by way of bodily buttons. You get quantity controls on the left aspect, and play/pause on the precise so if the display screen is off you don’t have to wake the participant to manage your tunes.

Wonderful Astell&Kern sound at a “low cost”

To check the sound high quality of this high-end DAP, I used Sennheieser’s HD660S2, Drop’s HelloFiMan HE-4XX, Campfire Audio Mammoth IEMs, Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4, and Noble’s FoKus Apollo hybrid driver over-ears (a primary in over-ear design). I used the three.5mm, 4.4mm, and Bluetooth connections for playback.

I streamed from Tidal and Amazon Music’s hi-res assortment. I additionally performed MP3 recordsdata and FLAC recordsdata with native DSD decoding. I like how the P1’s built-in music participant’s folder construction identifies your MQA, PCM, and DSD recordsdata underneath its MQS tab so that you could get proper to them. I additionally used the P1 as a Bluetooth DAC and USB-C DAC, related to my 2017 10-core iMac Pro, taking part in ALAC recordsdata from my Apple Music library.

After listening to 24bit/96kHz “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes” by Paul Simon, 48kHz MQA “How Long Blues” by Ray Charles and Milt Jackson, 2.8MHz DSD “Thriller” and “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson, and 11.2MHz DSF “Wicked Game” by Aisyah, I used to be positively impressed with the audio high quality from that SABRE Dual-DAC augmented by Astell’s Teraton Alpha resolution, present in its higher-priced DAPs.

The inventory sound is gorgeous, entertaining, and interesting. It has tight replica on the backside and restrained readability on the high, so that you’re not met with sibilance or shrill horns on tracks rendered with these qualities from extra analytical DACs mated to equally analytical headphones or IEMs.

Despite the restraint within the excessive frequencies, the vocal mids don’t really feel cramped in any respect, and voices that register into these increased frequencies, like that of Aisyah’s in “Wicked Game,” are delightfully ethereal and ethereal.

Listening to hip-hop tracks from The Roots, Kendrick Lamar, and the Beastie Boys, the bass assault with the Boom Bap ought to fulfill any bassheads studying this. That 808 resonance is scrumptious, but when the inventory sound’s bass isn’t boomy sufficient for you, there’s a 20-band PEQ with Q-factor bandwidth changes to repair that.

USB and Bluetooth DAC modes don’t will let you use the 20-band parametric EQ. Still, your wired or Bluetooth connection on to headphones or IEMs does, and it’s an excellent playground for tailoring the sound curve to your “sonic palette.”

In one occasion, I used to be listening to a pair of headphones that appeared to have some points with the lows being tremendous aggressive and masking higher-frequency sounds.

I used the Q issue to regulate the bandwidth within the 45Hz and 60Hz bands and was capable of mitigate most of that bass bleeding into the mids and masking the highs. This could not work effectively with a single-driver unit, however this pair makes use of a hybrid driver design, combining dynamic and planar drivers.

Just like something, the P1 isn’t a magic bullet for sound. Listening to it by way of crappy headphones or IEMs isn’t going to provide the finest outcomes, contemplating what you’re paying for the DAP. With any setup, spend essentially the most in your IEMs or headphones first. Then, purchase a DAC or DAP with what’s left in your price range.

Battery life

This is certainly a DAP you possibly can hearken to for hours with out it being fatiguing, and the two,700mAh battery helps that. I’ve the battery saver turned on in order that the Activo P1 stops charging at 85%. With the music set to 75% max quantity and mixed-use, taking part in from native storage, and using Wi-Fi to stream Tidal tracks, I drained that battery by 60% in seven hours.

If you drain the P1, it’s PD 3.0-compatible for quick charging speeds. Using a 65-watt PD charger, I charged the unit to 85% from lifeless in a single hour.

Improvements for the next-gen Activo P1

Even although the addition of Android to the Activo P1 makes the interface a bit sooner and smoother than A&Ok’s in-house DAP OS, it may be a bit gradual in addition, taking round 40 seconds more often than not. Once booted, the automated scan of your native and microSD folders is lightning-fast.

With the entire headphones I used, I needed to crank the amount, so that you’re prone to run the battery down a bit faster than the 20 hours of steady playback that Astell & Kern advertises on its Activo web site. Even with essentially the most delicate IEMs that I’ve used with a number of DACs and need to maintain the amount fairly low, I needed to pay attention at 80% to 90% of max. The P1 has 150 steps of quantity adjustment, and I commonly listened at 100-125 with closed-back and open-back headphones, respectively.

It’s not one thing that essentially wants bettering, however it’s value noting that the P1 does get heat to the contact after some time—not uncomfortably so, however it’s noticeable.

Should you purchase the Activo P1?

Unlike a few of Astell & Kern’s pricier choices, the Activo P1 is geared toward these in search of an on a regular basis carry system that you simply gained’t really feel like you must “white glove.” It has no water-resistance score, so be conscious of that if you happen to reside in wetter climates. In moist or dry climates, I’d decide up a case, which may be troublesome to seek out. Activo sells a white silicone case, and I’ve discovered a few PU leather-based circumstances on Amazon.

The Activo P1 is a wonderful alternative for a “do-everything” DAP that may additionally increase your laptop or laptop-based listening classes as a DAC if the value tag is not a problem for you. For a “price range” Astell & Kern digital audio participant, the Activo P1 doesn’t really feel low-cost or compromised.