A&norma sets the standard of Hi-Fi audio for novice listeners. The SR15, the first model of A&norma, is the beginning point of the Hi-Fi Audio experience that allows you to enjoy the philosophy and technologies of Astell&Kern, which is accolated by audiophiles around the world. Optoma BE Free6 Premium True Wireless Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones For ultimate convenience and a smoother connection, the BE Free6 true wireless earbuds feature Bluetooth 5.0 along with no cables or neckband for unrestricted movement at any time.
A&norma sets the standard of Hi-Fi audio for novice listeners. The SR15, the first model of A&norma, is the beginning point of the Hi-Fi Audio experience that allows you to enjoy the philosophy and technologies of Astell&Kern, which is accolated by audiophiles around the world. Optoma BE Free6 Premium True Wireless Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones For ultimate convenience and a smoother connection, the BE Free6 true wireless earbuds feature Bluetooth 5.0 along with no cables or neckband for unrestricted movement at any time.
in 1 offers
last seen 1 July 2026
The lowest price we last saw for Astell&Kern A&norma SR15 High Resolution Portable Music Player/MP3 Player/Digital Player - Dark Grey was $373.35 at eBay.com.au (last seen 1 July 2026). Prices may have changed since.
The all-time low we recorded was $261.46 on 7 May 2026.
Prices last updated 1 July 2026.
Astell&Kern A&norma SR15 High Resolution Portable Music Player/MP3 Player/Digital Player - Dark Grey
A&norma sets the standard of Hi-Fi audio for novice listeners. The SR15, the first model of A&norma, is the beginning point of the Hi-Fi Audio experience that allows you to enjoy the philosophy and technologies of Astell&Kern, which is accolated by audiophiles around the world. Optoma BE Free6 Premium True Wireless Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones For ultimate convenience and a smoother connection, the BE Free6 true wireless earbuds feature Bluetooth 5.0 along with no cables or neckband for unrestricted movement at any time.
A&norma sets the standard of Hi-Fi audio for novice listeners. The SR15, the first model of A&norma, is the beginning point of the Hi-Fi Audio experience that allows you to enjoy the philosophy and technologies of Astell&Kern, which is accolated by audiophiles around the world. Optoma BE Free6 Premium True Wireless Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones For ultimate convenience and a smoother connection, the BE Free6 true wireless earbuds feature Bluetooth 5.0 along with no cables or neckband for unrestricted movement at any time.
Last updated at 01/07/2026 19:35:32
Astell & Kern Sr15 Hi-res Audio Player Fully Tested From Jp Excellet
Free delivery
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
originally posted on bhphotovideo.com
I’ll start by saying that overall I’m pleased with the SR15’s functionality and sound quality. There’s detail and richness not present in my other audio sources - no DACs, but I do have a headphone tube amp. The unit does run warm and it does like to chew through the battery. Mine showed up with firmware 1.14 and I updated it to 1.43 without any fuss. I'm using this DAP with the following headphones: Sennheiser HD580, Focal Elegia, Shure SE535, Grado 60.Where this feels like a last generation device is in the UI. There’s lag between the screens. And while the Tidal app is built in, I had to side load the Quboz apk (which was easy enough). The biggest issue with the Quboz app, is that there’s a need to use a back button. Because there’s no hard key on the SR15 to ... MoreI’ll start by saying that overall I’m pleased with the SR15’s functionality and sound quality. There’s detail and richness not present in my other audio sources - no DACs, but I do have a headphone tube amp. The unit does run warm and it does like to chew through the battery. Mine showed up with firmware 1.14 and I updated it to 1.43 without any fuss. I'm using this DAP with the following headphones: Sennheiser HD580, Focal Elegia, Shure SE535, Grado 60.Where this feels like a last generation device is in the UI. There’s lag between the screens. And while the Tidal app is built in, I had to side load the Quboz apk (which was easy enough). The biggest issue with the Quboz app, is that there’s a need to use a back button. Because there’s no hard key on the SR15 to fulfill that function, I’m left with the soft button on screen - which would be fine if there was enough space on screen for it. I find that I’m constantly moving the button around (long press on the screen to initiate the drag function). That coupled with the minuscule keyboard makes me want to pull my hair out. I’m not that old, but this device makes me feel like I’m having a ‘get off my lawn’ moment.I've also used it in tandem with my PC as a USB DAC. I occasionally got crackling at the start of a new song, but the noise would disappear within a second or two (I assume this has something to do with buffering). Otherwise the sound quality was excellent.Most importantly the SR15 fills a niche well - when I want my audio to be high quality and portable. For home use I'm going to get a separate DAC & headphone amp.
originally posted on richersounds.com
A wonderful dap!But, like mountain bikes, everything is a compromise!My long search for the audio pot of gold at the end of the rainbow has seen me pair an ipod classic/smartphone/nw-a35 with a sony pha-1.I have progressed through ue super-fi pro5's, shure se535's, westone um2/um3x/um3 pro/um5 pro, (paired with various custom shells) to a pair of custom acs emotions.I have beaten a Chinese DAP to death on rock on a beach at night due to a buggy UI.Lately I have been content with said acs emotions and an LG v20 smartphone (which is more convenient and sounds the same as the NW-A35/PHA-1 pairing).But I do miss a volume dial! And my next smartphone will probably not have a 3.5mm jack input.So, although I have been off the audio upgrade wagon for a while I ... MoreA wonderful dap!But, like mountain bikes, everything is a compromise!My long search for the audio pot of gold at the end of the rainbow has seen me pair an ipod classic/smartphone/nw-a35 with a sony pha-1.I have progressed through ue super-fi pro5's, shure se535's, westone um2/um3x/um3 pro/um5 pro, (paired with various custom shells) to a pair of custom acs emotions.I have beaten a Chinese DAP to death on rock on a beach at night due to a buggy UI.Lately I have been content with said acs emotions and an LG v20 smartphone (which is more convenient and sounds the same as the NW-A35/PHA-1 pairing).But I do miss a volume dial! And my next smartphone will probably not have a 3.5mm jack input.So, although I have been off the audio upgrade wagon for a while I have been stalking DAP'sThen along came this DAP with a nice UI, the ability to download music from my NAS, a volume knob and a great review from whathifi.My interest was piqued and I took myself off to RicherSounds in Manchester to sample a chord mojo and the ak70 mkii (they didn't have an ak sr15 to demo).The mojo was nice but not convenient. The ak70 mkii made me smile.I bought the AK SR15.I had a dreadful time importing playlists that have survived my classic/android/a35/fiio.I tried (mediamonkey/itunes/mp3tag/notepad++) to get my m3u files correctly formatted. In the end it was not the end of line character sets that were the problem but the UTF-8 file encoding.But I succeeded and am happy (But AK - please note - a little playlist management software would be nice and who uses asp for their website these days when asp.net has been out for so long?).This is an awesome little player.I love it.
originally posted on richersounds.com
A bit of a mixed bag, the sound, which is the most important feature of the player, is simply fantastic.With decent wired headphones, even non hi-res files sound better than any other portable device I have used.The construction quality and design are also really good and the quirky slanted screen actually works much better than a standard one when holding the player in your hand.However the rest of the player's operating features are not so impressive. The battery life is poor. The specs claim 'up to 10 hours' which is unfortunately wildly optimistic. Under optimum conditions with minimal interaction with the player, I can get 6 or 7 hours at best, but when used in the manner most people will, selecting tracks and checking the screen etc. I am lucky if I get ... MoreA bit of a mixed bag, the sound, which is the most important feature of the player, is simply fantastic.With decent wired headphones, even non hi-res files sound better than any other portable device I have used.The construction quality and design are also really good and the quirky slanted screen actually works much better than a standard one when holding the player in your hand.However the rest of the player's operating features are not so impressive. The battery life is poor. The specs claim 'up to 10 hours' which is unfortunately wildly optimistic. Under optimum conditions with minimal interaction with the player, I can get 6 or 7 hours at best, but when used in the manner most people will, selecting tracks and checking the screen etc. I am lucky if I get 4 or 5 hours. This has been addressed in the new SR25, at the expense of a slight increase in size. If I hadn't needed a new DAP straight away, I would have probably waited and saved the extra for one of these.The operating system is clunky and not especially intuitive and seems to have a glitch where every now and then it will only play 1 track before giving the message "too many unplayable files so player will stop" - Since every track seems to be playable and turning the player on and off or doing a media scan fixes it temporarily I assume this is a firmware issue, which can hopefully be fixed with future updates, but disappointing nevertheless.The player also gets quite warm in use.Since the player is currently discounted due to being superseded by the new SR25, I can just about accept its limitations, due to the fantastic sound quality, however I would have been disappointed had I purchased it at the original price.
Astell & Kern Sr15 Hi-res Audio Player Fully Tested From Jp Excellet
Free delivery
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
I’ll start by saying that overall I’m pleased with the SR15’s functionality and sound quality. There’s detail and richness not present in my other audio sources - no DACs, but I do have a headphone tube amp. The unit does run warm and it does like to chew through the battery. Mine showed up with firmware 1.14 and I updated it to 1.43 without any fuss. I'm using this DAP with the following headphones: Sennheiser HD580, Focal Elegia, Shure SE535, Grado 60.Where this feels like a last generation device is in the UI. There’s lag between the screens. And while the Tidal app is built in, I had to side load the Quboz apk (which was easy enough). The biggest issue with the Quboz app, is that there’s a need to use a back button. Because there’s no hard key on the SR15 to ... MoreI’ll start by saying that overall I’m pleased with the SR15’s functionality and sound quality. There’s detail and richness not present in my other audio sources - no DACs, but I do have a headphone tube amp. The unit does run warm and it does like to chew through the battery. Mine showed up with firmware 1.14 and I updated it to 1.43 without any fuss. I'm using this DAP with the following headphones: Sennheiser HD580, Focal Elegia, Shure SE535, Grado 60.Where this feels like a last generation device is in the UI. There’s lag between the screens. And while the Tidal app is built in, I had to side load the Quboz apk (which was easy enough). The biggest issue with the Quboz app, is that there’s a need to use a back button. Because there’s no hard key on the SR15 to fulfill that function, I’m left with the soft button on screen - which would be fine if there was enough space on screen for it. I find that I’m constantly moving the button around (long press on the screen to initiate the drag function). That coupled with the minuscule keyboard makes me want to pull my hair out. I’m not that old, but this device makes me feel like I’m having a ‘get off my lawn’ moment.I've also used it in tandem with my PC as a USB DAC. I occasionally got crackling at the start of a new song, but the noise would disappear within a second or two (I assume this has something to do with buffering). Otherwise the sound quality was excellent.Most importantly the SR15 fills a niche well - when I want my audio to be high quality and portable. For home use I'm going to get a separate DAC & headphone amp.
A wonderful dap!But, like mountain bikes, everything is a compromise!My long search for the audio pot of gold at the end of the rainbow has seen me pair an ipod classic/smartphone/nw-a35 with a sony pha-1.I have progressed through ue super-fi pro5's, shure se535's, westone um2/um3x/um3 pro/um5 pro, (paired with various custom shells) to a pair of custom acs emotions.I have beaten a Chinese DAP to death on rock on a beach at night due to a buggy UI.Lately I have been content with said acs emotions and an LG v20 smartphone (which is more convenient and sounds the same as the NW-A35/PHA-1 pairing).But I do miss a volume dial! And my next smartphone will probably not have a 3.5mm jack input.So, although I have been off the audio upgrade wagon for a while I ... MoreA wonderful dap!But, like mountain bikes, everything is a compromise!My long search for the audio pot of gold at the end of the rainbow has seen me pair an ipod classic/smartphone/nw-a35 with a sony pha-1.I have progressed through ue super-fi pro5's, shure se535's, westone um2/um3x/um3 pro/um5 pro, (paired with various custom shells) to a pair of custom acs emotions.I have beaten a Chinese DAP to death on rock on a beach at night due to a buggy UI.Lately I have been content with said acs emotions and an LG v20 smartphone (which is more convenient and sounds the same as the NW-A35/PHA-1 pairing).But I do miss a volume dial! And my next smartphone will probably not have a 3.5mm jack input.So, although I have been off the audio upgrade wagon for a while I have been stalking DAP'sThen along came this DAP with a nice UI, the ability to download music from my NAS, a volume knob and a great review from whathifi.My interest was piqued and I took myself off to RicherSounds in Manchester to sample a chord mojo and the ak70 mkii (they didn't have an ak sr15 to demo).The mojo was nice but not convenient. The ak70 mkii made me smile.I bought the AK SR15.I had a dreadful time importing playlists that have survived my classic/android/a35/fiio.I tried (mediamonkey/itunes/mp3tag/notepad++) to get my m3u files correctly formatted. In the end it was not the end of line character sets that were the problem but the UTF-8 file encoding.But I succeeded and am happy (But AK - please note - a little playlist management software would be nice and who uses asp for their website these days when asp.net has been out for so long?).This is an awesome little player.I love it.
A bit of a mixed bag, the sound, which is the most important feature of the player, is simply fantastic.With decent wired headphones, even non hi-res files sound better than any other portable device I have used.The construction quality and design are also really good and the quirky slanted screen actually works much better than a standard one when holding the player in your hand.However the rest of the player's operating features are not so impressive. The battery life is poor. The specs claim 'up to 10 hours' which is unfortunately wildly optimistic. Under optimum conditions with minimal interaction with the player, I can get 6 or 7 hours at best, but when used in the manner most people will, selecting tracks and checking the screen etc. I am lucky if I get ... MoreA bit of a mixed bag, the sound, which is the most important feature of the player, is simply fantastic.With decent wired headphones, even non hi-res files sound better than any other portable device I have used.The construction quality and design are also really good and the quirky slanted screen actually works much better than a standard one when holding the player in your hand.However the rest of the player's operating features are not so impressive. The battery life is poor. The specs claim 'up to 10 hours' which is unfortunately wildly optimistic. Under optimum conditions with minimal interaction with the player, I can get 6 or 7 hours at best, but when used in the manner most people will, selecting tracks and checking the screen etc. I am lucky if I get 4 or 5 hours. This has been addressed in the new SR25, at the expense of a slight increase in size. If I hadn't needed a new DAP straight away, I would have probably waited and saved the extra for one of these.The operating system is clunky and not especially intuitive and seems to have a glitch where every now and then it will only play 1 track before giving the message "too many unplayable files so player will stop" - Since every track seems to be playable and turning the player on and off or doing a media scan fixes it temporarily I assume this is a firmware issue, which can hopefully be fixed with future updates, but disappointing nevertheless.The player also gets quite warm in use.Since the player is currently discounted due to being superseded by the new SR25, I can just about accept its limitations, due to the fantastic sound quality, however I would have been disappointed had I purchased it at the original price.
Purchase during presale in June, Received as fast as possible and great service from WWS. Unit was defective though (Bluetooth couldn't stay connected) so return for refund and ordered another one. This one is better but Bluetooth is still balky, disconnects at times and has very weak range. In particular you will notice this when active (fast walking that I do daily, if I am really moving my legs quickly and unit is in my pocket it will periodically disconnect) Also, the sound level on Bluetooth is acceptable but hardly what I would call loud. Corded the volume level is much higher. That said, a pair of Bower and Wilkens PK's with HD Bluetooth is a thing of beauty to experience.That said the interface is good, the sound is superb and it is well worth the money ... MorePurchase during presale in June, Received as fast as possible and great service from WWS. Unit was defective though (Bluetooth couldn't stay connected) so return for refund and ordered another one. This one is better but Bluetooth is still balky, disconnects at times and has very weak range. In particular you will notice this when active (fast walking that I do daily, if I am really moving my legs quickly and unit is in my pocket it will periodically disconnect) Also, the sound level on Bluetooth is acceptable but hardly what I would call loud. Corded the volume level is much higher. That said, a pair of Bower and Wilkens PK's with HD Bluetooth is a thing of beauty to experience.That said the interface is good, the sound is superb and it is well worth the money even with the quirky Bluetooth performance. The sound has a tremendous soundstage and clarity - instruments became newly discovered and depth and range of the sound is noticeable and impressive. That said, the performance differs greatly as expected depending on the source - Polish a turd its still a turd but with a good source file the result is amazing. You really wonder how you could have missed all the intricacies that suddenly jump out at you (it a really pleasant way).Hopefully the Bluetooth issue is a software issue that can be improved and rectified - it is my only negative in an otherwise superb product. 4 stars because of the Bluetooth, if that gets fixed its 5 stars all the way
The A&K out of the box is very impressive. My headphones are Skullcandy Crusher, so by no means an expensive pair of cans so I can only imagine what a better pair would sound like with the SR15; that'll obviously be my next purchase. I think my headphones are now delivering the best sound that they possibly can and are pushed to their limits but even so I can hear things in music that I’ve never heard before. Everything is just clearer but no too clinical for me. The accuracy on instruments is very very impressive. The rasp of Brass, tone of Guitars and the effects of Synth are considerably noticeable. Harmonies by Fleetwood Mac are excellent with each layer of the vocals clear to hear. Thriller by Michael Jackson shows off the expertise and time that was spent in ... MoreThe A&K out of the box is very impressive. My headphones are Skullcandy Crusher, so by no means an expensive pair of cans so I can only imagine what a better pair would sound like with the SR15; that'll obviously be my next purchase. I think my headphones are now delivering the best sound that they possibly can and are pushed to their limits but even so I can hear things in music that I’ve never heard before. Everything is just clearer but no too clinical for me. The accuracy on instruments is very very impressive. The rasp of Brass, tone of Guitars and the effects of Synth are considerably noticeable. Harmonies by Fleetwood Mac are excellent with each layer of the vocals clear to hear. Thriller by Michael Jackson shows off the expertise and time that was spent in the studio, delivering a fantastic soundstage and separation of instruments, it just lifts the music to another level.Some disappointing things like album art not downloading for quite a lot of my albums and the touch screen being a bit iffy which isn’t cool when you are spending £600, jeez, the cheapest of mobile phones don't even have that type of problem! The Screen Brightness bar sometimes just does not respond at all and after fiddling with it for a good minute or so, I just gave up. There are options to change the sound using the EQ but to be honest it barely changes the sound at all. The down side of this is that if you are listening to some older albums with a quiet recording then, despite the fancy EQ and all the options, you can't really increase anything too much. here's no option too change the Treble or Bass either which again I think is a bit of a let down.Setting these small issues aside it is definitely worth spending the money if you are music enthusiast.
I spent a while looking at Hi-Res portable audio players and like the look of Astell &Kern devices. It's hard to really know what's what because it's hard to find anywhere you can go see one in the flesh, let alone handle it or listen. I went for the AK70 II as it's not too old a design but the prices are coming down for the last few on the shelf. Found a bargain on Ebay which I've had a couple of months now. The sound is good on my Sony noise cancelling headphones but greta on my Shure earbuds. Battery life has been more than adequate so far and I like the way the volume knob is protected but very accessible when in a pocket and there are physical buttons to pause and fast forward & rewind. The screen is good enough though some of the screen controls are a bit on ... MoreI spent a while looking at Hi-Res portable audio players and like the look of Astell &Kern devices. It's hard to really know what's what because it's hard to find anywhere you can go see one in the flesh, let alone handle it or listen. I went for the AK70 II as it's not too old a design but the prices are coming down for the last few on the shelf. Found a bargain on Ebay which I've had a couple of months now. The sound is good on my Sony noise cancelling headphones but greta on my Shure earbuds. Battery life has been more than adequate so far and I like the way the volume knob is protected but very accessible when in a pocket and there are physical buttons to pause and fast forward & rewind. The screen is good enough though some of the screen controls are a bit on the small side. Dragging the settings menu down from the top is tricky with a case fitted but it's not that bad. Bluetooth, WiFi, shuffle, settings buttons are all very small and you have to be still & steady to get them. Creating playlists is not as slick as I'd have hoped from a dedicated music player and, again, the on screen buttons you have to use are very small and hard to identify unless you look closely. I don't find creating a playlist very intuitive either &thelearning curve was frustrating. NowI'm used to it it's okay. The player is very tactile, the shape good to hold in the hand, weight and heft is just right for me. I bought a glass screen protector from Ebay for a couple of quid as cases are hard to find and none seem to protect the screen. The plastic screen protector which came with it and the previous owner had fitted was okay but prone to scratching, the glass one has resisted scratches so far but is a bit of a dust magnet.
Bought this recently to replace an older player from another manufacturer. I thought that one was good until I heard this. Paired it with a pair of Sennheiser hd600's with a modified balance cable using the 2.5mm balanced output. I can thoroughly recommend this modification. You can get the leads online. More power to the phones so less volume needed and they do sound better. The Sennheiser's often described "veil" on the treble is opened up. I personally don't think it was there anyway but the treble does sound more enhanced.I love everything about the player, the quirky look, the feel in the hand, the sound and interface.Make sure you update firmware from their site. There's an option in the menus if you are online.Minus point. Battery life. I expected ... MoreBought this recently to replace an older player from another manufacturer. I thought that one was good until I heard this. Paired it with a pair of Sennheiser hd600's with a modified balance cable using the 2.5mm balanced output. I can thoroughly recommend this modification. You can get the leads online. More power to the phones so less volume needed and they do sound better. The Sennheiser's often described "veil" on the treble is opened up. I personally don't think it was there anyway but the treble does sound more enhanced.I love everything about the player, the quirky look, the feel in the hand, the sound and interface.Make sure you update firmware from their site. There's an option in the menus if you are online.Minus point. Battery life. I expected longer per charge but after doing some research it seems most newer players are pretty much the same.Well worth the cost.
Ordered the SR15 after much soul searching and lots of research; delivery was relatively fast given the constraints everyone are under.On opening the small box there was an even smaller machine & accessories, so......When it had all been set up I listened to the pre recorded tracks and the little machine had suddenly become enormous, via the 2.5 balanced output plus FiiO iems.All the slightest nuances of the recordings were presented like I was sat in the studio. The bass was astonishing, the midrange smooth but also attack and the treble really demonstrated how many cymbals Taylor Hawkins has attached to his kit, each separately identifiable.I’m now listening to Tidal and all my schooldays are all now in HiRes so even Black Sabbath are more awesome.I ... MoreOrdered the SR15 after much soul searching and lots of research; delivery was relatively fast given the constraints everyone are under.On opening the small box there was an even smaller machine & accessories, so......When it had all been set up I listened to the pre recorded tracks and the little machine had suddenly become enormous, via the 2.5 balanced output plus FiiO iems.All the slightest nuances of the recordings were presented like I was sat in the studio. The bass was astonishing, the midrange smooth but also attack and the treble really demonstrated how many cymbals Taylor Hawkins has attached to his kit, each separately identifiable.I’m now listening to Tidal and all my schooldays are all now in HiRes so even Black Sabbath are more awesome.I fully recommend that this player should be high up on anyone’s to buy list. Go and audition one and you’ll see why.
There are a lot of reviews of this unit, they all seem to say the same thing and I agree with all of them. I have tried it with IEMs (Shuoer Tape), Grado SR225's, and 2 Bluetooth headphones, Melomanias and the Sony WH1000XM3. All work well, but, really, to hear just how great this unit is, you need really decent headphones like the Grados. The battery life isn't great and it gets warm. But it's good enough. I really like the APK add in feature, I use the BandCamp plugin and it works great. It sounds WAY better than music from my phone, been rediscovering my music and hearing new things, love it when that happens. I haven't totally mastered the UI yet, love the line out feature when using it to feed my speakers. I also tried the MQS streaming server, that worked ... MoreThere are a lot of reviews of this unit, they all seem to say the same thing and I agree with all of them. I have tried it with IEMs (Shuoer Tape), Grado SR225's, and 2 Bluetooth headphones, Melomanias and the Sony WH1000XM3. All work well, but, really, to hear just how great this unit is, you need really decent headphones like the Grados. The battery life isn't great and it gets warm. But it's good enough. I really like the APK add in feature, I use the BandCamp plugin and it works great. It sounds WAY better than music from my phone, been rediscovering my music and hearing new things, love it when that happens. I haven't totally mastered the UI yet, love the line out feature when using it to feed my speakers. I also tried the MQS streaming server, that worked pretty well, a little hinky at times. I put all my music on a 128gb micro-sdhc card, that works quite well, but get a fairly fast card, especially if you use lossless file formats. It's easy to control the music from within my pocket while walking, really a nicely designed unit. I also have the iBasso DX90, I think this sounds better, but I was able to run RockBox on the iBasso which was really handy.
High end digital players seemed outrageously expensive to me. Always liked i-river players...and was disappointed when they became Astell & Kern. But I took the plunge and purchased an Astell & Kern Norma SR 15. I have realized, that I had not actually heard how my music collection should sound. Through high end Headphones...I heard albums, with a new clarity and sparkle....Favorite tracks have instruments and details....I had never heard before. Be prepared to lose a lot of time listening anew to old favorites! The physical build and appearance of the SR 15 is excellent. The user interface..a little daunting at first...but a quick read of the manual...and it become intuitive...and effortless. All of this from the 'entry level' model.....Already has me wondering ... MoreHigh end digital players seemed outrageously expensive to me. Always liked i-river players...and was disappointed when they became Astell & Kern. But I took the plunge and purchased an Astell & Kern Norma SR 15. I have realized, that I had not actually heard how my music collection should sound. Through high end Headphones...I heard albums, with a new clarity and sparkle....Favorite tracks have instruments and details....I had never heard before. Be prepared to lose a lot of time listening anew to old favorites! The physical build and appearance of the SR 15 is excellent. The user interface..a little daunting at first...but a quick read of the manual...and it become intuitive...and effortless. All of this from the 'entry level' model.....Already has me wondering "How can they improve on this?" Apparently, they have. Seriously, if you are fanatical about those1000 Cd's you have ......hear them how they should sound. It is that simple
