Astell & Kern
AK100
2013
astell & kern - portable hi-fi audio player
Original music performances recently have been captured in digital almost exactly as they were performed due to new and advanced recording technologies currently available. These great-sounding recordings are mainly listened to in inferior sound formats, such as MP3 or streaming services. Astell&Kern is the solution to the poor quality of musical sound for the sake of portability, and a way to ultimately bring back the original sound quality of the music, MQS, back to music artists, recording engineers and professionals.
Ideation Sketch for Dial.
The Astell & Kern AK100 is a digital device with an analog ambiance. The volume wheel also provides analog musical inspirations that are not often found on typical push-button volume controls.
2D Concept Refinement.
The AK100 presents an intuitive interface experience through a combination of touchscreen and control buttons. The control buttons and touch screen of the AK100 ensures fast and efficient operation. The synchronization of the 4-way user interface, 2.4inch(6.09cm) touchscreen, volume control wheel, and control buttons creates an easy to use experience. The interface of the AK100 is designed for a quick search and instant listening of MQS music.
Volume Dial.
Black Mirrored Glass Back.
Audio In & Out.
Dual Micro SD Card Slots.
‘Luxury & Classic’ are the main theme of the AK100 design. We aimed for the perfect harmony of engineering and design.
Package
Outer Sleeve.
Micro SD Card.
AK100 pursuit is to provide the natural and original sound without distortion. It offers almost the exact presence with tiny details you wouldn’t have noticed from other music systems by playing back high-resolution music bit for bit, exactly as it was recorded. The exact sound without missing any bit of the live performance in recordings is what AK100 is known for.