![]() It's not just about sound quality, of course. We are always impartial and do our best to make sure we're hearing every product at its very best, so we'll try plenty of different types of music and give each plenty of listening time (and time to run in). What Hi-Fi? is all about comparative testing, so we keep our Award winners nearby to enable unbiased comparisons between new products and ones we know to have performed highly in the category. Most importantly, every product we review is compared to the best in its price and class – whether that's one standout player or a few we favour the highest among the many we listen to each year for reviews and What Hi-Fi? Awards judging. ![]() Of course, testing portable iPod Touch alternatives doesn't always require such facilities – though we do try each player using various audiophile headphones, both in wired and (if the player supports it) wireless varieties to thoroughly appraise the sound quality. We have state-of-the-art testing facilities in London, Reading and Bath, where our team of experienced, in-house reviewers test the majority of hi-fi and AV kit that passes through our doors. Read the full Astell & Kern Kann review How we choose the best Apple iPod Touch alternatives Other portable players at the Kann’s price point need to watch their step – it's a formidable machine. It’s dynamic, has a great sense of timing, and gives an insightful performance. And when it comes to performance per pound, there’s no mistaking the Kann’s sonic chops. The Kann might be chunky, but that extra space leaves room for a lot of physical features. The Astell & Kern Kann player’s larger-than-life design won’t be to all tastes, but its superb sound quality is unquestionable, making it a great alternative for the iPod Touch. Read the full Astell & Kern Kann Alpha review The closest we'll get to a gig for some time yet. It handles difficult and detailed musical passages with a masterful hand, and live recordings are leant a degree of spaciousness and realism rarely heard. The presentation is expansive, and we're bowled over by its low-end capabilities. The Alpha also supports MQA-CD playback, by way of Astell & Kern’s CD-Ripper. It's similarly wide-ranging when it comes to wireless codec support (LDAC, aptX HD, aptX, AAC and, naturally, SBC Bluetooth). It's still bulky, but will fit in a coat pocket, and supports most music file formats, including MQA, FLAC, ALAC, AIFF, WAV and native DSD256. And thanks to the rearrangement of various components and the use of smaller resistors and capacitors, it promises added power in a smaller and more portable chassis. It boasts a more powerful built-in headphone amplifier than the previous Kann series players it succeeds, too. The Kann Alpha is the third player in the Kann series and the first Astell & Kern player to implement Bluetooth 5.0. We gave it five stars across the board – what more do you need to know? It’s important to note that wi-fi streaming is still off the menu – so you will have to go without on-the-go streaming of Tidal, Deezer and others – but if you have the files and like the idea of pairing your portable music player either to a wireless speaker or pair of headphones for one of the smallest wireless systems you’ve seen, there’s no better shout currently on the market for the money. ![]() This is a talented player that's sonically similar in character to its older siblings, but there are small upgrades here in terms of rhythm, timing, detail and musicality. ![]() There is support for 24-bit/192kHz WAV, FLAC, ALAC, AIFF and DSD128 file compatibility too – and that support is native, so DSD files aren’t converted to PCM during playback. The Plenue D3 boasts a seriously impressive battery life of up to 45 hours if you’re playing MP3 files, or a solid 30 hours when listening to hi-res files at 'normal' volume. The cracking new volume dial on the top right of the player feels like an homage to Astell & Kern players (several of which are listed below) and makes this little machine feel much more expensive than it is. Now into its third iteration, Cowon has added Bluetooth, a volume wheel and a dual DAC to its 2021-issue bijou matchbox-sized player – and produced a What Hi-Fi? 2021 Award winner. ![]()
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