– Astell & Kern HC4 - Portable Headphone Dac & Amp

Purchased this back in December 2023. I wanted a portable dongle dac, not anything bigger as I use it for my phone. I don’t have a lot of experience with multiple dongle dacs, but this one blew me away. It’s available power especially when balanced is outstanding. Sound is rich and clean, easy to listen for many hours at a time. Currently using with Ayra Organic and it powers it to levels that I choose not to experience for my elderly ears sake ! My only criticism is with the volume control as there are vast differences between each setting, so it can be difficult to find a just right volume. Not deducting a star though, as it’s still a brilliant piece of kit, especially at price. My IFi Gryphon can’t match it, and it’s not a dongle and over twice the price. I’m puzzled as to how this product is never mentioned in dongle reviews.

At this price point it’s a no brainer and I dread to think how good the high end Astell & Kern products sound. I’m driving the Shure SE846 which are notoriously difficult to drive without altering the sound due the low impedance, the only configuration I’ve had that could drive the SE846 to their full potential was a chord Hugo2 (used purely as a DAC) plugged into a Shure SHA900 (used as an amp). That combo sounded incredible BUT it was not portable and the Hugo 2 is massive. So the HC4… This thing boggles the mind at £240 with proper portability. My last set up cost above cost £3000 and the sound is… I really don’t want to say it but better on this HC4. The HC4 is silent, ultra detailed and places the instruments very well. The bass is full bodied and articulate, timbre is great too. I’m not even over exaggerating when I say this DAC pretty much sounds perfect using the balanced output, the 3.5 unbalance has less clarity and bass timbre is off slightly. I had the HC3 before this too, the HC4 is leagues above it in every department, the HC3 sounds bloated in the bass, shouty when pushed, has a slight dark signature and lacks the holographic soundstage you get with the HC4. I’m in love with this product. VERY impressed and I have extensive experience with high end Hi-Fi owning Jl Audio, Bowers & Wilkins, Benchmark to name a few. Let this product break in and you’ll see improvements in the sound after around 5 hours of use. I’m not sure how AK did it but bravo. UPDATE This is the best the SE846 have ever sounded, the raw power of the HC4 is excellent, it’s hard to describe but the whole sound is powerful when called upon from the bass all the way through the midrange and and up into the treble. This amp is very transparent so the music comes through as the artist intended meaning no two tracks sound the same. All this without any distortion at all… The level of detail and soundstage I’m pulling from this little thing is unreal, I can hear EVERYTHING on a well recorded track. Forget the price, this is a true High Fidelity product. The DAR switch… it adds a more spacial signature to the sound and makes the bass a touch more pronounced. It’s good for when I’m out and about but when I want to hear a reference sound I turn it off. It definitely makes spacial effects more pronounced but the price of this is that the imaging is thrown off slightly and instead of the music placed in front of and around you, you’re thrown into the mix, a bit like 3d but it’s VERY subtle. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference, depends on the music you’re listening to. So what could be better? At this price nothing, at a higher price point an even more vivid sound. So anyway as you can tell I’m impressed 😂

It's got musicality with a fascinating vastness to it's soundscape presentation however pairing it with fiio FH7s Iem revealed it's shortfalls in treble resolve and left a uncomfortable and fatiguing experience. So stick with headphones or IEM's of equivalent pricing for a balanced experience. Physically the usb C ports durability gives me the fear, I found the ground shield felt loose within a matter of days and manufactured myself a splint to increase its chances of survival thus taking the strain off the socket. The DAR (digital audio remastering) may appeal if you're listening to an audiobook or podcast but in musical terms I'd call it the collaps image switch due to it taking any depth out of a recording providing an insightful yet very two dimensional plane. Overall I like this dac a lot but it only achieves so much restrained by it's price point.

Haven't listened properly yet feels and looks very premium as you would expect from ak my volume isn't working and I'm a bit peeved I'll have to return just a warning when first using I just near blew my eardrums out I'm not sure that they are all like that but like a said just something to keep in mind being careful my phone volume was on high so no volume control but sounds seems really good will give a detailed review when I return this one that has the volume control trust me to get this one oh well

Though will play on fire tablet but have to say doesn't sound any better than my moondrop dawn at £46 playing various files from tidal I think they blind us with science which is all a load of tosh!!! Save your money on this expensive tat!!!

Amazing sound and really powerful

I keep on trying Astell Kern products and I am not sure why as they all get returned or flipped on Ebay. I am aware that AK and value do not belong to the same sentence, however I just cannot think to one reason why anyone would buy this unit instead of a Fiio KA17, which performs better in all areas and cost almost half the price. I am giving it 2 stars because the sound quality is good, although not special. But it does sound well, probably as good as a 69£ Fiio KA13 but with less power. Yet, the Fiio is less 1/3 of the price. When you compare it to the 125£ Fiio KA17 it starts falling apart: the KA17 comfortably drives planar full size headphones such as LCD-X and HE1000 Stealth which I own, and even 300 ohm dynamic ones such as HD650 or ZMF Auteur. It actually drives them very well. The HC4? Not even close. Struggles even with the easiest of them, the LCD-X. Works fine with the IEMs I have, but already with those I was permanently above 80% of the available volume. And then the HC4 does not come with a screen, no swappable gains, no digital filters, no EQ. The digital upsampler makes a totally negligible difference: I was never able to reliably detect if it was enabled or not when I tried to guess. So where is the value proposition for 219£ ? You let me know if you have the answer. My unit is going back.

I purchased this to enhance sound quality across my A&K Kann and S23 linking to my A&K Diana earbuds. Works superbly with my mobile phone, creating a deeper, richer and broader listening experience so 5☆. As for linking the A&K products.... doesn't work so 0☆. This lack of connectivity across A&K products happens too frequently (experienced same issue with their earbuds). A&K products are normally excellent, but they need to figure out connectivity and compatability across their own products.

type ｃ ｔｏ ｃ ケーブルの両端に静電気除去シートを貼ったら明らかに音が繊細になりました。 このケーブルをさらにノイズ対策のされたもに交換すると音質改善が期待できます。 AK HC4 FirmWare: V.14 20241101 更新するとさらに安定して高音質になります。 iBasso Audio CB18に交換しました、静電気除去シートも貼りました。 クリアーで抜けのいい音がちょっと押さえられて、音に厚みが出た感じで、解像度が増した感じです。 一つ、驚いたのは、ある曲でめっちゃギターの音が入っていることに気づいたことです。 トータルでこれからまだ変化しそうなので楽しみです。 接続しているイヤホンはＨＡ－ＦＷ０１＋リケーブルでノブナガ雲隠れ。 イヤホンがやや安定するのに半年、アップサンプリングの完全再生に８ヶ月、そして、トータルで安定するのに､１年３ヶ月かかりました。 イヤホンを変えると、違いがハッキリです。いまは、3.5ｍｍではモノ足りず、4.4mmだけで聴いています。

Je me demande pourquoi j’ai attendu aussi longtemps pour acquérir cette merveille… j’ai l’impression de vivre un instant de pur bonheur musical WoW

Definitely more sound detail. Not at all louder.

I have given 5 stars, not for outright performance, but for the value it represents. This is a masterpiece for what it does at the price. If you are not interested in being an audiophile, but just want to know what music can sound like, this is a great investment. Equally, if you are looking for somewhere to start on your audiophile journey, then I can recommend this.

hc2と比較してですが。。 ･音質がクリアになる ･音の広がりが自然になる ･高音が耳に刺さらない この点は評価できます。 しかしゲームの足音に関しては大いに不満があります。はっきりしたエビデンスがなく、主観になってしまい申し訳ないのですが…… ･正面の聞き分け性能がゴミ！！！！！足音全く分からない！！ Ｖ ←超･聞き取りづらい範囲 〇 (ゲーム内キャラクター) ･距離が分からない！！！！イヤホンの性能を活かしきれない！ hc2だとはっきり距離が分かるのに、hc4だと何故か分かりません！ｲﾔﾎﾝは定位感を極めてることで有名なtrn-emxを使用していますが、全くイヤホンの性能を活かせてないと思います。 手持ちのhc2の方が安いし、軽いし、コスパいいし、ゲーム性能も良好…… もしかしたら不良品かもしれないので返品します。