For anyone with a towering CD collection, the thought of ripping its entirety to a computer, to then be transferred to a portable music player, can be pretty daunting.
The good news for owners of an Astell & Kern player, such as the Award-winning AK70 MKII and Kann, is that the laptop can now be taken out of the equation – if they pay for the privilege of course.
The AK CD Ripper MKII does exactly what it says on the tin, allowing one-touch ripping of CDs straight to a connected A&K music player over USB.
The player offers ripping options – speed (normal, fast and very fast) and file format (WAV/FLAC) – and then it's just the touch of a button to get started.
Connect your Astell & Kern player to wi-fi and you can also access Gracenote’s servers so that the album’s music metadata and cover artwork are automatically written to the ripped files. Information can be entered manually, too.
To limit vibrations caused from CD rotation, and thus reduce errors, the CD slot has an increased weight and a triangular support damper underneath.
In addition to the AK70 MKII and Kann, compatible models include the AK 100 II, AK 120 II, AK240, AK70 (original), AK 300, AK 320, AK 380 and AK A&Ultima SP1000.
As we’ve come to learn, convenience costs – and in this case, the damage is £399.
Read more:
Three portable music players carry off What Hi-Fi? Awards 2017
Astell & Kern introduces AK70 MKII
