Pre-order

Astell&Kern - KANN ULTRA

Dual-DAC Digital Audio Player
Sale price₹ 139,999 Regular priceMRP: ₹ 149,999
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DELIVERY

1. What is a Pre-Order product?
A Pre-order product is a product that we especially order for you from the brand. Once you place an order with us, we will order it from the brand for you.

2. How do I know when the product will be delivered?
There is a rough timeline on the product availability and once it has been confirmed with the brand, we will inform you.

3. Do you order the product from the brand as soon as I place the order?
We do not immediately order the product but add it in the upcoming order.

4. Will you be giving me updates?
Once we have ordered the product and have a confirmed timeline, we will give you an update.

5. I’d like to make changes to/cancel my order?
You can only cancel/make changes to your order until we place the order with the brand. Since the product is specifically being ordered for you, we will be unable to cancel/make changes once we order the product from the brand.

Free Shipping
7 Day Replacement Guarantee

In case you receive the Astell&Kern - KANN ULTRA with a manufacturing defect, please raise a return request within 7 days of delivery.

However, if you receive an incorrect / damaged / different product or one with missing accessories, please raise a return request within 24 hours of delivery. In case you receive a product with a missing, incorrect, or faulty accessory, you will be given a replacement accessory instead of the entire product.

Please make sure that the product is in the original packaging with all the accessories it came with. We'll also need an unboxing video and images of the parcel to investigate about the discrepancy. You may be asked to share images of the product and the packaging received for us to determine the damage or defect prior to approving the return request. The free replacement will be shipped only once the original order is returned.

A replacement will be issued only if:

- It is found to be defective
- It is determined that the product was not damaged while in your possession
- The product is not different from what was shipped to you
- The product is returned in original condition (with brand’s/manufacturer's box, MRP tag intact, user manual, warranty card and all the accessories therein)

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Warranty & Services

Don't sweat it, this Astell&Kern - KANN ULTRA comes with a 1 Year warranty from Astell&Kern that covers manufacturing defects. All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.

Read more about Astell&Kern's warranty in India.

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Join Club Audiophile to begin your pursuit of great sound. Earn points and save on every purchase.

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Why Astell&Kern is Special

🇰🇷

Designed in Korea

Established & Reputed

Trust us, our reputation in the audio world speaks for itself!


This headphone or gear comes from a well-respected brand known for its high-quality audio equipment, so you can be confident in your purchase.


If you see a product marked as “🎖️ Established & Reputed”, it means you're getting a top-tier device from a brand that's earned its stripes in the audio industry.

Revered by Audiophiles

Audiophiles can be really picky and tough to impress and if the audiophile community says something sounds good, you can bet it's great!


This headphone or gear has gained recognition and admiration from audiophiles, who are known for their discerning taste in high-fidelity audio. They appreciate its precision, attention to detail and its ability to deliver an immersive sonic experience.


If you see a product marked as "🙌🏻 Revered by Audiophiles", it means that it meets the highest standards of sound quality and performance, making it a top choice for anyone who values exceptional audio experiences.

🐣

Born in 2004

Why we love this DAP

Premium Economy

Sensible spending and class above in quality. 


This headphone or gear offers top-notch sound and performance without much impact on your pocket, promising a delightful experience that exceeds your expectations at an economical price point.


If you see a product marked as “💎 Premium Economy," it indicates that you're getting a high-quality audio product with exceptional sound clarity and reliable performance, all at a budget-friendly price.

Serious Audiophiles Only

Diving deeper into exploring the hobby is never enough.


If you're an audiophile on a hunt for a device that meets your high standards, this is one such headphone or gear designed for discerning audiophiles like you in mind.


If you see a product marked with “🦈 Serious Audiophiles Only" we assure you that this device can match your depth of knowledge and expertise to take your passion for audio to the next level.

Our Team's Favourite

Cause after all, we are audiophiles first!


This headphone or gear has won the hearts of our team, standing out as a top pick among our gurus.


If you see products marked as “💙 Our Team’s Favourite”, you're choosing a product that’s been tested, loved, and enthusiastically recommended by our team, giving you confidence that it’s a standout choice!

Use Wirelessly with Bluetooth

Enjoy the convenience of seamless wireless connectivity


This headphone or gear indicates that the product supports wireless connectivity via Bluetooth, freeing you from the tangles of cords and cables.


If you see products marked as “✂️ Use Wirelessly with Bluetooth”, enjoy the freedom to stream music, make calls, and more, all without being tethered to your device, giving you the flexibility to move around and multitask with ease.

Battery Life

No need to be connected to the power socket with these devices.


This headphone or gear promises long-lasting battery performance, ensuring your device keeps up with your adventures without missing a beat.


If you see products marked as “⏳ Battery Life”, be rest assured that you'll enjoy extended usage time, whether it's for uninterrupted music playback, extended gaming sessions, or all-day productivity, keeping you powered up throughout your day.

Battery Capacity

Power that keeps your music going.


This headphone or gear has ample battery capacity, promising you plenty of juice to power through your day with gusto.


If you see products marked as “🔋 Battery Capacity”, rejoice in the knowledge that your device is equipped with a robust battery, providing you with extended usage time and reducing the frequency of recharges, so you can focus on your favourite tracks.

Storage

Storage is important. Even in this era of streaming music, you’d want to make sure you have enough space to store your amazing collection of music on your player. Imagine a long flight, it’s your offline files you’re going to be listening to.


Keeping your entire collection of Hi-Resolution music in one place is the most convenient way of carrying your music library. However, Hi-Resolution files are heavy. Most songs in a FLAC format can be about 100mb per track. So more space is always better.


Most players support both internal storage and expandable storage via an external memory card. Make sure you check both - the internal memory on players, and consider the maximum supported size of the expandable storage. It’s best to keep your library of offline files in expandable storage and use the internal storage for saving files from streaming apps.




At the time of writing this article, MicroSD cards for 256 GB were easily available and affordable for less than Rs. 2000. Higher capacity cards are also available, but that seems to be the sweet spot.

Built like a Tank

No need to worry about durability.


If you're seeking a headphone or gear with a strong, rugged build, this snapshot indicates that this is the one for you.


If you see a product marked with “🪖 Built like a Tank", it means this product is crafted with metal in its design, ensuring exceptional robustness and durability.

Why it Sounds Amazing

DAC Chip

Know the secret to your pristine audio.


This headphone or gear reveals the secret sauce behind superior audio quality, highlighting the presence of a high-performance DAC chip for pristine sound reproduction.


If you see products marked as “⚙️ DAC Chip”, expect to experience your music with unparalleled clarity, detail, and fidelity, ensuring that every note and nuance is faithfully reproduced for your listening pleasure.

Power Output

When you need that juice to get the best out of your products.


This headphone or gear packs a punch, revealing the product's impressive power output capabilities, ensuring it can handle even the most demanding products with ease.


If you see products marked as “🚀 Power Output”, you're in for a treat with robust performance for driving high-fidelity products without breaking a sweat.

Balanced Output

Upgrading from single-ended to balanced can be the easiest way to improve your sound.


This DAC, Amp or Hi-Res player offers a balanced output, ensuring pristine audio quality with minimised interference and enhanced clarity for your listening pleasure.


If you see a product marked as "⚖️ Balanced Output”, get ready for a symphony of crystal-clear tunes, free from any unwanted noise drama!

ASTELL&KERN PROUDLY PRESENTS THE FIFTH GENERATION OF THE KANN SERIES DAP - THE KANN ULTRA

The Kann series has earned a devoted following among audiophiles worldwide, renowned for its emphasis on ultra-high output and pristine sound quality. The Kann Ultra, the fifth addition to the Kann series, continues this tradition of excellence. It boasts the highest output power of any Astell&Kern player and introduces the Triple Output Sound feature. With its optimised octa-core processor and user interface, Kann Ultra offers an even more user-friendly experience for enjoying exceptional sound quality. This device has four gain modes, delivering up to 16Vrms of desktop hi-fi level output, and it's equipped with ES9039MPRO dual DAC chips, making it a powerful companion for many high-resolution headphones. The Kann Ultra also provides separate Pre/Line Out options for flexible connectivity with various devices. It supports playback up to 32bit/768kHz, native DSD512, and incorporates Digital Audio Remaster (DAR) technology. Additionally, it features Astell & Kern's unique Teraton Alpha technology and offers an impressive battery life of up to 11 hours thanks to its substantial 8,400 mAh capacity.
KANN ULTRA

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EQUIPPED WITH TWO OF THE LATEST ESS FLAGSHIP DAC CHIPS FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION AUDIO PLAYBACK

The Kann Ultra incorporates dual ES9039MPRO DACs, which are the latest flagship Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs) developed by ESS. These DACs are designed to provide exceptionally vivid and spacious audio that goes beyond your expectations. The ES9039MPRO is an upgraded version of the ES9039PRO model, featuring a built-in stereo hardware MQA renderer. It offers even more advanced modulation than the previous flagship DAC, resulting in reduced power consumption, noise, and distortions within the DAC itself, ultimately enhancing the audio performance. Astell&Kern has reimagined the AMP BLOCK to ensure that the ES9039MPRO's high-resolution sound is faithfully conveyed through each port of the Triple Output configuration, showcasing its advanced capabilities. With the Kann Ultra, you can pick and choose from seven DAC filters to create your sound style. Design your sound with the seven DAC filters.
KANN ULTRA

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UTILISING ASTELL&KERN’S PATENTED TERATON ALPHA TECHNOLOGY FOR FAITHFUL AUDIO PRESENTATION

Astell&Kern's Kann Ultra is equipped with TERATON ALPHA technology, which showcases several patented technologies developed by Astell&Kern. These innovations have been the result of extensive research and development efforts, making them Astell&Kern's ultimate solution for superior sound. From its ability to provide ultra-high output suitable for even the most delicate headphones to the unique Triple Output design, intricate amplifier configuration, and minimal noise in a compact portable audio player, all of this has become achievable thanks to Astell&Kern's TERATON ALPHA, the ultimate Sound Solution. Building upon their expertise in noise cancellation at high power levels, acquired from earlier models like the Kann Max and CA1000 series, Astell&Kern has elevated TERATON ALPHA to new heights. This proprietary technology, developed through continuous research, is engineered to deliver audio playback that faithfully replicates the original sound by effectively eliminating power-related noise, optimising power management, ensuring consistent amplification, and providing a fully converted audio output interface.

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EXPERIENCE HIGH-FIDELITY WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY WITH BLUETOOTH, WI-FI, BT SINK AND AK FILE DROP

Astell&Kern Kann Ultra is equipped with multiple connectivity options, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, BT Sink, and the AK File Drop function, facilitating easy connections to various devices. With Bluetooth 4.2, Kann Ultra offers faster and longer-range transmissions, ensuring a more stable wireless connection. It supports LDAC and 24-bit aptX HD wireless protocols, delivering high-quality sound for audiophiles, even during wireless music playback. MQA decoding is also supported to provide the highest audio quality. The BT Sink feature allows Astel&Kern’s Kann Ultra to connect to an external device via Bluetooth. A new addition is the AK File Drop function, enhancing file transfers by enabling wireless file transfers through a PC, phone, or FTP program, simplifying music file management without the need for cables.
KANN ULTRA

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FOUR LEVELS OF GAIN SETTINGS AND REPLAY GAIN FEATURE FOR A COHERENT LISTENING EXPERIENCE

Astell&Kern Kann Ultra introduces the Replay Gain feature, which automatically adjusts the loudness of each track to maintain a consistent volume level between songs. This ensures your playlists play smoothly, providing a uniform listening experience without abrupt volume changes. Replay Gain supports sound sources up to 24-bit/192kHz, allowing you to enjoy high-quality music from any source. Kann Ultra goes a step further by offering four gain levels and an ultra-high-output of up to 16 Vrms, delivering ample power and clear sound for an exceptional listening experience. With Unbalanced 3.5mm Out, Optical 3.5mm Out, and 4.4mm Out (5-pole supported), Kann Ultra can effortlessly drive a variety of headphones and IEMs, ensuring compatibility with different audio gear.

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FEATURES THE TRIPLE OUTPUT MODE FEATURE FOR EASE OF USE WITH VARIOUS HEADPHONES

Kann Ultra introduces the Triple Output Mode, allowing you to experience Astell&Kern's finely tuned audio quality while using demanding headphones, high-detail IEMs, or external devices. Unlike a simple separation of output ports, Astell&Kern's Teraton Alpha technology enables distinct amplifier and sound designs for the Headphone Out and Line/Pre-Out ports, ensuring the best sound for each connection. With Kann Ultra's Triple Output, you can build a robust Head-Fi system even on portable devices. You have the flexibility to use the headphone-out, pre-out, and line-out connections with headphones, IEMs, and external devices. The headphone output offers four preset gain settings and an ultra-high-output of up to 16Vrms, powerful enough to drive high-impedance headphones without an external Amp. Choose Pre-Out mode on the Pre/Line Out port to send audio to an external amplifier or audio device, or opt for Line Out mode when connecting to external devices for optimised sound output.

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EMBEDS THE NEXT-GENERATION OCTA-CORE PROCESSOR AND SHOWCASES THE NEW CRIMSON UI

Astell&Kern Kann Ultra marks the debut of the latest Octa-Core processors, bringing notable performance enhancements for an even more enjoyable audio experience. The new processor speeds up the system and delivers a 4th generation UI/UX that's swifter and smoother. To maintain audio integrity, Kann Ultra thoughtfully separates the audio circuit area from the processor section, where the CPU, memory, and wireless components reside. A dedicated shield minimises heat and processor-generated noise. A crimson-themed UI/UX is a fresh addition to the KANN series, emphasising an "ultimate music player" approach to music listening. This theme prioritises edge, simplicity, and dark mode, using a black base with red accents to reduce visual strain and improve user interactions. Plus, it brings various enhancements to streaming app services, artist views, album sorting, and album art search functionality.

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ENJOY ACCURATE AND VIVID SOUND WITH DIGITAL AUDIO REMASTER AND CROSSFEED TECHNOLOGY

The Astell&Kern Kann Ultra boasts Digital Audio Remaster (DAR) technology, specially designed to enhance sound quality by increasing the sample rate of the audio source beyond its original limits. This higher sample rate results in more refined and analogue-like sound reproduction, allowing you to appreciate the original sound's richness and subtle nuances. It elevates your listening experience to a higher tier of audio quality. Additionally, Kann Ultra incorporates Crossfeed technology, which addresses ear fatigue commonly associated with extended headphone use where the left and right channels remain distinct. Activating the Crossfeed feature introduces a pleasing, comfortable sound experience by blending portions of the original signal and routing it to the opposite channel with a time delay to centre the sound image. Detailed settings such as Shelf Cutoff, Shelf Gain, and Mixer Level enable you to customise the level of crossfeed to suit your listening preferences.

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DESIGNED TO LEAVE A LASTING IMPACT AND OFFERS A WHOOPING 11.5 HOURS OF PLAYBACK TIME

Astell&Kern's Kann Ultra follows the design theme of "Forceful Impact," carrying forward the signature hexagonal columnar body style of the KANN series. The most striking element is the oversized volume wheel knob, symbolising the device's enhanced performance compared to its predecessor. Astell&Kern skilfully concealed parting lines and incorporated protective elements around the volume wheel, ensuring a harmonious and functional appearance. These features accentuate the Kann Ultra's substantial presence, showcasing its primal strength as a solid metal structure. To complement this design, decorative elements link with the volume wheel knob's serrated pattern, creating a visually large wheel that harmonises with the device's imposing body and underscores the Kann Ultra's formidable capabilities. In response to its increased size, the orientation of the volume wheel has been revamped for versatile usage scenarios, whether placed on a desk or held by hand. Notably, the Kann Ultra now boasts a 5.5-inch full HD display and a substantial 8,400mAh battery, delivering an impressive 11.5 hours of playback time.

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1 Year Warranty

Don't sweat it, this Astell&Kern - KANN ULTRA comes with a 1 Year warranty from Astell&Kern that covers manufacturing defects. All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.

Read more about Astell&Kern's warranty in India.

Luxury Meets Innovation: Difference in Sound Quality

Founded in October 2013 in South Korea, Astell&Kern is a premium audio brand renowned for its commitment to delivering uncompromised hi-res audio experiences. Derived from Greek, where "Astell" means "Stars" and "Kern" means "Core," the brand symbolizes the pursuit of capturing the essence of music—the "original sound." Astell&Kern addresses the decline in audio quality due to inferior formats like MP3, aiming to revive sound integrity for musicians and enthusiasts alike.

Their diverse product range, from audio players to earphones, reflects their dedication to precision and accuracy in sound reproduction. With acclaimed offerings like the Astell&Kern AK XB10 and Astell&Kern Billie Jean, they continue to enrich music and listening experiences globally, delivering soul-touching sound.

Explore Collection
Moon Audio

"The KANN Ultra is a portable music player for those who need power on the go. If you love taking your full-size audiophile-grade headphones with you wherever you go, then the KANN Ultra is for you."

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Have a question? Get in touch!

Check out the most common questions our customers ask. Still have questions? Talk to our Headphone Gurus.

Our customer support is available Monday to Saturday: 10am - 7pm.Average answer time: 2-3 hours

Customer Reviews

Based on 2 reviews
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D
D. (Mumbai)
Solid Sound and Built

Hai,this is my second AK,my first being a 10 yr old AK jr which is still in pristine condition.

A Big Chunk of Meat with Raw power an indestructible Macho Machine,

All that said the user interface as read in many reviews has been improved but still slacking in speed and finesse

Apple Music has some issues with the UI as i have faced an issue of not being able to play the downloaded songs and i have to delete and download again which is pretty annoying.

Then as its a portable player i can’t understand the need of a separate pre line out that too 4.4 and 3.5 outs,see for a desktop dap/dac fine but not in a portable one,actually they could have added a 6.3 mm instead

Then the player wont last more the 7 hrs on full charge when the amp is set on high along with the DAR switched on and honestly I didn’t get to any difference with the DAR.

Ops sorry if this sounds like a cons review rather than pros

Rest assured rather that those mentioned above THIS DAP IS A BEAST like a V8 ready to trample whatever you throw at them with that authority and surgical precision.

Once again thank you for bringing in these to our reach in India and Kudos to Team HPZ since none other than HPZ has such a strong line up of Personal Audio products with hardcore after sales support-Keep up the Great Job

Thank you

Thank you for taking the time to write this review and we really appreciate the genuine feedback! We're glad that you have such positive thoughts about our team and your purchase.

C
Croydon Dsouza (Mumbai)
The best DAP around, Astell& Kern KANN Ultra

This DAP is far from impressive. Its simply the best. Functions, interphase, sound quality and most importantly, the levels of gain.

Hey there, thank you for the great review and ratings! So delighted that you are loving your purchase. Hope you had a comfortable shopping experience. Cheers!

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