Astell&Kern SEM4 – All-in-One Module for A&futura SE180 player

Astell&Kern has released a new replacement DAC unit for upgrade lovers, designed for installation in the A&futura SE180 digital player.

Astell&Kern SEM4 module was the first in the range of the company, which implemented proprietary technology for upsampling Digital Audio Remaster (DAR). According to the developers, turning it on allows you to get close to analog sound when working with PCM 384 kHz and DSD256 streams. The digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) itself is built on a dual Asahi Kasei AK4493SEQ chip and is characterized by low power consumption, increasing the life of the player from a single charge to 14 hours. The module also uses Teraton’s Alpha Sound Solution, which reduces noise from the power supply and improves amplification efficiency.

The replacement Astell&Kern SEM4 DAC unit can be purchased on the European market for 429 euros.

Astell&Kern SEM4 Specifications

• Model PAP14
• Body Material Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Polycarbonate
• Body Color Moon Silver
• Sample Rate PCM : 8kHz ~ 768kHz (8/16/24/32bits per Sample) DSD Native: DSD64(1bit 2.8MHz), Stereo / DSD128(1bit 5.6MHz), Stereo DSD256(1bit 11.2MHz), Stereo / DSD512(1bit 22.4MHz), Stereo
• Outputs Unbalanced Out (3.5mm), Balanced Out (2.5mm, only 4-pole supported / 4.4mm, only 5-pole supported)
• Output Level [Normal Gain] Unbalanced 2Vrms / Balanced 4Vrms (Condition No Load) [High Gain] Unbalanced 3Vrms / Balanced 6Vrms (Condition No Load)
• DAC AKM AK4493SEQ x 2 (Dual DAC)
• Decoding Support up to 32bit / 768kHz Bit-to-Bit playback
• Dimensions 3.03″(77mm)[W] x 2.99″(76mm)[H] x 0.78″(19.9mm)[D]
• Weight 3.17oz (90g)
• Operating Temperature 0℃ ~ + 40℃ (32℉~ 104℉)
• Playback Time about 14hours (Standard : FLAC, 16bit, 44.1kHz, Unbalanced, Vol.50, LCD Off)
• Frequency Response
  ±0.09dB (Condition : 20Hz~20kHz) Unbalanced / ±0.04dB (Condition : 20Hz~20kHz) Balanced
  ±0.65dB (Condition : 20Hz~70kHz) Unbalanced / ±0.65dB (Condition : 20Hz~70kHz) Balanced
• S/N
  [Normal Gain] 121dB @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / 121dB @ 1kHz, Balanced
  [High Gain] 125dB @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / 125dB @ 1kHz, Balanced
• Crosstalk
  [Normal Gain] -134dB @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / -138dB @ 1kHz, Balanced
  [High Gain] -135dB @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / -143dB @ 1kHz, Balanced
• THD+N
  [Normal Gain] 0.0003% @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / 0.0004% @ 1kHz, Balanced
  [High Gain] 0.0005% @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / 0.0006% @ 1kHz, Balanced
• IMD SMPTE 0.0003%, 800Hz 10kHz (4:1), Unbalanced / 0.0003%, 800Hz 10kHz (4:1), Balanced
• Output Impedance 3.5mm (1ohm) / 2.5mm (1.5ohm) / 4.4mm (1.5ohm)