Address:  DM Solution, Ober der Roeth 4, 65824 Schwalbach, Germany
Email: info@astellkernservice.de
Tel : +49 (0) 6196 / 953 573 0
Typical working time: 
Monday to Friday   09:00 ~ 17:00  Lunch time  12:00 ~ 13:00

1. When the OTG cable is connected, automatic activation of the 'External USB' icon is the specification? -> Yes

- The 'External USB' icon is activated and it is normal operation.

- Regarding of SP1000/SE100, they use same Interface, their 'External USB' icon is activated automatically too.

2. When connecting with a AK RIPPER/MKII, SR15 cannot be charged (NEXEL) -> It is specification.

- SR15(using NEXEL) officially does not support charging while connecting with AK RIPPER/MKII

3. Cannot disable 'External USB' -> It is specification.

Using Open APP Service

The Open APP Service enables the user to install specific APK music streaming apps to the device.

Copy the desired APK into the Open Service folder of the product and install the relevant App in the Menu-Service of the product.

Open APP Service supported model

 SR25 / KANN ALPHA / SE200 /SA700 / SP2000 / KANN CUBE / SP1000 / SP1000M / SE100 / SR15 

Running Open APP Service, there are some limitations on Android version and internal RAM.

Among Astell&Kern products, only for those that is using Android 6.0 were the main target to investigate for equipping 

(SR25 / KANN ALPHA / SE200 / SA700 / SP2000 / KANN CUBE / SP1000 / SP1000M / SE100 / SR15) and for those that is using lower than 4.2 version is unable to equip the service.

Open APP Service supported APP

 7digital Music / Amazon Music / Apple Music / Audible / Awa / Bandcamp / BBC iPlayer Radio 

 Bugs / Deezer / Dsaudio / FLO / foobar2000 / Genie / IDAGIO / Joox / Kkbox / Last.fm / Melon 

 Moov / My Yuner Radio / nugs.net / Onkyo HF Player / Pandora / Player FM / Qobuz / QQmusic 

 Sirius / Soundcloud / Spotify* / Tidal / Tunein / xiami music / Yandex Music   

There are 33 validated apps by Astell&Kern, Some APPs which requires certain steps are incompatible such as Google. Although the APP is validated, there might have some restrictions on services, policies or updates.

(Supported APPs will be continuously updated.)

* Updating compatibility with apps,

We recently found Spotify have compatibility issue with current APK versions and a few A&K players which have low android OS version (SR15,SA700,Activo_CT10, Kann Cube etc)   

APK version updates and modifications of app providers depend on their policies and compatibility restrictions. Also compatibility restriction based on Android version couldn't be settled by us.  

How to install Open APP Service 

This is an instruction of How to download Open APP Service.

Please install Spotify APP on SP1000M.

Please download the preferred music streaming APP’s APK.

Example site: https://apkpure.com (https://bit.ly/2DUAjhp)

For instance, if you want to download Spotify APP, please search on the reference site. 

Once you connected the player with PC, you may find ‘Open Service’ folder is created. Then please copy and paste downloaded APK on this folder. 

Once you click the ‘Menu’ and ‘Service ‘button, APK list will be created. Then please click an icon on the right side to download the service. 

Once the service is completely downloaded, please click the ‘install’ button. 

Once the installation is completed, you may start the service.  

Other apps also can be executed exactly the same methods. 

Music streaming APP Offline mode support

Some APPs such as Spotify and Tidal may support offline mode, but there are restrictions such as downloading files to external memory. Take Tidal as an example, it is unable to specify a location to store files in offline mode. Since it is hidden in the system, so it is unable to find.

To try the Off-line mode, please turn off Wi-Fi. 

You may directly access through Notification bar, while the APP is running. 

- Caution -

The applications on the list are unknown to source. The installation of app may result in damage to the device and personal data or it might cause security vulnerabilities. Perhaps some functions may not work normally.

Wi-Fi Connection issue check points:

1. Make sure your router is on and in range

2. Make sure Wi-Fi is on and the network is showing

3. Check for Wi-Fi network issues, Make sure the router is connected to the modem and turned on.

4. If there is problem, Please delete the existing wireless router connection information and reconnect.

5. Restart router and device to see if the issue is resolved. Also check it with other devices or router.

USB TYPE C version.

KANN - USB 2.0

SP1000 - USB 3.0

* KANN and SP1000 use same parts, but its performance is different because of CPU Performance.

1. Check that the volume setting is above 0.

2. Check that the earphones are plugged in properly and no debris is obstructing the port connection.

3. Check if the music file is corrupted.

4. Verify that the audio settings have been properly set. (Balanced out, line out, etc.)

[AK 1st generation model: AK100 / AK120 / AK JR]

Supported codecs: WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, (Not MP3)

Conditions: The sample rate, bit, and codec of the current playback song and the next playback song must be the same.

[AK model except for 1st generation. (Android OS)]

Supported codecs: All playback supported formats

Conditions: The sample rate, bit, and codec of the current playback song and the next playback song must be the same.

[USB DAC function]

This is a function that can be used as a "USB sound card" by connecting the AK product to PC USB.

- After connecting the product to PC, select [USB DAC] to connect to USB DAC mode.

- The USB DAC function is automatically installed and recognized through the driver built into the OS.

- If the device does not install properly, check the device driver (automatically search) through the Device Manager.

- If the device is installed but no sound is output, delete the device through Device Manager

  and connect the product to the PC again and confirm.

- If your PC already has a sound card, change the default device through the control panel,

Sound is played only when you select the AK product as the device to output the sound through the playback program setting.

[Check path] 

※ Windows XP:

Control Panel - Sounds and Audio Devices - Change Sound Playback default device to "USB DAC" in the ‘Audio’ tab.

※ Windows vista/7/8/10:

Control Panel - Hardware and Sounds - Sounds - Audio Devices manager - Select the "USB DAC" in the ‘Play’ tab,

and then select as “set as the Default device”

[USB DAC support specification]

Please refer to the each product manual.

[Cautions]

- If the support format is exceeded, the sound will not play.

- When the USB DAC is connected, the volume control is unavailable when the LCD is off.

- When connecting USB DAC, previous, play and next keys are unavailable.

- If the USB usage is high or the PC is slow, the playback sound can be cut off

- When video is played back, depending on the original and output quality, the sync may not fit.

- Optical output (S/PDIF) is unavailable during USB DAC connection.

- Volume cannot be adjusted via the Windows volume control.

- You can adjust the sound volume through the volume of the program you are using or volume key

[4 pin connection method]

- Align the unit with the groove of the cable as shown in the figure below and fix the connector of the cable part by turning it.

- If you force it to fit the groove, it may damage the unit or cable connector part.