ACRO CA1000
Head-fi hero

Powerful portable headphone amplifier with digital audio player capabilities.
Easily drives high impedance headphones with a 15Vrms output or below.
Features 3.5mm, 6.35mm unbalanced, and 2.5mm 4.4mm balanced headphone output to handle a wide variety of headphones.
An onboard Quad-DAC delivers a clear, detailed and balanced sound.
An array of digital/analogue inputs and outputs ensures it can be at the heart of any hi-fi set-up.
Supports high-resolution audio playback up native DSD512 and 32bit/384 kHz.
A 4.1-inch, 720 x 1280px touchscreen tilts up to 60 degrees for easy control.

Head-fi hero ACRO CA1000

Astell&Kern has redefined the headphone amplifier with the introduction of the ACRO CA1000. Expertly combining high-performance amplifiers with digital audio player (DAP) capabilities in an incredibly compact desktop and portable-friendly form, the powerful ACRO CA1000 delivers the optimal performance from any type of wired headphone. An array of digital/analogue inputs and outputs also ensures the ACRO CA1000 can be at the heart of any hi-fi set-up and become the ultimate system for head-fi fans.

Reviews-base

"Whether playing music from its internal storage or connected up as a USB DAC, it sounds excellent both as a headphone amplifier and as a source to feed an amplifier, with fine weight and drive in the bass, excellent midband and treble detail, and a really crisp and open top-end, making a wide range of headphone spring to life without any suggestion of unnatural ‘shaping’ of the sound"
Hi-Fi Critic, March 2022, Highly Recommended

"Whichever headphones I chose, the CA1000 proved capable of convincing drive, grip and detail, with well extended bass, a smooth yet informative midband and crisp, clean treble…It’d be an elegant addition to many a desktop…an attractive luxury buy."
Hi-Fi News, Highly Commended Award, March 2022 issue

Amp the sound

To realise any hidden potential and run the most sophisticated and power-hungry headphones a dedicated amplifier is essential. The ACROCA1000 supports a four-step Gain Level setting that can run high-impedance headphones with a 15Vrms (Condition No Load) output level - without deterioration of sound quality. Equipped with balanced 2.5mm and 4.4mm and unbalanced 3.5mm and 6.35mm outputs, the ACRO CA1000 can accommodate a wide variety of headphones.

DAP capabilities

More than just a powerful headphone amp, the ACRO CA1000 also features DAP capabilities, transforming it into the go-to-system for head-fi aficionados. A titling 4.1-inch touchscreen (up to 60-degrees) enables easy control of the player and amp settings with an intuitive Android OS and feature set taken from its award-winning portable DAPs. It is also equipped with an 8,400mAh large capacity battery to provide up to 10.5 hours playback.

Hi-res credentials

A digital-to analogue converter (DAC) contributes majorly to how close to the original recording the listener will experience. The ACRO CA1000 arrives with a high-quality, high-performance Quad ES9068AS DAC that delivers a clear, detailed and balanced sound without distortion. The Quad-DAC also supports high-resolution audio playback up native DSD512 and 32bit/384 kHz, enabling the music fan to get even closer to the original studio sound, while revealing musical details never heard before.

Heart of a Hi-Fi

An array of inputs and outputs allows connection of digital and analogue sources to expand the systems capabilities. These include Optical, Coaxial, Type-C USB digital inputs/outputs and RCA analog input/output. The ACRO CA1000 harbours 256GB on-board memory that can be expanded up to 1TB via a microSD card slot, meaning users can stockpile thousands of hi-res albums.

Boosted connectivity

A BT Sink function connects the ACRO CA1000 to an external device, such as a smartphone, via Bluetooth, enabling music to be played back in high-quality on the headphone amp. Elsewhere the ACRO CA1000 boasts Bluetooth® 5.0, providing greater range and a more stable wireless connection to headphones and, along with support for 24-bit aptX™ HD and LDAC codecs, offers the best possible wireless sound quality.

Included in the box

1x Astell&Kern ACRO CA1000 headphone amplifier
1x USB-C to USB-A cable (1 metre)
1x Screen Protector
1x Quick start guide

General Specifications

Model

AC1000

Body Color

Moon Silver

Body Material

Aluminum

Display

4.1-inch, 720 x 1280px touch scree

Supported Audio Formats

WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF

Sample rate

PCM: 8kHz ~ 384kHz (8/16/24/32bits per Sample), DSD Native: DSD64(1bit 2.8MHz), Stereo / DSD128(1bit 5.6MHz), Stereo / DSD256(1bit 11.2MHz), DSD512(1bit, 22.4MHz) Stereo

Output Level:

Headphone Out: [Low] Unbalanced 2Vrms / Balanced 4Vrms (Condition No Load), [Mid] Unbalanced 4Vrms / Balanced 8Vrms (Condition No Load), [High] Unbalanced 6Vrms / Balanced 12Vrms (Condition No Load), [Super] Unbalanced 8Vrms / Balanced 15Vrms (Condition No Load)

RCA Out

2Vrms (Condition No Load)

CPU

Quad-core

DAC

ESS ES9068AS x4 (Quad-DAC)

Decoding

Support up to 32bit / 384kHz Bit to Bit playback

Headphone Outputs

Unbalanced (3.5mm, 6.35mm) / Balanced (2.5mm, 4.4mm)

Analog Inputs

RCA (Stereo pair) x1

Analog Outputs

RCA (Stereo pair) x1

Digital Inputs

Coaxial x1, Optical x1, USB(Type-C) x1

Digital Outputs

Optical(3.5mm) x1, USB(Type-C) x1

Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz)

Bluetooth

V5.0 (A2DP, AVRCP, Qualcomm® aptX™ HD, LDAC)

Dimensions:

4.12"(104.9mm)[W] x 1.77"(45mm)[H] x 5.85"(148.8mm)[D]

Weight

about 919g (32.41oz)

Feature Enhancements

Firmware upgrade supported (OTA)

Audio Performance (Audio specifications will be based on Low Gain setting.)

Frequency Response

±0.024dB (Condition : 20Hz~20kHz) Unbalanced / ±0.018dB (Condition : 20Hz~20kHz) Balanced / ±0.048dB (Condition : 20Hz~20kHz) RCA, ±0.059dB (Condition : 20Hz~70kHz) Unbalanced / ±0.056dB (Condition : 20Hz~70kHz) Balanced / ±0.048dB (Condition : 20Hz~70kHz) RCA

S/N

107dB @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / 115dB @ 1kHz, Balanced / 119dB @ 1kHz, RCA

Crosstalk

-105dB @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / -124dB @ 1kHz, Balanced / -121dB @ 1kHz, RCA

THD+N

0.005% @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / 0.002% @ 1kHz, Balanced / 0.0004% @ 1kHz, RCA

IMD SMPTE

0.0008% 800Hz 10kHz (4:1) Unbalanced / 0.0004% 800Hz 10kHz (4:1) Balanced /0.0003% 800Hz 10kHz (4:1) RCA

Output Impedance

3.5mm, 6.35mm (1ohm), 2.5mm, 4.4mm (2ohm), RCA (2ohm)

Clock Jitter

25ps (Typ)

Reference Clock Jitter

70ps

Built-in Memory

256GB [NAND]

External Memory

microSD x1 (Max. 1TB)

Battery Capacity

8,400mAh 3.8V Li-Polymer

Charge Time

about 2.5hours (9V / 3A PD2.0 Fast Charging) | 7hours (5V 2A General Charging)

Playback Time

about 10.5hours (Standard: FLAC, 16bit, 44.1kHz, Unbalanced, Vol.40, LCD Off, Low Gain)

Supported OS

Windows 7, 8, 10 (32/64bit), MAC OS X 10.7 and above

ACRO CA1000 Head-fi hero