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Introductory Guide to the Astell&Kern
Table of Contents
Using the Astell&Kern
1. What is MQS?
2. How can I tell if the power is turned on/off on the Astell&Kern?
3. How do I set the auto power off and backlight off functions on the Astell&Kern?
4. How do I adjust the equalizer the Astell&Kern?
5. Is there a mute function on the Astell&Kern?
6. I can’t adjust the volume.
7. My Astell&Kern has frozen and/or stopped responding.
8. How do I reset the AK100?
9. What are the recommended headphones or earphones for the Astell&Kern?
10. Where is the serial number of the Astell&Kern?
11. There is no warranty card supplied with my Astell&Kern.
12. Where can I download the Astell&Kern user’s manual?
Managing your Music Files
1. How do I buy and load music to my Astell&Kern from my computer?
2. How do I add or delete a playlist?
3. I cannot see the music stored on my Astell&Kern.
4. How do I delete a file from the Astell&Kern?
5. I still see music I deleted from the Astell&Kern on the music list. How can I
correct this?
6. When pressing the menu button, why are the music files list and the main
menu interchangeable?
7. How do I edit the tag info of my music files?
8. How many files are recognized by the Astell&Kern?
9. What Micro SD card should I use with the Astell&Kern?
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Using the Astell&Kern
1. What is MQS?
o MQS stands for “Mastering Quality Sound” and refers to sound or music
files saved in a lossless format, straight from the studio-mastering source.
Because less data is lost during the digital mastering process and the
sound quality is distortion-free, a dramatic difference from the 24bit
source data contained in MQS files and CD (WAV)/MP3s can be heard
and felt.
o MQS files are often in 24bit WAV or FLAC formats. With the encoding
process in the AK100 MQS Portable System, MQS music and sounds are
more refined and pure.
MQS – 24bit, 96 – 192kHz
CD – 16bit, 44.1kHz
MP3 – 16bit, 128Kbps – 320Kbps, 44.1Khz
2. How can I tell if the power is turned on/off on the Astell&Kern?
o To verify if the Astell&Kern is turned on/off, please try these following
methods:
When the touchscreen is turned off, briefly press the Power
button.
If earphones are connected during music playback, you will hear a
tone from the earphones, indicating that the earphones are
connected.
If the power is turned on, the touchscreen LCD will power
up.
If the power is turned off, the touchscreen LCD will not
respond.
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3. How do I set the auto power off and backlight off functions on the
Astell&Kern?
o Auto Backlight Off function
To preserve battery life, the Astell&Kern has an auto backlight off
function.
From the main menu, navigate to: Settings -> Power ->
Backlight Off -> choose the length of idle time before the
backlight is automatically turned off.
o Auto Power Off function
To preserve battery life, the Astell&Kern has an auto power off
function.
From the main menu, go to: Settings -> Power -> Auto
Power Off -> choose the length of idle time before the
device is automatically turned off.
4. How do I adjust the equalizer on the Astell&Kern?
o From the main playback screen, please press the following:
Option button (bottom right corner)
Equalizer tab (far left)
Equalizer -> Slide the switch to the right -> USER EQ.
o Touch any part of the 5 colored bands of the equalizer for accurate
adjustments of the EQ as shown below.
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5. Is there a mute function on the Astell&Kern?
o The volume “Mute” feature is not supported on the Astell&Kern.
o To adjust the volume quickly, either rotate the Volume Wheel to adjust
the volume or touch the LCD display and swipe to the left or right for
adjustment.
6. I can’t adjust the volume.
o By default, the volume can be controlled with the Volume Wheel located
on the right side of the Astell&Kern, even when the LCD is turned off.
o If the volume wheel does not adjust volume levels when the LCD is
turned off, the volume lock may be turned on. To turn on/off the volume
lock, please navigate to: Settings -> Advanced -> Lock for adjustment.
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o If the volume wheel does not correctly adjust volume levels even with
volume lock turned off, the Astell&Kern may be malfunctioning. Please
contact your nearest iriver service center for further assistance.
7. My Astell&Kern has frozen and/or stopped responding.
o If your Astell&Kern has stopped responding and does not function
properly, please try restarting the device by pressing and holding the
“Scroll Up (∧)” and Power buttons for 7 seconds. This process will reset
the Astell&Kern to its default settings.
o Resetting the Astell&Kern does not delete the saved data from your
device.
o Note: Please do not reset the Astell&Kern during normal operation.
Doing so can cause damage to the internal memory.
8. How do I reset the AK100?
o If the Astell&Kern becomes unresponsive, press and hold the power and
the “Scroll Up (∧)” button at the same time for 7 seconds to reset.
9. What are the recommended headphones or earphones for the Astell&Kern?
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o Please refer to the link below for the technical specifications of the
recommended headphones.
Choosing a Headphone Guide
10. Where is the serial number of the Astell&Kern?
o The serial number is engraved next to the memory card slot on the
bottom of the Astell&Kern.
o If the serial number is not engraved on the device, please keep the
warranty card with the printed serial number in a secure location and/or
write down the serial number.
If the serial number is engraved on the Astell&Kern: no warranty
card is included
If the serial number is not engraved on the Astell&Kern: warranty
card is provided (exception: device housing has been replaced due
to repair service)
11. There is no warranty card supplied with my Astell&Kern.
o If the serial number is engraved on the device, the warranty card is not
included.
o If the serial number is not engraved on the device, warranty card is
provided (exception: the device housing has been replaced due to repair
service)
12. Where can I download the Astell&Kern users manual?
o The Astell&Kern user manual can be downloaded from the iriver website
here.
Please click on the download link “AK100 USER MANUAL.zip
(8.3MB)” to start the download.
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Managing your Music Files
1. How do I buy and load music on to my Astell&Kern from my computer?
o Navigate your web browser to: http://www.HDTracks.com. Please follow
the shopping instructions carefully.
o Your purchased music will download to the desktop of your computer.
The status bar of the HDTracks Download Manager will show you the
progress of the download.
NOTE: High-resolution files will take several minutes
(possibly 15 minutes per track for 24bit/192kHz tracks)
depending on your connection speed. High-resolution
music tracks are very large files. Be patient. It’s worth it!
o HDTracks will automatically create an “HDTracks” folder on your desktop.
It will include artwork and all of your music purchased from HDTracks will
be saved there. You can transfer these high-resolution music files to
anywhere you would like on your computer.
o After downloading, plug in the Micro USB cable from the USB port of the
Astell&Kern to your computer.
NOTE: Certain generic Micro USB cables will not work with the
Astell&Kern. Please use the cable provided.
Transferring HDTracks music files for Windows:
o After connecting the Astell&Kern to your PC, you’ll see two options: one
for “CHARGING” and one for “CONNECT REMOVABLE DISK.” Quickly press
“CONNECT REMOVABLE DISK.”
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o Use Windows Explorer to select the file you wish to transfer to the Astell
&Kern via the “Drag & Drop” method to the appropriate folders.
o The Astell&Kern will automatically index the track(s) if the “Auto Library
Scan” option is turned on.
If “Auto Library Scan” is set to “Manual” mode, navigate to
“Settings” -> “Advanced” -> “Auto Library Scan” -> touch “Library
Scan” to update the music database.
Or Via Micro SD Card
o Insert the Micro SD card into the reader connected to your PC.
o Use the Windows Explorer to select the source file that you wish to transf
er to the Astell&Kern and copy the files to your Micro SD card.
o Remove the Micro SD card from the reader and insert it into one of the d
ual Micro SD card slots on the bottom of the Astell&Kern for file playback
.
o Find your newly added tracks in the music list (under “Album”, “Artist”, “
Mastering Quality Sound”, or “Folder”) – click on your new track and PLA
Y.
Transferring HDTracks music files for the for Mac:
o After connecting the Astell&Kern to your Mac, select “CONNECT REMOVA
BLE DISK” from the touchscreen.
o Use the Astell&Kern as an external drive when shown on your Desktop an
d use the “Drag & Drop” method to transfer files to the appropriate folde
rs.
o The Astell&Kern device will automatically index the track(s) if the “Auto
Library Scan” option is turn on.
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If “Auto Library Scan” is set to “Manual” mode, navigate to
“Settings” -> “Advanced” -> “Auto Library Scan” -> touch
“Library Scan” to update the music database.
Or Via Micro SD Card
o Insert the Micro SD card into the reader connected to your Mac.
o Use the Mac Finder to select the source file that you wish to transfer to t
he Astell&Kern and copy thr files to your Micro SD card.
o Remove the Micro SD card from the reader and insert it into one of the d
ual Micro SD card slots at the bottom of the Astell&Kern for file playback.
o Find your newly added tracks in the music list (under “Album”, “Artist”, “
Mastering Quality Sound”, or “Folder”) – click on your new track and PLA
Y.
o NOTE: Some versions of Mac OSX may not be supported
2. How do I add or delete a playlist?
o There are 2 ways to add a playlist on the Astell&Kern:
Option 1: In the main playback screen, press the option button
(hexagon shaped button on the bottom right corner).
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Press the (+) tab and press the (+) within the “Add Playlist”
tab to add the music track to your playlist.
Option 2: Move to the music file listing of the Astell&Kern and
swipe to the left to bring up the add playlist/delete file menu.
Press the playlist button (+) to add the music track to your
playlist.
To access the saved playlist, navigate back to the Music List screen
and press “Playlist” menu to access the saved playlist tracks.
o Deleting a song from the playlist
To delete a song from the playlist of the Astell&Kern, navigate to
the “Play list” menu. Select the song you wish to delete from the
playlist and swipe to the left. Touch the playlist button to release
the song from the playlist.
NOTE: Saved playlists will be named “Playlist 1”, “Playlist
2”, etc.
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Access the playlist menu from the “Music List” menu from the
main playback screen or finger swiping to the left and pressing
the playlist menu icon from the music selection screen. Press the
delete button (-) next to the playlist from the Play list menu to
delete the playlist from the Astell&Kern.
NOTE: Deleting the playlist does not delete the actual
music file.
3. I cannot see the music stored on my Astell&Kern.
o If the music database was not created properly, music saved on to the
Astell&Kern cannot be seen.
o To refresh the music database, please navigate to: "Settings" ->
"Advanced" -> "Auto Library Scan", turn off the Auto Library Scan option
and manually scan the music database.
4. How do I delete a file from the Astell&Kern?
o To delete a single file from the Astell&Kern:
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Search for the file you would like to delete
Touch and hold your finger on the highlighted file and swipe your
finger left to bring up the Playlist/File Delete submenu
Press the Recycle Bin icon to delete the file
o To delete multiple music files and tracks, please connect the Astell&Kern
to a computer (PC or Mac), press ”Connect Removable Disk” on the
touchscreen, and select the files you wish to delete.
5. I still see music I deleted from the Astell&Kern on the music list. How can I
correct this?
o If you still see music that was deleted from the Astell&Kern on the music
list, the database did not get updated properly.
o To update the music database, please navigate to: "Settings" ->
"Advanced" -> "Auto Library Scan", turn off the Auto Library Scan option
and manually scan the music database.
6. When pressing the menu button, why are the music files list and the main
menu interchangeable?
o Music file list is shown when:
The menu button (bottom left of screen) is pressed after browsing
through the sub-menus (Currently Playing, All songs, Album, Artist,
Play list, Genre, Most played, MQS, Folder, Settings) to play a song.
o Main menu is shown when:
The menu button (bottom left of screen) is pressed after pressing
the Play button (upper right corner of screen) from the main
menu to play a song.
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7. How do I edit the tag info of my music files?
o The tag information of a music track can be edited using iriver Plus4.
Download it from here.
Please click on the grey DOWNLOAD button to start the download.
8. How many files are recognized by the Astell&Kern?
o The database of the AK100 can recognize up to a total of 10,000 files. If
the number of files exceeds 10,000, files thereafter will be recognized
and stored in alphabetical order.
o Accessing the file folder by navigating to “Music List” -> “Folder”, the
database will recognize and playback the file stored in the built-in
memory or the external memory card, regardless of the number of files.
9. What Micro SD card should I use with the Astell&Kern?
o When considering a compatible memory card to use with your
Astell&Kern, refer to the specifications and recommended brands below:
Memory Card Type: Micro SD
Micro SD card type: SD/SDHC
Recommended Manufacturers: SanDisk, Transcend
Supported Memory Capacity: Up to 32GB
o When purchasing a memory card, please note the following:
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If the memory card you purchased is not compatible or not
recognized by the Astell&Kern, the memory card can cause a
malfunction.
When formatting the memory card, the FAT32 file system is
recommended.
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