Astell & Kern AK UW100MKII Earphones

Astell & Kern

Astell & Kern AK UW100MKII Earphones

Price
£269.00
Product Condition
New
Next-Level True Wireless Sound
Product Colour
- Optional

Features

  • High Performance AKM 32bit DAC
  • Best in Class PNI (Passive Noise Isolation)
  • Accurate Knowles BA Driver
  • aptX™ adaptive for High Quality Wireless Audio
  • Ambient Mode with 4 steps
  • Premium Tier QCC5141 & Bluetooth 5.2
  • Supports Multipoint
  • Total 29hrs playback
  • Wireless & Fast Charge
  • Interchangeable All-in-One Module

Unprecedented Wireless HiFi Sound Quality: The Second Story

The AK UW100, which realised Astell&Kern's philosophy of "delivering music that is authentic to the original sound" even in true wireless earphones, has attracted a lot of interest due to its unique design and best in class sound. Based on this positive reception, Astell&Kern continued research and development to create their generation TWS, and as a result, is proud to present the AK UW100MKII, a new premium TWS that conveniently delivers the ultimate sound anywhere and at any time.

A woman with an earbud in.  she's viewed from the side.  Text reads "unprecedented Wireless HiFi Sound Quality"

AK UW100MKII comes with a High Resolution 32-bit DAC, which is difficult to mount on a TWS, and a full range Balanced Armature driver that offers precision sound, delivering outstanding HiFi sound even in a wireless setup. In addition, with best-in-class PNI (Passive Noise Isolation) and aptX™ Adaptive, along with the ergonomic design and latest high-resolution codecs, it offers the most advanced True Wireless Sound to date.

A&K were able to further enhance the AK UW100MKII with a more advanced internal circuit design. The AK UW100MKII reduces noise through digital circuit separation, and the newly designed circuit structure ensures a more stable connection to the host compared to its previous model, AK UW100.

Additionally, the internal design was improved by adjusting the position of the BA driver and re-designing the acoustic chamber. With the optimisation of electric currents, the earbuds can be played for up to 9.5 hours continuously, and offer 29 hours of maximum playback, so you can enjoy HiFi sound anytime, anywhere.

Advances for more complete wireless sound

Astell&Kern's long-standing, fundamental principle is the reproduction of sound as true to the original source as possible.

The AK UW100MKII, a true wireless earphone, based on A&K's proprietary audio technology, provides uncompromising wireless HiFi sound with no cables required.

A rarity for True Wireless Stereo (TWS*), the AK UW100MKII has a separate embedded high-performance 32-bit DAC as well as a Balanced Armature driver for accurately reproducing sound, allowing the delivery of precise, 
high-quality audio with no loss of detail.

aptX-Adaptive audio codec support for exceptional audio quality is the final flourish, ensuring the AK UW100MKII is ready for wireless HiFi sound.

Combining all these features with ergonomic design and best-in-class Passive Noise Isolation (PNI), the AK UW100MKII takes your listening experience to a dimension where only you and the artist exist.

A New Design for Enhanced Perfection

Astell&Kern has further improved on the highly regarded TWS design of the AK UW100 to provide an even more perfect solution. AK UW100MKII offers the ultimate HiFi sound—the pinnacle of Astell&Kern's technology and expertise.

An exploded diagram of an Astell & Kern UW100MKII earbud

The position of the BA driver has been moved towards the inside of the ear to better deliver the finer audio details more directly, and the acoustic chamber structure and mesh size have been re-designed multiple times in accordance with the new BA driver position to deliver the optimal sound output.

The new design took numerous attempts to minimise sound diffusion to provide a more delicate and dynamic performance and a richer high-frequency expression.

AK UW100MKII are a completely wireless earphones with unrivaled 32-bit DAC technology, and the AMP and circuit technology of Astell&Kern enables separation of the digital parts and analogue circuits of the wireless earphone. This new design allows for further reduced noise than the previous model, offering clearer sounds with higher separation levels.

The Best Choice for Pure Sound – Enhanced musical immersion

AK UW100, the previous model, is equipped with highest-level PNI (Passive Noise Isolation), and has been recognised as a true HiFi TWS that fundamentally eliminates noise that may be caused by ANC and sound distortions, together with its outstanding noise-canceling performance.

The AK UW100MKII allows users to enjoy complete musical immersion with its excellent sound technology and highest-level PNI technology.

A woman in a black polo-neck top and her hair in a ponytail.  She's in front of a shelf of books and has a UW100MKII earbud in.


ANC is not essential to achieve both reduced ambient noise and increased musical focus. When combined with the thoroughly tried-and-tested ergonomic design of the AK UW100MKII, PNI is sufficient to reduce noise physically.

Unlike generic ANC, which concentrates on cancelling low-frequency noise, PNI can efficiently cancel unwanted ambient noise in the mid and high ranges, as well as higher-pitched sounds.  Notably, AK UW100MKII’s noise cancelling capability is comparable to that of ANC, even for low frequencies. Another significant feature is that sound quality is retained, since noise is attenuated by the structure of the earbuds rather than by software.

Developed with the help of countless simulations, the AK UW100MKII's best-in-class PNI capability allows you to escape annoying ambient noise and to immerse yourself in an experience where only you and the artist exist.

If you wish to hear ambient sounds, just tap the left earbud once to activate ambient mode. You can switch between the four ambient modes by tapping or using the app.

Continue the Joy of Music

A&K completely redesigned the power system to increase the playback time significantly, which is one of the important performance factors in TWS, while not compromising on the most important sound quality. Through new internal design and current optimisation, they were able to maintain the earbud size while dramatically reducing the cradle size and significantly increasing the playback time.

The old case for the AK UW100 open and shown beside the new case for the AK UW100MKII.  Dimensions are visible in the diagram and show 3.4cm high, 3.2cm deep and 7.2cm wide


Now, you can enjoy the AK UW100MKII all day without worrying about recharging, with AK UW100MKII. 
Approximately 9.5hours of continuous playback, and up to 29 hours of total playback, never miss a beat with the AK UW100MKII.

Alongside the convenience of wireless charging, AK UW100MKII also supports fast charging, so you can charge for 10 minutes to play for an hour.

Premium Bluetooth, Ideal for HiFi Sound Quality

AK UW100MKII features powerful wireless performance enabled by Premium Tier QCC5141, support for aptX™ Adaptive, Qualcomm's next-generation high-quality codec for wireless 24-bit sound quality and Bluetooth 5.2 support, for better connectivity than previous models.

In particular, through aptX™ Adaptive support, latency — the downside of Bluetooth audio — has been significantly improved.  It also provides a feature that adjusts the bit rate according to the content or wireless environment, and supports 24 bit through a bit rate of up to 420 kbps.

In addition, Qualcomm True Wireless Stereo Plus mode minimises transmission delay by transmitting independent signals to each earbud.

Multi-Point and Multi-Pairing Support

AK UW100MKII supports Multi-Pairing and Multi-Point functions.

Pair your earbuds on multiple mobile devices at the same time. Not only can you easily switch connections to another mobile device, but you can also listen to songs played on your tablet PC while actively allowing phone notifications and calls from your smartphone.

IPX4 Class - Waterproof and Sweat Resistant

Enjoy AK UW100MKII's premium Bluetooth sound at any moment of your daily life without worry.  Its IPX4-rated waterproof design ensures resistance to splashing water and sweat, allowing it to be used even during outdoor exercise.

Astell & Kern UW100MKII earbuds on a background of water droplets

Google Fast Pair - Make Pairing easier and faster

The AK UW100MKII supports Google's Fast Pair Service, allowing for easier and faster connection with Android devices. Fast Pair Service utilises Bluetooth Low Energy technology to automatically recognise and pair devices.

By simply opening the cradle of the product near an Android device, it enters pairing mode, eliminating the hassle of opening Bluetooth settings and providing a simple and convenient way to pair the device.

Easy, Full-Touch Control

Precise full-touch control is enabled so you can simply tap to switch between functions: Play Music, answer calls, adjust the ambient level and volume, and more.

Voice Assistant Support

Tap the left earbud three times to activate your smartphone's Voice Assistant function. Control music playback, make phone calls and more powerful smartphone functions with your voice.

Clear Call Quality Provided by Two Optimised Microphones and cVc 8.0

The AK UW100MKII comes with Qualcomm's cVc Generation 8.0 (Clear Voice Capture) that creates enhanced call solutions for clearer and more stable call quality.

The Clear Voice Capture technology applied to cVc Generation 8.0 keeps background noise in check and delivers clear voice audio at all times. 
Experience the ultimate HiFi sound of AK UW100MKII and even more powerful, crystal clear call quality.

An Astell & Kern earbud with soundwaves as a background

Easy Configuration with the A&K Proprietary App

Install the exclusive app to use various functions and enjoy easy setup.  The AK TWS app is equipped with various newly developed user functions for the AK UW100MKII.  Users now can conveniently control basic battery information, User EQ setup, touch-key arrangement, ambient stage control, etc.

Design

The AK UW100MKII is the first HiFi TWS device based on Astell&Kern’s proprietary sound technologies. As with in-ear monitors (IEMs), it delivers the richness of the original sound intact and free from distortion, all through the freedom of wireless.

Just as Astell means "star" in Greek and Kern means "centre" in German, so too Astell&Kern symbolises the company’s core identity of representing the centre of music. This identity also shapes the design philosophy of the AK UW100MKII : the beauty of music is symbolised by a single star (Astell), embodying the twinkling and scattering of starlight.

The product design emphasizes the contrasting surfaces, allowing users to appreciate the shapes, colours, materials and finishes used in the earbuds and how they play with the light, and to picture in turn the stellar beauty and delicacy of the sound created by Astell&Kern as it is focused and diffused.

Designed to fit snugly in the ear, the earbuds' shape is transformed from a pentagon to a circle, just as the sound flowing through them transforms when it is gathered, refined and then reproduced with clarity.

The AK UW100MKII cradle design combines two pentagon-shaped ear buds, representing the continuity of light and shade, the identity of Astell&Kern.

The existing AK UW100 cradle actively displayed the identity of AK. However, with the AK UW100MKII, the cradle keeps the essence of Astell&Kern design and enhances it further whilst increasing portability.

Specifications
  • Model: AK UW100MKII
  • BT Chipset: Qualcomm 5141
  • Driver Unit: Knowles Balanced Armature
  • DAC: AKM AK4332ECB
  • BT Version: 5.2
  • BT Codec: SBC, AAC, aptX™ Adaptive
  • BT Profile: HFP, A2DP, AVRCP
  • Sound Pressure Level(SPL): 94dB (1m@1kHz)
  • Earbud Control: Capacitive Touch
  • Sensor: Proximity Sensor
  • Microphone: 2-mic / per earbud
  • Playback Time: Up to 9.5hrs (Maximum 29hrs)
  • USB: C Type for charging
  • Cradle: Supports Wireless Charging
  • Control APP: Android and iOS version
  • Firmware Upgrade: OTA(Over The Air)
  • Weight: Earbuds: approx. 7g / Charging Case : approx. 65g
  • Dimension: Earbud : 22.2 x 21.2 x 22.8(mm) / Cradle : 72 x 32 x 34(mm)
  • IPX Rate: IPX4

Overall Rating