Astell&Kern A&norma SR35 | Digital Audio Player

I meant to also acknowledge Bloom Audio's remarkable service. I received my order in less than two days. (I was out of town when I ordered; it was there when I got home!)

I travel constantly, and have used DAPs and amps with IEMs for years, mostly on airplanes and in airports. I recently lost most of my audio gear, including some excellent Penon EST earphones and my little DAP/amp combo: the Hidizs AP80 Pro-X and DH80S, which together bulked about as much as a deck of cards; I stacked them into a thick, shirt-pocketable square with a good USB-C patch cable. It weighed only 148g (plus the patch), and for less than $300, it was a great piece of kit. It still trumps the later Hiby R4 for portability, if not power.

At 185g, the SR35 is a tad heavier than that combo, but the difference doesn't seem huge. And it's a neater package, bulking about as much as the Hidizs stack, but packaged more like a candy bar and requiring no patch cable. It reminds me of a sharper-edged, slightly larger version of the old LG Chocolate slide-phone.

The bottom corners are a bit too sharp, but when you support the SR35's bottom edge with your little finger, that issue goes away. I rather like the controversial tilted screen; I feel like my wrist is at a more natural angle when holding the device with one hand and manipulating it with the other.

Some recordings are louder than others, and for a few moments, I feared that the SR35 wasn't as powerful as I'd been led to believe; I was getting volume warnings from the device at quiet-room listening levels until I shut that feature down. First I switched to high gain, with disappointing results. Then I realized that the volume control did not stop at 100, heh. I'm down to a set of 16-ohm hybrid Ikko OH10s, but from what I'm hearing here, I anticipate no trouble getting the volume I need when better IEMs arrive.

Because I'm not listening through IEMs I'm used to, I can't comment sensibly about sound quality, other than to say I like what I hear so far. The OH10 has been criticized as a bit dry in its v-shaped mids, but they sound warm enough with the SR35.

I considered getting a new Hidizs stack -- and recommend it as a bang-for-the-buck proposition -- but the lux lure of the a&norma was just too much. It feels even smaller in my small hands than I'd hoped, and far nicer to operate than the AP80 Pro-X with it's 2" screen. The software is easy to adapt to, because it's rather limited. You can use various streaming services approved by a&k, but you don't have a full Android install with the Play Store. That's fine for me, because connecting to streaming services in the air is dicey at best; I am perforce a local-music listener.

I bought this device on sale for US$649. I considered various other devices in the under-$700 range, but discarded most for weight alone. The Hiby R4 represents a lot of capability for its low, low price but parts-wise compared unfavorably with the Hidizs stack. The iBasso DX180 was a more serious contender, and if I thought I could have gotten away with it, I'd have bought it first to try it, then traded it in on the SR35. This is the first time I've ever considered an iBasso DAP a strong value contender, but it really is. It's arguably more technically capable than the SR35m with a bigger, brighter screen, 768kHz decoding and a full Android 13 install, but no native MQA support (I don't require it, but you might) and less power. and the DX180 is lovely device in its own right. What ultimately sold me on the a&norma was weight, the form factor and perceived toughness. It's bit more portable and easier to protect than the iBasso seemed.

This is my first DAP and I spent way too many hours comparing the top brands. Fortunately, I stumbled upon Bloom Audio and found their website and reviews very helpful in narrowing down my choices.
This player seemed to check most of the boxes for a relatively small investment, particularly compared to some of the high dollar A&K players.
I’m very pleased with this player. I have a 1 TB microSD card that houses all of my on-the-go favs. Moreover, I love being able to use it as a Roon Ready device and stream my collection from my Roon server directly. Furthermore, the player is small enough to take on the road while traveling. Paired with IEMs or my Focal Celestee headphones, it’s musical bliss!
The user interface is nice and pretty responsive, although sometimes it’s not as “fast” as a one of my smartphones, albeit, it’s only used to play music.
Battery life is about 20 hours, commensurate with the specs.
I can’t believe I waited this long to finally pull the trigger on a DAP!
WiFi, Bluetooth with aptX HD and LDAC codec compatibility, very nice build quality, and fantastic price point makes this a no-brainer for anyone wanting to purchase an “entry-level” DAP.
Kudos to the Bloom Audio team for their help, fast shipping, and attention to detail in servicing their customers.

I like everything about my Astell & Kern SR 35 Dac music player. I have a problem typing with my double extra large hands and I don’t like weating reading glasses to see the tiny print. . you get what you pay for however and when my budget allows it, I will get the SP 3000 which I understand is larger and more user-friendly but over three times the price. I have no real regrets though because I don’t know where else I would be listening to Mozart et et such a high-level of sudio quality. I will be adding a pair of focal Bathys Headphones to the mix. Don’t you know that only fools are satisfied thanks for delivering the goods, Bloom

I recently purchased the Astell and Kern SR35 player from Bloom Audio, and I am thrilled with their service. They delivered it on time and included a handwritten thank-you note along with some candies, which really made me smile. Their thoughtful gesture and excellent customer service have earned my highest recommendation. Thank you, Bloom Audio!