Boutique audio brand Astell&Kern is known for pushing the music hardware envelope in terms of tech and price, but its titanium-housed Luna earphones bump things up a notch with a price tag so high it will send your bank balance into orbit.
Audiophiles looking to buy into the A&K universe kind of expect to pay a high entrance fee. It's latest flagship digital audio player for example, the upcoming A&ultima SP4000, costs just shy of US$4,000.
But even the most serious audio gearhead might blink twice when faced with a $2,700 price tag for a pair of non-custom earphones. Yet here we are with the AK Luna earphones, which sport a design that's been "inspired by the soft curves of the Moon."
The third in a wired in-ear monitor series that started with the shapely Zero1 model back in 2021, the new IEMs are encased in durable titanium housing. The lunar-inspired curves don't just look good but are claimed comfortable in the ear for long-haul listening, while also being "precisely engineered to optimize the acoustic flow."
There's a single 13-mm planar driver in each housing, which has been developed in collaboration with Japan's Madoo, and employs a powerful magnet and dual ring-shaped yoke for "excellent magnetic flux control." Meanwhile the diaphragm features an ultra-thin film rocking a printed aluminum pattern to keep weight down, and is enclosed in CNC-machined aluminum for extra rigidity.
All of this combines for the promise of "outstanding response speed, exceptional resolution, and natural resonance characteristics, faithfully reproducing even the most delicate details of music." Frequency response is reported to run from 20 Hz up to 30 kHz, total harmonic distortion is 1% at 1 kHz, and the sound pressure level is given as 105 dB at 1 kHz (1 mW).
The twisty cable that routes the signals from the player to the drivers makes use of blended high-purity silver plating and copper, while each connector is finished in aluminum to continue the premium vibe.
Each pair of Luna IEMs are being fashioned in Japan before making their way to well-heeled music lovers around the globe. And sadly, the price hasn't been magically reduced by the time you've reached the end of this product overview – you'll still need to cough up $2,700 (and maybe the additional expense of personal bodyguards if you intend to wear them in public).
Product page: AK Luna