Astell & Kern has just introduced its flagship portable digital audio player (DAP), the A&ultima SP3000, which features a 904L stainless steel body and offers fully independent analog and digital signal processing. In terms of form, it continues the similar square design of the series, complemented by a small number of diamond engraving angles. In addition, the A&ultima SP3000 features a stylish crown-style volume control with a colorful status indicator.
(From: Astell&Kern)
Notably, A&ultima is also the first to offer separate balanced/unbalanced outputs (dual audio circuits), as well as the new flagship AK4499EX digital-to-analog converter chip. The chip uses a Hexa DAC architecture that allows multiple converters to process digital and analog audio signals separately.
Astell&Kern also developed a new graphical user interface for A&ultima to be accessed through a 5.46-inch @ 1080×1920 resolution touch screen.
The player is also equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 6125 octa-core SoC, 8GB RAM + 256GB ROM (and supports 1TB microSD storage expansion).
The company’s Teraton Alpha technology has also been further improved by combining noise cancellation, power management and amplification to provide “as close to pristine audio playback as possible”.
A&K then offers an option to create a user-adjustable speaker listening experience to reduce fatigue. The technology mixes a portion of the original signal from one channel and sends it to the other channel, centering the sound image through a time difference.
Elsewhere, the A&ultima has built-in Bluetooth 5.0 + dual-band Wi-Fi, support for high-resolution aptX HD and LDAC streaming, and playback of MQA formats, PCM files with resolution up to 32-bit / 768-kHz, and native DSD512 support.
In terms of battery life, the built-in 5050 mAh lithium polymer battery can play approximately 10 hours of music. Finally, the SP3000 can also serve as a Roon Ready streaming center for your living room hi-fi system.
If you are interested, you can place your order now, shipping on October 17 for $3699 (about 25,600 RMB).
