Astell&Kern Launches New Flagship Digital Audio Player, the A&ultima SP3000

Astell&Kern, a global leader in high-resolution audio products and accessories, announces the newest digital audio player (DAP) in its flagship line, the A&ultima SP3000. The A&ultima SP3000 is Astell&Kern’s newest flagship product that is the essence of everything the company has learned and engineered over the last 10+ years. Available in October 2022 in black or silver, the SP3000 will retail for $3,699 at authorized Astell&Kern dealers in the US and Canada. The A&ultima SP3000 will make its global debut at CanJam SoCal September 17 – 18, 2022 at the Irvine Marriott in Orange County, California.

• First time Asahi Kasei’s latest Flagship DAC, the AKM4499EX has been used in an audio product
• Stunning Audio Performance through Independent Dual Audio Circuits
• World’s first use of Stainless Steel 904L for DAP body material
• Equipped with high-performance Qualcomm Snapdragon 6125 CPU
• New 4th Generation User Interface

The A&ultima SP3000 includes several new features implemented for the first time in a portable digital audio player. These features include:

First Use of AKM’s Latest Flagship DAC with Complete Separation of Digital and Analog Signals in a HEXA-Audio Circuitry Structure

The A&ultima SP3000 is the first product to use Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM) latest flagship DAC, the AKM AK4499EX and features a complete separation of digital and analog signals in a HEXA structure design. Astell&Kern worked with AKM from the initial development stage to develop the DAC and circuit structure.

As a result of this collaboration, the world’s first four AK4499EX DACs, AKM’s latest flagship, were applied to the SP3000, and the innovative HEXA-audio circuitry structure design in which two AK4191EQs that process digital signals are applied separately, complete the amazing sound that can only be found from Astell&Kern.

Most digital players process digital and analog signals together inside the DAC. However, the SP3000’s advanced HEXA structure reduces the noise of the digital signal input using the AK4191EQ, a separate digital delta-sigma modulator, and then the AK4499EX DAC processes the analog signals separately.

By applying this unique design where digital and analog signal processing is physically separated for the first time in a digital audio player, it is possible to experience an incredible level of sound that has never been experienced before.

Stunning Audio Performance with Independent Dual Audio Circuits

To create not just a great DAP, but a truly innovative DAP, Astell&Kern tried to overcome the limitations of sound by envisioning an independent dual audio circuit for unbalanced and balanced outputs.

Almost all other DAPs, including previous Astell&Kern models, use the same internal DAC for both unbalanced and balanced outputs. Since the signal from the DAC is divided into unbalanced and balanced then delivered to the AMP, an Audio Switch is essential. When using a switch, there is a limit to the range of signal sent by the DAC, so most DAPs reduce the signal size first and then when the signal is transmitted back to the amplifier, it is necessary to restore the original signal size. This causes a limitation in improving the audio performance.

To overcome the limitations, Astell&Kern engineers designed a HEXA structure using two AK4191EQs and four AK4499EXs, creating an innovative unbalanced and balanced independent dual audio circuit design. As a result, the SP3000 achieves a Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of 130dB, the best of any DAP available. You can feel the clean, pure delicacy of sound produced by the SP3000 that you cannot not experience in any other DAP.

Latest Snapdragon Octa-Core CPU

The A&ultima SP3000 is equipped with a Snapdragon 6125 Octa-core processor and 8GB of DDR4 memory, which is twice the amount of RAM commonly used in DAPs. Along with a redesigned 4th generation user interface, the player features a more powerful system that is stable with fast and fluid movement.

The CPU, memory and wireless communication parts are configured as one module, with the digital circuit parts arranged in the same area creating a single system on a chip (SoC). This maximizes the efficiency of the overall circuit configuration by providing more audio-only circuit space as well as reducing heat and noise from digital circuits.

New 4th Generation Graphic User Interface

With the newly developed 4th generation UX/UI, the SP3000 is focused on the process and experience of listening to music.

The new theme is designed with a focus on the experience of rediscovering songs that you have forgotten; you can quickly browse through music categories with simple gestures. A convenient search feature along with album art has been added so that you can enjoy a digital display of CD album covers of your music collection. It is designed to give you not only the pleasure of listening to music, but also to create fun when operating the device.

With the new Crimson Theme, one of the main features of the 4th generation UI, the graphics are simple and unintrusive, focusing on usability and intuitiveness. Three key concepts, Edge, Simple, and Dark Mode, were used to improve usability and increase clarity with a style unique to AK. The black and red theme colors are chosen to reduce eye fatigue, maximize battery usage and reduce heat generation.

World’s First Use of Stainless Steel 904L for DAP Body Material

To achieve the goal of the A&ultima series, which is ‘to provide the best value that no one can imitate while using the most innovative and uncompromising design and craftsmanship’, the SP3000 uses 904L stainless steel material for the player body. Using this material has expanded its value from just a digital device to the realm of a luxury good.

904L stainless steel is harder and more difficult to process than general stainless steel requiring significantly more time and effort. Due to its excellent durability and corrosion resistance, it will not lose its beauty and is why it is used in expensive luxury watches where perfection in all materials and parts must be pursued with an irreplaceable and wonderful luster.

Included with the SP3000 is a French goatskin leather case to protect and highlight the beauty of the 904L stainless steel body. The case is made by ALRAN, located in Tarn in southern France, a historical tannery that was established in 1903 and has been manufacturing leather for over 100 years. It is one of the world’s leading tanneries, well-known for their natural leather manufacturing technology since the 1980’s. ALRAN is recognized as the best goatskin manufacturer and supplies other leading luxury brands.

The leather case included with the SP3000 is developed with ALRAN Tannery’s unique Hand-Boarding technology. This is a technology that processes the leather by rubbing it in various directions using wooden planks, so you can feel the texture of the surface. This process is unique compared to how other goatskin cases are produced.

The player includes 256GB of internal memory with support for microSD cards up to 1TB, dual-band 2.4/5Ghz a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, DLNA networking, USB digital audio output, USB-C for data transfer and charging, and the ability to use the SP3000 as a USB DAC for your Mac or Windows-based PC. A 5.46” full HD (1920×1080 resolution) touch screen provides a high-resolution display. The SP3000 supports native playback of high-res PCM music up to 32-bit, 768kHz and DSD512.

ReplayGain automatically and uniformly adjusts playback volume across different music tracks. Using AK File Drop, you can freely transfer files wirelessly through a PC, smartphone, or FTP program located on the same network. Music file management is now possible with a cableless, wireless solution.

The SP3000 adds support for both aptX HD and LDAC^™ codecs to provide audiophiles with multiple options for 24-bit audio playback wirelessly. Latest generation Bluetooth 5.0 features faster transmission speed and greater range compared to Bluetooth 4.2, therefore providing a more stable wireless connection. BT Sink allows the SP3000 to connect to an external device via Bluetooth, and function as a Bluetooth DAC. Music from an external device, such as a smartphone can now be played back in high-quality, taking full advantage of the advanced audio innovations found in the SP3000.

Qualcomm QC 3.0 fast charging allows you to charge your DAP faster and more efficiently than previous models, reaching a full charge in about 3.5 hours.

In a headphone environment in which the left and right channels are clearly separated, ear fatigue may increase during prolonged listening. The Crossfeed setting in the SP3000 mixes parts of the original signal from one channel and sends that signal to the opposite channel with a time difference to center the sound image. This effect provides the headphone user with a sound profile similar to listening to the same music track in a room with full-sized speakers. Using detailed settings such as Shelf Cutoff, Shelf Gain, and Mixer Level, you can set the level of crossfeed according to your listening preferences.

The SP3000 will add Roon Ready support pending completion of testing and final certification by Roon Labs.

The SP3000 in black or silver color will be available in October 2022 for $3,699 at authorized Astell&Kern dealers in the US and Canada.