Remember back in the day when the MP3 player was all the rage? Well, that device pretty much died out in the mainstream once smartphones took on the role of music player. However, the MP3 player was reincarnated as a niche hi-fi audio player for audiophiles called a DAP (Digital Audio Player). The latest portable player from audio brand Astell&Kern is the A&Ultima SP3000M, and it’s the device to get.
Astell&Kern has a lineage dating back more than a decade, having launched its first audio player back in 2013. Founded as a high-end audio device company, Astell&Kern is one of the top brands when it comes to portable players. Since then, it has developed some amazing tech like several DAPs, headphones, speakers, amplifiers, and network players.
Why should the A&Ultima SP3000M be your next device?
This isn’t your typical store-shelf MP3 player, so it has a price to reflect that. It comes in at a toasty $2,300 (£2,299/€2,599), which isn’t chump change. However, this is lower compared to the more expensive A&Ultima SP3000, which is the more premium version of this portable player. That one comes in at $3,699 (£3799). Be that as it may, the SP3000M brings some serious audio chops that make it an extraordinary device.
A treat for the eyes as well as the ears
Astell&Kern has established a unique design aesthetic for its devices, and the A&Ultima SP3000M continues that legacy. It has a design that would remind people of a high-quality amp. It’s a rather blocky device that extends a bit at the top.
What’s most notable about the device is the knob at the top of the right of the device. The knob is surrounded by subtle geometric shapes that add distinction to the device. Also, the knob has a unique texture to it. Moving to the other side, we see the three buttons.
On the back of the DAP, there are two textures that look elegant. We see the A&Ultima branding at the top. Moving to the top of the device, we see the two headphone ports along with the power button.
The star of the show is the sizable display on the front. This is what you’ll use to navigate the software and choose the music that you want to listen to.
This is a beautiful-looking device. It definitely has an eye-catching design.
Top-of-the-line tech
This might be a less expensive version of the SP3000, but that doesn’t mean that it’s lacking in the hardware department. In fact, it carries over one of the most important innovations found in the SP3000, and this is the separation of the analog and digital processing.
Most other DAPs process both the analog and digital signals on the same chip, which is the DAC. While that’s not the worst thing in the world, Astell&Kern decided to rewrite the book on audio and separate this process.
The A&Ultima SP3000M uses a set of two AK4191EQ chips and a digital delta-sigma modulator to process the digital signal and reduce the noise. After that, the signal is sent to a set of premium AK4499EX DACs to convert the digital signal into an analog signal.
The digital and analog signals are processed in separate parts of the device. This boosts the sound quality, and it’s something that you can only get from an Astell&Kern device. This is called the HEXA structure.
Further improving the audio quality, there’s a silver-plated shield can. It’s designed to eliminate any electromagnetic interference from affecting your music.
Audio quality
This device’s incredible hardware is capable of pushing some high-quality audio. For starters, the A&Ultima SP3000M uses both unbalanced and balanced wired output through the 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone jacks, respectively. It supports native DSD512 and up to 32-bit/768kHz audio playback.
The device can play your MP3 files, but if you’re an audiophile, you’re not likely to carry around too many of those. Along with those, you’re also able to play WAV, FLAC, MQA, WMA, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, and DSF files. These include popular uncompressed audio formats so, you’ll be able to hear bit-perfect music.
Along with playing music over a wire, you can also use Bluetooth connectivity. Even though Bluetooth technology doesn’t give the best audio quality, the A&Ultima SP3000M is compatible with some of the top audio codecs on the market. These include Sony’s LDAC and Qualcomm’s aptX HD. LDAC allows you to stream audio at up to 24-bit/96kHz and aptX lets you stream at up to 24-bit/48kHz.
Connectivity
You’re able to listen to your favorite music files, but this is an all-around music-listening device, so you know that there is more than one way of playing music. The A&Ultima SP3000M can download apps such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, Apple Music, and others. So, you can access your music right from these services.
If you’re a person who uses Roon devices, then you’re in luck. The A&Ultima SP3000M is compatible with the Roon standard. When it comes to connecting to other devices, BT Sink allows you to connect the A&Ultima SP3000M to external devices like computers and phones via Bluetooth. You’ll be able to stream your audio via the high-quality audio codecs mentioned above. This ensures hi-fi audio no matter what.
Device specs
The A&Ultima SP3000M uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6125, This is an octa-core processor that should give it some good performance. You’re not exactly going to be running Genshin Impact on it, so you’ll be fine with the hardware.
Along with that, there’s a decent 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 256GB of storage. These are specs that you’d see on a mid-range phone, but they’re more than enough for an audio player.
The A&Ultima SP3000M has a 4.1-inch 720p display. That’s decent enough to see your music apps and interface.
Keeping the lights on, there’s a 4,200mAh battery, and that equates to about 10 hours of continuous playback. Charging it is a pretty slow affair, as it takes about 3.5 hours. So, if you’re planning on using this on a long trip or a day out, you’ll want to plan accordingly.
Audio Specs
- Frequency Response:
(Unbalanced ) ±0.020dB (Condition : 20Hz~20kHz) (Balanced) ±0.025dB (Condition : 20Hz~20kHz)
(Unbalanced ) ±0.032dB (Condition : 20Hz~70kHz)
(Balanced) ±0.025dB (Condition : 20Hz~70kHz) - S/N:
(Unbalanced) 126dB @ 1kHz
(Balanced) 130dB @ 1kHz - Crosstalk:
(Unbalanced) -140dB @ 1kHz
(Balanced) -144dB @ 1kHz - THD+N:
(Unbalanced) 0.0005% @ 1kHz
(Balanced) 0.0003% @ 1kHz - IMD SMPTE:
(Unbalanced/Balanced) 0.0004% 800Hz 10kHz (4:1) - Output Impedance:
(Unbalanced) 3.5mm (0.6ohm)
(Balanced) 4.4mm (1.2ohm) - Decoding:
Support up to 32bit / 768kHz playback - Input:
USB Type-C input (for charging & PC & MAC) - Outputs:
Unbalanced Out (3.5mm), Balanced Out 4.4m (only 5-pole supported) - Wi-Fi:
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz) - Bluetooth:
V5.0 (A2DP, AVRCP, Qualcomm® aptX™ HD, LDAC, LHDC) - Dimensions (W x H x D):
2.72in x 4.7in x .78in (69.1mm x 119.6mm x 18.8mm) - Weight:
8.36oz (237g)
