Description
Astell&Kern SP3000
The Astell&Kern SP3000 is the latest range-topping audiophile player from Astell&Kern, offering high-end luxury and stunning performance.
Astell&Kern has set the standard for perfect sound using the latest innovative technology with the A&ultima series.
The Astell&Kern SP3000 is the newest flagship product that is the essence of everything learned and engineered over the last 10+ years of digital music processing.
A&ultima SP3000 is the world’s first DAP with independent Dual Audio Circuitry and the latest DAC with HEXA-Audio Circuitry structure, as well as uses all audio technologies and the best materials that lets you feel the overwhelming impact of sound and music.
Experience perfection firsthand with the true next-generation flagship, A&ultima SP3000, the pinnacle of audio players.
World’s first use of Stainless Steel 904L for DAP body material
World’s first DAP with complete separation of digital and analog signal processing(Using latest Flagship DAC chip AKM4499EX from Asahi Kasei)
Stunning Audio Performance with Independent Dual Audio Circuitry
Equipped with High-Performance Qualcomm Snapdragon 6125 Octa-Core CPU
New Graphic User Interface Support for aptX™ HD and LDAC
Materials Innovations: 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 that has never been attempted before in a portable audio player. 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. However, due to its excellent durability and corrosion resistance, it has a characteristic that does 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.
Experience the uncompromising beauty and luxury of the SP3000 produced by Astell&Kern’s experienced craftsmanship.
TERATON ALPHA – The Essence of A&K Audio Technologies Merged Into the SP3000
In order to develop the ultimate audio player that has never been experienced before, not only do we use the latest DAC and technology available, but we use the innovative audio technology of TERATON ALPHA, AK’s Ultimate Sound Solution, which has been refined for the SP3000.
TERATON ALPHA, engineered through endless research, is Astell&Kern’s unique technology that has been designed to produce audio playback that is close to the original sound through effective power noise removal, efficient power management and unwavering amplification, and a fully converted audio output interface.
The HEXA-Audio Circuitry structure and independent dual audio circuit, implemented for the first time in the SP3000, are paired together with TERATON ALPHA’s sound solution to create the purest original sound.
The SP3000 is a flagship product with the latest technology and uncompromising design. Astell&Kern worked with AKM from the initial development stage to develop the DAC and circuit structure.
As a result of the 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-Audio Circuitry structure reduces the noise of the digital signal input through the AK4191EQ, a separate digital delta-sigma modulator, and the AK4499EX DAC is then designed to process the analog signals separately.
By applying this unique design, digital and analog signal processing that is physically separated has been achieved for the first time in a digital audio player, and the overwhelming SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) is maximized, making it possible to experience an incredible level of sound that has never been experienced before.
Silver Plated Shield Can
A shield can is applied to prevent various noise and electromagnetic interference from affecting the audio block.
The SP3000 takes it a step further to achieve excellent audio performance and perfect shielding by applying highly conductive, high-purity silver on the existing shield can, and physically separating digital and analogue signals.
Stunning Audio Performance with Independent Dual Audio Circuit
In order to create a truly innovative DAP, not just a great DAP, we tried to overcome the limitations of sound by envisioning an independent dual audio circuit that has never been attempted by anyone with a HEXA-Audio Circuitry structure with unbalanced and balanced outputs.
Almost all other DAPs, including Astell&Kern, use an 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. However, when using a switch, there is a limit to the range that can receive the 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, our engineers designed a HEXA-Audio Circuitry structure using two AK4191EQs and four AK4499EXs, creating an innovative unbalanced and balanced independent dual audio circuit design. In result, the SP3000 achieves a SNR of 130dB, the best of any DAP available. You can feel the clean, pure delicacy of sound with the SP3000 that you cannot not experience in any other DAP.
Premium Goat Leather Case
The SP3000 comes with 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 such as H and L.
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.
General Specifications Astell&Kern SP3000
| Model | SP3000 |
| Body Colour | Black or Silver |
| Body Material | Stainless Steel 904L |
| Display | Full HD 5.46-inch 1080 x 1920 Touch display |
| Supported Audio Formats | WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, MQA |
| Sample Rate | PCM: 8kHz ~ 768kHz (8/16/24/32-bits per Sample) DSD Native: DSD64 (1-bit, 2.8MHz), Stereo / DSD128 (1-bit, 5.6MHz), Stereo / DSD256 (1-bit, 11.2MHz), Stereo / DSD512 (1-bit, 22.4MHz), Stereo |
| Output Level | Unbalanced 3.3Vrms / Balanced 6.3Vrms (Condition No Load) |
| CPU | Octa-Core |
| DAC | AKM AK4191 x2 (Dual Modulator) &AK4499EX x4 (Dual + Dual DAC) |
| Decoding | Support up to 32-bit / 768kHz Bit-to-Bit Playback |
| Input | USB Type-C input (for charging, PC & MAC) |
| Outputs | Unbalanced Out (3.5mm) / Optical Out (3.5mm) / Balanced Out (2.5mm, only 4-pole supported / 4.4mm, 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) |
| Dimensions | 3.24” (82.4mm) [W] x 5.48” (139.4mm) [H] x 0.72” (18.3mm) [D] |
| Weight | About 17.39oz (493g) |
| Feature Enhancements | Firmware upgrade supported (OTA: Over-The-Air) |
Audio Performance
| Frequency Response | Condition 20Hz~20kHz: ±0.017dB Unbalanced / ±0.021dB Balanced Condition 20Hz~70kHz: ±0.022dB Unbalanced / ±0.031dB Balanced |
| Signal to Noise Ratio | 126dB @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / 130dB @ 1kHz, Balanced |
| Crosstalk | -136dB @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / -145dB @ 1kHz, Balanced |
| THD+N | 0.0006% @ 1kHz, Unbalanced / 0.0004% @ 1kHz, Balanced |
| IMD SMPTE | 0.0007%, 800Hz 10kHz (4:1) Unbalanced / Balanced |
| Output Impedance | 3.5mm (0.7ohm), 2.5mm (1.7ohm), 4.4mm (1.6ohm) |
Clock Source
| Clock Jitter | 25ps (Typ) |
| Reference Clock Jitter | 200 Femto Seconds |
Battery
| Capacity | 5,050mAh 3.8V Li-Polymer Battery |
| Playback Time | About 10 hours (Standard: FLAC, 16-bit/44.1kHz, Vol. 80, LCD off) |
| Charge Time | About 3.5 hours (QC 3.0 Charging) |
Memory
| Built-In Memory | 256GB [NAND] |
| External Memory | microSD (Max. 1TB) x 1 |
Operating System
| Supported OS | Windows 10, 11 (32/64 bit), MAC OS X 10.7 and up |
Simon Furse (verified owner) –
Have history with Astell & Kern
Started with the AK Junior then moved to the AR25 (still a fabulous DAP for the money, sound, battery life and portability) followed by The Kann Alpha (better Bluetooth and WiFi marginally better sound + great facility having a 4mm socket thus driving headphones (started with Æon 2 Noire) compromise with slightly more bulk and less battery life than the AR25 but after a good day at the races went for broke and the SP3000
Having been blown away by the HUGE improvements to the GUI and general ease of use and not having to go through the rigmarole of APK to install Qobuz etc., it has taken a while to realise the REAL difference to my old players in the overall listening experience AWESOME –
Also highly delighted I went the whole nine yards and upgraded my basshead guilty pleasure (Polaris 2 IEMS) with the EE Valkyrie MkII. Having tried the Polaris with the SP3000 they can sound a little muddy in comparison to the Valkyries.
All in all the whole pairing of the Valkyries with the SP300 gives me a TREMENDOUS listening experience. I would add that also goes for the Dorado 2020 and older Andromedas.
Finally do bear in mind that with kit this technically advanced it can show up deficiencies in the sources material.
Service and efficiency from Richard as ever top notch.