The latest A&K portable music player just landed at the Munich High End show – and it’s taking aim at the most minted of audiophiles.
Say hi to the Astell & Kern A&ultima SP1000. That is, at least, if you can work out how to say it. We’ll just call it the SP1000, eh?
Joining the likes of the entry-level AK Jr and superb AK70, the SP1000 is the new flagship Hi-Res Audio player from the South Korean company, which is owned by iRiver (remember them?).
A&K claims this is “the world’s best portable player” and that it’s a totally new design from top to bottom. You’d kinda hope so for the asking price of $3499 (no UK/EU price announced as yet).
Inside this impressive-looking portable are an Octa-core CPU and AK4497EQ dual DACs, enabling native 32-bit/384kHz playback and support for native bit-to-bit DSD playback up to 11.2MHz.
The outside features an edge-to-edge 5-inch 720p touchscreen and a new multi-function control wheel for both volume and power on/off duties. The casing is made from solid stainless steel – although a fully copper version is coming a month later. Tasty.
The addition of USB 3.0 means the A&K SP1000 will also support fast-charging and it’ll be quicker to transfer your music collection onto than previous Astell & Kern players.
Internal storage is just 64GB, which seems a bit meagre for such a premium player, but a microSD slot means you can bump that up to a maximum of 512GB. That’s a whole lotta Hi-Res music right there.
Pre-orders for the SP1000 start on May 18, 2017, with shipping starting in mid-late June for the steel version and July for the copper model.
Sоurсе: trustedreviews.com