The KANN MAX launched by Astell & Kern (AK) is known as “Houry Water” and is a DAP of quite good quality. However, AK’s most eye-catching DAP is of course the A&ultima series. Three years after the launch of the A&ultima SP2000, the latest A&ultima SP3000 is ushered in. Of course, the new machine uses the highest quality materials and stronger specifications, which is enough for the author to describe the A&ultima SP3000 as “super refined and super clean”.
“Rolex” steel body texture is super classy
The previous generation of A&ultima SP2000 was already very “expected”, and the current generation can be said to push the ultimate design even higher. At first glance, the SP3000 feels full of angular lines and quite weighty. The reason is that the fuselage is indeed larger than the previous generation and uses a 5.46-inch FHD resolution screen, so the vision of the whole machine is quite imposing. This machine continues to use the glass back, but adds irregular lines for decoration, which is very special.
Another special feature is that the body material of A&ultima SP3000 is not the 316L stainless steel material in the past, but a higher-grade, watch-grade 904L stainless steel is further used to make the body shell. This kind of stainless steel that only appeared on Rolex in the past, It is harder than 316L stainless steel and has excellent corrosion resistance comparable to precious metals, and 904L stainless steel has higher metal purity, and can get brighter and more refined results after grinding, so A&ultima SP3000 from the body to the iconic knob. , all show the effect of “standing order”. Compared with the previous generation, its design can be said to have reached the “super-refined” level.
Implant four flagship DAP chips AK4499EX and completely separate digital and analog circuits
As a flagship DAP, it must provide users with the best quality listening experience. Just saying that it is equipped with six DAP chips is enough to cause an uproar. Of course, AK did not plug six DAP chips into the machine for stacking, but to completely separate the digital and analog circuits. SP3000 uses TERATON ALPHA technology, the circuit is distributed to the individual modules of DAC, Volume and AMP, built-in four Asahi Kasei (Asahi Kasei) latest flagship DAC chip AK4499EX, and two AK4191EQ. AK4191EQ is used to process digital signal, while AK4499EX is responsible for analog signal processing. The structure of HEXA-Audio Circuitry enables SP3000 to achieve SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) of 130dB when using balanced output, 3.3Vrms when unbalanced output, and 3.3Vrms when balanced output is used. up to 6.3Vrms. With the 904L stainless steel body, the grounding effect is improved, and the sound quality is improved in different aspects.
As for other specifications, A&ultima SP3000 uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 6125 octa-core processor, built-in 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM (and supports up to 1TB Micro SD), 5GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 and supports aptX-HD and LDAC, etc. It also has QC3 .0 fast charge function, it can be fully charged in about 3.5 hours. It is worth mentioning that the UI of A&ultima SP3000 has also been improved, the appearance is more stylish, and the operation is more intuitive and convenient.
I have initially tried A&ultima SP3000. With the flagship DAC chip AK4499EX implanted and the digital and analog circuits completely separated, the author thinks that the sound field is broad and has a more “super clean” feeling. For evaluation, if you have the opportunity to take advantage of this machine later, I will conduct a detailed test for everyone.
Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000 Spec.
- Display: 5.46″ 1,080×1,920 Touch
- DAC：AKM AK4191×2 + AKM AK4499EX ×4
- Supported audio formats: WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, MQA
- Maximum sampling rate: 32bit/768kHz (PCM), DSD512 (1bit, 22.4MHz)
- Output interface: 3.5mm (unbalanced), 2.5mm (balanced) and 4.4mm (balanced), Optical Out (3.5mm)
- Output level: 3.3Vrms (unbalanced), 6.3Vrms (balanced)
- Input: USB-C
- Wi-Fi：802.11ac（2.4/5GHz）
- Bluetooth: v5.0 (supports A2DP, AVRCP, aptX HD, LDAC)
- Volume: 82.4 × 139.4 × 18.3mm
- Weight: about 493g
- Price: HK $30,980
- Enquiries: ECT (3188 0767)