Astell & Kern A&ultima SP3000

EXPENSIVE, YES. BUT YOU KNOW YOU WANT THEM

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The pile of What Hi-Fi? Awards Astell & Kern has won since its foundation in 2013 is enough to prove the company’s ability. A&K has stuck to the ‘reassuringly expensive’ path that has served it well. Even its current entry-level offering, the excellent A&norma SR35, which retails for £799, falls into the premium category by most judgements.

Good as the company’s players have been, we have always wondered what would happen if its engineers were tasked with producing a true cost-no-object offering. The arrival of the Astell & Kern A&ultima SP3000 answers that question.

This player may be around the size of a large box of matches but it weighs in at just short of half a kilogram. While it is small enough to fit into a pocket, the SP3000 won’t feel comfortable there, in part due to the sharp-edged angular casework. It is made of highly polished 904L stainless steel, known for being durable and resistant to corrosion – so much so it is used by Rolex. There are two finishes, black or silver, while the supplied ALRAN leather case helps protect against scratches.

The SP3000’s touchscreen is a responsive and relatively crisp 5.46in LCD display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920.

The physical control count is minimal, with three buttons on the side handling standard play/pause/skip and scan, leaving the crown-like volume dial to double as an on/off switch. There are three outputs on the top: a 3.5mm that also serves as an optical output, a 4.4mm balanced and a 2.5mm balanced. It is clear that A&K is trying to cover all bases. The unit is charged via a USB-C socket on the base, which also acts as the input when you want to download files into the player.

APPEALING FULLNESS