Astell & Kern SP4000, benchmark portable player££££
The A&ultima SP4000 is built on A&K's advanced Octa DAC circuit (eight converters), combining an AK4191 digital processor with a four-channel AK4499EX analog DAC, in order to distill "the very essence of audio engineering" to offer "refined and powerful sound, remarkably close to perfection." Modestly... But if the Korean company is so emphatic with the presentation of its latest product, it is because it dominates all its competitors in this field, with performances recognized by the most demanding music lovers worldwide.
Astell & Kern SP4000, exclusive sound technologies££££
The new circuit architecture that powers the A&ultima SP4000 high-resolution player is designed to accurately convey the digital signal to a single DAC, without noise distribution, which significantly improves signal separation and processing. Of course, other features aimed at improving sonic performance are present. For example, the exclusive New Advanced Digital Audio Remaster (audio remastering) technology aims to give refinement and naturalness to music by restoring lost harmonics and using more powerful oversampling. The Astell & Kern SP4000 also incorporates an advanced printed circuit to minimize signal loss and improve audio quality. Also, the SP4000's Crossfeed setting mixes parts of one channel's original signal and sends them to the opposite channel with a time shift to center the soundstage and deliver a sound profile similar to listening to the same song in a room with standard-sized speakers. With detailed settings such as Shelf Cutoff, Shelf Gain, and Mixer Level, you can adjust the crossfeed level to suit your listening preferences. The SP4000 will be Roon Ready after testing and final certification by Roon Labs.
Astell & Kern SP4000, Key Specifications££££
The Astell & Kern SP4000 is capable of handling high-resolution [abc]PCM[/abc] files up to 768 kHz/32-bit and DSD512 (22.4 MHz). It also comes with 256 GB of internal memory for your digital library and supports microSD cards up to 1.5 terbytes. It is also [abc]Wi-Fi[/abc] ac and [abc]DLNA[/abc] compatible and features a [abc]USB[/abc] digital audio output and a USB-C port for data transfer and charging. The SP4000 supports high-quality [abc]Bluetooth[/abc] APT-X Adaptive and LDAC codecs for 24-bit audio playback. The player's smart BT Sink feature allows the SP4000 to connect to an external device via Bluetooth and function as a wireless DAC (for a PC/Mac computer, for example). Finally, the touchscreen has a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels, Roon Ready certification is in place, and the Android operating system is present, allowing the installation of applications from the Google Play Store. Precision, the sampling rate limitation (SRC) of the Android operating system thanks to the proprietary ADP (Astell&Kern Direct Path) customization technology. This allows for perfect and lossless playback, even when streaming, guaranteeing maximum sound quality.
The Astell & Kern A&ultima SP4000 offers approximately 10 hours of continuous playback on a single charge, with a full charge taking approximately four hours (Qualcomm QC 3.0 mode). The SP4000 is made of stainless steel, with a PVD-coated ceramic back, and comes with a Perlinger leather case. Availability is expected at the end of June. Recommended retail price: less than €5,000.
