Astell&Kern introduces recent digital audio player A&ultima SP3000T and NOVUS IEMs

Just in time for the High-End Munich 2024, the Korean high-end audio brand Astell&Kern has announced some recent products. The big name in high-resolution audio players has introduced the SP3000T, a transportable player with tube amplification for analog warmth.

Also shipping this month are A&K’s recent NOVUS in-ear monitors, manufactured in collaboration with Empire ears. The recent IEMs mix A&K’s audio engineering with Empire Ear’s technology to offer a pair of headphones that must be an ideal match for the brand new SP3000T.

The Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000T features an modern triple amp system with tailored sound profiles that may use either tube amplification, a digital operational amplifier or a mixture of each technologies. The SP3000 has outputs for headphones with 2.5mm, 3.5mm or 4.4mm connectors.

According to A&K, the SP3000T was specifically designed with personal listening preferences in mind. The Tube Amp mode uses two RAYTHEON JAN6418 MIL-SPEC vintage vacuum tubes (or tubes because the Brits still call them) to provide a uniquely warm and soothing sound. Op-amp mode, however, focuses on dynamic clarity and a low noise floor.

The SP3000T is encased in stainless-steel and coated with 99.9% pure silver. It features classic lines that fit well with the vintage tube amp vibe. The design recently won a coveted iF Design Award. The SP3000 packs a Snapdragon 6125 octa-core processor and 8GB of DDR4 memory, which is twice as much RAM as most DAPs.

A hybrid amplifier mode can improve resolution and clarity by combining some great benefits of classic analog and high-resolution output. The SP3000T utilizes Asahi Kasei Microdevices’ (AKM) latest flagship DAC, the AKM AK4499EX. The circuit separates digital and analog signals to provide high-quality sound.

Astell&Kern’s second product is the results of one other collaboration with Empire Ears. The limited edition NOVUS IEMs are premium headphones for audiophiles who wish to hear every detail of a recording.

The NOVUS IEMs construct on the success of A&K’s previous collaboration with Empire Ears, the Odyssey IEMs. The NOVUS IEMs are designed to extract all audio signals from the SP3000T by combining analog tube sound with ultra-high-resolution original sound.

A&K says all components and materials used to make the NOVUS were chosen without compromise. Thanks to the 2 specially developed dynamic W9+ drivers, the brand new earphones offer an “unprecedented in-ear audio experience,” in line with A&K.

The drivers are housed in 6061-T6 “diamond-like carbon” aluminum casings with 24-karat wet gold-plated faceplates and sapphire crystal. Accompanying the rigid design is a custom four-core hybrid cable fabricated from copper, gold and silver, reinforced with black macromolecular fiber and a balanced 4.4mm jack.

Prices and availability: The A&ultima SP3000T is accessible now from Astell&Kern, priced at $2,999 / £3,199 / €3,599. The Astell&Kern X Empire Ears NOVUS will probably be available towards the tip of May and can retail for $4,999 / £4,999 / €5,799.

More info: www.astellnkern.com

Technical data:

SP3000T

• Body: Stainless steel with pure silver coating.
• Display: 5.5-inch Full HD 1080 x 1920 touchscreen.
• Supported audio formats: WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, MQA.
• Sampling rates: PCM 8 kHz ~ 768 kHz (8/16/24/32 bits per sample) / DSD Native DSD64 (1 bit 2.8 MHz) Stereo / DSD128 (1 bit 5.6 MHz), Stereo / DSD256 (1 bit 11.2 MHz), Stereo / DSD512 (1 Bit 22.4 MHz), Stereo.
• Decoding: Supports bit-to-bit playback as much as 32bit/768kHz
• Output level: Unbalanced 3.3 Vrms │ Balanced 6.3 Vrms (no load condition).
• DAC: AKM AK4191 x2 (dual modulator) and AKM AK4499EX x2 (dual DAC).
• Input: USB Type-C input (for charging and for PC and Mac).
• Outputs: Unbalanced output (3.5mm), Optical output (3.5mm), Balanced output (2.5mm, 4-pin supported only | 4.4m, 5-pin supported only).
• WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz).
• Bluetooth: V5.0 (A2DP, AVRCP │ Qualcomm aptX HD, LDAC, LHDC).
• Playback time: approx. 10 hours (Standard: FLAC, 16-bit, 44.1 kHz, unbalanced, volume 50, LCD off, LED on, OP-AMP mode).
• Memory: 256GB [NAND]microSD x1 (max. 1TB).
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 84.7 x 141.5 x 18 mm.
• Weight: 483g.

NOVUS

• Drivers: 13 drivers Quadbrid, Dual Conduction (2 x W9+ dynamic drivers, 5 x Balanced Armature drivers: 1 x Sonion driver, Quad proprietary NOVA drivers from Knowles, 4 x electrostatic drivers from Sonion, 2 x bone conductor from Sonion)
• Connector: 4-wire hybrid copper, gold and silver 23.7 AWG Litz Type 4S, cable structure reinforced with black macromolecular fiber.
• Body material: 6061-T6 aluminum with DLC finish. Case: DLC – Diamond-Like Carbon. Logo Grille: DLC – 24K Gold Diamond-Like Carbon Faceplates.
• Frequency response: 5Hz-100kHz.
• Sensitivity: 108.1dB at 1kHz, 1mW 2 ohms at 1kHz.
• Impedance: 2Ω at 1kHz.