CA1000T Desktop Audio System - Rich Grey

An incredible bit of kit, perfect for hifi enthusiasts with a collection of headphones, I finally got a great sound from my Focal Elegia as it allowed me to drive them at a much lower level, which unlocked their true potential, my previous dac/amp was driving them way too hard. The Acro CA1000T can be set to arrange of different gain levels and very easily switch between them, so great for my more demanding headphones too. And the tube amp gives them a gorgeous warm sound.

As expected from A&K, superb build quality. A true one piece hifi desktop player, DAC, headphone and pre amp combined. Sound quality is seriously good whether using tube, op amp or hybrid. Overall a fine pice of kit, made better by Amazons Black Friday price of £699, an absolute steal

Ok, I am still pretty new to this high end audiophile stuff, but i know what sounds good, and this DAP is phenomenal. As others have said, I have the original CA1000 which is amazing in itself, but this upgraded version with tube amp just pushes the performance even further. It drives my 7hz timeless 2 planar IEMs with ease, and the more I listen, the better they both get as both the IEM and DAP burn in. As others have said, soundstage is impressively wide, separation of instruments, vocals are incredible. I love 80s synth, and as I write this I am streaming The Best Of Yazoo, words can’t explain how amazing this sounds on this player. Alison Moyets voice is soo smooth and clear, and Vince Clarkes synths shine with amazing sparkle and detail. One thing to note on this unit over the original CA1000 is the battery life, because of the tubes this unit will drain the battery far quicker than just on op amp. I tested the unit over a couple weeks and I was getting about 9-10 hours on op amp only and about 6-7hrs on tube setting. This isn’t really an issue to be honest, as I have the DAP plugged in whilst in use and if you have battery protection switched on, it will only charge the battery to 85% and keep it there, so no degradation. I also want to add, that after sales support from Astell and Kern was exceptional, answering any issues I had with the player. If you are thinking of upgrading over the original CA1000 or just want a do it all player that sounds incredible, that will drive the most demanding headphones/IEMs, don’t hesitate, yes it’s expensive, but get what you pay for. This is One of the best investments I’ve made in this hobby, and will give me many years of pleasure.

The Astell & Kern CA1000T is an astonishing piece of equipment! Was extremely simple to set up straight out the box, the touch screen works brilliantly, menu is easy to navigate, Extremely easy to link your streaming services. The built in battery has hours of usage, when your not plugged into electricity supply. The build quality is outstanding, The ability to switch between 3 amp modes & adjust Gain to your preference and listening taste, is brilliant. The tubes heat up quickly, at the beginning I used Bowers & Wilkins PX8 headphones ( wired ) as had issues connecting them over bluetooth ( PX8 issue, not CA1000T ) The sound quility was exceptional, however, I now use the Sony MDR-Z1R high resolution headphones, the sound quility is out of this world with this combination. if your looking for a desktop audio system, then this is the 1 you want, can't recommend the CA1000T enough.

Absolute Game-changer. For the price I paid, it's next-level and genuinely elevates your experience (especially with harder to drive headphones). Native support for most music streaming apps is great, plus the inbuilt storage for your own files helps manage the innate problem of finite phone storage nowadays 🤣, but do be prepared to wait a little, the software does lag a little sometimes when loading (especially within apps), but it does do audio absolutely superbly, and the lag visually, doesnt cause any audible lag, distortion or noise. One issue is the lack of Native support for Last FM due to the CA1000T running a proprietary OS rather than Android (but it is android based) so some people might have an issue there.

THE worst thing i have bought in recent years. Slow, you cant log in anywhere with google accounts, its not what i thought it would be!!! VERY DISSAPOINTED!!

i have several DAP type of audio devices most of them portable, but this one being desktop is different, the sound quality is exceptional to say the least, right up there with my Sony NW-WM1, and being ROON ready is a total bonus, it powers everything I have thrown at it including OPPO Planars etc, the sound using the hybrid AMP is so tuneable, I like a lot of the tube sound in the mix, its so easy to listen to without any fatigue. I had a problem with the Amazon delivery which took a while to sort out but upon reaching out to Astell & Kern UK I have to say they could not have done more to sort it out, truly exceptional service in this day and age and its things like this that really make the difference

This DAP sounds brilliant but there is a huge negative issue with battery life - with the battery charged and disconnected from a power source, the unit is losing between 30 - 40% battery power per day when turned OFF. Which means that if I've not used the DAP for a few days, the battery has drained to empty, making this pretty useless unless always plugged into a power source. So useless for travel.