Astell&Kern A&ultima SP1000M High Resolution Music Player - Lapis Blue

Excellent top quality & sound. Brilliant with Deezer streaming.

There's a lot that can be said about Astell & Kern products. Whether it's the Premium presentation set of their hires players, the high quality build of each product, highly responsive operating systems and the costly price with which such products demand.Astell & Kern's Sp1000m for better or worse does not deviate from this path. For its price, why is this a jack of all trades and not a master of all? Is it still worth it's price? Well...Master Sound?For a device this expensive there is no way the sound can disappoint? Right? True. This device paired with some sennheiser hd660s on balance output has some of the best audio, I have ever witnessed on a hires audio player. It's very musical and the instruments have great clarity. Sounds can be tweaked slightly to prevent everything from sounding too "bright."The whole experience especially when paired with over ear, open back headphones can feel like partaking in a live performance of your favourite band and artist since you can hear whats around you.The TradeWhile the sound quality on this device is some of the best, I have ever heard. It's not THE best, I have heard better sound quality from non other than their rivals Cowon. Namely the plenue d2 which I have reviewed and the plenue r2 whose sound quality is truly transcendent which I shall follow up with a review in the future.Against the KannIt's got noticeably more detail in the audio department than the KANN but it's also more fatiguing to listen to especially when in the car and listening on line output. Ive concluded It's to do with the brightness of the audio and musicality of the device.Against the Sony Zx300The sp1000m crushes it sound wise, no contest. On Balance or not balanced outputs. It's also not hindered by volume limits like in the EU version of the Sony device, which can be removed thoughMaster Features/ User experience?This is where the device shines and where paying a premium for such a device makes sense. The user experience cannot be overlooked, iriver knows this and it makes the whole experience of listening to your favourite tunes a seamless thing, you're not left frustrated with how the device organises your folders. It even supports CUE sheets which is a rarity as I havent seen it in any other hires player not even with their very own kannIt even supports YouTube, so you can watch your favourite music videos which is a very Overlooked feature. The whole experience is very quick and snappy. How iriver implement the software experience is applauseworthy. Browsing through hundreds and hundreds of gigabytes of music never feels laggy. Spotify and tidal are also supported.The screen quality is decent for a audio device of this price. The album art looks very good.The trade?It's boot time is not as quick as the cowon plenue r2. Battery time could also be better for this price. Its not terrible by any means. Also iriver the company that owns astell and kern could learn a thing or two from Sony in having fun with playlists. Sony's sensme feature which analyses your audio files and organizes them into mood playlist is something Iriver should look into. The device also doesn't support lrc files which is a slight let down. These files are used for lyrics which sync and move with the song as it plays on.To ConcludeOverall its a very capable device that won't leave you disappointed. It does a lot of things right but it's hard to recommend to the average consumer as to take full advantage of it and its features requires significant investment not just to equipment but to audio files. 16bit, 24bit flacs and DSD files can be very expensive. But if you're reading this, you've probably already made your mind.

I think stumping up £2k for a music player is tough to do whether you have plenty of cash or not, how can you justify that kind of spend on a small music player? I had an AK70 before and I have to say that is an amazing piece of kit especially for the money, I expected to hear a significant improvement with the SP1000M when spending almost 4 times as much. As it happens and this maybe just personal to me but the improvement was not as great as I expected, partly because the AK70 is just amazing and I guess when you expect to have a leap in sound quality that you get from a phone device to a dedicated player like the AK70 then you may be expecting just a little too much, and I guess that however much you spend at the high end the smaller the differences become. Anyway, to the point, the SP1000 is truly amazing, I listen with Sennheiser IE800's and the pairing makes for stunning listening. So, if you are considering making your wallet a lot lighter this is a good way to do it and you will not be disappointed with the sound. The only reason for 4 stars not 5 is not a reflection on the sound quality, it is because of the price and the fact that when carrying and putting in your pocket it is far too easy to slightly press one of the side buttons/controls which pause or change the current track.

With excellent source files and high quality 'phones this sounds extraordinarily good. I use shure 846 phones. It excels with small chamber orchestras and any well engineered recording. Steer clear if you want gut thumping bass. You don't need high resolution recordings. A well produced CD ripped as FLAC will sound excellent. BUT highly compressed mp3s or a poorly produced CD will sound worse than you have heard it before. I am delighted with this purchase but it is a luxury item and I don't think can be justified in VFM terms. Minor criticisms: the design is horrible. Angular and makes it easy to press the physical controls by mistake. Battery life is mediocre. Says it comes with a 'leather' case. I don't know what it is made of but it is either extremely cheap leather or it is fake to please the eco-folk. These may seem minor, but at this price I think it should be close to perfection. I am delighted with it, but it isn't for everyone.

I've had an A&K70 MkII for ages and wanted to upgrade - heard great things about the SP1000M and wasn't disappointed. It's a real thing of beauty, smaller and lighter than the SP1000 but packed with functionality and delivers amazing performance.

Entgegen der Vorrezension ist es ein Top-Player! Das die Beschreibung hinsichtlich der Speichergröße nicht korrekt ist, kann man dem Player nicht anlasten. Ein Blick auf die A&K Seite, und schon hat man alle technischen Daten. Auch einschlägige Audio-Magazine helfen hier gerne weiter.Ich betreibe den AK1000M nur mit HiRes Aufnahmen, bzw CD-Qualität. Alles in flac. Auch einige dsf-files finden sich auf der 512 GB Karten von Samsung, die ohne ein Problem sofort erkannt wurde.Als Kopfhörer verwende ich einen Hifiman EditionV2 im Haus, unterwegs einen Campfire Andromeda. Beide Hörer werden per Balanced Kabel verbunden. Der Hifiman erreicht sehr gute Abhörlautstärke bei etwa "85", der Andromeda bereits bei "30", von möglichen 150 Lautstärkeschritten.Die verwendeten DAC von AK sprechen - wie immer bei AK - eher die Fans von Ortung und analytischem Klang an. Sie sind präzise und sind auch so verbaut das sie kein eigenes Klangfeld erzeugen, sprich neutral. Da sind die ESS Chips eben "wärmer" abgestimmt. Aber eben auch nicht so genau in der Wiedergabe. Und A&K kann die AK Chips verbauen wie kein zweiter Hersteller - zumindest im mobilen Bereich.Das Zusammenspiel mit dem Andromeda wurde schon mehrfach gelobt und es macht in der Tat süchtig. Der Hifiman wird nur ab und an genutzt, da "ausgewachsene" Geräte zu Hause verfügbar sind. Doch es ist schon bemerkenswert, wie sich der Kleine schlägt.Hinzu kommt, dass nun alle Streamingdienste auch offline betrieben werden können. Ich nutze Tidal. Klappt wunderbar.Wie geschrieben, ich habe nun gut 460GB auf der Karte plus einige GB auf dem internen Speicher von Tidal. Bei mir muckt oder ruckelt der Player bisher (habe ihn ist gut 2 Wochen im regelmäßigen Gebrauch) kein bisschen.Akkulaufzeit scheint bei ca. 9 Stunden zu liegen. Aber ich habe auch viel angespielt und gesucht. Da ist der Bildschirm immer an. Und der ist bekanntlich immer ein Stromfresser...Ich kann den Stell & Kern SP1000M ohne Einschränkung empfehlen. Gerade wenn man hochwertige Kopfhörer betreiben möchte. Klare Empfehlung für In-Ear dann der Campfire Andromeda (mit dem man ja eh nichts falsch machen kann ;-) )

Over the years I have known DAP'S that go from the regular to the good. Good were the AK300 with its dark and velvety signature, the Cowon P1 with its intensely analog flavor, the AK100 II with that sound, full of nuances, so hard to forget etc ... However the SP1000M is a clear step forward.Clarity, precision and a touch of warmth, make the tracks heard almost as if it were the first time. The voices are now perceived each in its place. The textures are dense. The wide scene.All instruments are clearly identified. The details are now in sight. Music is enjoyed based on seeing it as is.The change, with respect to the previous repros (and others), is like looking at a foggy landscape ... and then in the sunlight: Everything shines with your own voice.It also has the virtue of making the best of any Iem's!It pairs very well with high quality headphones but that have an analog touch. With the IN Ears SD5 they form a perfect match...... Although, really, it sounds good to almost anyone!In the hand it feels solid like a block of granite. The battery life is very good. Storage capacity too (the 400 Gb microsd handles it easily).Bring a very good case.What I like least is the interface: I prefer the presentation type AK300 or AK100 II to this one, which they have taken on the same line as SR15. For my liking, it is not a change for the better. The lyrics and the covers are presented with greater clarity and solvency in the first two.Conclusion: a player who plays in a very high league. Sonically I imagine very difficult to beat.I see the price right: Whoever purchases this SP1000M can forget about wanting to make changes. And that, over time, is a saving!

Der Klang dieses Digital Audio Players ist sehr gut (getestet mit meinem Focal Utopia Kopfhörer und meinem Focal Sphere In Ear).Trotzdem ergibt sich für mich ein gemischtes Bild:- die Benutzeroberfläche erscheint im Vergleich zu meinen Apple Devices altbacken und umständlich (z.B. Equalizer zu fummelig zu bedienen, Scrollen ruckelt)- die Akkulaufzeit ist ein Witz (bei meinem Test hielt er nur eine Stunde)- die Lautstärke ist zu gering für große Kopfhörer (normales Musik hören erfordert eine Einstellung von 130)- das Gehäuse ist recht dick und wirkt dadurch nicht gerade elegant- der Drehregler für die Lautstärke ist zu groß und verstellt sich oft auch unbeabsichtigtPositiv:+ Klangqualität+ Übertragen von Musik einfach per Drag and Drop möglich (via AFT)+ Installation weiterer Apps möglich (z.B. Sporify)

sound quality is really the top of the line, but i have end up got the HiBy R6 with bit less sound quality but got more control of interface and almost supported all my hi-res sound audio formats which some of them SP1000M still doesn't support and way cheaper on price tag and also able to download lots of Android apps. but if you don't care all that but just wanted a tip top sounding quality. i think SP1000M is the best of the choice. and almost forgot that i love the design and build quality.