A Portable Hi-Fi Great Just Dropped a Grail-Worthy Music Player for Modern Audiophiles

Nearly three years after Astell&Kern released its last flagship portable hi-fi player, the A&ultima SP3000, the company has revealed a new-and-improved model.

While the upcoming A&ultima SP4000 looks quite similar to its 2022-released predecessor, featuring a 904L stainless steel body and 6-inch touchscreen, the Korean audio maker is promising superior audio and performance, as well as new features for modern audiophiles.

Astell&Kern A&ultima SP4000

Astell&Kern

New circuitry

Astell&Kern has given the A&ultima SP4000 an entirely new Octa audio circuit architecture that pairs one digital processor (AK4191) with a single analog DAC (AK4499EX). This is different from the A&ultima SP3000, which pairs the same processor with two DACs.

According to the brand, this new 1:1 signal processing architecture “allows digital signals to be delivered precisely to a single DAC without the need to distribute noise, enabling improved signal separation and processing.”

Astell&Kern

Restored harmonics

The A&ultima SP4000 packs a number of other cutting-edge features to improve audio performance.

It has a new “High Driving Mode” that provides powerful and stable output and, according to the brand, is “designed to reproduce even the most delicate sonic details with precision, allowing you to enjoy deeper, clearer, and more immersive music.”

The SP4000 also features Astell&Kern’s second-generation DAR (Digital Audio Remaster) technology, called Advanced DAR, that restores and upsamples music files so that listeners can enjoy more immersive sound that’s closer to the original recording. 

Astell&Kern

Full Android support

Maybe most notably, the A&ultima SP4000 is the company’s first portable hi-fi player with full Android OS support. This means you can install any app from the Google Play Store — no sideloading required.

Additionally, to help it overcome Android OS’s sampling limitation (SRC), Astell&Kern integrated the A&ultima SP4000 with its own proprietary tech — called ADP (Astell&Kern Direct Path) — that allows for “bit-perfect, lossless playback even in streaming environments.”

The SP4000 supports native playback of high-res PCM music up to 32-bit/768kHz and DSD512. It has built-in Bluetooth with support for aptXAdaptive and LDAC codecs, so you can stream the highest-quality music to your wireless headphones.

Astell&Kern

Price and availability

Astell&Kern hasn’t revealed pricing or availability information just yet … but it has said that it will be “announced soon.”

As far as pricing, the company’s current flagship player, the A&ultima SP3000, costs $3,699. We expect the upcoming A&ultima SP4000 to be even more expensive.

The A&ultima SP4000 will come in two finishes: black or silver.

Astell&Kern

Astell&Kern A&ultima SP4000

The A&ultima SP4000 is the company’s flagship portable hi-fi player and successor to its 2022-released A&ultima SP3000. It has an entirely new Octa audio circuit architecture that pairs one digital processor (AK4191) with a single analog DAC (AK4499EX); according to the brand, this 1:1 signal processing architecture “allows digital signals to be delivered precisely to a single DAC without the need to distribute noise, enabling improved signal separation and processing.” It’s also the company’s first portable hi-fi player to have full Android support, so you no longer need to worry about side-loading for favorite streaming apps.

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