Name: A&ultima SP3000T DAP Music Player
SKU: 233060

Product Details ＋

Listen to your music, your way. Astell&Kern's A&ultima series embodies innovation and excellence, focusing on delivering immersive sound for your favorite high-resolution music. With the A&ultima SP3000T, Astell&Kern aimed to surpass the impeccable design and sound quality of their previous product, the SP3000. A&K's goal was to create an audio player that captures the true emotion and essence of music. With an incredible stereo soundstage, Android operating system, full-HD touchscreen, compatibility with any sound source, excellent battery life, enough power for IEMs, and full-size headphones: the SP3000T is the jack-of-all-trades high-end portable music player.

Choose from two finishes–Silver and Copper– that best suit your tastes and listen stylishly on the go. Copper, known for its excellent sound transmission and resonance prosperities, enhances the brightness and richness of tones in musical instruments. The Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000T Copper Edition utilizes over 99.98% pure copper with a special multilayer coating that enhances durability, ensuring it maintains its beautiful color and luster without requiring special maintenance. The SP3000T Copper Edition offers more than just music—it provides an emotional experience beyond music.

Developed with this vision in mind, the Aatell&Kern A&ultima SP3000 T combines the profound emotion and lasting essence of analog audio with cutting-edge digital technology. By integrating a real vacuum tube, Astell&Kern has created an authentic analog sound that is complemented by advanced audio features such as TERATON ALPHA, tube current settings, and the hybrid amp design. This unique fusion of analog and digital excellence results in an immersive auditory experience that defies convention, setting the A&ultima SP3000T apart as a truly exceptional portable audio player.

Just like the previous generation of tube-equipped DAPs by Astell&Kern, the SP3000T is not a replacement for the flagship SP3000 DAP Music Player. The SP3000 DAP still remains the top-of-the-line music player from Astell&Kern at the time of release for the SP3000T.

Dragon Cable Recommendation: We recommend pairing the Astell&Kern SP3000T DAP Music Player with our popular . The Silver Dragon USB cable is our best selling USB cable at Moon Audio, offering an extraordinary amount of detail and resolution to your hi-fi system. The Silver Dragon USB cable is designed to transfer digital audio from your source device (like a computer, phone, tablet, or digital audio player) to a USB-capable DAC. It is built to USB Audio specs. The Silver Dragon USB Cable is meant for audio data transfer only - meaning that this cable should not be used for high-speed data transmission (for external hard drives). Because of the high-quality materials and cable geometry, our USB cables will greatly reduce stock USB cable issues such as packet loss and jitter. We also have the for more portable solutions.

True Analog Sound with Real Vacuum Tube

The vacuum tube is renowned for its warm sound, which is attributed to its unique and rich harmonics. This characteristic has solidified its position as a beloved component in high-fidelity audio systems. However, the vacuum tube's impracticality in terms of miniaturization, primarily due to power control and footprint issues, presented a significant challenge, making it unsuitable for use in portable audio players.

Astell&Kern, driven by an unwavering commitment to innovation, refused to settle for conventional sound and design. Instead, they focused their efforts on bridging the gap between stationary and portable audio by infusing the essence of analog sound into their devices. These endeavors ultimately led to the pairing of the SP3000T with the RAYTHEON JAN6418 Miniature Vacuum Tube.

The RAYTHEON JAN6418 is a mini vacuum tube that has gained popularity among audiophiles. Originally designed to meet military specifications and commonly used in military communication equipment, the RAYTHEON JAN6418 quickly gained recognition for its distinctively warm and soft sound. This led to its integration into regular audio devices, allowing a wider audience to experience its unique sonic characteristics.

Astell&Kern recognize that original vacuum tubes inherently possess variations in noise and amplification. To uphold their philosophy of addressing even the most minor differences in sound quality, they have implemented a meticulous selection process for the JAN6418 vacuum tubes used in their products. The process of carefully measuring and pairing each JAN6418 vacuum tube is a time-consuming and precise task. Astell&Kern has dedicated the necessary resources to ensure that each vacuum tube meets its stringent standards. This thorough selection method effectively minimizes output deviations between the left and right channels, resulting in a more natural and balanced sound reproduction.

Furthermore, every shielding operation on the vacuum tubes is meticulously performed by hand to minimize potential noise interference. This attention to detail showcases Astell&Kern's unwavering commitment to sound craftsmanship. Through their diligent efforts, Astell&Kern has successfully integrated the distinctive spatial sense and balance found in their existing audio players into the analog realm of vacuum tube sound. This achievement allows users to experience the unique characteristics of vacuum tube technology while benefiting from the portability and convenience of Astell&Kern's audio devices.

Minimizing Microphonic Noise

Integrating vacuum tubes into compact, portable devices presents a significant technical challenge: maintaining low noise levels while simultaneously delivering exceptional resolution and robust output. Astell&Kern has directly addressed this challenge with the SP3000T by developing a custom-made solution designed to minimize microphonic noise. Microphonic noise occurs when the internal components of a device, such as vacuum tubes, are sensitive to external vibrations or shocks, causing unwanted noise in the audio output. To combat this issue, Astell&Kern's team has invested considerable time and effort into refining the structural integrity of the vacuum tubes used in the SP3000T.

Through meticulous design and engineering, they have created a system that ensures minimal noise, even when the device is subjected to minor shocks or vibrations. This attention to detail allows users to enjoy the benefits of vacuum tube technology, such as warm and natural sound, without compromising on the device's portability or audio quality.

1. Independent modular, flexible PCB design engineered separately from the main PCB

2. Silicone module case designed to absorb primary shocks from the vacuum tube

3. Silicone tubing perfectly tailored to the vacuum tube leads to reduce shock transmission along the leads

4. Silicone dampers around the vacuum tube suspend the tube in the air from both ends

* Microphonic Noise might be audible when bumping against the player itself or knocking it against a table.

Building upon the success of the highly acclaimed SP3000, Astell&Kern has taken its flagship player to the next level by incorporating the warm, rich sound of tube amplification. The SP3000T features Astell&Kern's innovative Triple Amp System, which was first introduced in 2021 with the A&ultima SP2000T.

This system allows users to tailor their listening experience by choosing between three distinct amplification modes:

Tube amplification: Provides a warm, analog-like sound signature.
Digital op-amp: Offers a clean, precise, and modern sound profile.
Hybrid mode: Combines the best of both tube and op-amp amplification for a unique, customizable sound.

Users can easily switch between these three modes when using any of the SP3000T's outputs, including the 2.5mm, 3.5mm, or 4.4mm jacks, ensuring a versatile and personalized listening experience.

Tube Amp Mode for More Musicality

The SP3000T incorporates two RAYTHEON JAN6418 MIL-SPEC Vintage Vacuum Tubes, which are the heart of its Tube Amp Mode. When this mode is engaged, the vacuum tubes impart a distinctively warm and smooth sound signature reminiscent of classic tube amplifiers from the golden age of audio.

Op-Amp Mode for More Details

In addition to the vacuum tubes, the SP3000T features a separate op-amp section that leverages Astell&Kern's years of expertise in digital audio player design. This proven op-amp technology, r