The concept of a portable digital audio player (DAP) goes back to 1979, the beginning of the bits- and-bytes era of music recording. At the time, all such devices—like most digitally recorded music of the period—sounded awful, but the sheer luxury of on-the-go listening promised an intoxicating sonic adventure. Thankfully, technology has advanced, and 46 years later, a few of these components are, well, truly sublime. Peripatetic audiophiles will be enamored with the Astell&Kern SP3000M Copper Nickel Limited Edition ($2,699), a top choice in the segment of pocket-size players enabling the enjoyment of high-resolution music or media files anywhere.
Astell&Kern products are made in Korea, and—as is the Korean way—are as fastidiously packaged as they are designed and built. Worthy of the most ceremonious unwrapping video, a black cardboard carton contains an impressive wooden box with the DAP nestled inside. Evincing the precision and build quality of a Swiss watch, Astell&Kern’s player is pure audio jewelry, with finely finished casework, glass panels at the front, back, and sides, and a knurled volume knob recalling the crown of an early-1900s pocket watch. And while the tactile sensation of the metal’s surface can’t be directly attributed to the player’s equally rich and engaging sound, it does suggest a certain ethereal connection.
Measuring about three quarters of an inch thick and weighing a little over eight ounces, the SP3000M Copper Nickel Limited Edition—with its elegant leather case—is perfectly comfortable in a jacket, in a purse, or wherever travel takes it. Smaller in size and less than half the weight of the SP3000, this M variant has a 4.1-inch screen, sacrificing nothing in performance while gaining battery life.
The device has 256 GB of internal memory, with support for microSD cards up to 2 TB, so its storage capacity translates to enough music for an extended stay at the International Space Station. For added convenience, approximately 10 hours of playing time can be restored with about 3.5 hours of charging. Listeners can transfer files wirelessly via a PC, a smartphone, or an FTP program located on the same network, and music from an external source can be played on the SP3000M using the Bluetooth Sync function.
The visually arresting VU Meter display, which debuted on last year’s larger SP3000T, tracks voltage levels of voice signals to aid volume measurement and adjustment—and is just plain fun to watch as the screen’s meter needles bounce to the music. More substantially, independent dual-audio circuits, a high-performance Qualcomm Snapdragon 6125 CPU, and separation of digital and analog signals deliver sound that is detailed, lush, and never fatiguing. Inputs at the top of the player accommodate 3.5 mm and 4.4 mm headphones, and here, the best-quality in-ear phones, including A&K’s own $5,000 Novus, exploit the capabilities of both software and hardware, bringing the concert stage and all of its accompanying bravura along for the ride.
Authors
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Robert Ross