I am contemplating getting one of these marvels rather than the more usual DAC/amp portable solution for the phone.
We will be spending a fair bit of time travelling in our motorhome this year and my wife tends to retire earlier than I do. That means that - since motorhomes are not especially soundproof - I cannot play music without headphones once she has gone to bed.
I had imagined getting a Hugo/2Go or perhaps even a WA8 but then I was reading about this player (actually the shiny gold one!) and I thought that it might actually have several advantages.
- A single box is easier to manage than several plus cables etc
- Won't use battery from my phone
- More portable than several boxes
At home I use Roon, so it would work fine there. I cannot use ARC because our home internet is Starlink and they use CGNAT which means you cannot dial home. There are - apparently - some kludgey workarounds that may or may not work but they are beyond my paygrade when it comes to computers I am afraid. Hopefully there will eventually be a plug and play way to get ARC in these circumstances but for now not.
So when travelling I will use Qobuz/Tidal for most listening, with the few albums I own (all high res stuff from HD Tracks and Linn) loaded on board.
I mainly listen to acoustic jazz (especially Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Gene Ammons, Miles Davis) and my main headphones at present are Focal Clear originals.
There are so many A&K players but I am leaning towards the 3K because it is the newest and so has most longevity, latest tech etc. To be honest the sheer size of the lineup makes it tricky to decide what would suit best. The 2000T also seemed a possibility but it is (I think) a bit older.
I would welcome the thoughts and suggestions of users; it is an expensive device (NZ$5,524 for the non-gold versions, $8,000 (!!) for the gold one) so I would not go there without seeking the wisdom of the tribe!
Hi Kiwi,
Always benefitted of advice in the past, so wanted to share my humble 2cs with you.
I recently got the SP3000, as I decided to upgrade from my SP1000M. My go to headphones have been the Denon 9200, price-quality ratio considered some of the best closed headphones you can get. Balanced, great sound and tonality, and fantastic with all genres.
I was very happy with this setup, but due a health issue that will keep me staying at home a lot, I decided to give myself a gift, also thinking of it as a sort of musical therapy set up.
I listen mostly to Hi-res music I buy, and Qobuz, the only quality streaming that cuts it, imo. From classical, to all kinds of jazz and electronic. Most times not only because I like the music, but now also because I like how the music sounds in my gear!
Well, after a couple of months with the SP3000SS, I still can't believe my ears as to what an immense pleasure it is to listen to music inside the environment they create.
The usual praises: amazing balanced tonality, incredibly accurate and enjoyable 3d imaging. An immersive bubble of musical enjoyment.
Of course, as my Denons have been pushing it as far as they can, so just to finish my delight-therapy combo, I decided to get the Meze Elites, because it is obvious that there is just so much more in there I'm not receiving at the moment.
I'm sharing this with you because the combo SP3000-Elites is my decided solution for easy to drive, portable around the house, and in no need for any other gear solution. Quality and simplicity, which is something that it seems you might be going after as well.
My deciding factor was that you only live once, so if you can afford it, treat yourself where you can, to add quality to your living.
My experience with the SP3000 has blown away my expectations. I think it could be the same for many people. The caveat is that, if you decide and get it, I think you may see after some time as that the Clears may fall a bit short (here subjectivity is what counts), and at some point you too may want to upgrade headphones to get more. The SP3000 definitely deserves it.
Hope this helps!
Lui
and that album!! 
)
