Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000

[Leto Dal]

Will give Samsung a go, thx for the reply.

 

[JasonNYC]

Will give Samsung a go, thx for the reply.

Also, I would say if you purchase cards from Amazon, they have been known to mix third party fulfilled by Amazon with cards sold and shipped by Amazon and there are tons of posts online if you search Google about people getting fake cards from Amazon since their inventory is co-mingled. I only mention it because it happened to me a few years ago with a Sandisk card.

 

[boodi]

I use a Swissbit s55-u
just saying ..
no problems..

 

[JasonNYC]

I use a Swissbit s55-u
just saying ..
no problems..

Most cards from a legitimate manufacturer should work without issue. When the team did testing recently for 2TB card support, one of the cards they used was the Kioxia Exceria Plus, which also had no issues in any of our players, including some of the original players released like the 1st gen AK120.

 

[boodi]

I have a Kioxia Exceria High Endurance too didn't tested in as for using the Swissbit ( superior specs - and sound ? ) but I dubt it'd show any problem

 

[nfandi]

We recommend Samsung and Sandisk cards for best results, but I have personally also used PNY cards without an issue on any AK player in addition to both Sandisk and Samsung cards.

Always used SanDisk with my SP2K and SP3K and never had a problem.

 

[Leto Dal]

What size of sd-cards do you use? Is the scan time significantly longer on larger cards? I find it very irritating that the dap scans the card on each start-up. Its significantly more convinient with much older LP6 Ti and P6 Pro that simply boot within 3 seconds with instant access to the library.

 

[nfandi]

What size of sd-cards do you use? Is the scan time significantly longer on larger cards? I find it very irritating that the dap scans the card on each start-up. Its significantly more convinient with much older LP6 Ti and P6 Pro that simply boot within 3 seconds with instant access to the library.

You have Feliks Envy and Holo May, neither of which are ready to play as soon as you power them up. May needs a good 2 hours. So why does a scan time of about 30 seconds irritate you when SP3K needs up to 30 mins before it sounds its best? I use a 1Tb card in my SP3K and I just accept it has a scan time and then a warm up time before it’s at its best. I just accept this as ‘normal’ for a music player that I so enjoy listening to. Why get so irritated by 30 seconds? I honestly don’t understand.

 

[Leto Dal]

Because… i own much older daps with much weaker mcus / cpus that are capable of it in few seconds and it just doesnt feel that convinient with a dap you want tl grab and listen the music immediately. So yep, I wonder why its even a thing with 2024 device. Which enjoy a lot btw sonically, there are just some useability quirks that are rather weird.
Another thing for example is no lock for buttons on a convex surface which you just will regularly activate when the dap is in your pocket.

 

[boodi]

@nfandi it might be also because on portable many think of it ( portables ) as a power on and play
where on audio station many have a more current habit to sit / or do anything else , and digest some waiting time meanwhile

 

[nfandi]

Because… i own much older daps with much weaker mcus / cpus that are capable of it in few seconds and it just doesnt feel that convinient with a dap you want tl grab and listen the music immediately. So yep, I wonder why its even a thing with 2024 device. Which enjoy a lot btw sonically, there are just some useability quirks that are rather weird.
Another thing for example is no lock for buttons on a convex surface which you just will regularly activate when the dap is in your pocket.

Agree about the lock on the buttons; this is one of the most requested changes. I don’t listen as soon as I switch on the SP3K it can definitely sound ‘wrong’ before it’s fully warmed up. The oscillators that control the clock speed need time to warm up otherwise you can hear timing problems in the music. So this is why the scan time on start up doesn’t bother me.

 

[JasonNYC]

What size of sd-cards do you use? Is the scan time significantly longer on larger cards? I find it very irritating that the dap scans the card on each start-up. Its significantly more convinient with much older LP6 Ti and P6 Pro that simply boot within 3 seconds with instant access to the library.

On startup, the player will scan the card to look for changes. If it is the first time a card is installed or if the scan detects a large number of file changes, the player will reindex the card. The initial time should take the longest, then on the next few startups, the card will background index to make sure nothing was missing. Once fully indexed, on start-up, it should take about a minute max to scan depending on how many files are in internal memory and microSD card.

When I insert a new card, I like to perform a manual media scan as soon as the initial scan is completed and every once in a while. A full scan will rebuild the index database in one sweep and usually speeds things up on subsequent boots. Also, the player can be used when it is scanning on boot-up. I am currently using 512GB Samsung EVO Select cards in most of the players I am currently using - SP3000, SP3000M, SP3000T, ACTIVO P1. Also using 256GB Samsung EVO Select in KANN Ultra and SE300, and 256GB Sandisk Ultra in the SR35.

I do see you mention boot times though. That would be different than card scan times once the player starts.

 

[nfandi]

@nfandi it might be also because on portable many think of it ( portables ) as a power on and play
where on audio station many have a more current habit to sit / or do anything else , and digest some waiting time meanwhile

Yes I get this. Those who use a phone and a dongle expect immediate music. I’ve accepted the way the SP3K is and listen when it’s warmed up and really enjoy it; I don’t let the ‘minor issues’ get to me. Maybe if it irritates so much you need to find a different portable solution.

 

[JasonNYC]

LP6 Ti and P6 Pro that simply boot within 3 seconds with instant access to the library.

Don't both of these players also not use Android OS and instead use a customized version of Linux?

 

[boodi]

@nfandi Its an hassle at times to wait for the full performance and other times not : at home/work i.e.

Anyhow I don't get skin rushes from it so, feels safe still..already exploring alternatives too for different uses, meanwhile ..