[jkirvan]

What you prefer and percieve as good is not the goal of pro audio, it is achieving the least amount of artefacts during the conversion process which might sound flat to some, dull or even bright to others, and for ADI-2 it is already far below the audible range. But it could be that there is slight brightness on SP3000 for whatever reason, which might make it sound more detailed etc., and more preferable to you.

I'm familiar with that line of thinking about pro gear and I believed that a well-measuring, "audibly transparent" dac was all that one needed and should expect from that part of the chain -- that's why I have never prioritized upgrading my dac. But the SP3000 presents more details throughout the audible frequency range, not just in the treble, and it also makes the sound more vivid from sub-bass through treble. The difference is not night and day, obviously, but I was surprised to hear such a distinct difference. If the ADI-2 is avoiding artifact production at the cost of detail and vividness, and that's the tradeoff inherent in the pro audio approach to digital-to-analogue conversion, then so much the worse for the pro audio approach. However, I don't think one must necessarily sacrifice details and vividness to achieve low-artifact conversion. A better dac implementation will avoid artifacts while still presenting great detail and vividness. In fact, if anything one would think that artifacts obscure detail and vividness, so all else being equal, reducing artifacts would tend to make details more apparent to the listener, not less.

I suppose it's also possible that there's a blacker background from the SP3000 because it's battery powered, whereas my ADI-2 is plugged into an ordinary surge protector, and the difference in output has nothing to do with the digital-to-analogue conversion process per se. But I have experimented with running the ADI-2 off battery power in the past, and I didn't hear a difference, or at least not a distinct difference, so I don't think the SP3000's clean power fully explains the difference I'm hearing.

At any rate, I now wish I had taken more seriously the benefits that a great dac might offer. I would have played with higher-end dacs years ago. Fortunately, it's not too late to start!

 

[theveterans]

ADI-2 is a no-frills mastering quality DAC. However, audiophile DACs and yes some pro audio DACs too other than RME while measuring worse yet still beyond CD quality, provides different presentation that’s subjective better or worse.

I suggest to try the Dangerous Music Convert-2 channel DAC that’s used in pro-audio as well. You’d be surprised on how different it sounds compared to RME ADI-2

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CONVERT-2--dangerous-music-convert-2

 

[jkirvan]

ADI-2 is a no-frills mastering quality DAC. However, audiophile DACs and yes some pro audio DACs too other than RME while measuring worse yet still beyond CD quality, provides different presentation that’s subjective better or worse.

I suggest to try the Dangerous Music Convert-2 channel DAC that’s used in pro-audio as well. You’d be surprised on how different it sounds compared to RME ADI-2

Thanks for the recommendation, I hadn't heard of Dangerous Music.

 

[theveterans]

Thanks for the recommendation, I hadn't heard of Dangerous Music.

They’re not as vocal in consumer marketing as they are in the pro audio industry that’s why. Also their gears are 100% for rack setup which is definitely not appealing to regular consumer market. However, you’d be surprised on their ability to compete with high end consumer DACs many times its price

 

[pdL389]

Do we know if any third-party cases? The stock case opening for the outputs is not wide enough.

 

[hotjava13]

Ok, I know i’m going to get a ton of dislikes..
I have a Fio m17. The m17 is transportable, not portable. Thus, I started looking for a new dap. started looking at Head-fi and there was significant buzz on the A&K SP3000. I had all but given up on A&K after my utter disappointment in the original Kann. Purchased the sp3000 and l'm really struggling with perception of sound. I'm listening with Focal Stellia, 64 Audio A12t, JH 13v2 and Sony Z1r via Tidal or local hi-rez files. I can here very subtle differences but other than the A&K being portable I'm not blown away by the sound and detail. am I missing something or am I just expecting too much ?

 

[pdL389]

I think you are expecting too much! LOL.

 

[Nostoi]

Ok, I know i’m going to get a ton of dislikes..
I have a Fio m17. The m17 is transportable, not portable. Thus, I started looking for a new dap. started looking at Head-fi and there was significant buzz on the A&K SP3000. I had all but given up on A&K after my utter disappointment in the original Kann. Purchased the sp3000 and l'm really struggling with perception of sound. I'm listening with Focal Stellia, 64 Audio A12t, JH 13v2 and Sony Z1r via Tidal or local hi-rez files. I can here very subtle differences but other than the A&K being portable I'm not blown away by the sound and detail. am I missing something or am I just expecting too much ?

Diminishing returns. After a certain point, the "very subtle differences" you mention become the decisive factors between DAP A & DAP B.

 

[kabinist]

Ok, I know i’m going to get a ton of dislikes..
I have a Fio m17. The m17 is transportable, not portable. Thus, I started looking for a new dap. started looking at Head-fi and there was significant buzz on the A&K SP3000. I had all but given up on A&K after my utter disappointment in the original Kann. Purchased the sp3000 and l'm really struggling with perception of sound. I'm listening with Focal Stellia, 64 Audio A12t, JH 13v2 and Sony Z1r via Tidal or local hi-rez files. I can here very subtle differences but other than the A&K being portable I'm not blown away by the sound and detail. am I missing something or am I just expecting too much ?

I've compared M17 Vs sp2000 (IEM IE900) and I was blown away with the difference! I use sp2000 for a couple of month and have no regret for choosing it over M17! I am sure sp3000 is even better, but will see (hopefully soon, once I will sell my sp2000). Maybe in my case I have an amazing match between sp2k and IE900.. I dont know.. But now I am dreaming about sp3k lol - just hope I will not be dissapointed after sp2k (I know it sounds stupid ) Also, I like the copper version of the sp2k and its size.. But will see

 

[WarrenS]

Diminishing returns. After a certain point, the "very subtle differences" you mention become the decisive factors between DAP A & DAP B.

Don't discount the effect of "Burning in" a new DAP. I would give it 100 hours before passing judgement

 

[subguy812]

Just received my SP3K...excited to get it setup.

Kinda curious, it appears there is already a set of protectors, screen etc. installed. Case anyone validate that?

 

[aaf evo]

Just received my SP3K...excited to get it setup.

Kinda curious, it appears there is already a set of protectors, screen etc. installed. Case anyone validate that?

Hmmm I didn’t notice any on mine front or back, if so I’m double wrapped.

 

[KLennikov]

Hi guys, long-time lurker here. I want to talk a bit about the sp3000's dac implementation. I received the SP3000 today and played my test tracks through my Rai Penta iems. Immediately I heard things that I hadn't heard from my ibasso dx220. Intuitively it seemed that the dac implementation had been taken to a new level, but I thought it might be the sp3000 amp section, so I tested further. I went line out to my ferrum stack to my LCD 5s, and I heard new things in my test tracks through that chain as well. What did the sp3000 replace as source and dac before Orr and LCD 5, you ask? Roon core by ethernet to SOTM ultra by usb to RME ADI 2 FS. Bottom line: sp3000 was a huge improvement, and I have to believe it was primarily a big upgrade over the ADI 2's dac section. So much for my hopeful faith in pro audio gear. The sp3000's dac implementation is phenomenal. As others have noted, I also hear a significant improvement with DAR turned on.

I have a set of Traillii on the way (hopefully Thursday) to pair with this gem, and I hope that'll be another big upgrade, over Rai Penta's if not LCD 5's or HE1000 v2s. I'll follow up with my impressions. I can see ditching my desktop setup entirely and going fully mobile without appreciable loss.

And a PS shout out to NOMAX, who has made PS's famous:

PS. The Roon endpoint functionality of the sp3000 works perfectly in my setup. I stream from my Roon server to the sp3000 using my samsung tablet, just as I did to the sotm ultra in my desktop setup, with an intel i7 running HQPlayer and whatever other eq/upsampling shenanigans I want before it gets sent wirelessly to a battery operated, pocketable dac/amp -- the sp3000. Brilliant! (I'm american, not british, but the word works.)

It is interesting to know your opinion about Oriolus Trailli. Will wait

 

[subguy812]

Hmmm I didn’t notice any on mine front or back, if so I’m double wrapped.

I looked so close around the borders and swear it looked like a set was on. Top, back and all around. How did this one go for you, as bad as the iBasso?

 

[aaf evo]

I looked so close around the borders and swear it looked like a set was on. Top, back and all around. How did this one go for you, as bad as the iBasso?

The DX320 edition X with AMP12 is really good. There’s some parts of that I prefer over SP3000 and vice versa. I still overall think N8ii is the best android dap out right now but I’m wanting something more pocket friendly which is why I’m exploring others. I need more time to see which I’ll stick with , the SP3000 wasn’t too impressive out of the box but I can hear that magic appearing with more use. The black background makes it very highly detailed in a way that isn’t commanding your attention. I’m a big fan of that. I prefer the 320x/12 dynamics though. We’ll see where it goes.

I want to know if AK plans to add the basic functionality of disabling the playback buttons when the screen is off, I’m a heavy pocket DAP user and that’s a huge issue for me at the moment. I have to be very careful when handling it or I’ll interfere with my playback.