Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000

[Luke Skywalker]

That's because you've got very few files, relatively speaking, on the cards.

Try it with 10-20,000 files ... browsing is slow and indexing is glacial. And notably so, compared to the SP2000 (which is much less powerful).

With Android based daps (it's not just A&K, just the SP3000 is currently a step backwards in this regard), using multiple, large, microSD cards, with high-file counts, is a very poor experience. I don't want to wait 10-15 minutes upon changing cards to have the player be usable again, much less have to manage multiple cards.

I'm sure the issue is with Android and it's storage card handling ... as I've written code to index music libraries that, running against the same microSD cards mounted on non-Android devices, completes the job in seconds, not 10+ minutes.

Does it matter if you have a fast or slow card? I think the one I got is 200 MB/sec and it’s blazing fast with a few thousand files

 

[Luke Skywalker]

Time to upgrade my IEM's to get the full potential SP3K. Currently my go to are Rai Penta / Cadmus which were fine with SP1 & 2K. Are there enough Odyssey out there yet for a honest combo opinion? At the moment it is a toss up between Odyssey or VE Phonix which I can pickup £500 cheaper.

cheers

My Kublai Khan and Vision EXT sound unbelievable.

 

[uncle b]

I have 15,000 files on mine and it is quick. I have used many brand DAPs but I realize tagging and indexing is super important. I spent a lot time with tagging my files. That said I don't remember how long the initial scan was. It does scan each time.

I’m the same way, all CD’s loaded into iTunes, tagged and album artwork matched up and filled manually. Sometimes it takes a bit to start, but nothing too bad.

 

[NYanakiev]

I think if you want end game then @NYanakiev can advise hehe

The SP3000 and my Ra 21.5 C-Cu have wonderful synergy. After a prolonged running in period, I now have what I consider the best transportable set-up I've heard.

Why transportable? The SP3K is a Roon machine for me and that is my sole use case. Roon ARC on the go is brilliant but I would need a new pair of IEMs with Ra being open.

However, no other portable setup I've owned has had me tapping my feet with a silly "this is great" smile as Ra+SP3K.
At the end of the day though, it is all a question of budget

 

[William1955]

The SP3000 and my Ra 21.5 C-Cu have wonderful synergy. After a prolonged running in period, I now have what I consider the best transportable set-up I've heard.

Why transportable? The SP3K is a Roon machine for me and that is my sole use case. Roon ARC on the go is brilliant but I would need a new pair of IEMs with Ra being open.

However, no other portable setup I've owned has had me tapping my feet with a silly "this is great" smile as Ra+SP3K.
At the end of the day though, it is all a question of budget

Thanks as you say it is a question of budget :>)

 

[William1955]

My Kublai Khan and Vision EXT sound unbelievable.

Thanks I will check them out.

 

[PhilW]

Thanks as you say it is a question of budget :>)

A lot of clients choose to opt for the Ra C which is the aluminium version. Still the same technology but different chassis

 

[Dionysus]

@Jason, is the light staying on for like a minute after the players is turned off been answered or going to be addressed in an upcoming firmware?

 

[NYanakiev]

@JasonNYC hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I don’t mean to be a serial complainer but what is going on with the volume wheel lock? This should have been available out of the box and doesn’t sound like an awfully difficult thing to implement given the fact it was available on your older DAPs.

In addition, I would really like to know if ARC will be able to bypass Android anytime soon- thanks!

 

[gops2116]

My Kublai Khan and Vision EXT sound unbelievable.

Yah the EXT pairing is INCREDIBLE (to say the least) followed by my Indigo and KK!

 

[Damz87]

Another excellent pairing with SP3K: Elysian Diva

 

[aaf evo]

@JasonNYC hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I don’t mean to be a serial complainer but what is going on with the volume wheel lock? This should have been available out of the box and doesn’t sound like an awfully difficult thing to implement given the fact it was available on your older DAPs.

In addition, I would really like to know if ARC will be able to bypass Android anytime soon- thanks!

It’s in the drop down menu under wheel lock.

 

[NYanakiev]

It’s in the drop down menu under wheel lock.

Thank you, must have missed it completely.

 

[Memorexx168]

So I got my SP3000 today...what a beauty

So quick question...I know the light on the wheel represent different bitrates...on my filo m17 there is a special color for MQA...as far as I can see, the SP3000 turns purple for DSD only? So when I listen to Tidal Masters...It's green most of the time...because it's 24 bit. How can I be certain, that it decodes MQA?

 

[JasonNYC]

Hi all - I'm not finding an option to add additional keyboards,. My sp2000 does it no issues, but sp3000 just says AKiME is the only keyboard option, could you guys double check please?

@JasonNYC - FYI. Appreciate your input here. Thank you!

Cannot add additonal keyboards at the moment. I believe it is a feature that will be available soon on current model players, but no info on when/if it will be implemented.