Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000

[damascato]

Just got mine in Silver - nice!
Do I see it right that there is no more any Gain setting?
So, assuming it always plays at maximum gain, right?

No gain settings, but the volume control scales very well with both IEMs and full sized cans

 

[emdeevee]

1. Multiple users with problems with SD cards: when they work, they read much slower than on SP2000.
2. Multiple people with players randomly rebooting.
3. The collapsed album list (by author) is not available (available on SP2000 - I don'r get why they realise NOW that needs to be implemented).
4. Over sensitivity of the double tap when screen is off (can't put it in my pocket without activating the player unless facing outwards - doen't happen with iphone, neither it doess with my HiBy RS6, only with an old Huawei phone - and was fixed quickly).
5. The music player is not even close in terms of functionality and speed to those of much less premium competitors (HiBy and iBasso): being able to scroll alphabetically by letter to start with.
   
   This is just what comes up to my mind without thinking too hard about other glitches.

Is that not enough for one of the most expensive and (theoretically) advanced DAPs on the market?


Then mate, if you're an AK fanboy and you're happy to spend that kind of money on a toy with that level of bugs, that's fine. I'm not. But I purchased it, fascinated by its superb sound, and now I'm pretty much stuck with it: those are not things easy to evaluate reading a review or demoing a player in a store for a few hours.

I'll buy it from you at the discount you think it rates. I use an AK Kann Max and love it, so this one must be nirvana!

 

[damascato]

I'll buy it from you at the discount you think it rates. I use an AK Kann Max and love it, so this one must be nirvana!

It's Nirvana sound wire. No question about that.

The UX is wonky overall. Needed a lot of polish before being released, unfortunately.

 

[Memorexx168]

Mhhh. Guessing I got lucky. Mine sp3000 seems to be flawless in regards to all the bugs reported here

 

[dkar]

Mhhh. Guessing I got lucky. Mine sp3000 seems to be flawless in regards to all the bugs reported here

I’m mostly in this boat as well. I’ve only had it for a few days and I haven’t had a chance to use it too much yet.

I can definitely see areas that can be polished, but so far it hasn’t impacted my enjoyment of the device.

 

[Memorexx168]

I’m mostly in this boat as well. I’ve only had it for a few days and I haven’t had a chance to use it too much yet.

I can definitely see areas that can be polished, but so far it hasn’t impacted my enjoyment of the device.

Yeah. Only had it for a week now. Used it a few times. Was ok for now. Hope it stays that way. Mainly use it with tidal

 

[damascato]

Yeah. Only had it for a week now. Used it a few times. Was ok for now. Hope it stays that way. Mainly use it with tidal

External apps work perfectly fine. The main issues in my opinion lie around the UX of their music app....

 

[subguy812]

I have no problems with the music app, it plays music just what it's supposed to do. It's also very good to see others having zero issues.

 

[cheznous]

External apps work perfectly fine. The main issues in my opinion lie around the UX of their music app....

That’s not true unfortunately. Amazon music is limited to Android bit rate unless you download the song or album first. So won’t stream the highest quality available if above that rate.

 

[subguy812]

The highest I have seen in Amazon Music HD is 24 bit/48 KHz although the Qobuz app gives me 24 bit/96KHz

 

[cheznous]

The highest I have seen in Amazon Music HD is 24 bit/48 KHz although the Qobuz app gives me 24 bit/96KHz

Some albums on Amazon are 192 khz ultra hd but SP3000 will play lower bit rate than available unless you download the track.

 

[Mentanalyste]

As mentioned multiple times, and from the experience of several people here, they just launched a product with a beta software:

1- too many bugs
2- a set of features that doesn’t match previous products
3- close to zero user testing, as it doesn’t include a ton of feature that seem vital to many users.

This behaviour from a company which is supposed to manufacture the most premium DAPs on the market is, quite honestly, appalling.

All the excuses to avoid using a stock android experience and then with find ourselves with a (great sounding) half baked experience which could have been mitigated by the use of a third party music plate (did anyone say HiBy?)

Where’s the new software? After months since launch??

Congratulations!

Obviously this is not a product for you. Personally I am very satisfied and I understand the bugs involved in the first release. It is inherent unfortunately. The most important thing is the reactivity in the bugs correction.

Finally, the interest of an OS dedicated to audio is relevant. It allows to specialize the system to get the best for audio. Astell & Kern is not the first. You only have to look at what Apple is doing:
- a specialized OS for smartphones: IOS
- a specialized OS for tablets : iPad OS
- A specialized OS for watches: iWatch
- A specialized OS for TV: Apple TV
- A specialized OS for the desktop: Mac OS
- A specialized OS for audio: iPOD

The interest and relevance is therefore real. No interest to install WhatsApp and any others threads and other processes that may disturb the SQ. Anyway... Change DAP if you are not convinced.

 

[Progisus]

Dignis case arrived.

 

[subguy812]

Some albums on Amazon are 192 khz ultra hd but SP3000 will play lower bit rate than available unless you download the track.

I am aware of Amazon's capabilities. I was only saying what the highest limits I have seen.

 

[Mentanalyste]

1. Multiple users with problems with SD cards: when they work, they read much slower than on SP2000.
2. Multiple people with players randomly rebooting.
3. The collapsed album list (by author) is not available (available on SP2000 - I don'r get why they realise NOW that needs to be implemented).
4. Over sensitivity of the double tap when screen is off (can't put it in my pocket without activating the player unless facing outwards - doen't happen with iphone, neither it doess with my HiBy RS6, only with an old Huawei phone - and was fixed quickly).
5. The music player is not even close in terms of functionality and speed to those of much less premium competitors (HiBy and iBasso): being able to scroll alphabetically by letter to start with.
   
   This is just what comes up to my mind without thinking too hard about other glitches.

Is that not enough for one of the most expensive and (theoretically) advanced DAPs on the market?


Then mate, if you're an AK fanboy and you're happy to spend that kind of money on a toy with that level of bugs, that's fine. I'm not. But I purchased it, fascinated by its superb sound, and now I'm pretty much stuck with it: those are not things easy to evaluate reading a review or demoing a player in a store for a few hours.

You are right about the problems listed. After that, you have to be patient because the quality of a software publisher and hardware manufacturer is to correct it quickly. And even to make the software solution evolve with new features by listening to the community.

I'm getting ahead of myself, but I think that AK's approach is above all to work on the SQ in terms of hardware and software. And then on the rest: ergonomics, functions, services...

Let's say that the first bet is won, and for se second the ergonomics is good. Some of the essential services are there.

The only thing missing is the correction of bugs and the addition of new functions. Patient