Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000T

[arftech]

Great call! I’m gonna run this up on the SP3000T tomorrow!

DiFazio, how does the sound signature compare to the SE300? I see A&K has re-introduced the wooden case.

 

[DiFazio]

DiFazio, how does the sound signature compare to the SE300? I see A&K has re-introduced the wooden case.

Great question! It really is hard to compare with all the different options (NOS and OS modes on SE300, with SP3000T having the OP amp, Hybrid, and Tube amp mode), but I found them to resemble closest when SE300 is on NOS, and when SP3000 is on OP amp. They both have that punchy and more mid bass emphasized low end, cultivated by really lush vocals, and good treble extension and resolution. SP3000T pulls away in the sound staging and imaging on every mode, so I'd say thats the biggest differentiator between the two. I'd say they differ the most when SP3000T goes into tube mode, and SE300 is in OS mode. SP3000T softens up quite a lot, with the mid bass softening a lot more, and the vocals being slightly more forward, and the treble smoothing as a whole. SE300 in OS mode does soften in the mid bass a little, but just doesn't have that same analog feel to it (obviously) making SE300 much more reference sounding when in comparison. So, aside from the obvious, these two differ slightly in overall detail retrieval and staging, but I will say that they share very similar characteristics when in OP amp and NOS mode! I hope this helps

 

[arijitroy2]

People nowadays does not like to visit official site look for answer...

Or they can come to the official threads to look for an answer.

 

[godlikegamer]

Or they can come to the official threads to look for an answer.

wow, didnt expect visiting official site will be faster than waiting for someone to reply.. noice

 

[Frabera]

According to the review and what is mentioned below, this SP3000T does not seem to bring much to the already existing models as well as the DAP's market...

 

[arijitroy2]

wow, didnt expect visiting official site will be faster than waiting for someone to reply.. noice

Isn't it?

I prefer real-user experience than some text on the vendor site

 

[godlikegamer]

Isn't it?

I prefer real-user experience than some text on the vendor site

isn't it.. what a joke man..

 

[arijitroy2]

isn't it.. what a joke man..

Relax, don't get worked up on these non-trivial issues!

 

[zlayde]

Any word on other case options?

 

[aaf evo]

Any word on other case options?

https://bloomaudio.com/collections/astell-kern/products/astell-kern-sp3000t-case

 

[zlayde]

https://bloomaudio.com/collections/astell-kern/products/astell-kern-sp3000t-case

Thanks!

 

[JasonNYC]

For some reason, I could not post images on Head-Fi yesterday. Here are the additional case options. Case info - https://astellnkern.com/product/product_detail.jsp?productNo=157

 

[timeslip]

That taupe color and the back stand is a great idea! Once there roon certification is complete, I could totally see this case being nice to stand the player up and have it next to you.

 

[armstrj2]

Arrived in time for the weekend. Looking forward to getting to know it

 

[tfenton02]

According to the review and what is mentioned below, this SP3000T does not seem to bring much to the already existing models as well as the DAP's market..