Astell&Kern A&ultima SP3000T

[prismstorm]

The new SP3000T firmware should start rolling out in the next few hours.

Hi Jason,

My SP3000T is on firmware 1.13CN, it starts up and loads the entire library fine. However, just a few minutes into listening, the "Home Screen" that has the horizontal scrollable album view turns into a loading animation, during which I cannot navigate the music library at all for up to an entire minute. When the Home Screen returns to normal (clickable albums), the custom order of the category tabs 'Artist' - 'Playlists' - 'Favorite' - 'Album' - 'Songs' - 'Folder' are all arbitrarily returned to their default positions of 'Songs' - 'Album' - 'Artist' - 'Genre' - 'Playlist' ... etc., as if I never changed the categories in my preferred order at all. When I turned the player off, the next time it is switched on, the categories will appear correct for under 5 minutes before the loading animation and forced defaulting occurs again.

This behavior only surfaced after the recent firmware update of 1.13CN. Please advise if this is a known bug that will be rectified in the next firmware, or whether this is a physical defect with my unit and I need to get it to a repair center. All my songs and playlists are only stored on the external microSD card and not in Internal Storage.

Don't know if this is of any interest, but I should add that my unit has just been repaired for bad contact regarding the 2.5mm jack at the local authorized dealer last month.

Looking forward to your reply

 

[Chesty]

I appreciate that this is the T thread and I might receive biased opinions, but how do folk feel about the T versus the 3000?

If offered either would people take the T or non T? I’ve now listened to both machines and to be honest I’m not sure which I prefer. They are both great. The 3000 sounds cleaner with slightly more detail retrieval and deeper soundstage to my ears but the T often sounds more “fun” and immediate, plus the tube showing is completely cool!

Your experience is in line with the reviews I have read for both the SP3000 and the previous SP2000. The original non-T has the most clear transparent sound with the blackest background, which is good for sensitive IEMs, whereas the T variant is more coloured with the option of tube sound. I don't know why A&K cannot combine the attributes of both in one single design. Maybe because they count on headfiers buying both at the end of the day!

 

[AR47]

With Dan Clark headphones I use their proprietary vivo 4.4 balanced cable, sometimes if I move the cable or the plug I hear interference, as if due to poor contact. I have not encountered this with AK Pathfinder headphones and a 4.4 balanced cable. And I do not understand whether this is a defect in the player or the cable. But what could be wrong with the plug...

 

[AR47]

Don't know if this is of any interest, but I should add that my unit has just been repaired for bad contact regarding the 2.5mm jack at the local authorized dealer last month.

Hello! How did the malfunction manifest itself?

 

[paramac]

Contact problems manifest themselves in the form of disturbances such as cracking, sound dropouts, rustling, etc. that occur when the jack moves in the socket. Normally, there should be hardly any play between the socket and the plug so that it sits as tightly as possible without being able to move. Another source of error is, for example, if there are contact problems between the circuit board and the connector where it was soldered.. In addition, in this price range, you can of course expect high-quality components to be used.

 

[JasonNYC]

Hi Jason,

My SP3000T is on firmware 1.13CN, it starts up and loads the entire library fine. However, just a few minutes into listening, the "Home Screen" that has the horizontal scrollable album view turns into a loading animation, during which I cannot navigate the music library at all for up to an entire minute. When the Home Screen returns to normal (clickable albums), the custom order of the category tabs 'Artist' - 'Playlists' - 'Favorite' - 'Album' - 'Songs' - 'Folder' are all arbitrarily returned to their default positions of 'Songs' - 'Album' - 'Artist' - 'Genre' - 'Playlist' ... etc., as if I never changed the categories in my preferred order at all. When I turned the player off, the next time it is switched on, the categories will appear correct for under 5 minutes before the loading animation and forced defaulting occurs again.

This behavior only surfaced after the recent firmware update of 1.13CN. Please advise if this is a known bug that will be rectified in the next firmware, or whether this is a physical defect with my unit and I need to get it to a repair center. All my songs and playlists are only stored on the external microSD card and not in Internal Storage.

Don't know if this is of any interest, but I should add that my unit has just been repaired for bad contact regarding the 2.5mm jack at the local authorized dealer last month.

Looking forward to your reply

I have not heard of this issue and have not experienced it myself. I reached out to the support team for more information and will get back to you.

 

[prismstorm]

I have not heard of this issue and have not experienced it myself. I reached out to the support team for more information and will get back to you.

Thanks Jason, it happened again just now. I can confirm that the device is completely normal for the first 2-3 minutes once it's switched on, but then the inevitable forced 'home page loading animation' and 'category tabs defaulted to factory setting position' happened. It is observed that during this anomaly, even the audio track playing was forced to a halt, until the forced loading took its course and the categories reshuffled.

 

[ronnn]

False problem, cable not attached.

 

[paramac]

Thanks Jason, it happened again just now. I can confirm that the device is completely normal for the first 2-3 minutes once it's switched on, but then the inevitable forced 'home page loading animation' and 'category tabs defaulted to factory setting position' happened. It is observed that during this anomaly, even the audio track playing was forced to a halt, until the forced loading took its course and the categories reshuffled.

I can't think of much to do, except maybe try a different memory card.

 

[blackgreen15]

Have a new 3000t coming friday! I have never used streaming services, mostly just download and listen to my collection. Are there any on the 3000t that are good for classical?

 

[nb1970]

Have a new 3000t coming friday! I have never used streaming services, mostly just download and listen to my collection. Are there any on the 3000t that are good for classical?

I have & love the 3000T (loved the 2000T too). I mainly use local files too though. For streaming Apple Music & Apple Music Classical is pretty good, though I do mainly listen to modern composers on there. I have no idea about others such as Tidal. Check the whitelisted apps on the AK website.

 

[mikaik]

Have a new 3000t coming friday! I have never used streaming services, mostly just download and listen to my collection. Are there any on the 3000t that are good for classical?

Qobuz seems to be quite good for classical, too.

 

[blackgreen15]

So my 3000T showed up early how sweet is that... Tube mode and Final A8000 is truly a match made in heaven. I have/have had some good gear (DTR 1+, WA8 Eclipse, DX220max, P6pro, C9) This is a whole other level. Had the experience of hearing a familiar track come up randomly and being gobsmacked at all the things I have never heard before. Took almost nothing to dial in settings. Truly TOTL. Well done, A&K!!

...now if I could just get a TPU clear case my happiness would be complete

 

[Mononeko]

So my 3000T showed up early how sweet is that... Tube mode and Final A8000 is truly a match made in heaven. I have/have had some good gear (DTR 1+, WA8 Eclipse, DX220max, P6pro, C9) This is a whole other level. Had the experience of hearing a familiar track come up randomly and being gobsmacked at all the things I have never heard before. Took almost nothing to dial in settings. Truly TOTL. Well done, A&K!!

...now if I could just get a TPU clear case my happiness would be complete

I ordered the brown leather case and it looks gorgeous compare to the free yellow one.

 

[mikaik]

I ordered the brown leather case and it looks gorgeous compare to the free yellow one.

I quite like the yellow one, but I see the point of a transparent case, as the player looks gorgeous. It was the same for the 2000T, everytime I take it out of is case, I'm astonished how cool it looks. 5 minutes later, I slide it back into the case, it's no point risking. I just can't force myself to use my DAPs without a case.

Please share some pictures of the brown case, although I like the yellow one, it gets dirty rather quickly, so I might end up buying an additional case.