[SoundBytes]

[QUOTE="Why did they not just add more streaming music apps on its Store and spare us the trouble? As far as I am concerned, only Deezer and Spotify are worthy additions to the Store.[/QUOTE]

I got a chance to talk with AK about this and they told me it was extremely involving and expensive to partner with music services through the Store and have them available. I would love a way to add services to my SP1000 as you just mention through using the file.

I hope we can do this easily as it would give us freedom to add multiple services or have some flexibility for the future.

 

[PhilW]

It's the sheer cost of licencing play store on their devices. It's absurd. Anyhow with the ability to now offer tidal offline that's a great addition.

 

[hfflt]

Is SR15 capable of displaying cover arts embedded in files bigger than 500x500? Anyone can confirm?

 

[szore]

"Kinda bitchy that I buy AK380SS as a $5k flagship and half a year later a new one is introduced: SP1000, at a lower $3.5k price and superior sonically. So later I buy both of them"

For the life of me I just cannot figure out why A&K keep doing this.

They may not know themselves.

 

[szore]

Mate, I was having a go at you, my apologies.

But IMHO that's why companies like A&K in my view are taking the piss because they know there will be no shortage of customers lining up despite just recently purchasing their previous TOTL DAP.

Sometimes you just settle with what you have and what you have my friend is some serious audio equipment that in all honesty should keep you happy for a few years.

Its a tough hobby.

 

[szore]

Is the volume knob the same quality with SE100? The SP1000 was a bit wobbly.

The SE100 is a little wobbly too...

 

[szore]

Kinda bitchy that I buy AK380SS as a $5k flagship and half a year later a new one is introduced: SP1000, at a lower $3.5k price and superior sonically. So later I buy both of them SP1k at various times, cope with their huge weight and few months later AK introduces another flagship: half the weight, $1k cheaper. If I only would knew... It's very hard to sell a device such as SP1k on the second market, unless you drop the price by -70% to -50%, so I'm stuck, wanting the smaller one.

The same thing happened with Shure and KSE1500 - KSE1200, which cut out the equalizer and shiity DAC, made the size smaller, battery life longer -- and it really doesn't justify the $1k price drop. Purely marketing gimmicks without any real argument.

I know it's all cool for people who are waiting for a discount or any other chance to get into this kind of device and I wish them all the best. I want everybody on the planet to have SP1k and KSE1.5k.

But still, I'm getting angry at how the greatest audio companies suck the money out of their premium customers nowadays. As in "there's a sucker born every day" state of mind. Pure marketing planning, Apple-Macbook-USB-C-dongle-like.

So sell it...

 

[szore]

Astell&Kern Adds to A&ultima Flagship Player Line with the SP1000M

The SP1000M Packs Flagship Player Features into a Smaller Size

Astell&Kern, a global leader in portable high-resolution audio players and accessories, announces a new player in their flagship player line, the A&ultima SP1000M. The SP1000M is a smaller-sized flagship player based on the 2018 CES Best Of Innovations Award-winning SP1000 player. The new SP1000M will retail for $2,399 and will be available in the US in October 2018.

The SP1000M features a 4.1-inch HD screen vs the 5-inch screen on the SP1000 and the weight of the new SP1000M player has been reduced by almost half of the full-sized SP1000. The A&ultima SP1000M will make its official US debut at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, October 5 – 8, 2018.

The A&ultima line of players by Astell&Kern feature the latest technology and high-end audio performance that is available in a portable player. The A&ultima SP1000M is equipped with two AK4497EQ DACs. A separate DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) is dedicated to each independent left and right audio channel, producing a wider soundstage and better stereo separation. With the addition of an Octa-Core CPU, the A&ultima SP1000M not only boots faster, but is able to process digital audio playback without lag or compromise in sound. This will provide the ultimate sound experience of any player currently on the market. Astell&Kern’s advanced audio design and signal management technologies used in the A&ultima SP1000M brings more power output with less noise and minimal distortion.

Equipped with a 4.1 inch, HD-resolution screen, the A&ultima SP1000M provides sharp images and vivid colors to display album art, music playback and player information. The redesigned, music-centric GUI that debuted on the full-sized SP1000 is also used on the SP1000M. USB Type-C 3.0 support allows data transfers that are twice as fast as other Astell&Kern players. The A&ultima SP1000 also provides 10 hours of music playback and includes support for fast charging.

The SP1000M is available in Lapis Blue and features an all-aluminum body. The SP1000M includes 128GB of internal memory with one microSD card slot supporting additional memory (largest microSD cards currently available in retail are 512GB, which are supported).

Additional features of the A&ultima SP1000M include support of native playback of 32-bit/384kHz high-resolution PCM audio and native playback of DSD audio, up to Quad-rate (DSD256), 4.2Vrms Balanced output, VCXO Reference Clock (Femto Clock) for minimal jitter, Wi-Fi connectivity, support for the AK Connect app, USB DAC function, DLNA networking support, OTA software updates, digital audio output via USB, apt X HD Bluetooth, and support for high-resolution music streaming services including TIDAL, MOOV and Groovers+ (support for streaming services varies by country).

New firmware will debut with the SP1000M that adds Android APK support, allowing users to install additional music streaming services to their player by simply copying and installing the corresponding APK file for the music service they wish to add.

Do we know the actual release date?

 

[aaf evo]

Do we know the actual release date?

Ships October 15th

 

[szore]

Ships October 15th

Thank you!

 

[oldmate]

or get a hobby you can afford...

If you can't afford to play the game, collect stamps.

I hope your day is as pleasant as your personality!

 

[Ryokan]

For me it's not a hobby, more a necessity

 

[tunes]

Do we know the actual release date?

Does if have optical Toslink out for use as a music server for an external DAC at home?

 

[SCBob]

Does if have optical Toslink out for use as a music server for an external DAC at home?

I've read the specs carefully and no optical out is listed, unlike the larger SP1000 which does have it.

 

[szore]

I hope your day is as pleasant as your personality!

I was drunk when I wrote that, my apologies...