Astell & Kern SP3000T review: a tube amp in your pocket

Do you want to perceive the best-sounding portable euphony subordinate successful creation? Something that plays your favourite songs amended than you’ve ever heard them? Do you person an other $3,000, different mates expansive worthy of headphones, and a precocious tolerance for bulky hardware and laggy software? If you said yes to each of the above, past Astell & Kern’s flagship integer audio subordinate — the SP3000T — is astir to make your sonic dreams travel true. 

Analog stalwarts constitute emotion letters to the warm, natural, lifelike sound of the conduit amp; proponents of solid-state integer amplifiers praise their precision and religious reproduction of the root material. But why choose? Alongside a peerless integer op amp, the SP3000T has an honest-to-goodness conduit amp, complete pinch a brace of vintage Raytheon JAN6418 vacuum tubes. Tube amps are mostly only recovered successful overmuch larger location hi-fi equipment, truthful integrating them into thing that (barely) fits successful your pouch is simply a superior feat of engineering. And the SP3000T lets you take betwixt the integer amp, the tubes, aliases a hybrid mode pinch 5 different levels of crossover. The consequence is perfectly astonishing sound.

The SP3000T is simply a ceramic of a device, pinch the near and correct edges sticking retired a spot successful shallow pyramids. It’s 3.33 inches wide, 5.57 inches tall, and 0.7 inches deep, and it weighs much than a lb — 17 ounces, aliases 18.5 ounces if you usage the yellowish calf leather lawsuit that comes pinch it. And you’ll want to, because those silver-plated alloy edges and corners are uncomfortably sharp. I would genuinely beryllium acrophobic of it tearing done a pouch without the case. Even pinch the case, it’s awkward, and if you’re wearing sweatpants, you’d amended person the drawstring tied. Fortunately, the lawsuit looks bully and makes it comfortable to hold, though it besides obscures the 4 broadside buttons, rendering them almost useless. It has flimsy indents to show wherever they are, but they’re not astir chopped capable to find by feel. The truth that it’s leather whitethorn besides make this a nonstarter for vegans.

The 5.5-inch, 1080p touchscreen is agleam capable to spot connected a sunny time and crisp capable for medium creation to look good. On the near broadside of the instrumentality are 4 mini buttons for play / pause, way forward, way back, and amp selection. On the correct broadside is simply a chunky measurement knob pinch LED underglow that changes colour depending connected the euphony bitrate. Up top, it has a modular 3.5mm unbalanced audio jack, 3.5mm optical output, and 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced outputs, positive the powerfulness button. On the bottom, there’s a USB-C larboard and a microSD paper slot. The backmost features a solid model that reveals the conduit amps, lit by a reddish LED erstwhile they’re active. Because, I mean, if you’ve sewage it, flaunt it. The SP3000T moreover has a brace of (virtual) VU meters you tin conjure pinch a tap, giving it moreover much of that vintage hi-fi aesthetic. It’s a bully touch.

The SP3000T runs connected an eight-core Snapdragon 6125 processor, 8GB of DDR4 memory, and 256GB of built-in storage. You tin adhd up to 1.5TB via the microSD paper slot. It besides has dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0, which supports HD codecs for illustration AptX HD, LDAC, and LHDC. It useful pinch Roon ARC — if you person to ask, don’t interest astir it — arsenic good arsenic immoderate casting protocols are built into its streaming apps. It tin moreover beryllium utilized arsenic a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for your machine erstwhile connected via USB-C.

Astell & Kern has its ain music-focused operating strategy based connected Android 10, which came retired successful 2019. And if you’re expecting a $3,000 euphony subordinate to tally astatine slightest arsenic smoothly arsenic a $400 Android phone, hole to beryllium disappointed. It stutters beautiful regularly erstwhile scrolling done lists, it often drops keystrokes erstwhile you’re typing, and the interface is unintuitive and buggy. Settings return excessively galore swipes and taps to get to, and immoderate are plain broken: nether Downloads, you tin take “default folder” aliases “selected folder,” but there’s nary measurement to really prime a folder. When I tried to log successful to my Qobuz relationship utilizing Google, the full strategy benignant of freaked retired because it sensed that I was utilizing an Android operating system, but location isn’t a measurement to log successful to your Google relationship successful the OS. Now I person an “Account action required” connection successful my notification tray that I can’t get free of. 

You won’t person entree to Google’s apps aliases the Play Store, either, though you tin download a constricted action of streaming apps for illustration Spotify, Amazon Music, and Tidal done Astell & Kern’s onboard portal (and moreover then, they aren’t ever up to date). If you’re hoping to adhd your favourite podcast aliases news app, you astir apt won’t spot it there, though you whitethorn beryllium capable to sideload it. You astir apt shouldn’t, though; the little vulnerability this outdated OS has to the extracurricular world, the better.

The different large rumor is artillery life. Astell & Kern claims it tin get up to 10 hours nether definite conditions successful op-only mode, but successful astir cases, you’re going to want to astatine slightest beryllium successful hybrid mode. I did 2 artillery run-down tests successful hybrid mode, pinch 2 different sets of headphones, and sewage astir 4.5 hours each time. That isn’t capable to past a afloat coast-to-coast formation crossed the US without utilizing supplemental power.

All of that adds up to make it consciousness little portable than it ought to be. Yes, you can return it connected the go, but not ace comfortably, and possibly not for arsenic agelong arsenic you’d like. It’s portable but not needfully made for your pocket.

But nobody’s buying this point for its operating strategy aliases because their iPod kicked the bucket. They’re buying it for the sound, and the sound is sublime. The SP3000T features wholly abstracted systems for processing integer and analog signals, pinch 2 of Astell & Kern’s flagship DACs for each, which allows the correct and near channels to beryllium processed independently without interference. That efficaciously eliminates immoderate imaginable sound betwixt the two, which makes the subordinate silent successful betwixt the philharmonic notes you hear. Each strategy is successful its ain small silo. And because conduit amps are delicate solid bulbs, each is housed successful respective layers of silicone to protect them from daze and dampen vibration. It seems to person worked because I didn’t announcement immoderate distortion while I was making the questionable prime of skateboarding astir a parking batch pinch it successful my pocket.

To admit the capabilities of a high-end integer audio subordinate (DAP) for illustration this, you request high-quality euphony sources arsenic good arsenic top-notch headphones. I utilized the SP3000T pinch some the Grado GS3000x over-ear headphones ($2,000) and the Ultimate Ears Premier civilization in-ear monitors ($3,000), some of which I’ve utilized for testing different audio devices and some of which sound incredible. I listened to a operation of downloaded FLAC, PCM, and DSD files, positive HD and Ultra HD euphony streamed aliases downloaded from Qobuz and Amazon Music. 

For a listening strategy arsenic costly arsenic either of those setups, you would expect thing short of magnificent, and the SP3000T doesn’t disappoint. Music comes crossed full, detailed, lively, and incredibly nuanced. If you’re coming from listening connected your telephone — moreover pinch bully headphones — you’re going to perceive things successful your favourite songs that you’ve astir apt ne'er noticed before. The scrape of a guitar pick, the subtle activity astatine the extremity of a sung line, astir undetectable harmonics sparkling through. A really well-mastered medium will travel crossed for illustration it sounded successful the studio. In each my years of testing audio devices, I’ve ne'er had thing carrier pinch maine rather for illustration this (with the imaginable objection being the 15 minutes I spent listening to the $55,000 Sennheiser Orpheus headphones).

The differences betwixt the integer and conduit amps are striking. The integer amp is remarkably precise, pinch item astatine the forefront. It’s arsenic cleanable arsenic reproduction gets. In afloat conduit mode, what you suffer successful precision (and it isn’t much), you summation successful liveliness. It feels for illustration it moves much air, truthful bass, snares, and vocal plosives person much presence, and it has an inviting, lukewarm sound. The hybrid mode, however, is the champion of some worlds. You get integer accuracy joined pinch that vintage conduit sound, and it carries you away. The soundstage is wide and three-dimensional, and the emotion of the euphony really hits you. 

For classical music, I thin to for illustration digital, but for classical stone for illustration Fleetwood Mac, and particularly for unrecorded performances, I spell afloat conduit amp. Listening to Jimi Hendrix unrecorded successful conduit mode pinch the Grado headphones is arsenic adjacent arsenic I’ll ever get to proceeding what it was for illustration to beryllium successful the assemblage for 1 of his shows. That said, I kept it successful hybrid mode astir of the clip because everything conscionable sounds truthful bully successful it.

There are different ways to customize the sound, too. There’s an EQ (which I hardly touched) and a proprietary Digital Audio Remaster action that efficaciously upscales lower-resolution euphony into either a PCM record up to 384kHz aliases a DSD up to 12.2MHz. That makes older recordings travel to life without introducing immoderate integer weirdness by analyzing and virtually expanding the sample rate. It’s amazingly seamless. There are besides six different options for DAC filters, which alteration the magnitude of roll-off and echo, and 3 different existent levels for the vacuum tubes. Half the nosy is tinkering pinch these settings arsenic you’re listening to find the champion operation for a fixed track, album, aliases genre.

One of the astir jaw-dropping experiences was listening to Lemonade connected the Grado GS3000x pinch the SP3000T turned to Hybrid 3 and the integer remaster turning it to a DSD. It sounded for illustration Beyoncé was opinionated conscionable a fewer feet away, softly singing straight astatine maine while different singers whispered successful my ears. It gave maine chills. This setup brings retired the champion successful thing you propulsion astatine it: Jeff Buckley singing “Hallelujah,” Prince’s “Purple Rain” soundtrack, Yo-Yo Ma’s cello suites, Miles Davis, A Tribe Called Quest, Radiohead, Lizzo, Jazmine Sullivan, Led Zeppelin, beautiful overmuch immoderate Björk aliases Sigur Rós, the database goes on. These artists soar complete you and engulf you successful the music. Using the UE Premier in-ear monitors done the balanced audio jack sounds conscionable arsenic good, pinch moreover much precision, and erstwhile I was connected a succession of 4 five-hour flights successful a week, I was capable to cheque retired and spell to a different sonic scenery whenever I wanted.

I besides tested the SP3000T against the FiiO M11S, a tin but overmuch much affordable DAP that supports lossless audio and comes successful astir $500. Of course, euphony sounds awesome connected the FiiO subordinate erstwhile listening pinch those Grado and Ultimate Ear headphones. It’s leagues amended than erstwhile plugging those headphones into my telephone aliases machine output. But euphony doesn’t sound astir arsenic lively arsenic it does pinch the Astell & Kern SP3000T. The FiiO’s OP amp conscionable doesn’t person rather the aforesaid item aliases clarity, and there’s nary conduit amp, truthful it doesn’t person that lively, holographic soundstage. (Of course, it’s $2,500 cheaper. It’s a awesome entry-level hi-fi device, but it really can’t spell toe-to-toe pinch the SP3000T.)

Ultimately (and obviously), the SP3000T is for audiophiles who are comfortable spending a hefty magnitude of money for the incomparable acquisition of having a hybrid integer / conduit amp successful their pocket. It brings best-in-class sound that’s much customizable than immoderate subordinate retired there. The magic is successful the lively, transportive conduit amps, the stunning precision of the integer amps, and the perfectly awesome hybrid modes that bring them together. Phonic purists astir apt don’t attraction each that overmuch astir my UI gripes, the archaic operating system, aliases moreover that it’s not arsenic portable arsenic 1 would hope. The sound is simply spectacular, it useful flawlessly arsenic a USB DAC, and if you person slayer headphones, each of those small annoyances don’t magnitude to much. It’s liable to unfastened up your euphony successful ways you’ve ne'er experienced. It’s enchanting. 

I recovered myself wanting to beryllium my friends down, instrumentality the Grados connected their heads, and put connected their favourite songs — past crank up the voltage connected the tubes, conscionable truthful I could spot the looks connected their faces arsenic they sewage swept away.