Astell&Kern A&Ultima SP4000 | Digital Audio Player

It Really Does Make A Difference!

A part of me balked at spending this much on a DAP - I was worried it would sound the same as my previous A&K products. I was wrong. I could instantly hear the difference. In the decade I’ve been spending my disposable income on audiophile stuff, I’ve never so quickly heard an improvement in quality. And it can drive some powerful headphones too (within reason)!

Amazing build and sound

This unit definitely holds up to its hype. Sounds quality is 2nd to none and within minutes you see and feel the quality of the build and workmanship. Loving it.

Borders on Perfection

Normally a device this well-engineered has a more-serious and more-professional use than accompanying me to the coffee shop for a morning of happy listening. You know, like measuring the fit of rocket components, or calibrating a Lasik machine. The SP4000 goes way beyond what abilities I may have to offer meaningful criticism and enters into the realm of "functionally perfect" and "I love it more than it makes sense to love something this heavy". It's true that the battery life is not going to set records. With the screen on, it decrements the battery 1% about every four minutes. Do I care? No - I take a charger and sit near an outlet. Playing music via Roon Arc through my Campfire Audio Astrolith IEM, it sounds so amazing that, if battery life ever becomes a problem for me, I might just buy a second A&Ultima SP4K and keep it in the bag as a spare. And if that sounds like $4200 worth of hyperbole, check back with me in a year. Although a power pack might be the better move. If you're reading reviews about this device and trying hard to decide if it's for you, I'm going to guess that it's the price tag that's providing most of the speed bumps. That makes sense, and I had to think for a minute before hitting that "buy" button. But like a lot of beautiful and wonderful things that are made by small companies who charge more because they pay a living wage and they don't produce enough to achieve any economies of scale, if you can swing it, you're typically not unhappy you did. Have you ever seen somebody criticize a Leica camera for anything but its cost? Or swear to you that they wish they HADN'T bought that Rolex, since it only tells time? No. Me either. The SP4000 is definitely in the Leica and Rolex class. I'm very, very happy indeed that I made the move. Listening to Tidal on an iPhone through Apple EarPods is now not something I can ever see myself doing again. A luxury once tasted, as is said, becomes a necessity. And the SP4K is certainly that.