Astell & Kern Shows Off Spanking New Luxury Audio Awesomeness in the SP1000 Hi-Res Player

By Ryan Waniata May 24, 2017

The luxury audio specialists at Astell & Kern unveiled the company’s all-new line of hi-res portable audio players, the A&ultima line this week. And while the name may look strange on the page, the debut player, the SP1000, is kicking off the new series in serious style.

Like all of Astell & Kern’s hi-res players, the SP1000 touts impressive specs to go along with its stylish new design, meant to look like a finely cut jewel. The player has been outfitted with upgraded AK4497EQ DAC (digital-to-analog converter) chips, including one for each of the individual left and right channels for supreme stereo separation. But there’s plenty more where that came from.

The SP1000 also sports a redesigned user interface that aims to put music playback front and center, as well as an Octa-Core CPU, which AK claims will not only allow for swift boot-up speeds, but also near lag-free playback for massive hi-res tracks at up to 32bit/384kHz (if you can ever find anything at that resolution, that is). The player also offers native playback of DSD files up to 11.2MHz.

Astell & Kern SP1000/Facebook Image used with permission by copyright holder

For connection to your computer, the SP1000 includes a USB 3.0 port for brisk data transfer that’s twice as fast as previous AK players, according to the company, and also boasts 256GB of internal memory, as well as support for up to 512GB of expansion storage with a microSD card. The SP1000 also features fast charging (two hours from empty), and an impressive 12 hours of playback time per charge.

As for physical design, the player features a bezel-less, five-inch LCD screen to maximize space, and a new multi-function wheel on the side to control both volume and power. The SP1000 will launch in both stainless steel (a cool $3,500) and luscious copper (pricing not yet disclosed). Even at the low end, that’s near the top of AK’s portable lineup, but the technology powering the new SP1000 should hopefully make it worth the investment for the most discerning listeners with deep pockets.

Pre-orders for the SP1000 opened May 18, and the player is slated for full release in July. More A&ultimate players will be announced in the future.

A version of this post was published on our “brother site” Digital Trends.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Waniata is an audio engineer, musician, composer, and all-around lover of all things tech, audio, and cinema. Hailing…

Culture

Ranked: The 11 best Bill Murray movies ever

He's starred in a lot of films, but if you're a fan, you must see these Murray movies

Bill Murray from Lost in Translation

A name that is and should be widely recognized in comedy, Bill Murray has been around to provide laughs for decades. Bringing his own unique qualities to the screen, Murray has carved for himself a niche based on his personality that simply cannot be copied. Between his masterful physical comedy to his perfectly timed and hysterical line deliveries, Bill is truly a one-of-a-kind talent. From his many roles over the years, the films he stars in are either because a certain director or repeat collaborator has a great bond with him, or simply because he is able to steal the spotlight no matter the assignment. Due to this, he has been given opportunities to play cameos in later films such as Dumb and Dumber To, Get Smart, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and a cameo as himself in Zombieland, which has got to be his best cameo.
All the way from wacky and zany to introspectively deep, Bill Murray portrays a lifetime of emotions in our list of films today. If you watch him closely enough, his performative nuances will make you laugh, cry, and think about what it truly means to be an actor. Murray is loved as a human being worldwide (for the most part), who has reportedly shown his face at random bars and parties just for a kick, becoming the owner of four minor league baseball teams, spontaneously studying philosophy and history in Paris, and starting his own golf apparel line. These and many other reasons are why we are here today to celebrate his accomplishments on screen, so sit back and scroll through the 10 best Bill Murray movies ever.

11. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Culture

The 9 best golf movies of all time – from Caddyshack to The Legend of Bagger Vance

Do you love the game? Then get inspired to get back out there by watching these movies

Happy Gilmore

When it comes to sports movies, some of our favorite films have always been golf adjacent. There's just something about this slow-paced and overwhelmingly frustrating game that we can't get enough of. So now that spring has arrived, it feels like the perfect time to go back and rewatch some of the best golf movies of all time.
Whether you're a seasoned pro or a complete amateur, these great golf films have a little something for everyone. Whether you're looking to experience the drama of the game through a comedy or a biographical spotlight, we've got you covered.

Tommy's Honour (2017)

Culture

The 11 best Clint Eastwood movies (acted in and directed), ranked

Here's a good place to start if you want see Eastwood's best of the best

Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge

If one were to mention the greats from classic Hollywood cinema (especially Western movies), Clint Eastwood’s name would be one of the first to come up. A highly successful actor, producer, and director, Eastwood has developed his own unique style of film that follows a narrative format with a monumental ending every time.
Before his illustrious cinema career, Eastwood worked as a lumberjack, a firefighter, a swimming instructor, and a bouncer to get by. Kicking off his film career in 1955 as a few unnamed extras, Clint has since spent the following over 65 years committing his life to the practice of film and acting. As a director, and unlike David Fincher and his meticulous directing, Eastwood has been known to get what he wants in one take without storyboarding, rehearsing, or changing the script at all. Considering some of the great directorial works he has produced, this is impressive beyond belief but not exactly unexpected from a character like Clint.
Since there are so many Eastwood features to pick from (72 acting credits on IMDB), this list is about the films he has directed and acted in. This means that we will, unfortunately, have to omit some of his greatest performances to date (Dirty Harry, A Fistful of Dollars, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Escape from Alcatraz, Hang ‘Em High, etc.), despite them being as great as they are.