Irvine, CA -- 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, a Parametric EQ (PEQ), 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.