Astell & Kern SP1000M
The SP1000M delivers crisp transparency, tight, punchy bass and richly textured vocals from a genuinely pocket-friendly flagship chassis. What Hi-Fi? highlights its effortless command across genres, while its dual-DAC design, balanced output and DSD256 support make this a formidable portable source for listeners chasing vivid detail, dynamics and musical grip.
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Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
91/100
Build Quality
90/100
Features Usability
91/100
Value for Money
85/100
Pros
Exceptionally clean, transparent and detailed presentation with natural, textured vocals.
Tight, weighty bass and confident dynamics retain pace and control across acoustic, classical, rock and dance music.
Compact, lighter aluminum build is well made and more pocket-friendly than the original SP1000.
Cons
Premium price remains a significant barrier.
Physical controls and touchscreen navigation can be fiddly, with occasional sluggish response.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 91/100
Reviews describe an unusually clean, transparent and highly controlled presentation, with strong detail, natural vocals and convincing scale across genres. It combines tight, weighty bass and forceful dynamics with a notably dark background, though one comparison finds the larger SP1000 more holographic and precise in image separation.
Transparency Resolution
95/100
What Hi-Fi praises crisp transparency and says the SP1000M can make similarly priced players sound dull or muffled. PortaFi also hears strong resolution, texture, control and plentiful detail, with clearly drawn musical elements.
Tonal Balance Musicality
93/100
What Hi-Fi finds instruments, loops and vocals natural, textured and complete while remaining coherent as a whole. PortaFi identifies a recognizable midrange coloration, but regards it as musical and emotionally engaging rather than a flaw.
Dynamics
95/100
The SP1000M is repeatedly described as punchy, effortless and fully in command, from delicate classical passages to aggressive musical climaxes. What Hi-Fi highlights its expansive string dynamics, while PortaFi calls the low frequencies richly sculpted, driving and dynamic.
Noise Floor
89/100
PortaFi specifically praises a very dark background that lets notes emerge with striking relief. The supplied reviews do not report hiss or hum, but they offer limited evidence with extremely sensitive earphones.
Headphone Compatibility
84/100
Its low stated output impedance and separate balanced and single-ended outputs suggest sensible flexibility for portable headphones and earphones. However, the reviews provide little direct pairing evidence across demanding full-size headphones, planars or sensitive IEMs.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
90/100
PortaFi speaks very positively about the design and assembly quality. The compact aluminum-bodied player is positioned as a smaller, lighter version of the flagship design, although the reviews say little about long-term durability or control wear.
Features Usability
91/100
This is a full portable player rather than a bare headphone amplifier, with dual DACs, 128GB of onboard storage, microSD expansion, a touchscreen, Wi-Fi, USB-C and broad PCM, DSD and MQA support. Both 3.5mm single-ended and 2.5mm balanced headphone outputs add useful flexibility, though the supplied reviews offer little detail on interface speed or everyday software polish.
Value for Money
85/100
PortaFi identifies an asking price of roughly $2,400, placing the SP1000M firmly in the premium portable-player market. None of the supplied reviews directly assess whether its performance and facilities justify that price against rivals.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
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Specifications
- Model
- SP1000M
- Body Color
- Lapis Blue / Onyx Black
- Body Material
- Aluminum
- Display
- 4.1inch (720 x 1,280) Touchscreen
- Supported Audio Formats
- WAV, FLAC, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, AAC, ALAC, AIFF, DFF, DSF, MQA
- Sample rate
- PCM : 8kHz ~ 384kHz (8/16/24/32bits per Sample) / DSD Native: DSD64(1bit 2.8MHz), Stereo / DSD128(1bit 5.6MHz), Stereo / DSD256(1bit 11.2MHz), Stereo
- Output Level
- Unbalance 2.1Vrms / Balance 4.2Vrms (Condition No Load)
- CPU
- Octa-Core
- DAC
- AKM AK4497EQ x2 (Dual DAC)
- Decoding
- Support up to 32bit / 384kHz Bit to Bit Decoding
- Input
- USB Type-C (3.0) input (data transfer (PC & MAC)) / Connection Mode : MTP (Media Device)
- Outputs
- PHONES (3.5mm) / Balanced Out (2.5mm, only 4-pole supported)
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz)
- Dimensions
- 2.67 ”(67.9 mm) [W] x 4.60 ”(117 mm) [H] x 0.66 ”(16.9 mm) [D]
- Weight
- 7.16 oz (203 g)
- Feature Enhancements
- Firmware upgrades supported (OTA)
- Frequency Response
- ±0.062dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Unbalance / ±0.061dB (Condition: 20Hz~20kHz) Balance ±0.68dB (Condition: 10Hz~70kHz) Unbalance / ±0.67dB (Condition: 10Hz~70kHz) Balance
- Signal to Noise Ratio
- 120dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 123dB @ 1kHz, Balance
- Crosstalk
- 138dB @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 144dB @ 1kHz, Balance
- THD+N
- 0.0007% @ 1kHz, Unbalance / 0.0006% @ 1kHz, Balance
- IMD SMPTE
- 0.0004% 800Hz 10kHz(4:1) Unbalance & Balance
- Output Impedance
- Balanced out 2.5mm (1ohm) / PHONES 3.5mm (2ohm)
- Clock Jitter
- 25ps(Typ)
- Reference Clock Jitter
- 200 Femto Seconds
- Capacity
- 3,300mAh 3.7V Li-ion Battery
- Continuous Playback Time
- Up to 10 hours (Standard - MUSIC: FLAC, 16-bit/44kHz, Volume 75, LCD Off)
- Charge Time
- About 3 hours (Standard - 9V/1.67A Fast charging)
- Built-in Memory
- 128GB [NAND]
- External MemorymicroSD (Max. 1TB) x1
- microSD (Max. 1TB) x1
- Supported OS
- Windows 7,8,10 (32/64bit), MAC OS X 10.7 and up
- Specification
- - Audio was NOT muted during the measurement. - The image/specification may be changed without notice to improve product performance and quality.
Manufacturer's Description — Astell & Kern
Ultra Portable & Ultra Performance, A&ultima SP1000M
Astell&Kern constantly strives to master the philosophy of delivering original sound.
So far, we believe that the A&ultima SP1000 is the optimal product that produces the
highest-quality audio.
We were not sure whether it was possible to come up with a product that is different from the
SP1000 while delivering the same sound quality,
but we decided to take up the challenge so that more people could experience our products’
fidelity.
There were many trials and tribulations in making the SP1000, our best product, smaller.
We were determined to not compromise sound quality in the process, and we ultimately developed
the second A&ultima product, the SP1000M.
The lightweight and portability of the SP1000M enables the user to enjoy original sound playback
anytime and anywhere.
The A&ultima SP1000M achieves greater portability, without sacrificing the level of performance
found in the original SP1000.
- Octa-Core CPU for Next-Level Performance
- AK4497EQ Dual DAC for Highest Sound Quality
- 4.1 Inch HD Display
- Highest Quality Audio of SP1000
- Portable and Durable Aluminum Body
- DNLA-Based AK Connect App
- Open APP Service
SP1000M
The "M" in SP1000M does not stand for a specific word,
but rather encompasses directions that the product aims to pursue.
- MiniSmaller than the SP1000
- MobilityMore portable.
- MaximumProduces the highest-quality audio.
- ManiaFor users who have a mania for original sound.
- MatePerfect anytime and anywhere.
- MomentListeners are in the present with music.
Using Open APP Service
The Open APP Service enables the user to install specific APK music streaming apps to the
device.
Copy the desired APK into the Open Service folder of the product and install the relevant
App in the Menu-Service of the product.
Open APP
Service
Advanced User Interface
While the A&ultima SP1000M has the same intuitive menu composition as its predecessor, the
SP1000,
its user interface has been improved with the optional Virtual Back Key, which enables users to
control the device more easily and conveniently.
Use the Floating feature to place the Virtual Back Key at a desired location or disable it by simply
dragging it to the middle
of the screen or turning it off from the Settings menu.
Great Performance for the Ultimate Experience
The A&ultima SP1000M is equipped with an octa-core CPU which allows the player to produce the exact musical detail present in the original recording without distortion and provides a quick, lag-free operation. The A&ultima SP1000M features faster booting times, speedy file transfers, lag-free processing and a new intuitive user interface for the ultimate player experience.
Ultimate Sound Quality
The latest AK4497EQ dual-DAC design and the upgraded CPU in the A&ultima SP1000M allows for
accurate
playback of native 32bit/384kHz audio with no compromise on sound quality. The music is played
back,
bit-for-bit, just as the artist and engineer intended for it to be heard.
The A&ultima SP1000M also supports native bit-to-bit DSD playback up to 11.2MHz for the best
sound possible.
32-bit bit-to-bit Playback by the SP1000M
32-bit Playback by Other Products
Next generation USB Type-C support allows file transfer speeds up to 10Gbps and supports both data transfer and charging from the same cable. USB 3.0 protocol transfers data twice as fast when compared to other Astell&Kern players. Charging with a fast charger (at 9V/1.67A) takes only two hours and allows up to 12 hours of continuous playback.
- The maximum 10-hour continuous play is based on 16-bit/44 kHz, FLAC file format, screen off, 75 of volume playback.
- Fast charger (9V/1.67A) and general Charger (5V/2A) are not included in the package.
DESIGN
Inspiration for the design of the SP1000M comes from Iirregularly patterned
natural stones combined with Lapis Lazuli, one of the oldest of all gems,
createsto create the SP1000M's color - Lapis Blue.
Lapis Lazuli, whose history stretches back to 5,000 BC, was a precious gem used
in Mesopotamia and Egypt during ancient times.
The SP1000M's vivid blue represents youth, enthusiasm and power. The darker blue
highlights appear at different angles to add elegance to the A&ultima product.
The dakota leather used in the SP1000M bundle leather case is a premium vegetable leather made from an Italian tanner named 'Ra Perla Azura'.
It's a manufacture of Italian and French origin.
'La Perla Azura' was founded in 1967 and has a long history over 50 years.
It is located in 'Santa Croce sull´Arno' which is only high-end leather
production district in Italy.
The SP1000M Onyx Black case uses Beta leather from NUOVA ALBORA. Beta leather is
a high quality leather which contains a large amount of oil as a whole, strong
resiliency of scratches, and can sense changes with the passage of time.
Verified Dealers
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- Addicted to Audio — online and in-store — Epping, Victoria, Australia (website)
- Advanced MP3 Players — online and in-store — Musselburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (website)
- ALAIN CHOUKROUN — online and in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
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- Area Hifi — online and in-store — L'Eixample, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain (website)
- Audio 46 — online and in-store — New York, New York, United States (website)
- Audio Advice — online and in-store — Raleigh, North Carolina, United States (website)
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