◼ Music player
◼ £3799
“Tonally things are nicely judged, and it is a pleasant surprise just how authoritative and muscular it sounds”
The pile of What Hi-Fi? Awards Astell & Kern has won since its foundation in 2013 is enough to prove the company’s ability. A&K has stuck to the ‘reassuringly expensive’ path that has served it well. Even its current entry-level offering, the excellent A&norma SR35, which retails for £799, falls into the premium category by most judgements.
Good as the company’s players have been, we have always wondered what would happen if its engineers were tasked with producing a true cost-no-object offering. The arrival of the Astell & Kern A&ultima SP3000 answers that question.
