Astell&Kern SP2000T

Endlessly revealing, utterly musical sound ; Extensive specification ; Nicely made, finished and presented

Punishingly expensive ; Big and heavy by ‘portable’ standards ; Battery life is nothing special

Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, it’s relatively bulky and heavy. But as far as unadulterated audio excitement goes, you get what you pay for (and subsequently carry around)

Deeply impressive across-the-board sound ; Lavishly specified ; Undeniable pride of ownership

Large and heavy by prevailing ‘portable’ standards ; Easily considered expensive

Packaging, design, and presentation are first-rate. ; Setup is easy and fast. ; The HD screen is bright and color accurate. ; The internal amp(s) can drive any headphones. ; The sound is sublime listening to the solid-state amps, and for many audio...

A more complete getting started manual. The quick start card is silver ink on black paper. It’s hard for my tired eyes to read. You can download a manual from Astell&Kern, which is very complete and easy to read.

Now comes the hard part. At $2499.00 the SP2000T is not an impulse buy, but that’s true of any high-end component.

Mellow and rich sound with lots of dynamics. Can power almost anything! Superior build quality and great user-friendliness.

Apps must be installed with APK files due to Astell & Kern's own version of the Android platform. Pre-installed versions of Tidal and Qobuz do not have full functionality.

I’m not that suggesting that you should spend upwards of 2.000 euros on a music player. But I’ve really enjoyed my time with Astell & Kern’s A&ultimae SP2000T, there’s no doubt why players like these exist.