The new Astell&Kern A&ultima SP2000T has picked up some nice features from flagship SP2000T, plus new stuff.
You can choose from three amplifier options on the Astell&Kern A&ultima SP2000T, including one based on tubes. This Triple Amp system offers the choice of tube amp, op-amp and hybrid. In the latter case, both tubes and op-amp are used together. Which mode you choose is – of course – dependent on taste and type of music you listen to.
All modes are usable in combination with the 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm and 4.4 mm outputs provided on the unit. Ahead of the power amplifier stage you will find a quad-DAC based on four ESS ES9068AS DAC chips. The whole thing supports MQA 8x rendering. Also new is Replay Gain which ensures an equal average volume of tracks, no rock-hard surprises while listening.
October
The Astell&Kern A&ultima SP2000T will be available from October this year; the price is still unknown and further details are lacking as of yet. Whereby – in terms of price – you should keep in mind that the current top model of the brand costs $3499.