Astell&Kern's new hi-res audio player is smaller and lighter, but no less incredible

Astell&Kern make some sensational hi-fi hardware, from Hi-Res Audio players to DACs and earbuds. Now it has taken its SP3000 player and given it a massive upgrade, while also making it smaller and lighter.

That's a good thing, as A&K's audio players can be pretty hefty.

The Astell&Kern SP3000M may be small, but it promises to deliver big performance. That's thanks to a balanced and unbalanced dual-audio circuit design that removes lag and delay.

The player has the same HEXA audio circuit as the SP3000, with four flagship AK4499EX DACs and two separate AK4191EQ chips that handle digital signals.

Astell & Kern SP3000M: key features

The SP3000M is designed to process audio differently from many players. Most process digital and analogue signals together in their DAC, but the HEXA circuit splits the signal, reducing digital signal noise via the AK4191EQ while handing the analogue transmission over to the AK4499EX DAC.

According to the manufacturer, that means better audio without introducing lag.

As with the SP3000, the SP3000M delivers a signal to noise ratio of 130dB. There's an internal shield can to prevent electromagnetic interference, and Astell&Kern has applied high purity silver to its existing can to deliver better signal separation.

This is the latest A&K device to feature its TERATON ALPHA system, which combines noise removal, efficient power management and "unwavering amplification". It's powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 6125, the same processor as the SP3000, and there is 8GB of DDR memory.

Astell&Kern's high-end players aren't exactly cheap, but the SP3000M is priced reasonably attractively – it's £2,299 compared to £3,199 for the SP3000T Copper Edition.

That's in the UK; in the US the SP3000M will be $2,300 and in Europe it's €2,599.

The SP3000M is available now from Astell&Kern directly and from Selfridges.