When it comes to high-end audio I have a problem: I love high-spec hardware, but sadly don't have the budget to support a high-end hi-fi habit. So, products such as the Astell&Kern ACRO CA1000T desktop headphone amp are usually well beyond my means.
However, right now there's a deal on that particular amp that makes it much more affordable – over a thousand quid more affordable, in fact.
The C1000T is usually £2,299, but right now it's down a whopping 56% to £999.
Astell&Kern has done this before. It's previously offered similar discounts around Black Friday on the CA1000T's predecessor, the CA1000. But, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time the CA1000T has been given the same treatment.
Astell & Kern CA1000T headphone amplifier: key features
The CA1000T is a headphone amp and digital music player, and was the first product to use ESS ES9039MPRO Dual-DACs.
It supports Hi-Res Audio, including native DSD512 and 32bit/768 kHz. It also has Astell&Kern's Triple Amp System with dual Triode KORG Nutube tubes to fine-tune the sound to suit your personal preferences. And, it has 3.5mm, 6.35mm unbalanced, and 2.5mm 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs to handle a wide variety of over- and in-ears. For high impedance headphones, it offers 4-step gain levels with a maximum 15Vrms output.
That triple-amp setup is the fascinating bit, for me anyway. It combines solid state and tube amplification enabling you to choose between the two modes or mix them together. If you like the warmth of tubes as well as the precision of solid state Op-amps then you can have a lot of fun experimenting with that.
Although the CA1000T is made for desktop use you can also take it out and about as a portable player, although you'll need a pretty hefty handbag or very large pockets.
It has 256GB of on-board storage (expandable via SD card), it's good for around 11 hours of playback, and it features A&K's Crossfeed system which, according to the firm, helps reduce ear fatigue during those long prog rock listening sessions.
