Astell&Kern (A&K) have announced that it will be debut its new flagship digital audio player, the A&Ultima SP4000, at High End Munich in Germany on May 15. The iRiver subsidiary also announced it will release two new in-ear monitors (IEM) in Q3 2025.
In a press release published on Thursday, A&K said the A&Ultima SP4000 will be the first digital audio player in the lineup to have full Android support. This means users will be able to download any app from Google Play Store, including Spotify, Soundcloud Pandora, and experience lossless playback while streaming their favorite music.
Under the hood, the SP4000 has a new Octa audio circuit architecture that pairs the AK4191 processor with only one AK4499EX analog DAC instead of two in order to reduce noise when delivering digital signals; carries a new LDO regulator that reduces noise by up to 97% compared to its predecessors, including the A&Ultima SP3000 and SP3000M; and employs A&K’s second-gen digital audio remaster (DAR) technology to deliver more natural and refined sound to the user. And, for the first time ever, the SP4000 has a 99.9% pure copper Shield Can that is precision-engineered to block out various types of noise and electromagnetic interference, leaving the audio quality intact.
As for the new IEMs, A&K collaborated with 64 Audio to develop the 10-driver Universal Fit In-Ear Monitor. This headset houses an advanced isobaric cone-to-magnet driver configuration that helps deliver high sound fidelity. Then there’s its in-house IEM, Luna, which has a full range single transducer unipolar micro planar magnetic driver that delivers a frequency response of 20Hz to 30KHz.
High End Munich attendees will be able to demo the SP4000 and the new IEMs from May 15 through May 18. Pricing information for the devices has not been disclosed, but A&K will share it closer to the release date.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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