“More drivers than a Formula 1 grid”: A&K makes Christmas come early for audiophiles with its new high-end audio player featuring four built-in vacuum tubes, plus new 9-driver “Tribrid” IEMs to pair with

Astell & Kern Unveils New Portable Hi-Res Audio Player and Headphones
The SP4000T audio player has four vacuum tubes to
Clarus in-ear monitors feature nine “Tribrid” design drivers

Astell & Kern just revealed its next two big releases, and while we’re so far short on practical details like pricing and availability, as well as a few key details and specs, we’re very interested in what has been teased so far.

The two products are the A&K SP4000T, a high-end audio player with intriguing amplification, and the Clarus, which are new in-ear monitors with more drivers than a Formula 1 grille. Let’s take a look at both.

Clarus in-ear headphones

(Image credit: Astell&Kern)

The Astell & Kern Clarus are the brand’s latest wired IEMs, following the Luna unveiled just under a year ago, as the fourth pair of buds in this product line.

The SP4000T reader

Two A&K SP4000Ts on a desk, next to a few Luna IEMs.

(Image credit: Astell & Kern)

The biggest new thing is the SP4000T. This is the long-awaited successor to the SP3000T, which we gave a glowing five-star rating, and it justifies itself as a new model with obvious improvements.

The real appeal of the SP4000T is that it has four built-in vacuum tubes, arranged in a quadruple, to enable a warm sound profile in a greater number of variations than before.

We’ve seen dual vacuum tube portable audio players, such as the SP3000T or the Shanling M8T, both of which used the same JAN6418 tubes as the SP4000T, but using four provides even greater versatility than two.

This number allows for dedicated tubes for the left and right channels, and in combination with amp and tube current adjustment, A&K promises three main sound profile modes: “Triode” for rich harmonics and natural acoustics, “Pentone” for power, and “Ultra Linear” which blends the two.

Another improvement to the A&K SP4000T is the improved five-stage anti-microphonic architecture, which goes further in stopping the potential distortion of vacuum tubes caused by their presence in a portable device (tubes have historically not traveled very well).

It looks like A&K is also opening up to more wireless music, with improved support for LDAC and aptX Adaptive, and a new mode also lets you use the device as a wireless Bluetooth DAC for your smartphone. Plus, a new dual Wi-Fi antenna lets you stream music more reliably.

Otherwise, you’re looking at a digital audio player that runs Android 15, comes in stainless steel or copper models, and also has a leather travel case. It has 256GB of storage by default, but can be expanded up to 1.5TB via microSD.

While the exact price of the Astell & Kern SP4000T is not yet known, I suspect it could cost more than the predecessor’s $2,999 / £3,199 / AU$5,299 asking price – but if it performs better, it will be well worth a place in our list of the best hi-res audio players.