The Biggest Name in Portable Hi-Fi Drops a New Grail for Audiophiles

The renowned audio company just made its flagship portable music player even cooler.

Close-up of a gold-colored digital music player with a red volume knob and a screen showing battery at 95% and time 02:23 PM.

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Published February 3, 2026

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Astell&Kern is arguably the biggest name in high-end, portable hi-fi. The company’s flagship range of digital audio players (DAPs) — named A&ultima — all blend audiophile-grade performance with premium materials. Basically, look as good as they sound.

Last May, the Korean audio manufacturer introduced a new flagship model to its A&ultima range, the SP4000, which combined a metal body and a 6-inch touchscreen with an advanced circuitry design, cutting-edge audio technologies and full Android support. It costs $4,290.

Fast forward half a year, and Astell&Kern is introducing a new special edition version of that flagship player. Now it comes in copper.

Astell&Kern A&ultima SP4000 (Copper Edition)

Rectangular metallic digital music player with a large touchscreen and a red volume knob on the side, standing on a reflective surface. — Previously only available in stainless steel, A&K has introduced a copper edition of its flagship DAP.

New look, refined acoustics

Since its release, the Astell&Kern A&ultima SP4000 has been built with a 904L stainless steel body and is available in two finishes: black or silver. Now, the brand-new Copper Edition has a body made out of a new material — 99.98% pure copper — that gives it a new look and new sonic characteristics.

Copper is a material with natural acoustic properties — characterized by its warm sound and low internal damping — but is notoriously difficult to use because, according to Astell&Kern, it requires a “multi-layer stabilization process and meticulous machining” to be durable and still look good.

Close-up of a gold-toned digital device with a red geometric wallpaper on the screen showing battery at 95% and time 02:23 PM. — A&K claims that the A&ultima SP4000 is the culmination of “three years of relentless research and innovation following the development of the SP3000.”

But that’s exactly what Astell&Kern did to achieve this special edition model.

According to the brand, the SP4000 Copper “delivers deep, authoritative bass, a rich and articulate midrange, and treble that decays with natural ease, all presented as a seamless, emotionally engaging whole.”

Close-up of a gold-toned metal object with a faceted surface and a central ridged circular knob.

Same flagship internals

Aside from the new look (and refined sound), the Copper Edition model has all the same internals and specs as its stainless steel siblings — which boasts wholesale changes to the brand’s previous flagship player in its A&ultima range, the 2022-released SP3000.

Compared to that predecessor, the SP4000 boasts several notable improvements. It has an entirely new Octa audio circuit architecture that pairs one digital processor (AK4191) with a single analog DAC (AK4499EX). Astell&Kern claims this “allows digital signals to be delivered precisely to a single DAC without the need to distribute noise, enabling improved signal separation and processing.”

Four Astell&Kern A&ultima digital music players in black, dark gray, silver, and gold with angular designs and volume knobs. — The Copper Edition model joins the previous stainless steel options, which come in black or silver finishes.

Secondly, the SP4000 comes decked out with modern audiophile technologies for improved performance. These include a “High Driving Mode” for powering demanding, high-impedance headphones, as well as support for Astell&Kern’s latest DAR (Digital Audio Remaster) technology for restoring and upsampling tracks.

Maybe most significantly, the SP4000 is the brand’s first portable hi-fi player with full Android support, meaning you can install any app from the Google Play Store — no sideloading required.

Black and bronze angular digital audio player with A&ultima and Astell&Kern logos. — The Copper Edition of the SP4000 will be available starting in February 2026.

Price and availability

As expected, this new look and sound (and the fact that it’s a limited edition model) have driven up the price.

The Copper Edition of the SP4000 costs $4,499, which is a fairly sizable uptick from the standard model that currently retails at $4,290.

It’ll be available this February. Astell&Kern hasn’t specified the exact number of these limited edition models it’ll sell.

Rectangular bronze digital music player with touchscreen displaying a red album cover and playback controls.

Astell&Kern A&ultima SP4000 (Copper Edition)

$4,499 at Astell&Kern

About the Author: Tucker Bowe has been on Gear Patrol’s editorial team since 2014. With a passion for consumer tech and hi-fi, he tracks everything from headphones and turntables to smartphones and wearables. If it lights up or makes noise, he probably covers it.

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