'More drivers than a Formula 1 grid': A&K makes Christmas come early for audiophiles with its new premium audio player with built-in quad vacuum tubes, plus new 9-driver 'Tribrid' IEMs to match it

Astell & Kern introduces new high-resolution audio player and portable headphones
The SP4000T audio player has four vacuum tubes to
Clarus in-ear monitors offer nine drivers in ‘Tribrid’ design

Astell & Kern has just unveiled its next two big releases, and while we’re so far missing practical details like pricing and availability, as well as some key details and specs, we’re very interested in what has been caused so far.

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

Clarus in-ear monitors

(Image credit: Astell & Kern)

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

The SP4000T player

Two A&K SP4000T on a desk, next to some Luna IEMs.

(Image credit: Astell & Kern)

The biggest new release is the SP4000T. This is the long-awaited successor to the SP3000T, which we gave a glowing five-star review, and it justifies itself as a new model with clear updates.

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

We’ve seen some dual vacuum tube portable audio players, like the SP3000T or the Shanling M8T, that used the same JAN6418 tubes as the SP4000T, but using four offers even more versatility than two.

This number allows dedicated tubes for the left and right channels, and in combination with the amplifier 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 mixes the two.

Another upgrade to the A&K SP4000T is the improved five-stage anti-microphonic architecture, which goes further by stopping potential distortion in the vacuum tubes caused by being in a handheld device (the tubes historically haven’t traveled very well).

It looks like A&K is opening up to more wireless music too, 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. Not only that, but a new dual Wi-Fi antenna means you can stream music more reliably.

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

While the exact price of the Astell & Kern SP4000T is not yet known, I’m guessing it could cost more than the predecessor’s $2,999 / £3,199 / AU$5,299 starting price, but if it performs better, it’ll be worth a spot on our list of the best hi-res audio players.