ACRO CA1000T

Astell&Kern ACRO CA1000T

The CA1000T is only the second product in Astell&Kern's ACRO line, the (now) series of handheld headphone amplifiers that combine the functions of a powerful amplifier with the portability of a digital audio player. The new device follows the ACRO CA1000 (without the “T”), but does not replace it. Both versions are quite identical to look at, but the brand new 'T' is a dual tube DAC design, while the 'regular' CA1000 is a quad DAC. That makes it all the more logical that the 'old' model will also remain available. 

Just like the earlier ACRO CA1000 , the CA1000T also seems to be a kind of docking station on which the smart engineers of A&K have placed a portable music player. Looks can be deceiving, because this unit forms a rotating screen that is attached to the underlying cabinet. Not intended for on the go. Astell&Kern has other solutions for this.

Flagship DAC 

The new Astell&Kern Acro CA1000T is the world's first product to use the latest flagship DAC chips from ESS Sabre: type ES9039MPRO. The new ES9039MPRO in dual-DAC configuration features a built-in stereo hardware MQA renderer, supporting 16x full MQA decoding and supporting MQA decoding via optical in/out. This chipset features even more advanced modulation than the existing ES9039PRO flagship DAC chip to reduce power consumption, noise and distortion for improved audio performance. Bit-perfect playback is possible up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and native DSD512 (22.4MHz), so that even the smallest details that the artist wanted to express in the music can be heard without distortion.

One, Two, Triple Amp

The CA1000T features A&K's Triple Amp System, first introduced in the SP2000T portable audio player . The big difference is the placement of a pair of tubes, which allows you to choose between tube amp mode, normal op-amp mode or the new hybrid amp mode. All three modes are available on all outputs.

The CA1000T is equipped with two portable dual-triode KORG Nutubes (hence the “T” in the name) for a unique tube amp sound. It features an anode grid filament structure that works the same as a triode vacuum tube. However, the KORG Nutube is much smaller, consumes much less power, and still delivers the same audio as a full-sized tube. This gives you rich overtones and the Tube Amp Mode provides a uniquely warm and soothing tone. However, the Op-Amp mode is the pinnacle of A&K's amplifier design expertise, delivering extreme clarity and dynamic sound. Finally, the Hybrid Amp Mode improves the resolution and clarity of the existing tube amp mode to express more musical details. Combining the benefits of retro-analog sensitivity and high-resolution output, this mode gives you the pleasure of a new tonality, bringing together the best of vacuum tube and op-amp design and technology. Win-win-win!

To work

 To perfectly drive the most advanced headphones, a device must be able to deliver a full output that matches the characteristics of the headphones. The A&K ACRO CA1000T supports four levels of amplification, so that almost any existing headphone can be brought to an optimal state. The circuits for setting it up can drive even high impedance headphones without degrading sound quality with a maximum output of 15 Volts (RMS). Both Tube AMP mode and OPAMP provide a powerful 15 Volt (RMS) output to the headphone outputs. There is an extensive range of input/output options that can be manipulated with the rotating touch screen on top of the unit.

Outputs include 3.5mm and 6.35mm unbalanced, 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced, mini-toslink optical output, mini-XLR and RCA outputs. Inputs are 4.4mm balanced, coaxial and optical digital, USB, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. An adapter cable will therefore not be needed so quickly. The CA1000T also features Replay Gain, Crossfeed, Bluetooth 5.0 with LDAC and aptX HD codec support, BT Sink, which allows the CA1000T to connect to an external device via Bluetooth and function as a Bluetooth DAC. Music from an external device, such as a smartphone, can now be played in high quality, taking full advantage of the dual DAC and triple amplifier system in the CA1000T. Roon Ready support will be added in a future firmware update.

Master: music! 

The Acro CA1000T has 256 GB of internal memory for storing music files and a microSD card of up to 1TB can be inserted for expansion. Music can also come from a NAS via dual-band 2.4/5Ghz a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, DLNA networking or USB-C.

Although the device is intended for stationary use, a battery has been installed and it offers approximately 11 hours of music enjoyment. A&K has announced a battery protection feature (coming with a later firmware update) that extends battery life. When battery protection mode is enabled, the battery is charged to 85% and charging stops. If the battery drops to 80%, the battery will start charging again and charge to 85%.