
Look, I don’t want to throw any shade whatsoever on either of the hi-res audio players I'm about to discuss. Both are quite frankly superb for the money. I love Astell & Kern's new cheap USB-C DAC and entry-level A&norma SR25 MKII player just as much as I adore the A&ultima SP2000T and the new A&ultima SP3000 – which is one of the options I'm here to talk about.
But there comes a crossroads in any audiophile's journey (or fledgling music lover tentatively looking into it as a lifestyle choice) when the simple and reasonable question is posed: "Come on, which of these would you have if money were no object?"