The Best MP3 and Portable Media Players (No, Really)

Astell & Kern’s “entry-level” digital audio player won’t be everyone’s idea of what entry level should cost. But it’s safe to say there’s no obvious profiteering going on here—the SR25 MKII might cost a fair bit more than many a rival brand’s entry-level alternative, but you only have to see and feel this player to know why that is. And when you hear it, the case Astell & Kern is trying to make becomes watertight.

A&K’s edgy, pointy design language is strongly to the fore, and the aluminum-and-glass,  sharp-cornered SR25 MKII has three different headphone outputs as well as two-way wireless connectivity, the ability to deal with audio files approaching the highest resolution available, and a bright, responsive touchscreen interface. The exquisitely machined volume control is good, and the 20 hours of battery life is even better. (A minor annoyance: This should have more memory at this price.)

Best of all is the sound the SR25 MKII is capable of producing. We’ve reached the point where we’re no longer discussing “audio” but “hi-fi”—and the A&K is a lovely piece of hi-fi. Give it the right stuff to work with and it’s an insightful, implacably punchy, and beautifully balanced listen, able to organize a soundstage with just as much confidence as it describes rhythms and tempos.

The FiiO M17 is “portable” inasmuch as it can be easily transported from place to place. But your tailor won’t thank you for putting this chunkily capable device in your pocket—a bag or a backpack would seem to be in order. Still, FiiO had to put all this high-end specification somewhere—and it means there’s room for a nice, big, crisp, and colorful touchscreen display and four—count 'em!—different headphone sockets too.

And as well as being a gloriously judicious, articulate, and revealing listen when you use it as a portable music player, the M17 is also a brilliant piece of desktop hi-fi. Use it as a DAC for your laptop, for example, and all the music stored on your computer or your local network can be attended to by the 16 parallel DAC outputs the FiiO brings to bear on stereo music before it reaches your ears.

Of course, this kind of kit demands premium headphones. And the amount of power that’s on board the M17, both in terms of amplification and the size of its battery, means it gets quite warm quite quickly. But FiiO is nothing if not pragmatic—and so the M17 is supplied with a dock that features an integrated fan. Which is a talking point all by itself.

Make no mistake, the law of diminishing returns is at work here as surely as anywhere. But at the same time, Astell & Kern has gone to significant lengths to ensure that not only is the SP3000 the best-sounding portable music player you can buy, but it also puts in an admirable shift as a luxury accessory in the manner of a watch or a pair of earrings.

So let’s take the absolutely virtuoso sonic performance and extraordinarily complete audio quality as a given. Let’s accept that an asking price such as this demands (and, in the case of the SP3000, receives) top-of-the-line, uncompromised specification at every turn. Let’s just touch on the fact that the Snapdragon octa-core processor delivers a seamless user experience. Let’s overlook the fact that the package includes an exquisite protective case from storied French tannery ALRA that’s only available in goatskin (so long vegetarians). Let’s consider the fact that the SP3000 is made of 904L stainless steel.

904L stainless steel is exceptionally resistant to corrosion, which is all well and good. But it’s also renowned for accepting an extremely high polish—which is why it’s a favorite material for the likes of Rolex. And it serves to make the SP3000 seem as premium a product as a Rolex or a Bentley or something like that. Which is really no more than the asking price demands.