Audiophiles, pay attention: Astell&Kern's CA1000T desktop system is only £530 – that's a 77% reduction on its RRP

Astell&Kern Acro CA1000T desktop system — (Image credit: Astell&Kern)

Cor, this one's a scorcher of a deal! Niche, granted, but audiophiles will surely be paying attention to what's one of Amazon's best October Prime Day deals.

Astell&Kern's desktop audio system, the CA1000T, is usually priced at £2300 – but Amazon has done the unthinkable and slashed 77% from the asking price.

Check out the Acro CA1000T deal on Amazon

I love finding decent deals like this. A specialised product such as the CA1000T is a rare and unexpected addition to the Prime sale – but a most welcome one in T3's hunt for the best premium tech.

You're probably on this page because you already know about the CA1000T. But, if you don't, then what exactly is it all about?

This is Astell&Kern's headphones amplifier and digital-audio-player (DAP) combined in one. It can drive some of the best wired headphones, no need for additional amplification thanks to an in-built triple amp system.

Whether you're using the 3.5mm or 6.35mm unbalanced outputs, or the 2.5mm or 4.4mm balanced outputs, every headphone type is catered for here.

To its rear are a variety of inputs: optical, 4.4mm in, USB-C audio in, coaxial in, and a microSD card slot. Output, if you want to connect beyond headphones, covers XLR and RCA stereo, plus there's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if you prefer wireless.

The CA1000T was the first product ever to use the ESS ES9039MPRO Dual-DAC solution, which can support high-res playback up to DSD512 and 32bit/768kHz. That's unparalleled in any product I've ever seen.

So if you're looking for an audiophile treat this Prime Day sale then, well, hands down it seems that Astell&Kern's desktop system has won that crown – and it's even cheaper than it was during Black Friday last year!

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Mike is T3's Tech Editor. He's been writing about consumer technology for 15 years and his beat covers phones – of which he's seen hundreds of handsets over the years – laptops, gaming, TV & audio, and more. There's little consumer tech he's not had a hand at trying, and with extensive commissioning and editing experience, he knows the industry inside out. As the former Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint for 10 years where he furthered his knowledge and expertise, whilst writing about literally thousands of products, he's also provided work for publications such as Wired, The Guardian, Metro, and more.