Your iPod never looked this good – Astell&Kern's flagship audio player gets a classy, copper makeover

If you're obsessed with top tier audio quality, chances are you've already toyed with the idea of a dedicated audio player. Astell&Kern represent one of the biggest players in that arena, with a range of dedicated devices designed to give digital audio a luxurious treatment.

Now, its flagship model – the A&ultima SP4000 – has been given a fresh lick of paint, courtesy of a limited edition copper variant. And if you care about great style as much as I do, you'll want to pay close attention here.

The unit looks simply fabulous, with a case made from 99.98% pure copper. The brand states that the material offers ideal audio properties, but it also difficult to work with and finish to a high standard, making this a real labour of love.

Beyond that, the specs are the same as the standard version. You'll find a quad-DAC design, which also makes use of a parallel op-amp design to deal with demanding headphones and in-ears.

As you'd probably expect from a device of this quality, it doesn't come cheap. Priced at £3,999 / €4,699 / US$4,499 (approx. AU$7,825) this is one of those products which is going to be reserved for only the most dedicated of audio lovers.

Luxurious storage, designed for audiophiles

While the new version of the A&ultima SP4000 is likely to grab headlines, it's not the only new release here. The brand has also released the Collector's Atelier – a premium, leather case, designed to act as a one stop shop for housing your Astell&Kern player and other accessories.

That's crafted from Perlinger leather, which comes from a specific tannery in Germany, and has been in business since 1864. The leather comes from Togo, and is processed using the brand's exclusive shrunken leather technique, which forgoes heat in favour of chemical processing, to retain the character and softness of the leather.

Priced at £229 / US$260 (approx. €265 / AU$450) this one is likely to be a must for anyone who already owns a player and a few pairs of high end IEMs and need a nice place to keep everything.