Astell&Kern AK240

The price tag isn’t for the faint-hearted, but there’s plenty here to set it apart from the pack, at least in terms of spec. You get 256GB of on-board storage, as well as native support for DSD, the format originally intended for SACD (Super Audio CD). You can stream over Wi- Fi from your computer or media server, and there’s a carbon-fibre back and large 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen, similar to that used on many smartphones.

£2,200, astellnkern.com