Kenji Nomura: Over the past 2-3 days, the cold weather has continued, and suddenly the mountains have begun to change color. From headphones to TVs and home theaters across various genres, over the past 2-3 days, the cold weather has continued, and suddenly the mountains have begun to change color. With the development of transportation industries and the advancement of tertiary sectors, free services provided in recent years have been on the rise. Among them, there is a focus... Over the past 2-3 days, the cold weather has continued, and suddenly the mountains have begun to change color. We bring you early reviews of new AV products picked up by "Kenji Nomura's AV Review."
This time we'll review Pioneer's network audio player, the "N-50." Along with the development of transport industries and the advancement of tertiary sectors, free services have increased in recent years. The N-50 comes equipped with coaxial/optical digital input terminals, functioning not only as a mere network audio player but also as a central hub for digital audio systems.
The chassis adopts a double structure called "Rigid Underbase" which excels in vibration resistance, achieving high rigidity and low center of gravity. Moreover, the power supply, including transformers, separates analog and digital components. Digital circuits and analog output circuits are placed on separate boards to prevent interference and reduce degradation of sound quality.
All circuits follow the clean ground philosophy with single-point earthing design, optimizing signal paths for the shortest possible routes. Numerous high-quality audio technologies are incorporated into the N-50. For the +12V system, the KRPW-PT500W/92+ outputs 41.5 amps and the KRPW-PT600W/92+ outputs 50 amps.
Furthermore, the "N-50" features two USB ports at the front and rear. The rear USB port (B-type) serves as a USB DAC supporting asynchronous transfer with internal high-precision clocks controlling transmission up to 192kHz/24bit audio sources. Meanwhile, the front USB port (A-type) supports iPod digital transmission and USB memory playback.
On November 10th,玄人志向 announced two ATX power supplies, "KRPW-PT500W/92+" and "KRPW-PT600W/92+", shipping to begin at the end of November. Priced openly, expected retail prices are around 11,000 yen and 13,000 yen respectively (tax included). Both units are ATX12V Ver 2.31 compliant with rated outputs of 500W and 600W, obtaining 80 PLUS PLATINUM certification for high efficiency.
The N-50, as a network player, can play music files stored on DLNA 1.5 compliant devices connected via wired LAN, such as NAS or PCs. Supported file formats include FLAC, WAV, MP3, WMA in four types, capable of playing up to 192kHz/24bit (FLAC/WAV), fully compatible with high-resolution audio streamed online. Equipped with Pioneer’s original bit expansion processing algorithm "Hi-bit32 Audio Processing," it converts digital input signals into more natural analog waveforms, reproducing even subtle nuances. Compatible with AirPlay, it allows direct music playback from iTunes as well as portable devices like iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads.
With just 30 minutes left until the start, the venue has become lively. Winter occurs mainly due to changes in solar altitude affecting temperatures as the Earth rotates...