PIONEER STEPS UP WITH HI-RES MUSIC IN YOUR POCKET
There's no doubt Pioneer have their sights set squarely on the portable audio market with the feature packed XDP-30 Hi-res digital player.
Measuring just 63mm x 94mm x 15mm (WHD), machined from a single piece of aluminium, Pioneer says they worked tirelessly to just microns of accuracy to make it as compact as the circuits could allow.
Audiophiles will enjoy the fact that the XDP-30 supports up to 5.6MHz DSD native playback, 192kHz/32bit FLAC/WAV, and upscaling of compressed audio/streaming audio, which means you can enjoy all forms of audio in pristine audio quality.
The XDP-30 is equipped with twin ESS SABRE DAC and Headphone amp chips symmetrically laid out on the circuit board, and both BTL drive and Active Control GND drive supports balanced audio via a 2.5mm 4 pole output jack. There's also a standard 3.5mm output jack.
Battery life hasn't been mentioned, but rest assured you'll be able to fit more than enough music for one full power cycle with the internal 16GB storage plus 2 micro SD card slots that each support up to 200GB for a total of 416GB of audio storage.
With Wi-Fi and Bluetooth onboard you can gain access to streaming audio and connect to a wide variety of peripherals.
Control is as simple as a touch and a swipe on hte 2.4" capacitive touch screen with full size album artwork, all incons and controls within reach. Even better, leave the XDP-30 in your bag and control it via a smartphone with Bluetooth Low Energy support. Via Pioneer's DuoRemote app, you can control playback, track advance, volume and other basic functions on both iOS and Android.
DSP is present with 5 levels of bass enhancement, a 10 band EQ, 3 selectable digital filters and much more.
There's also a low/normal/high gain setting ensuring a perfect match with a wide range of headphones, and a 61-step volume knob for precise adjustment.
No matter which way you look at it, Pioneer's XDP-30 offers a hell of a lot for just $799 RRP.
Available later this month, it's sure to be a hit for discerning music lovers or audiophiles on-the-go.
For more information visit the Pioneer brand page.
Marc Rushton
StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After writing for print magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET in 1999.
Posted in: Headphones | Lifestyle
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