Today, HD audio is becoming even more accessible, and Pioneer knows it; That’s why the Pioneer N-50AE supports a wide variety of formats, including DSD. Regardless of how the music is encoded, you will hear it as it was recorded. The Pioneer N-50AE is capable of connecting to external hard drives and network storage devices, allowing you to play the highest quality file formats. You will only have one problem – what else to choose to listen to.
The use of ESS Sabre32 Ultra ES9016S DAC chips in each channel of the player instead of AKM AK4480 not only changed the sound character of the components, but also made it possible to reproduce high-resolution material in DSD format, both with a frequency of 2.8 MHz and in the 11.2 MHz version. Such files can be played both from external USB drives and from DLNA servers on the home network. The main external difference of the new products is the integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules. In terms of functionality, it is necessary to note the expansion of the list of formats supported by the Pioneer N-50AE not only DSD, but also Apple Lossless (ALAC) with parameters up to 24 bit / 192 kHz.
The presence of optical and coaxial digital inputs, as well as a USB type B port for connecting to a computer allows you to use the component as an external DAC, not only for transporting optical discs, but also for a personal computer or laptop. In the latter case, the Pioneer N-50AE acts as an external sound card for the workstation and can process a digital stream with parameters up to 32 bit / 192 kHz. When working through other digital inputs or when playing music material from DLNA servers on the network, the audio signal encoding bit depth threshold drops to 24 bits. Among the audio file formats supported by the Pioneer N-50A, the most popular among lovers of high-quality digital audio are WAV and FLAC. Also, the new generation of players supports high-resolution DSD and Apple Lossless (ALAC) formats with parameters up to 24 bit / 96 kHz, which will undoubtedly please fans of technology from Apple Computers. Unfortunately, the device never learned to work with CUE metadata files, which often accompany music albums recorded as a single WAV or FLAC file.
To integrate the Pioneer N-50AE into a home computer network, an RJ45 Ethernet port is provided. If necessary, you can connect wirelessly via Wi-Fi. Integrating the player into a home computer network, in addition to accessing the content of DLNA servers, provides several useful features. The Pioneer N-50AE is capable of working with Internet radio, which means broadcasts from hundreds of radio stations from the most remote corners of the planet become available to you. In addition, owners of Apple mobile gadgets will be pleased to be able to directly connect them to the Pioneer N-50AE using the Apple AirPlay wireless protocol.
Simply select the Pioneer player as the output device in iTunes, and your music will sound through the speakers of your home system. And finally, by connecting the component to your home computer network, you can use the convenient free Pioneer ControlApp control utility, available for smartphones and tablets based on iOS and Android, to control and navigate your music library. However, the included remote control quite successfully copes with the basic control functions of the Pioneer N-50AE.
The keys on it are clearly divided into zones – separate large playback control buttons, asterisk keys for navigating through the system menu, and buttons for direct selection of operating modes, combined with an input selector. The only thing in which control using this remote control is inferior to working with a smartphone or tablet is the need to read information from the display on the front panel of the component, which can be located at a considerable distance from your favorite sofa or chair.
Characteristics of Pioneer N-50AE
DAC ESS Sabre32 Ultra ES9016S
Upsampling up to 384 kHz
Hi-Bit32 digital signal upscaling technology up to 32 bits
Digital filtering SHARP (high slope), SLOW (smooth roll-off), SHORT (fast impulse response)
Frequency range 4 Hz – 90 kHz (- 3 dB)
Signal-to-noise ratio 112 dB (RCA line out)
Dynamic range 117 dB (24 bit, 32 bit)
Harmonic distortion 0.0017%
Channel separation 110 dB (1 kHz)
Output voltage/impedance 2, 2 V/500 Ohm (RCA)
Supported formats for playback via local network (LAN connection) and USB for external drives MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV (up to 24 bit/192 kHz), AIFF (up to 24 bit/192 kHz ), FLAC (up to 24 bit/192 kHz), Apple Lossless (up to 24 bit/192 kHz), DSD up to 11.2 MHz
Gapless playback support for WAV/FLAC/AIFF/ALAC formats
Wi-Fi 802.11.a/b /g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz)
Supported web services Spotify, Deezer, TIDAL, TuneIn
MQA codec support yes
Apple AirPlay support yes
Chromecast support yes
Support multi-room platform for wireless streaming FlareConnect yes
Support for the DTS Play-Fi multiroom platform yes
Auto Sound Retriever function improves the sound of highly compressed formats
Direct mode provides the clearest and most natural sound, disables DSP
Possibility to disable digital outputs yes
Control via the Pioneer Remote application supported for devices with iOS and Android
Inputs 2 x USB ports (type A, front and rear panels, PCM up to 24 bit/192 kHz, DSD up to 11.2 MHz), coaxial (PCM up to 24 bit/192 kHz), optical (PCM up to 24 bit/192 kHz) , asynchronous USB (type B, PCM up to 32 bit/384 kHz, DSD up to 11.2 MHz (DSD256)), Network port (LAN)
Linear outputs RCA, optical, coaxial
Other switching 2 jacks for Wi-Fi antennas, 3.5mm Control Out connector for connecting to Pioneer components to control all devices using one Pioneer Remote App
Power supply two separate transformers for digital and analogue sections
LCD display, 3.5-inch, color
Remote control RC-931S
Consumable power 30 W, standby: 0.3 W
Dimensions (WxHxD) 435x99x340 mm
Weight 7.4 kg