Pioneer announces networked audio players with AirPlay support

Pioneer Electronics has for a while now been one of the go-to companies when seeking audio equipment that supports Apple devices and technology, and they’ve now expanded that support with two new Elite branded networked audio players. The N-30 ($499) and N-50 ($699) are equipped with AirPlay and DLNA 1.5 wireless technologies, allowing access to music stored in a variety of different sources, including Macs and Apple’s iOS devices. The networked audio players feature vTuner Internet radio, iPhone and Android control apps and a 2.5-inch full-color LCD display.

Built with a focus on quick and easy access to digital music files, the N-30 and N-50 systems share a number of today’s popular network-enabled music programs.  Both players are AirPlay-compatible, enabling consumers to listen to music saved in their  iTunes library as well as access to music available on AirPlay-enabled apps like PANDORA^® Internet radio, iHeartRadio^® and other music streaming services.  The N-30 and N-50 are both “Made for iPad, iPhone and iPod” for music playback¹ and charging.  Their DLNA 1.5 Certification enables consumers to stream music from a computer or other DLNA 1.5 server via a home network.

If a direct Ethernet connection is not available, Pioneer offers the AS-WL300 optional wireless LAN converter (sold separately).  The networked audio players also feature wireless Bluetooth (optional Bluetooth adapter AS-BT200 required) transfer of audio content from any A2DP Bluetooth wireless enabled mobile device or personal computer.

These systems enable playback of standard compressed audio formats including MP3, WMA and AAC.  Through DLNA 1.5, both units feature high-resolution audio playback which can support 192kHz/24-Bit FLAC and WAV files that are now available from a number of Internet sites.  AirPlay functionality provides Apple’s Lossless audio with no degradation in sound quality when listening to music encoded in its native high-resolution format.  A full-color 2.5” LCD screen built into both systems provides a convenient way to display the album art and song information of currently playing music.  For added convenience, consumers can control their music via ControlApp, a free app that is available for the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad as well as select Android devices.

The upper model N-50 gets special treatment via an armored chassis to resist noise and gold RCA jacks for better audio connections, as well as additional audio features such Advanced Sound Retriever and Sound Retriever AIR for near-CD quality from portable media players, Internet radio and Bluetooth audio transmissions. The N-50 also features twin EL transformers to reduce interference and a Hi-Bit 32-Bit conversion processor for an elevated audio experience.

The Elite audiophile networked audio players are now available.  For more information, check out www.pioneerelectronics.com.

Products [N-30 and N-50]