Pioneer Introduces Its New Affordable XDP-02U DAP
(Pioneer Electronics)(January 30, 2018) Pioneer continues to push the Digital Audio Player envelope with the announcement of its new next-gen XDP-02U Hi-Res DAP. Priced at a reasonable $299 MSRP, the XDP-02U is available for purchase now.
The XDP-02U is sized right (2.5” W x 3.9” H x 0.6” D) and sports a rounded body design for added comfort in the hand. And because it weighs a mere 4.41 oz, it can be carried in a shirt pocket. The player’s exterior is available in one of three colors (White, Navy Blue, and Pink) and features several external functionality buttons (volume, Play/Pause/Hold, and Skip/Scan) and a front mounted 2.4” color touchscreen.
Internally, the XDP-02U houses two ESS SABRE ES9018C2M DACs and dual SABRE ES9601K amplifiers for wide ranging Hi-Res music support, including MQA, DSD (up to 5.6kHz/32-bit), and FLAC/WAV/ALAC up to 192kHz/32-bit. The player is also designed to upconvert sound quality of compressed audio files (both streamed or stored on internal memory), and provide accurate native playback of CD-sourced audio utilizing a dedicated 44.1kHz clock.
Music can be stored on the player’s 16GB external memory. And if more storage is required, owners can tap dual microSD card slots for up to 800GB of additional storage (ScanDisk’s 400GB cards required). The XDP-02U also offers onboard Wi-Fi for connection to services such as TIDAL, and Bluetooth 4.0 +LE for transmission of music to and from compatible speakers, components, and smart devices.
The XDP-02U’s output power (75 mW + 75 mW at 32 ohms, unbalanced; 150 mW + 150 mW at 32 ohms, balanced) can be paired with headphones requiring 16 ohms – 300 ohms (unbalanced) and 32 ohms – 600 ohms (balanced). In addition, its Bluetooth functionality is compatible with most wireless headphones.
