Cocktail Audio X50D Review

The Cocktail Audio X50D is Novatron’s pure music server, a world leader in the design of music servers dedicated to listening to liquid music. It has a digital transport mechanism that combines the elements of a network streamer and a music server. It allows the direct and native reading of lossless MQA, DSD, PCM and DXD Audio encodings and via USB Audio Class 2.0 port to connect your external Hi-End DAC with these encodings.

Let’s first see together the main technical specifications indicated by Cocktail Audio:

• OS: Custom embedded Linux
• CPU & Memory: Dual Core ARM Cortex A9, 1.0Ghz, Main Memory (1GByte, DDR2 1066Mhz)
• NAND Flash 8GByte
• Front display: 7 inch Full Color TFT LCD (1024 X 600 pixels)
• Frequencies & CODECs: PCM up to 32bit / 384Khz, DXD 24bit / 352.8Khz, DSD64 (2.8224Mhz), DSD128 (5.6448Mhz), DSD256 (11.2896Mhz), MQA
• Oscillator: TCXO
• Digital Outputs: Toslink x 1: 24bit / 192Khz, Coaxial x 2 (75 ohm RCA): 24bit / 192Khz, AES / EBU XLR 110 ohm x 1: 24bit / 192Khz, Fixed / Variable Volume (adjustable from menu), USB Audio Out x 1: USB Audio Class 2.0, I²S HDMI x 1: 24bit / 192Khz, native DSD256, MQA, I²S RJ45 x 1: 24bit / 192Khz, native DSD256, MQA
• Word Clock Out: up to 24bit / 192Khz
• Digital Inputs: Toslink x 1: 24bit / 192Khz, Coaxial x 1 (75ohm RCA): 24bit / 192Khz, USB Audio Input
• Giga Fast Ethernet LAN (10/100 / 1000Mbps)
• HDMI output for external display
• Supported storage
• Double compartment for internal hard drives: SSD (2.5 ″ SATA), 2.5 ″ SATA Hard Disk, 3.5 ″ SATA Hard Disk. Maximum capacity: up to 8TB each
• Supported file systems: NTFS or Linux: RAID system: Yes
• Roon Ready: Yes
• Dissipation: Completely passive
• Dimensions: 44.2x33x11 cm (LxWxH) with feet
• Weight: 11 Kg

Natively it includes support for the following Online Music Services: Tidal (including Tidal Master MQA), Deezer, Spotify Connect, Airable, Qobuz (including Qobuz Studio 24bit / 192KHz FLAC), Amazon Music, HighresAudio, Napster.

The two (2) digital inputs (1 coaxial and one optical) that differentiate it from the first version (without D) allow you to connect external digital sources, such as transport mechanics, DAT, MiniDisc, etc. The digital input signal can register up to Studio Master quality (resolution of 24bit-192KHz).

Could not miss the double direct connection I2S present in HDMI format and RJ45, now very popular to make the most of even high-end USB converters.

There is also the Audio CD player that allows you to use the new high-resolution CD MQA format. Combined with this, Silent Play technology automatically controls the reading speed for optimal noise reduction. The Active OPC (Running OPC) “Optimum Power Controller” technology allows you to safely burn Audio CDs, monitor the signal level and adjust the laser to compensate for the intensity of the beam (even in the case of a disc that is not perfectly clean ) to ensure a constant signal flow.

The X50D allows you to rip your CDs in a bit-perfect way to ensure utmost trust in the result. As in the other Cocktail Audio products, also, in this case, the Gracenote service will allow you to download the metadata and covers. It will be possible to catalogue your CD collection by album, artist, musical genre, year of production.

The Word Clock BNC output allows you to send the sample rate signal of the file being played to an external device that accepts an input clock.

As for the storage, we give a very convenient setting for the RAID configuration of the Hard Disks which is now possible via the user interface (before it was necessary to remove the cover). The available settings are JBOD, BIG, Raid 0, Raid 1.

Design, Usability and Sound

The X50D is an elegant product, the large 7-inch TFT LCD screen with a resolution of 1024 × 600 pixels allows you to read from a distance. The cylindrical feet in silver colour and the aluminium chassis give a product sensation studied in every detail.

The renewed graphic interface is very pleasing. The clarity of the icons, the high resolution of the screen, the colours and the optimal contrast gratify the user and make use easy and immediate.

We have discovered a very nice feature that displays on the X50D screen (or even via HDMI connection on an external screen), a carousel of images or photographs of your choice to match your music to your favourite pictures. We liked this feature because it allows you to enjoy visual and auditory experiences at the same time.

It was easy to connect and configure the X50D to our Audio chain. The recognition of the signal, the native frequency and the bit depth is automatic and does not require manual intervention.

We have opted for the use of the USB Audio Class 2.0 digital connection (up to 32bit / 384KHz, MQA, DXD, native DSD64 and DoP, native DSD128 and DoP, and native DSD256) but it will be easy and immediate to connect to any D converter / A thanks to the rich supply of digital connections (Toslink Optic, Double Coaxial RCA, XLR AES / EBU, I2S HDMI, I2S RJ45).

From the point of view of storage, it is quite interesting the flexibility for storing songs is equipped with two compartments for HD and already compatible with all SATA Hard Disks up to 8TB, 3.5 “and 2.5”, including new disks solid-state (SSD – Solid State Disk) and also supports any other external USB 3.0 disks and shared network resources such as NAS.

To fully enjoy music without background noise, Cocktail Audio has thought of a passive cooling system by eliminating any fan (fanless) to obtain absolute silence of the internal components. By also combining an installation of a solid-state drive (SSD), the optimization will be perfect.

To manage the X50D it is possible to use the display, the controls on the front panel, the supplied remote control, the WEB interface that can be observed on a PC or smartphone or the free Novatron Music-X NEO app through any Apple iOS smartphone or tablet. (version 9.0 and later) or Android (version 7.0 and later).

The Novatron app which is the same used for the other Cocktail Audio streamers, allows you to control the X50D directly from your smartphone or tablet. Find our detailed impressions of our N25. It is a professional application you need to take a moment to see where to find things and learn how to use the new menu. A point of improvement is the ease of use of the interface.

We tried the Cocktail Audio X50D with Tidal HIFI using the MQA format and we were immediately mesmerized by the sound our ears perceived. A very balanced and detailed sound and a lot of airiness in the higher frequencies. We like the atmosphere that makes the music scene very realistic.

CONCLUSIONS

• The Cocktail Audio X50D is a product to enrich your Hi-End chain and be able to enjoy and manage all your music – both liquid and on storage.
• Cocktail Audio’s attention to remain as quiet as possible strikes us because it allows you to enjoy a clean sound without noise or disturbances.
• We were pleasantly impressed by the sonic rendition of digital formats so much that we thought of putting it permanently in our test chain for our next reviews.
• A point of improvement remains the Novatron app which, compared to the more commercial APPs we are used to using, is less intuitive, while still having all the necessary features.
• We advise you to integrate your X50D with the CocktailAudio WiFi USB Dongle which adds the functionality for the Wireless WiFi connection to the Cocktail Audio Music Server.