Network Audio Players/Servers

Not done yet: the X45Pro can also output digital audio via a dedicated USB port, for example into a USB-capable DAC, and over an HDMI connection into a suitable DAC or even an AV receiver. Take that last option and it can also display its menu system on a connected TV, or a standalone computer monitor.

Control is possible via the supplied remote handset, the Novafidelity app or a computer browser while networking is via a Gigabit Ethernet port on the rear, or Wi-Fi, if you must, using an optional USB dongle, which plugs into one of the ports on the rear of the unit and will cost you another £35.

Bring Out The Big Guns
That's quite an arsenal of facilities, and might have you wondering whether such a product, even one claimed as a 'Reference-level Music Player & DAC for Audiophiles', can possibly do so much and still sound good. Well, the X45Pro is more than just an up-spec'd version of the company's lesser models, being built on an (even) more substantial platform, and with high-quality components including the widely-used ESS Sabre Pro ES9038Pro DAC. As our internal shot shows, completely separate shielded power supplies are used for the audio section and all the computer stuff, and the whole machine has a solidity and substance that's a very long way from those entry-level Cocktail Audio products.

And its performance lives up to the design and build, whether playing discs – yes, it does that too – or delivering the same tracks from its internal storage. The X45Pro sounds rich and powerful, and reveals plenty of detail from everything from rock warhorses to the most delicate of solo instrumental recordings.

The bass is perhaps a shade shy of offering total extension and control, but there's no denying the ability of this machine to keep up with a hard-hitting rhythm section. So The Blockheads' engine-room on 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick', from the Reasons To Be Cheerful compilation [Music Club Deluxe MCDLX016] sounds suitably slinky and infectious, but with real punch, while Chas Jankel's piano shines through in appealing fashion.

With the old school prog-rock of Genesis – in this case 'Dance On A Volcano' from A Trick Of The Tail [Charisma CDSCD 4001] – the X45Pro can sound a bit thick when the music gets really busy, but otherwise drives the rhythms along with real snap. However, switching to the DSD64 version [Virgin 0946 385964 2 4], fed in via the USB-B input, sees the X45Pro clean up its act and turn on the punch again rather well, while also allowing a deeper listen into the mix.

And Phono Too
I have to admit that I favoured the USB input for most of my listening to external digital sources, simply because I found the coax and optical S/PDIF route a shade dry and lacklustre. And anyway, with an onboard disc drive and storage, there's a limited range of sources one would want to connect to them.

Meanwhile, the onboard phono stage was especially impressive, and with a deft touch over the controls, this made fine-sounding recordings from my Rega turntable.

Otherwise, and in absolute terms, the X45Pro's sound is just a little lightweight, with some loss of soundstage depth with big orchestra works such as Barenboim's complete Beethoven symphonies with the West-East Divan Orchestra [Decca 478 3511]. It also lacks a little ambience and presence with intimate jazz recordings like Carmen Gomes Inc.'s Don't You Cry [Sound Liaison SL1030A; DSD256].

This set, with each track having been recorded in a single take with just one stereo microphone (a Josephson C700S), can sound spine-tingling. Via the X45Pro it sounded impressively immediate but it didn't quite sparkle as I know it can.

So it's mainly as a digital workhorse that Novafidelity's X45Pro will be considered, and it fills this role rather well, whether you want it as a standalone ripper/player or choose to explore its extended network capabilities.

Using it as a UPnP server for other network players proved very simple, as was playing music seamlessly from my NAS storage, either using UPnP and its control app, or via Roon. If you're looking for total all-round ability, this comprehensively-equipped unit is likely to appeal, and it's hard to imagine anything digital that it cannot do.

Hi-Fi News Verdict
While the X45Pro's sound can't quite stand up to that of a dedicated high-end network player, that's not unreasonable given the sheer range of facilities it offers. You could put together a stack of equipment to do everything it accomplishes, but it would be quite a mess: what we have here, in one substantial unit, is digital audio made room-friendly, if not quite simple – this is a complex machine.