ARSY Ne-2 Streamer Review

[amirm]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the ARSY Ne-2 streamer. It was sent to me by the company and currently is on sale for US $159.

The case is no bigger than the CD jewel boxes. The design is minimalistic with just USB-C input for power and everything else, output:

Simplicity extends to NOT having or needing an app to control it. Plug it in, and it should appear as a destination in various streaming platforms. In my case, it supports Roon player so that is how I tested it. Without the app, you need to wire it using Ethernet first, find its IP address and using its simple web interface to program WiFi network/password. And upgrade it (which I did). For power, I just used a random USB-C charger I had around.

If you are not familiar with amplifier measurements, please watch my tutorial on it:

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ARSY Ne-2 Streamer Measurements
Since I am limited to test files I can play using Roon, I don't have full suite of measurements for you. But enough to get a very good picture of Ne-2's performance starting with our dashboard (only analog out is tested throughout):

Nice! Distortion is well below threshold of hearing so we are noise limited.

The Crystal Semiconductor DAC performs some kind of dynamic range scaling to produce better results in our DNR than expected:

Jitter spectrum is ultra clean, showing well designed device:

Multitone test shows a bit of increase in distortion in bass which we often see. Otherwise it is excellent:

We have the usual filter design:

THD+N vs spectrum looks very good:

EDIT: Digital Output Test
I streamed content to NE2 over network and captured it back using Toslink. It worked perfectly all the way up to 192 kHz:

Conclusions
When the company reached out to me to offer a sample to test, I almost said no until I saw that they had Audio Precision measurements showing excellent response. So I accepted a sample and I am glad I did. This is a no frills streamer/network to digital audio streamer that performs excellently. I personally can't stand having to use an app to control a streamer. I want to plug the thing in and just see it at the end of the wire/network. Ne-2 streamer does that and does it extremely well.

I am happy to recommend ARSY Ne-2 streamer.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

 

[amirm]

Reserved for @RickS to kindly post the specs.

Connectivity	IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n dual band Wi-Fi, Ethernet (100M）
Power Input	USB Type-C power (DO NOT come with power adapter)
Audio Output	Line out, digital Coaxial Out, digital Optical SPDIF Out, USB Type-C Out
SNR	126dB
THD+N	Analog Line out: 0.0003%
Music output	Up to 192 kHz, 24-bit (Bit perfect output, i.e., output matches input source format)
Music Format	MP3, AAC, ALAC, APE, FLAC, WAV, WMA, OGG
Sample Rate	Decoding up to 192 kHz, 24-bit
Protocol	AirPlay 2, Roon Bridge, UPnP, Spotify Connect, Tidal, HQPlayer NAA, Squeezelite
Control Devices	iOS and MacOS
Accessories in package	Type-C Cable, RCA to RCA Cable
Weight/Dimension	320 g/130x130x28.5 mm

NOTE: As no specs were readily found on vendor site, these are from Amazon.com as they are currently sole sales channel.

 

[Graham849]

Thanks for the review, an interesting bit of kit. Is analog out measured ?

 

[amirm]

Yes. That is the only output I tested.

 

[Kuppenbender]

Might struggle for sales here in the UK.

In British slang, "arsey" (sometimes spelled "arsy") means aggressive, irritable, or argumentative. It's a way of describing someone who is bad-tempered or acting unreasonably. The word is considered to be a bit of a harsh or negative description.

Thankfully, by purchasing online, we wouldn’t have to walk into a shop and ask for one of those Arsy streamers.

 

[Matias]

...and another great finding. Thanks, Amir.

 

[MCH]

Very interesting thanks.
Seems they also have a simpler model ne-3 without spdif output but still usb out and a different dac at a lower price.

 

[Graham849]

I think you have the wrong text and video "power amplifier " linked @amirm

 

[a.dent]

Might struggle for sales here in the UK.

In British slang, "arsey" (sometimes spelled "arsy") means aggressive, irritable, or argumentative. It's a way of describing someone who is bad-tempered or acting unreasonably. The word is considered to be a bit of a harsh or negative description.

Thankfully, by purchasing online, we wouldn’t have to walk into a shop and ask for one of those Arsy streamers.

In Australia arsey usually means lucky. I didn't know about the British meaning until now.
From the measurements it seems it's not arsey, just well engineered.

 

[Karmacoma]

For the price it's great competition for the Wiims. I use my Wiim with my streaming apps but I'd also like to add that the Wiim app has very interesting functionalities that I use sometimes, so I'd still choose a Wiim, even if the DAC isn't as good.
Its pricing sits between the wiim mini and wiim pro which is very relevant considering its functionalities and performance. Good finding.

 

[Rja4000]

Interesting alternative.
Thanks for this review.

The big selling point is its internal DAC performance for the price. (If you attach an external DAC, there are more "classic" options for a similar price.)
But as you've proven the internal DAC is more than competent...
(Would be curious to see the linearity, though. Since you say they do things to improve dynamic range. But I know you can't reasonably run that here.)

I'm curious to see how this works without Roon or an app.

 

[amirm]

I curious to see how this works without Roon or an app.

It has Airplay. And I assume it shows up as an endpoint in other streaming services it supports.

 

[usersky]

Yes. That is the only output I tested.

When I saw the jitter graph I also wondered if this is an analog measurement. Thanks for the great work!

 

[peniku8]

Seems like you forgot to add the frequency response and distortion vs level graphics.
Neat looking device. For that price it's a good alternative without all the audiophile nonsense ramblings that come with some of the more expensive streamers.

 

[djigibao]

50% is hardware and 50% is software
The question is what kind of software is it?
Are there any bugs...user interface...speed...options....
We don't have any information about that.
It would be nice when testing something like this to test the software a little along the way, rather than the user buying the device and connecting it, and when they start playing it, it all freezes and doesn't work as it should.

 

[morillon]

linkplay module? software from wiim linkplay?

 

[Multicore]

Without the app, you need to wire it using Ethernet first, find its IP address and using its simple web interface to program WiFi network/password.

That's fine in some situations but it means it can't be used in a lot of homes.

 

[jcbenten]

Nice! Can use Squeezelite so would fit into my ecosystem. I really like the Wiim products to replace my SBT when it finally ends its life.

 

[Ajax]

Might struggle for sales here in the UK.

In British slang, "arsey" (sometimes spelled "arsy") means aggressive, irritable, or argumentative. It's a way of describing someone who is bad-tempered or acting unreasonably. The word is considered to be a bit of a harsh or negative description.

Thankfully, by purchasing online, we wouldn’t have to walk into a shop and ask for one of those Arsy streamers.

In Australian slang you would call someone arsy if they achieved something great but by chance. i.e. not by skill.

e.g. in golf say, an arsy shot would be one where the player shanked his shot into a tree and it richoteted onto the green next to the hole.

 

[Chr1]

Perhaps they chucked together a bunch of random components and luckily nailed a pretty competent device...