@harry925 - are saying the new NE-2 Plus can support 352Khz music files without down sampling?
Thank you!
-
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ARSY Ne-2 Streamer Review
- Thread starter amirm
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@harry925 - are saying the new NE-2 Plus can support 352Khz music files without down sampling?
Thank you!
Yes.
Is that only with an ethernet connection?
Or is 352kHz also supported via wifi?
If 352kHz is supported via wifi it would be a novelty. All the wifi streamers I have tried so far are limited to 192kHz. If I want to play 352kHz audio I have to connect the MacBook Pro via USB directly to my RME ADI-2 DAC FS currently.
Thank you for the response.
Both ethernet and wifi with 5G band.
Wow....
That would be a cool feature. It would set your device apart from most other wifi streamers. Most of us have 5G routers. In fact, most new routers offer two 5G radios. Most are happy with 192kHz but it would be fun to break that limitation.
somebodyelse
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Have you tried a Pi running piCorePlayer or Moode? I don't see any reason it wouldn't work with others too, but I haven't tried with them. There's nothing particularly technically challenging about it.
1. If I try to play 352.8kHz version of Quiet Winter Night 352.8kHz with Moode via wifi to RME ADI-2 DAC FS using Audirvana, the audio is automatically down sampled to 192kHz.
2. If I copy the music to the Moode SDCard and play Quiet Winter Night 352.8kHz using Moode interface, ADI-2 DAC FS shows 352.8kHz playback. (No wifi required for audio playback as RPI4 is connect via USB to ADI-2)
3. If I try to play Quiet Winter Night 352.8kHz with Wiim it doesn't play.
4. If I plug MBP to RME ADI-2 DAC FS via USB using Audirvana Quiet Winter Night 352.8kHz plays. (Again no wifi in use)
I think any files over 192kHz would need to be tested on each configuration to verify 352.8kHz compatibility. It's certainly not guaranteed to work. I expect it won't play most times via wifi connection.
New Version of the ARSY Ne-2 Streamer Ships
I had the opportunity to try the new Ne-2. This version is quite solid in terms of firmware and hardware design. It supports AirPlay, UPnP, Roon, Spotify Connect and Squeezelite according to the advertising. I tested it with UPnP and local High Resolution music as well as Qobuz streaming. The UPnP code works with Audirvana. I'm streaming music from a MacBook Pro with local audio files and with Qobuz. The functionality is far superior to Wiim UPnP code which continually breaks with many 3rd party players. If I keep jumping around from song to song in my Qobuz playlist using Audirvana I can confuse the Ne-2 streamer too, but it can recover by starting playback on a new song or restarting Audirvana. It's not as rock solid as the RPi4 UPnP implementation but it's much better than Wiim.
When comparing the New ARSY Ne-2 to the original it looks very similar. But if you look on the far left side of the Power USB-C plug you find a new reset button. This button reportedly resets the unit to its original factory configuration, wiping out owner SSID and password information.
Power Usage
Kill-A-Watt displays 8-10W energy usage on startup. 8W was recorded during playback and while idle.
The Ne-2 does not ship with a power adapter. ARSY recommends using a PD compatible 20W USB charger. I am using a Nirvana SMPS in my tests.
High Resolution Audio Compatibility
The ARSY Ne-2 played my 192kHz audio files over UPnP without issues. This is far different than what I experienced with the original unit. It was a joy to use. I played local audio files via UPnP using Audirvana on MacBook Pro. It worked well with AIFF and FLAC files of 44.1, 88, 96 and 192kHz. The only time I experienced file compression using UPnP was when playing 352.8kHz High Resolution Audio files which were downsampled to 192kHz over WiFi or ethernet configurations.
Firmware
The new Ne-2 version arrived with version 2025.04.26.001 firmware. I connected the Ne-2 via WiFi and ran the update. The Ne-2 was updated to version 2025.06.28.000 and restarted automatically. The new firmware added an "Audio Device" tab shown below.
The Audio Device tab displays the Output device, Volume control (NONE, Hardware, Software) and DSD mode - PCM. I used the ARSY Ne-2 USB-C output to the ADI-2 DAC FS. This setup works well over Wifi or ethernet. With a 5G router connection I didn’t notice any difference in sound quality between WiFi or ethernet. All 44kHz, 96kHz and 192kHz audio files played without compression when using UPnP over WiFi connection.
Documentation
A tiny 3.5” nine page, foldout operating instructions guide came with the unit. It's limited but is enough information to get the unit up and running.
Airplay
The Ne-2 includes Airplay capability. If you select AirPlay in the Mac OS X, System Settings: Sound control panel, you can use the Qobuz app to directly play music to the Ne-2, but it will be downsampled to 44.1kHz if it’s high resolution audio. It’s a nice feature for playing directly to the Ne-2 without a third party UPnP audio player.
What do you get with the Ne-2 streamer that you don’t get with an RPi4?
A streamer that connects to a router with an ethernet cable and instantly offers streaming capability. OR via Wifi with minimal SSID and password setup. It sounds great with absolutely minimal configuration. At $169, it’s a bit more money than an RPi4, but it can be up and running quickly with little configuration knowledge. A power adapter is NOT included with the Ne-2 or the RPi4. However, a USB-C PD power adapter of 15W or more will work well with either one.
Overall, I'm very impressed with the enhanced UPnP stability provided with the new ARSY Ne-2 version.
I had the opportunity to try the new Ne-2. This version is quite solid in terms of firmware and hardware design. It supports AirPlay, UPnP, Roon, Spotify Connect and Squeezelite according to the advertising. I tested it with UPnP and local High Resolution music as well as Qobuz streaming. The UPnP code works with Audirvana. I'm streaming music from a MacBook Pro with local audio files and with Qobuz. The functionality is far superior to Wiim UPnP code which continually breaks with many 3rd party players. If I keep jumping around from song to song in my Qobuz playlist using Audirvana I can confuse the Ne-2 streamer too, but it can recover by starting playback on a new song or restarting Audirvana. It's not as rock solid as the RPi4 UPnP implementation but it's much better than Wiim.
When comparing the New ARSY Ne-2 to the original it looks very similar. But if you look on the far left side of the Power USB-C plug you find a new reset button. This button reportedly resets the unit to its original factory configuration, wiping out owner SSID and password information.
Power Usage
Kill-A-Watt displays 8-10W energy usage on startup. 8W was recorded during playback and while idle.
The Ne-2 does not ship with a power adapter. ARSY recommends using a PD compatible 20W USB charger. I am using a Nirvana SMPS in my tests.
High Resolution Audio Compatibility
The ARSY Ne-2 played my 192kHz audio files over UPnP without issues. This is far different than what I experienced with the original unit. It was a joy to use. I played local audio files via UPnP using Audirvana on MacBook Pro. It worked well with AIFF and FLAC files of 44.1, 88, 96 and 192kHz. The only time I experienced file compression using UPnP was when playing 352.8kHz High Resolution Audio files which were downsampled to 192kHz over WiFi or ethernet configurations.
Firmware
The new Ne-2 version arrived with version 2025.04.26.001 firmware. I connected the Ne-2 via WiFi and ran the update. The Ne-2 was updated to version 2025.06.28.000 and restarted automatically. The new firmware added an "Audio Device" tab shown below.
The Audio Device tab displays the Output device, Volume control (NONE, Hardware, Software) and DSD mode - PCM. I used the ARSY Ne-2 USB-C output to the ADI-2 DAC FS. This setup works well over Wifi or ethernet. With a 5G router connection I didn’t notice any difference in sound quality between WiFi or ethernet. All 44kHz, 96kHz and 192kHz audio files played without compression when using UPnP over WiFi connection.
Documentation
A tiny 3.5” nine page, foldout operating instructions guide came with the unit. It's limited but is enough information to get the unit up and running.
Airplay
The Ne-2 includes Airplay capability. If you select AirPlay in the Mac OS X, System Settings: Sound control panel, you can use the Qobuz app to directly play music to the Ne-2, but it will be downsampled to 44.1kHz if it’s high resolution audio. It’s a nice feature for playing directly to the Ne-2 without a third party UPnP audio player.
What do you get with the Ne-2 streamer that you don’t get with an RPi4?
A streamer that connects to a router with an ethernet cable and instantly offers streaming capability. OR via Wifi with minimal SSID and password setup. It sounds great with absolutely minimal configuration. At $169, it’s a bit more money than an RPi4, but it can be up and running quickly with little configuration knowledge. A power adapter is NOT included with the Ne-2 or the RPi4. However, a USB-C PD power adapter of 15W or more will work well with either one.
Overall, I'm very impressed with the enhanced UPnP stability provided with the new ARSY Ne-2 version.
Last edited:
Jazz
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Ralph_Cramden
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@amirm has tested two Arylic products. They didn’t fare well. They use the outdated Linkplay A31 module.
I just received my second ne2 streamer, am pretty satisfied. The only thing that is not that great IMO are the 8 watts they gulp while idle... Would have been great if the company had implemented a trigger/standby mode.
The updated OS Release 2025.10.10.001 has enabled the Qobuz Connect feature.
Thanks for the update. I will pick one up this week.
Will the NE-1streamer be released in the United States? It's been up on the Arsy website for some time.
The Ne-1 streamer is not currently scheduled for release in the United States.
Dear all,
maybe there is someone who can help on this issue:
I use ROON and the LAN line doesn't even show up, only the wifi connection...
I might be wrong but my NE-2 streamers seem to prioritize wifi to LAN when sending data, which is quite a nuance as the wifi signal always breaks down when my partner is in home office (via Wifi/WLAN). I cannot change/administrate anything on my spouse's office laptop). I have tried all kinds of router settings (e.g. prioritizing certain connections), but alas... The streamer shows up on my network, so I can only guess that it's got to do with the ARSY or Roon.. I understand that you cannot prioritize via ARSY web interface..
Any hints how I can make my ARSY use the LAN line to stream music?
ARSY via LAN → 1 Gbit/s
ARSY via WLAN 5 GHz → 60 Mbit/s and below (only using 5 GHz because of huge amount of neighbours using 2,5 GHz and Roon generally suggesting only using 5 GHz)
They show up as two separate ip-addresses on my router interface.
OS Release 2025.10.10.001
maybe there is someone who can help on this issue:
I use ROON and the LAN line doesn't even show up, only the wifi connection...
I might be wrong but my NE-2 streamers seem to prioritize wifi to LAN when sending data, which is quite a nuance as the wifi signal always breaks down when my partner is in home office (via Wifi/WLAN). I cannot change/administrate anything on my spouse's office laptop). I have tried all kinds of router settings (e.g. prioritizing certain connections), but alas... The streamer shows up on my network, so I can only guess that it's got to do with the ARSY or Roon.. I understand that you cannot prioritize via ARSY web interface..
Any hints how I can make my ARSY use the LAN line to stream music?
ARSY via LAN → 1 Gbit/s
ARSY via WLAN 5 GHz → 60 Mbit/s and below (only using 5 GHz because of huge amount of neighbours using 2,5 GHz and Roon generally suggesting only using 5 GHz)
They show up as two separate ip-addresses on my router interface.
OS Release 2025.10.10.001
Last edited:
jannek
Active Member
Hello, can a proud NE-2 owner please confirm that it works with Spotify lossless quality setting?
As long as you plug in the LAN line cable, it will automatically prioritize the use of the LAN line connection.
Ne-2 can works with Sotify lossless quality setting.
tallbeardedone
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eyeing one of these. Tidal connect and Spotify connect fed digital via coax to my Anthem AVM 70 processor for 2.2 stereo with ARC corrected bass below 400hz.
owners, thoughts after a few months use? anything buggy or annoying I should be aware of? looks like a wonderfully simple streamer I can use native apps with with fantastic SINAD and jitter measurements for an incredible price? What am I missing?
owners, thoughts after a few months use? anything buggy or annoying I should be aware of? looks like a wonderfully simple streamer I can use native apps with with fantastic SINAD and jitter measurements for an incredible price? What am I missing?
jannek
Active Member
Think about a Wiim Mini if you don't need analog.
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