ARSY Ne-2 Streamer Review

[Ajax]

Many thanks for your review Amir, your work is always greatly appreciated.

However, this is getting ridiculous! An all in one high performing Streamer/ DAC for just US$159 producing a SINAD of 114db, right on the transparency limit, and made in Germany so compliance and warranty should be fine.

There is an expresion in engineeing that desribes a well perfoming product as "fit for purpose". We are now at around $2k for a near SOTA system that would satisfy any "knowledgable" music lover. Just add power amp and speakers to the ARSY ....

e.g. ARSY NE2 + Buckeye (or Audiophonics etc) Ncore 502 MP + Revel 105 speakers + Second hand sub (say SVS SB2000 or Velodyne 12").

I agree with your thoughts of doing away with the app and simply playing music at CD quality (44.1/16) with say Tidal connect, so your phone acts as a remote.

 

[PristineSound]

So this does not come with a native app with UI to control it?

 

[JeremyFife]

Thanks for a review of something slightly different. Nice measurements.
I'm feeling a bit dumb: how would I use this? Neither my DAC nor my Amp has streaming controls and upstairs I use the laptop so don't need this.
Without a front end of some sort I'm stuck. Have I missed something?

 

[amper42]

So this does not come with a native app with UI to control it?

Apparently, no app and no volume control. Looks like you need computer, preamp or external DAC to control volume?
Lots of users reporting issues getting it to work. When they do get it to work they report it downsamples music in many situations (like Airplay).

 

[amirm]

1. When you use USB or optical out does it bypass the CS43198 DAC

That is the only way it can work.

 

[amirm]

When they do get it to work they report it downsamples music in many situations (like Airplay).

That is a limitation of Airplay and shows up in every streamer. This is why I use Roon for testing. Multitone is at 192 khz sampling so no issues there at all.

 

[amirm]

So this does not come with a native app with UI to control it?

Correct. You use the app you want and it basically shows up as a payback device.

 

[amirm]

Apparently, no app and no volume control. Looks like you need computer, preamp or external DAC to control volume?

You would use a power amp with volume control. Or use software volume control.

 

[Soniclife]

So this does not come with a native app with UI to control it?

You need something to send one of the following streams.

AirPlay 2, Roon Bridge, UPnP, Spotify Connect, Tidal, HQPlayer NAA, Squeezelite

I'm not sure what to make of the no app of it's own thing, but I've never used them Wiim app to play music, always something else, and I doubt I'm alone.

 

[Esprit]

That is the only way it can work.

Ethernet input, coaxial output?
What is the max output resolution?
Is the USB-C input only for power?
Thanks

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Internal photos. Sure looks a lot like a Linkplay module in there...

https://fccid.io/2BLQH-MT0001/Internal-Photos/Internal-Photos-7774835

 

[PristineSound]

This sure does beat something like the Bluesound Node. But always keep in mind these units lasts as long as they are still supported by the manufacturer, the moment the manufacturer stop updating the firmware, it is prone to stop working with streaming services.

For $160, it's a great upgrade to start streaming for those who are happy with their existing system that doesn't have streaming.

 

[3125b]

IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n dual band Wi-Fi

Is this a newly released product? No support for current or even last gen WiFi standards is not a big deal, but a weird decision.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Is this a newly released product? No support for current or even last gen WiFi standards is not a big deal, but a weird decision.

Not so weird considering they’re most likely using an off the shelf streaming module.

 

[jhaider]

So this does not come with a native app with UI to control it?

What a relief! An app is useful to control system setup features (PEQ, loudness, bass management) but otherwise Apple Music has a perfectly good UI. Why duplicate?

 

[Alvaro7]

Hi, I am very naive: what’s the advantage of using this instead of an airport allowing steaming from an iPhone?

Thanks!

 

[amirm]

In the past, I have talked about "push" vs "pull" streaming and how I am in favor of the former. Push streaming means another app is in control of the network device, running on a rich platform such as a phone or PC. The DAC then looks like a local DAC, albeit over a network. This is why I sometimes call these "bridge" devices when they have digital outputs as is the case.

The advantage here is that you don't have to learn a new UI to figure out how to play something. That is what would be required if your streamer was a pull device. In that case, the intelligence is local to the device, initiating/pulling content to its DAC. These require ton more software development and far higher chance of bugs. This workload also causes companies to cease supporting these devices, all else being equal.

In this testing, ARSY Ne-2 immediately showed up as a device for my Roon player to play to. Nothing new to learn. All the rich functionality of Roon at my disposal just as if this was a local DAC. Contrast this with streamers with their own players where it takes me half hour just to figure out what is what.

 

[amirm]

Hi, I am very naive: what’s the advantage of using this instead of an airport allowing steaming from an iPhone?

Thanks!

It plays similar role except that it supports additional protocols that provide higher (objective) fidelity than Airplay/airport.

 

[modified]

What is this supposed to mean: "its balanced output design enhances noise rejection and improves overall audio fidelity"

 

[amirm]

We will have to wait until their weekend is over to answer that. The output of many DAC ICs is differential so maybe they are maintaining that all the way to the RCA terminals. I am not sure.