ARSY Ne-2 Streamer Review

[dananski]

Very neat indeed. I might have bought this if I'd waited - I just set up a little custom Roon box (MeLE Quieter4C running Fedora) for similar money and I added a JM20 dongle DAC for similar performance (though the integrated 3.5mm output is ok).

I suppose my device is more flexible (it's a PC) but this ARSY would do the job without the hassle of setting up software and debugging ALSA/Pipewire issues every so often.

One question: if you plug in a multichannel USB DAC, does it pop up in Roon with all the channels available and working?

 

[anchan]

@amirm I’m not sure how you’d do it, but is it possible to test the WiFi performance? After all, it’s a key component to a streamer.

I bought a WiiM mini for a third floor bedroom and found the dropouts and disconnections unacceptable. I had a 15 year old Sonos unit laying around that I ended up using instead. No connection problems at all.

So I think WiFi reception would be pretty interesting and important to check if you had some protocol

 

[DavidEdwinAston]

What do you mean?

I think the WiiM basic is cheaper as well? WiiM Mini is $89

Sorry Jimster, I hoped my second comment would show I was just having a bit of fun with the product name.

 

[Multicore]

Plug in an ethernet cable is hard to use?

It depends. If you don't have one then you first must solve that problem. I have a box of them so I'm ok on that score. But I need to get the step ladder from another room to access the back of the router (it's over 3m up) or I need to crawl behind my desk and computer to unplug its cable and connect the thing there instead. (Disconnecting any other wired device to hijack its cable is even worse.) And then undo all this once I've got it on the WiFi. Only after all this palaver do I get to move it to the audio gear and see if it works.

I do not think it's my job here to defend people who don't like doing this stuff against those who want to accuse them of some kind of inferiority or not trying hard enough.

From my own point of view, as someone with deep engineering knowledge of wired and wireless networking and who admires the technical achievements today's products in many respects, I am still routinely appalled by the abject usability of IT products for people who aren't members of the priesthood. I personally get no satisfaction, sense of superiority, or job security from being able to do these IT support tasks other find hard.

 

[obsessive9119]

USB output, huh? Very unusual. Sadly not a good solution for Qobuz, but I don’t know if they are any good solutions for Qobuz, except Roon maybe ($$$).

WiiM integrates very well with qobuz

 

[M.C. Logan]

Making products that people find easy to use is not completely unknown in consumer electronics. Some people think it helps sales.

Contempt for idiots is also an option.

Wilful ignorance is never a good look.
I think you will find that anyone who understands the discussions on this site is capable of plugging a network cable into a switch and even the idiots who believe in "audiophile switches" can manage it. The device in question is part of the 'computer audio' world, it's not an FM radio. Cabled networking is infinitely easier for the end user than WiFi, aside from it's benefits in terms of stability.

 

[M.C. Logan]

Audirvana is a very good option against Roon...

Only if you use Apple kit, not so common outside the USA.

 

[obsessive9119]

Cabled networking is infinitely easier for the end user than WiFi, aside from it's benefits in terms of stability.

Nah.

I’m a programmer. I have Cat 6 run though the house. I still think I wifi is way easier.

I buy a WiiM and plug it in where I want it, open the WiiM app. It detects the new device and runs me though a couple of steps to configure it. Music plays.

Alternatively, for a cabled device I have to unplug an access point or find a spare cable and get a stool to connect it directly to the router, then configure it via a web interface, unplug it and go and set it up wherever I actually want it.

 

[M.C. Logan]

That's why WPS was created. I don't entirely dislike the approach of the device defaulting to being an access point that you can connect to to do the configuration with a web interface, which seems to be what they've done according to post #96. That said, getting a browser to work without https looks likely to get progressively harder, so it may not be a good option for long.

WPS is deprecated as it is a serious security weakness and should be disabled on any wireless routers and access points.

 

[amper42]

WPS is deprecated as it is a serious security weakness and should be disabled on any wireless routers and access points.

If you are concerned about security don't buy ARSY NE-2.

When plugged in it automatically becomes an access point with NO password. All you need is the preset IP address to log into it. Once it's configured on a Wifi network you can log into it the same way but with the IP address assigned by the router and again NO password. WPS is Fort Knox in comparison to ARSY network security.

 

[M.C. Logan]

Nah.

I’m a programmer. I have Cat 6 run though the house. I still think I wifi is way easier.

I buy a WiiM and plug it in where I want it, open the WiiM app. It detects the new device and runs me though a couple of steps to configure it. Music plays.

Alternatively, for a cabled device I have to unplug an access point or find a spare cable and get a stool to connect it directly to the router, then configure it via a web interface, unplug it and go and set it up wherever I actually want it.

Why would you need a stool? If you have cat 6 everywhere just plug into one of your floor/waist level patch points. The only things I have on WiFi are devices without RJ45 ports, which then needs an app on a phone to configure (which frequently require the user to switch WiFi settings on the phone to the device hotspot, then the phone decides to switch back to the main WiFi network, as it can't reach the internet, half way through the configuration, forcing you to start all over, not user friendly). With cabled connections and DHCP you just plug in and go, zero end user configuration.

 

[M.C. Logan]

If you are concerned about security don't buy ARSY NE-2.

When plugged in it automatically becomes an access point with NO password. All you need is the preset IP address to log into it. Once it's configured on a Wifi network you can log into it the same way but with the IP address assigned by the router and again NO password. WPS is Fort Knox in comparison to ARSY network security.

Yuck, that's a don't buy from me then

 

[M.C. Logan]

It depends. If you don't have one then you first must solve that problem. I have a box of them so I'm ok on that score. But I need to get the step ladder from another room to access the back of the router (it's over 3m up) or I need to crawl behind my desk and computer to unplug its cable and connect the thing there instead. (Disconnecting any other wired device to hijack its cable is even worse.) And then undo all this once I've got it on the WiFi. Only after all this palaver do I get to move it to the audio gear and see if it works.

I do not think it's my job here to defend people who don't like doing this stuff against those who want to accuse them of some kind of inferiority or not trying hard enough.

From my own point of view, as someone with deep engineering knowledge of wired and wireless networking and who admires the technical achievements today's products in many respects, I am still routinely appalled by the abject usability of IT products for people who aren't members of the priesthood. I personally get no satisfaction, sense of superiority, or job security from being able to do these IT support tasks other find hard.

Why is your router 3m up a wall?
I have never seen any installed anywhere than at ground level, whoever installed it should have at least fitted a switch at ground level to replicate the ports on the router which were made inaccessible by putting it there. Seems like you have a corner case or is this a USAican thing?

 

[obsessive9119]

Why would you need a stool? If you have cat 6 everywhere just plug into one of your floor/waist level patch points.

Because the router is intentionally out of the way, on the top shelf of a cupboard in the study.

I don’t have a bunch of random patch points around the house - I have ones where I need them, and they have things connected.

 

[Apesbrain]

Nice to see native support for LMS (squeezelite) in this and its less expensive sibling.

 

[kschac]

I purchased one of these units on Amazon for use in a secondary system driving outdoor and ceiling speakers. Setup was quite easy. I am using the Wifi function, which works well. I am using Wifi because the unit is within a cabinet, where it feeds a preamp and power amp, with no ready access to ethernet. Using Roon, the unit appeared immediately in the Roon setup screen and connected without incident. In a not-very-resolving system mostly used for background music, streaming from Tidal and Qobuz and/or my own ripped music files, the Arsy sounds excellent. My only issue is that I have been unable to stream DSD files to the unit without converting them to PCM. Using the DSD over PCM setting in Roon, I get a hiss only. I emailed Arsy but have not yet heard back.

 

[watchnerd]

It depends. If you don't have one then you first must solve that problem. I have a box of them so I'm ok on that score. But I need to get the step ladder from another room to access the back of the router (it's over 3m up) or I need to crawl behind my desk and computer to unplug its cable and connect the thing there instead. (Disconnecting any other wired device to hijack its cable is even worse.) And then undo all this once I've got it on the WiFi. Only after all this palaver do I get to move it to the audio gear and see if it works.

I do not think it's my job here to defend people who don't like doing this stuff against those who want to accuse them of some kind of inferiority or not trying hard enough.

From my own point of view, as someone with deep engineering knowledge of wired and wireless networking and who admires the technical achievements today's products in many respects, I am still routinely appalled by the abject usability of IT products for people who aren't members of the priesthood. I personally get no satisfaction, sense of superiority, or job security from being able to do these IT support tasks other find hard.

" But I need to get the step ladder from another room to access the back of the router (it's over 3m up) or I need to crawl behind my desk and computer to unplug its cable and connect the thing there instead"

You can buy more than one hot spot for your own house.

I have a mesh network hotspot right behind my stereo in the first floor living room.

The other mesh network hotspot is upstairs, in my den, where the Roon server is.

Home WiFi networks that extend beyond the router have been a reality for decades now.

 

[watchnerd]

To me, a streamer review that doesn't verify UPnP and Wifi functionality (when claimed by the manufacturer) is incomplete. Testing only Roon and ethernet as the sole configuration leaves buyers with a doorstop should they not happen to have an ethernet cable at the desired install location and the Wifi/UPnP is substandard or non-existent. The device can have the greatest SINAD ever published but if the Streamer doesn't support UPnP over WiFi a large group of buyers won't be interested.

I use to have ethernet cable all over the home. But today's WiFi and cable speeds are amazing offering 100+mb/sec transfer rates via internet at each device and 1 gig service for $60 a month. I paid $400 a month for a T1 in 1998. That speed now comes through cable internet at a fraction of the cost and today's Wifi routers can feed an entire home. There are fewer people than ever with ethernet cable running to all rooms of their home.

This is a bit of a strawman argument.

You don't need to have ethernet running all over your home.

I don't. I have a mesh network.

One of the mesh hotspots is behind the stereo, and I run ethernet from it into a streamer.

 

[watchnerd]

Why is your router 3m up a wall?
I have never seen any installed anywhere than at ground level, whoever installed it should have at least fitted a switch at ground level to replicate the ports on the router which were made inaccessible by putting it there. Seems like you have a corner case or is this a USAican thing?

It's not an American thing.

As an American, I've never had a router installed up on a wall. The coaxial cable jacks (broadband over cable) are near the floor, so the router goes close to that.

 

[harry925]

I purchased one of these units on Amazon for use in a secondary system driving outdoor and ceiling speakers. Setup was quite easy. I am using the Wifi function, which works well. I am using Wifi because the unit is within a cabinet, where it feeds a preamp and power amp, with no ready access to ethernet. Using Roon, the unit appeared immediately in the Roon setup screen and connected without incident. In a not-very-resolving system mostly used for background music, streaming from Tidal and Qobuz and/or my own ripped music files, the Arsy sounds excellent. My only issue is that I have been unable to stream DSD files to the unit without converting them to PCM. Using the DSD over PCM setting in Roon, I get a hiss only. I emailed Arsy but have not yet heard back.

I'm an engineer from ARSY. English is not my native language. Ne-2 does not support DSD decoding and needs to be converted to PCM