Baudrillard_J
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- Apr 7, 2023
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I am starting this thread with the intention of having a discussion on the iFi Neo iDSD DAC/headphone amp combo and as a means to have information about it, that is now fragmented among other topics and threads in one place. I also find its manual lacking so any information collected from users and through iFi can be posted here.
I have used the iFi Neo iDSD since 2021 and I have mostly positive things to say about it. It is my first DAC so I cannot make any comparisons. I use it mostly to stream audio from Qobuz and Apple music, connect my TV (optical spdif/toslink)to my 2-channel stereo and listen to CD/SACD fed over coax from an external device. On the positive side I like that I get a display of the current input format although not the bit-rate. For example streaming a 88.2KHz / 24-bit PCM audio will show up as 88.2KHz PCM. I don't use the bluetooth option although it is straightforward to do so and wish there was a way to turn it off completely (maybe it does turn off when selecting a different input?). I have not used it as a headphone amplifier though and don't have any feedback on that.
On the negative side, as commented in this thread is the issue of firmware updates and how they affect the performance of the DAC. Thorsten Loesch who has designed products for iFi in the past is probably our best source of information on the device afaik. One thing to note regarding the display is that if you leave your device on at all times, as I do, you will get a definite burn-in on it. Thus it is better to set the display to OFF. Apparently, as discussed in the quoted thread it will also remove some of the extra noise that can creep in from the display electronics. Other things that I do not like are that the remote control shares codes with televisions from LG which can get annoying. Also, the coax without connection or connected to an turned-off device will, in my case pick-up considerable noise in the form of crackles and pops.
Having said that, my current main involvement is to see how one can take advantage of DSD/DXD decoding available on the iFi Neo. Has anyone here had any experience decoding DSD or playing SACD on it and what connection/player do you use? Also, does anyone know and explain the differences that each input and respective limitations, for each of the different supported formats? For example the manual states the digital inputs and supported formats but I cannot really tell what format is actually supported at each input and if there is any conversion from the raw input in order to support it on a given input. Other things that would interest I think this thread is any information on the switch from the Burr-Brown to the Sabre (it it that?).
Lastly, if someone can please convey my apologies to Thorsten Loesch it seems what I thought was a benign joke about German efficiency (within the context of that thread) was obviously not received as such.
I have used the iFi Neo iDSD since 2021 and I have mostly positive things to say about it. It is my first DAC so I cannot make any comparisons. I use it mostly to stream audio from Qobuz and Apple music, connect my TV (optical spdif/toslink)to my 2-channel stereo and listen to CD/SACD fed over coax from an external device. On the positive side I like that I get a display of the current input format although not the bit-rate. For example streaming a 88.2KHz / 24-bit PCM audio will show up as 88.2KHz PCM. I don't use the bluetooth option although it is straightforward to do so and wish there was a way to turn it off completely (maybe it does turn off when selecting a different input?). I have not used it as a headphone amplifier though and don't have any feedback on that.
On the negative side, as commented in this thread is the issue of firmware updates and how they affect the performance of the DAC. Thorsten Loesch who has designed products for iFi in the past is probably our best source of information on the device afaik. One thing to note regarding the display is that if you leave your device on at all times, as I do, you will get a definite burn-in on it. Thus it is better to set the display to OFF. Apparently, as discussed in the quoted thread it will also remove some of the extra noise that can creep in from the display electronics. Other things that I do not like are that the remote control shares codes with televisions from LG which can get annoying. Also, the coax without connection or connected to an turned-off device will, in my case pick-up considerable noise in the form of crackles and pops.
Having said that, my current main involvement is to see how one can take advantage of DSD/DXD decoding available on the iFi Neo. Has anyone here had any experience decoding DSD or playing SACD on it and what connection/player do you use? Also, does anyone know and explain the differences that each input and respective limitations, for each of the different supported formats? For example the manual states the digital inputs and supported formats but I cannot really tell what format is actually supported at each input and if there is any conversion from the raw input in order to support it on a given input. Other things that would interest I think this thread is any information on the switch from the Burr-Brown to the Sabre (it it that?).
Lastly, if someone can please convey my apologies to Thorsten Loesch it seems what I thought was a benign joke about German efficiency (within the context of that thread) was obviously not received as such.
