NEO iDSD Performance Edition
The NEO iDSD is our new 3-in-one DAC/amp. Since release we’ve made some upgrades to the original version to create the NEO iDSD Performance Edition.
With balanced ‘PureWave’ circuitry, unbeatable hi-res Bluetooth5.1 and MQA, the NEO is the ultimate in hi-res playback.
Place it horizontally or vertically to suit its surroundings. The OLED display flips to match orientation and the latest firmware provides a highly requested ‘Display Dim’ function.
One rotary knob controls functionality. Sleek, sophisticated and versatile.
All. Bases. Covered.
Enjoy the NEO iDSD as a pure DAC. Connect it to a separate integrated amp or preamp using the fixed-level analogue output.
Or treat it as a DAC/preamp with a variable output. The ideal companion to a power amp or active speakers.
And headphone users will love using the excellent amp stage to create a fabulous ‘head-fi’ system.
Movies and gaming ‘upsampled’
Love your music but also love movies and gaming?
The NEO iDSD Performance Edition will enhance your movie and gameplay experience even further.
Add the included S/PDIF iPurifier2 to make movie or game audio match the amazing picture quality of your 4K TV. Feel more immersed than ever before as sound finally matches picture in spectacular fashion.
Pair the NEO with the PS4 or Xbox One X for the ultimate gaming experience.
Enhanced engine
The Burr-Brown DAC chipset still fuels the NEO‘s ‘digital engine’.
But we’ve upgraded it up with a new 16-core, XMOS microcontroller that processes the data via USB and S/PDIF digital inputs. Double the clock-speed. Four times the memory.
Since it’s original release we’ve added more digital filters for your listening pleasure. The NEO iDSD now comes with the GTO, Minimum Phase, Bit-Perfect and Standard filters.
Add in jitter eradication including our GMT femto-precision clock, intelligent memory buffer and the newly included iPurifier3 and super smooth listening is yours.
Hi-res heaven
The NEO iDSD supports PCM up to 32-bit/768kHz, DSD up to 512 and DXDx2. All remain ‘bit-perfect’.
The NEO provides full MQA decoding to ensure the best possible sound quality. Check out our MQA set-up tutorial for Tidal, Roon and Audirvana here.
Plus with MQA over S/PDIF, take advantage of any MQA CDs in your collection.
Bleeding-edge Bluetooth
iFi uses Qualcomm’s new QCC5100 Bluetooth processing IC.
All current high-definition Bluetooth audio formats are supported – aptx, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX LL, LDAC, HWA/LHDC, AAC and SBC.
The NEO iDSD ‘remembers’ up to 7 devices and has impressive range on Bluetooth5.0.
Ride the ‘PureWave’
Not only is the NEO iDSD a purist design – no DSP, no digital filter selection and no change in analogue playback – it is also all designed around a balanced circuit design named ‘PureWave‘. Read more below.
It uses audiophile-grade components and delivers sonic ‘purity’ thanks to the extraordinarily low levels of noise and distortion.
Power and poise
The headphone amp stage maintains an engaging balance between sonic power and poise – no matter what it is tasked to drive. From high-sensitivity in-ear monitors to current-hungry planar headphones, it drives them with aplomb.
It has a continuous power output of over 1000mW into 32ohms available through the balanced headphone socket. Plenty of oomph for the headphone user.
Just more music
The NEO iDSD and the new Performance Edition contain top-notch audio components to back-up the outstanding balanced circuit design.
Quality components and the Performance Edition extras – the iPurifier3 and S/PDIF iPurifier2 – mean audio with even more clarity and texture.
DACs convert digital information, stored or streamed by computers, into music we can hear through speakers or headphones. Every device that’s a source of digital sound has a built-in DAC (TVs, games consoles, CD players, phones, portable music players etc). Dedicated external DACs sound much better than standard DACs used in digital devices such as phones.
MP3 – this is the most popular file format, every device in the world can use it.
PCM – Pulse Code Modulation is the most common format for CDs and DVDs.
DSD – Direct Stream Digital is a very high-quality audio format, better than CD quality. The higher the number (sample rate), the better the recording – DSD64, 128, 256, 512 and 1024.
DXD – Digital eXtreme Definition is a very high-quality PCM format. It was developed to edit hi-res (high quality) recordings recorded in DSD.
MQA is a very high-quality streaming technology. It’s a compressed digital-audio format that doesn’t lose the audio quality of the original performance recording. More here.
If a file is ‘bit-perfect’ it means it has stayed the same. For example, if a PCM file is played through a DAC to improve the sound quality and the DAC does not change the file format. The file is ‘bit-perfect’.
This is the latest version of the Bluetooth wireless communication standard.
Its main benefits are improved speed and greater range – it’s faster and can operate over greater distances than older versions of Bluetooth.
You can find out more here.
Digital signal processing (DSP) is the use of digital processing, such as by computers or more specialized digital signal processors, to perform a wide variety of signal processing operations. When it comes to audio the overuse of DSP can result in an over-compressed, unnatural sound.
