iFi Neo iDSD DAC

iFi audio is an award-winning audio tech company headquartered in Southport, UK.

We got to work on a DAC that ticks all the boxes you care about. If you want a DAC to disappear into the audio chain and let you focus on the important stuff: the music, it is Plug and Play.

The Sound

If you are familiar with iFi DACs, you already know they are all based on Texas Instrument Burr Brown chipsets. This tends to mean they share the same basic sound family and are somewhat warmer sounding than many ESS Sabre-based DACs.

“The Burr-Brown True Native chipset means file formats remain unchanged or ‘bit-perfect’… At iFi we use Burr Brown extensively in our products having selected it for its natural-sounding ‘musicality’ and True Native architecture. Our experience with this IC means we know how to make the most of it.” – iFi

The Burr Brown DAC decoder is paired with a new 16-core XMOS USB chip, featuring double the clock speed and four times the memory of the current USB standard. iFi claims that they employ extensive jitter-eradication technologies, including a GMT (Global Master Timing) femto-precision clock and an intelligent memory buffer

Supported Formats

All the current, high-resolution, digital file format standards are supported, and as mentioned, iFi partnered with MQA to create the single digital filter (GTO) in the NEO

Wireless

The NEO uses the latest 5.0 Bluetooth chipset to support CD quality and beyond up to 24/96 sample rate. Bluetooth performance is genuinely getting closer to equaling a wired connection with every new generation.

 Connectivity

For cable connections, the NEO iDSD provides three digital inputs – asynchronous USB Type B, as well as both optical and coaxial flavours of S/PDIF. Three devices may be connected simultaneously via these inputs

Headphone

The headphone amp stage maintains an engaging balance between sonic power and poise.

Reviews

“The NEO iDSD’s connectivity is impressive, to say the least, as there seems to be little it cannot handle. This was a family pleaser in my household, as we are a mixture of Android and Apple users, it was so easy for everyone to connect and listen regardless of brand. Even Spotify via iPhone sounded pretty decent.” read the review

 

Specifications

• Inputs                                                                       
• Digital - USB3.0 B (USB2.0 compatible)/S-PDIF (coaxial/optical)
• Bluetooth 5.0™ ( AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX LL, LDAC, LHDC/HWA Codec)
• Formats - DSD512/256/128/64, Octa/Quad/Double/Single-Speed DSD
• DXD (768/705.6/384/352.8kHz), Double/Single-Speed DXD
• PCM (768/705.6/384/352.8/192/176.4/96/88.2/48/44.1kHz)
• MQA
• Bluetooth 96kHz
• Outputs                                                                       
• Balanced XLR - 6.3V / 7.7V max. (variable) - 4.4V fixed
• UnBAL RCA - 3.2V / 3.9V max. (variable) - 2.2V fixed
• Impedance out  - Balanced <= 100Ω      UnBAL <= 50Ω                                
• SNR  -112dB(A) @ 0dBFS (UnBAL/BAL)
• DNR >116dB(A) @ -60dBFS (UnBAL/BAL)
• THD + N  <0.0015% @ 0dBFS (UnBAL/BAL)
• Headphone Section                                                                       
• Output                                         
• Balanced >6.4V/68.6 mW (@ 600Ω) >5.77V/1040 mW (@ 32Ω)
• UnBAL >3.25V/17.6 mW (@ 600Ω) >3V/295 mW (@ 32Ω)
• Output Impedance<1Ω (UnBAL/BAL)                                                                    
• SNR   -112dBA (3.3V UnBAL/6.2V BAL)
• THD + N  <0.0015% (125mW @ 32Ω)
• Dynamic range  -120dB(A)                                                                                     
• Input voltage - DC5V/2.5A, AC 100 -240V, 50/60Hz (with iPower)                        
• Dimensions  W D H    214 x146 x 41 mm     8.4" x 5.7" x 1.6"
• Weight  - 970 g (2.14 Ibs)
• Warranty - 12 months                                                                                            

 Audiofi is your iFi Neo iDSD dealer in Vancouver, we ship free in Canada