[Melbergall]

Performance edition HW is identical except for the accessories. You can download the latest firmware from the ifi site to access filters on the unit.
Maybe try an xpower upgrade for the power supply.

Thanks. And yes, I was considering that.

 

[Melbergall]

Hi welcome, and I am glad to hear from another happy owner of NEO.

It depends what the price difference is between the regular NEO and the PE? If not by much then why not return and go for the PE. At least it comes with the usb purifier and the coax purifier that even if you don’t have a use for it you can sell them off.

Deric

Thx Deric. I've ID'd a retailer selling the PE for only $80 more than I paid without those upgrades so yes, probably going to pull the trigger. Thx again --

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Thanks. And yes, I was considering that.

Thx Deric. I've ID'd a retailer selling the PE for only $80 more than I paid without those upgrades so yes, probably going to pull the trigger. Thx again --

Let us know what you think if you decide to grab it!

 

[dericchan1]

Thx Deric. I've ID'd a retailer selling the PE for only $80 more than I paid without those upgrades so yes, probably going to pull the trigger. Thx again --

For $80 more its a no brainer. At least you are getting two additional pieces and its a newer unit than the original unit (even if the hardware is the same) and the unit comes with the new firmware so you don't need to flash it yourself

 

[Melbergall]

For $80 more its a no brainer. At least you are getting two additional pieces and its a newer unit than the original unit (even if the hardware is the same) and the unit comes with the new firmware so you don't need to flash it yourself

Yep. Just completed the sale. I hate having to return the original one as I'm sensitive to being as fair as I can be with etailers, but the etailer I bought it from -- one of the largest and best known -- confirmed that they don't sell the PE edition. And from what I can gather, very few do. Not sure why --

 

[dericchan1]

Yep. Just completed the sale. I hate having to return the original one as I'm sensitive to being as fair as I can be with etailers, but the etailer I bought it from -- one of the largest and best known -- confirmed that they don't sell the PE edition. And from what I can gather, very few do. Not sure why --

Cheers, enjoy your NEO PE!!! As others suggest, try a better power supply. I started off with a iPower X and now using an Allo Shanti LPS to power both the NEO and my raspberry pi as a streamer.

In my opinion, DSD playback is absolutely stunning, you really should give it a try.

Deric

 

[Melbergall]

Cheers, enjoy your NEO PE!!! As others suggest, try a better power supply. I started off with a iPower X and now using an Allo Shanti LPS to power both the NEO and my raspberry pi as a streamer.

In my opinion, DSD playback is absolutely stunning, you really should give it a try.

Deric

So I've invested in the ifi NEO which, to my ear, offers a bit more air, soundstage definition and overall top end clarity vs the Chord Mojo I've used previously. But not a lot honestly. Isn't it crazy how, I imagine most of us, would spend hundreds of $ to achieve what might be a slight, incremental 10% improvement in sound -- the kind of gain that might only be clearly perceptible via a quick A/B comparison at matched volumes? Done it before -- and probably will again... reluctantly at first but happily in the end.

 

[dericchan1]

So I've invested in the ifi NEO which, to my ear, offers a bit more air, soundstage definition and overall top end clarity vs the Chord Mojo I've used previously. But not a lot honestly. Isn't it crazy how, I imagine most of us, would spend hundreds of $ to achieve what might be a slight, incremental 10% improvement in sound -- the kind of gain that might only be clearly perceptible via a quick A/B comparison at matched volumes? Done it before -- and probably will again... reluctantly at first but happily in the end.

Yup, you should talk to others who invested 15x more than the NEO say on a Chord Dave to get that incremental 10% improvement than the NEO.

Deric

 

[Melbergall]

Yup, you should talk to others who invested 15x more than the NEO say on a Chord Dave to get that incremental 10% improvement than the NEO.

Deric

LMAO. Thank god that's not me. But if I had the scratch, it probably would be!

 

[dericchan1]

LMAO. Thank god that's not me. But if I had the scratch, it probably would be!

Nothing wrong with that tho, just when we talk about diminishing return, gear like the NEO presents a good value that you simply have to spend quite a bit more to have better sound quality than the NEO.

 

[iFi audio]

Nothing wrong with that tho, just when we talk about diminishing return, gear like the NEO presents a good value that you simply have to spend quite a bit more to have better sound quality than the NEO.

That's true and we like how our NEO iDSD performs, but we're far from saying that there aren't DACs that would do more. Our Pro iDSD still is a clearly better product, but considering the price difference it should be, right ?

 

[dericchan1]

Nothing wrong with that tho, just when we talk about diminishing return, gear like the NEO presents a good value that you simply have to spend quite a bit more to have better sound quality than the NEO.

Very true, it all depends at the end of the day how much you are willing to spend on DACs

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Very true, it all depends at the end of the day how much you are willing to spend on DACs

That's the never-ending question!

 

[H20Fidelity]

I sold my Burson dac/amp wanting a change for HD800S, I demoed NEO and really liked it, I bought one.

Its able to drive them single ended quite easily but I picked up a balanced cable and use that now.

Pretty exceptional driving power for a 5v power supply when running balanced.

 

[iFi audio]

Pretty exceptional driving power for a 5v power supply when running balanced.

That's affirmative, all our 5V-powered devices scale really well if they're fed with external quiet PSUs rather than USB lines. Thanks for your input!