Here's my review, albeit a touch late...
iFi iDSD Neo DAC Review
Introduction:
I am quite happy and grateful to have been included in iFi’s USA Review Tour for their recently released iDSD Neo fully balanced DAC and headphone amplifier. I’ve always been a fan of Burr-Brown-based DAC designs ever since I bought a Yamaha AVR back in 2009 that sported a very nice Burr-Brown DAC that was unusually high tier for the product class. That natural sense of space, tonality, and detail is intoxicating, and I was curious to see if the Neo offered a similar experience.
My reference DAC is a Chord Mojo, which I use both in my home stereo and with headphones and IEMs. It has a wonderfully holographic, smooth, and detailed sound to it (despite it measuring audibly neutral) and pairs really well with everything I currently have. I also have a Monoprice Monolith THX 788 DAC and headphone amp which is incredibly linear and clean, although sterile sounding compared to the Chord.
I have actually been on the hunt for a DAC to replace my Mojo as a dedicated home stereo DAC, and previously had been considering upgrading to a Chord Qutest and obtaining one for demo. When the opportunity to review the Neo came along, I jumped on it, curious both to try an iFi product for the first time as well as a dedicated Burr-Brown DAC design.
All tracks were streamed from Tidal and Qobuz via Roon with non-destructive volume leveling enabled. MQA was enabled through Roon and the Neo for Tidal tracks that were encoded as such. At this time, I will declare that it is my opinion, based on a lot of recent and older evidence, that MQA is a lossy format and is inferior to FLAC. I won’t go so far as to say that I can hear the differences between FLAC and MQA-equivalent songs, but if the math says it’s lossy, then it’s lossy. I do appreciate that MQA can deliver very high quality files over 4G networks faster than Qobuz delivers their FLAC files, but that’s the nature of compression making a file smaller.
Unboxing and Accessories:
The Neo comes fairly well-equipped out of the box. You get the DAC, which can be mounted horizontally or vertically with the included, matching aluminum stand; an iFi switching power supply; USB A to USB B cable; RCA cable; port protector for the optical jack; remote control; and ¼” to 1/8” headphone jack adapter; and instruction booklet. The product arrives in a sturdy white cardboard box with thin cardboard sleeve over it. Opening the box reveals the DAC encased in thick foam lining and 3 partitioned small cardboard boxes underneath that contain all the accessories. This was a great way to package and present the product, although I would have liked to see an optical and coaxial cable as those are inputs available on the Neo.
Home stereo DAC Performance:
For reference purposes, this is my current stereo system used for evaluation:
Power Conditioner: Panamax M-5100 PM (main system), Monster HTS 1600 (sub and networking equipment and Roon Core)
Source: Roon Core over ethernet to Bluesound Node 2i stream
DAC: iFi iDSD Neo fed via optical from the Node
Preamp: Schiit Saga (2017 model) w/Shughuang Treasure CV-181 tube, fed via RCA
Power Amp: Crown XLS 2502, fed via RCA
Speakers: JMLab/Focal Chorus 715’s
Subwoofer: Rel T/5i
Acoustic Treatment: Acoustic Panels behind mains and at first reflection point on left wall, Sub-Dude II subwoofer isolation platform.
Interconnects: various brands
Speaker Cables: Pine Tree Audio custom 14 AWG quad braid OFC terminated with rhodium banana clips
The difference between the Mojo and the Neo was a bit startling at first and made me unsure that was I was hearing was real and not expectation bias. Instead of sitting and listening critically right away, I put on one of my favorite playlists and just let the music play in the background at a comfortable volume (around 55-60dB). I did this to let my brain adjust to any perceived differences in the sound presentation as well as to calm some of my own bias down.
The first thing I consistently noticed was that notes, all notes, were more immediate and crisply defined. The starting synth loops in Cyran’s Get Wild (Qobuz, 44.1/16 FLAC) when played through my system with the Mojo as DAC have longer decay and tend to blur together just a little bit. With the Neo, these beginning notes had clear definition between each other, with a clearly audible, yet momentary, gap between each note as it decayed and echoed.
The second change that was consistent was that bass notes exhibited this same kind of definition that I noticed in the upper midrange/low treble synth loops. A good example of this is the rolling bass and percussion lines in the latter half of Darren Styles Switch (Tidal, 44.1/16 FLAC). Rapid and playful double bass and synth bass notes hammer away with speed and authority whilst not coloring the lower midrange or treble’s airiness.
Third, the depth, width, and layering of the soundstage improved. The Mojo is a more intimate sounding DAC overall whereas the Neo is spacious, impressively detailed, and places and holds each musical element in the stage firmly. This is evident while listening to UnSun’s Time (Qobuz 44.1/16 FLAC). This track (the entire album actually) is very well composed and arranged but suffers from compression that tends to flatten the soundstage out and kills the airiness in the female vocals and other treble. With the Neo, this compression is still noticeable but far less so. The straining, guttural bass guitar comes through with great expression, Anna Stefanowicz’s voice soars and echoes, and the complementing harmonies and melodies in the leading and backing guitars, synths, and percussion flow together with ample separation.
Headphone Use Performance:
I didn’t spend a terribly large amount of time using the Neo as a headphone amp because I do the majority of my listening on my stereo these days. I did cycle through the V-Moda M-100 Crossfades (with XL pads), Beyerdynamic DT 7700 (80 ohm), and DCA Ether Flows on the Neo. Pairing the V-Moda’s with the Neo resulted in the single best experience I’ve had with these tanky, bass-cannon headphones. Bass was deep, articulate, with very little bleed into the midrange, with a reasonably large soundstage for a closed-back can, and the treble had a sparkle and refinement that the Mojo simply doesn’t bring to the M-100’s. The DT 770’s were not a good pairing however, as they sounded sterile without body or richness. The best pairing was surprisingly the Ether Flows. The soundstage was utterly massive and truly outside my head, with pinpoint details, rich, impactful bass, and artfully rendered midrange. Massively superior to pairing the Flows with the Chord Mojo.
Final Thoughts:
As a DAC alone, the Neo is superb and offers performance that justifies its price tag. The inclusion of wireless connectivity is a benefit for those audiophiles who prefer these solutions (even though I do not personally), and the design and ability to mount horizontally or vertically was a very thoughtful inclusion into the design of the product. Unfortunately, the headphone amp is just not up to snuff. While offering adequate power for most high sensitivity and low impedance headphones and IEMs, when paired with something more demanding and refined, such as the Ether Flow, the Neo’s headphone amp stage is seemingly lackluster compared to similar offerings.
All in all, the iFi iDSD Neo is a fantastic device with some shortcomings that can be easily overlooked if all you’re looking for is a killer DAC with a sexy appearance.
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