iFi audio NEO Stream - Sweet Streams!

[srkbear]

Yes, sorry a misunderstanding. It's just that audiophile forums are teeming with mean spirited people making vitriolic comments, as I've learned from lurking these sites for many years now.

Anyway, back to the NS, the presentation changes daily for the better, it just becomes unpleasant after 1 hour or so. I tend to beleive that burn in is real, based on my own experience rather than objective scientific facts or knowledge. Obviously a controversial subject, but I've experienced it too often just to dismiss it out of hand.

Best of luck with your NS. It’s a terrific piece of gear.

 

[Mr BubbaHyde]

Thanks all for chiming in. I'm using the 4.4mm Pentacon input on the Zen can, the volume is sitting about halfway most of the time, the setting is 6db.
I'm using u12t IEMs

I suspect it might be an internet issue, as I have a habit of switching tracks very quickly in Audirvana, instead of letting them play through, greedy for the clarity the NS brings lol

I have no experience with any IEMs in that price range so take this with a grain of salt but with my Zen Can 0db on the button is almost way too much for most of mine and the volume is usually never past say 11 O'clock.

I also have the IEMatch and honestly, I use it mostly when I want to be able to listen to my IEMs off of My Darkvoice, , yes I said that!

I would think if this continues to be an issue for you that there may be something on the power side working against you so do check out some other power supplies to see if the issue might be in that area. I have no issue with what the IEMatch does, but you will find plenty of posters that claim that in itself causes issues, so you are aware.

Yes, sorry a misunderstanding. It's just that audiophile forums are teeming with mean spirited people making vitriolic comments, as I've learned from lurking these sites for many years now.

Anyway, back to the NS, the presentation changes daily for the better, it just becomes unpleasant after 1 hour or so. I tend to beleive that burn in is real, based on my own experience rather than objective scientific facts or knowledge. Obviously a controversial subject, but I've experienced it too often just to dismiss it out of hand.

I have experienced a bit of what you're referring to with the sound changing just a bit in the first say 20 mins after powering on. In practice, I have started turning on the NS before I sit down to listen, it isn't dramatic with my headphones, and I also did not notice it in my speaker setup.

I also do not know if burn-in is an actual thing, have I heard instances...yes, but as to whether or not it is or is not a thing is still up for debate, as I also have a Denafrips Ares II, and quite honestly I hate the sound of it after I power it off, and have been told I should just leave it on, lol.

Cheers!!

 

[innocentblood]

anybody in Singapore who bought this? what power supply did it come with?

 

[srkbear]

Yes, sorry a misunderstanding. It's just that audiophile forums are teeming with mean spirited people making vitriolic comments, as I've learned from lurking these sites for many years now.

Anyway, back to the NS, the presentation changes daily for the better, it just becomes unpleasant after 1 hour or so. I tend to beleive that burn in is real, based on my own experience rather than objective scientific facts or knowledge. Obviously a controversial subject, but I've experienced it too often just to dismiss it out of hand.

Out of curiosity, which filter are you using?

 

[pam1950]

could anyone explain to me the reason why the digital out cannot be used simultaneously as the analog out?

 

[pam1950]

PS: I contacted the support, they told me this and I don't get why...

 

[srkbear]

could anyone explain to me the reason why the digital out cannot be used simultaneously as the analog out?

In their hardware configurations the signal paths are kept discrete in both the NS and the ZS. They have therefore customized their Volumio build and Roon programming to provide a software-based menu to direct the signal output through one of three circuits (two in the ZS).

There’s no way to select more than one output at a time—it’s only analog (through the internal DAC to the analog outputs), USB (bypassing the internal DAC to an external one via USB) or digital (bypassing the internal DAC to an external DAC via IIS or S/PDIF).

I’m not certain if there are other network audio transports that allow multiple signal outputs simultaneously—I suppose it would require some sort of TCP/IP splitter, and I can’t say what it would do to the integrity of the signal. But I’m pretty happy that iFI chose to go the purist pathway myself…

 

[pam1950]

In their hardware configurations the signal paths are kept discrete in both the NS and the ZS. They have therefore customized their Volumio build and Roon programming to provide a software-based menu to direct the signal output through one of three circuits (two in the ZS).

There’s no way to select more than one output at a time—it’s only analog (through the internal DAC to the analog outputs), USB (bypassing the internal DAC to an external one via USB) or digital (bypassing the internal DAC to an external DAC via IIS or S/PDIF).

I’m not certain if there are other network audio transports that allow multiple signal outputs simultaneously—I suppose it would require some sort of TCP/IP splitter, and I can’t say what it would do to the integrity of the signal. But I’m pretty happy that iFI chose to go the purist pathway myself…

thank you for the insights, very helpful for me

 

[srkbear]

thank you for the insights, very helpful for me

Of course, enjoy your Neo Stream!

 

[axlic0]

@iFi audio after a month, when we can download the new firmware for solving bug?

 

[srkbear]

@iFi audio after a month, when we can download the new firmware for solving bug?

We’ve been stuck on a beta that has no release notes for two weeks. Since I installed it what I’ve noticed is that the LED light is turning green even when I have a confirmed internet connection. What bug are you experiencing?

 

[srkbear]

I have the same problem with mine.

I just saw this—you know I’ve been noticing the exact same thing, but I just bought new headphones and I was thinking it was an issue with the cable! Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

@iFi audio I’m still waiting for release notes for the current beta (it just said “null”), and you’ve got several folks experiencing very brief audio dropouts, myself included. I’m using your optical repeater and am bypassing the internal DAC via a USB connection to my Topping d90se. When using Roon, sound is sporadically and intermittently dropping out for maybe a second or less, without any predictable trigger.

Also, on the Zen Stream, under the network settings the GUI would indicate your current network speed. When I was connected via Ethernet it would say 1Gb/s (although I’m suspicious that this wasn’t a real-time measurement). But on WiFi I would get what appeared to be an accurate Mbps readout that would vary with browser refreshes. I don’t get this information on the Neo Stream at all. Is this supposed to be an active feature on the device(s)?

Lastly, since installing the latest beta the network LED indicator is randomly switching from white to green and staying that way, even though I have a confirmed internet connection. I have to unplug the unit and reboot my entire network to achieve the white light again, but eventually it’ll inevitably switch back to green.

Could you please weigh in on these feedback requests sometime soon?

 

[axlic0]

We’ve been stuck on a beta that has no release notes for two weeks. Since I installed it what I’ve noticed is that the LED light is turning green even when I have a confirmed internet connection. What bug are you experiencing?

No album art when I am using airplay to play music.
After airplay disconnected, something it still appear the last song information in the Oled screen around few second.
Easy to disconnect with SSD (though usb) when I control it to play by safari or iFi app.

Suggestion:
Please default the volume mix setting to *off*

Thanks. @iFi audio

 

[gryffe]

We’ve been stuck on a beta that has no release notes for two weeks. Since I installed it what I’ve noticed is that the LED light is turning green even when I have a confirmed internet connection. What bug are you experiencing?

I've only had my Neo for a couple of days and still acquainting myself with it, but as far as I know my LED is constantly white, which is the optimum connection speed? I am experiencing the brief audio drop outs that you describe in another post though, not happening often enough that it has become tiresome though, although I guess we all have different tolerance levels. Might be coincidence but I've noticed it can happen at same time as I am doing something on the internet, eg loading a web page or clicking on a link.
The most annoying thing that I am experiencing is while navigating through the menus on the front of the Neo I have found that it can get stuck at the screen that shows the volume and I can't navigate to see other functions. This is resolved by a reboot of the Neo.

 

[gryffe]

After trying out HQPlayer this morning using the Sygnalist setting on the Neo I wanted to see if I could also use HQPlayer with Roon. When selecting the Roon setting on the Neo the songs were playing back but I couldn't get any sound. I changed the setting to AIO and it then worked and I got sound on Roon.
Just wondering if this is the correct method to use HQP and Roon, and also wonder if anybody has any preference on how to listen to HQPlayer - eg use Sygnalist HQPlayer4Client or Roon - and also if they notice any difference in sound quality when using both?