iFi Audio NEO iDSD Review

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NEO. The new wave of digital sound. Bleeding-edge Bluetooth. MQA decoding. Balanced.

The DAC/amp. Reloaded – The NEO iDSD 3-in-one DAC/amp. With balanced ‘PureWave’ circuitry, unbeatable hi-res Bluetooth5.0 and MQA, it is the ultimate in hi-res playback. Place it horizontally or vertically to suit its surroundings. The OLED display flips to match orientation. 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.

All. Games. Played. Love your music but also love gaming? The NEO iDSD will enhance your current or next-gen gameplay. Feel more immersed than ever before as sound finally matches picture in spectacular fashion. Pair it with new the PS5 or Xbox Series X for the ultimate gaming experience.

iFi audio NEO iDSD DACamp Enhanced engine! The Burr-Brown DAC chipset still fuels the NEO‘s ‘digital engine’. New 16-core, XMOS microcontroller that processes the data via USB and S/PDIF digital inputs. Double the clock-speed. Four times the memory. Add in jitter eradication including our GMT femto-precision clock, intelligent memory buffer and our GTO filter as standard, and you’ve got one heck of a super DAC.

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.

iFi audio NEO iDSD DACamp. 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.

iFi audio NEO iDSD DACamp. 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 headphone user. The NEO iDSD contains top-notch audio components to back-up the outstanding balanced circuit design. Scroll down for more. Even the OLED SilentLine display is engineered to ensure there is no electrical noise to interfere with the audio signal as it switches itself off when not in use. Quality components mean more clarity and texture, a more engaging performance. You just hear more of the music.