Today is the day! NEO iDSD is here.
An all-new design, state-of-the-art specifications and a sound that soars – iFi’s NEO iDSD hi-res DAC/headphone amp is every music lover’s perfect housemate.
Every format at the highest quality
Hi-res audio support is state-of-the-art, handling PCM data to 32-bit/768kHz, all levels of DSD up to DSD512, and single- and double-speed DXD. Measuring 214x146x41mm, the NEO iDSD can be positioned vertically instead of horizontally thanks to a supplied aluminium stand Thanks to the Burr-Brown DAC chip’s four-channel True Native design, PCM and DSD take separate pathways – this enables DSD, as well as PCM, to remain ‘bitperfect’ in its native form right through to analogue conversion. This is often not the case with DAC devices from other brands – even if DSD compatibility is stated, many such DACs convert DSD signals to PCM.
The NEO iDSD is designed for maximum flexibility, with sleek aluminium casework that can be positioned horizontally or vertically, the latter via a supplied stand. An informative OLED display flips automatically to suit the preferred orientation, while a smooth-acting multifunction rotary control ensures the NEO iDSD is simple to use, despite its sophistication and versatility
Bluetooth as you’ve never heard it before As well as digital cable inputs, the NEO iDSD offers the convenience of wireless Bluetooth reception. But this isn’t Bluetooth as you’ve heard it before – not unless you’ve heard iFi’s ‘ZEN Blue’ Bluetooth receiver or ‘Aurora’ wireless music system, at any rate. iFi was the first audio brand to deliver products using Qualcomm’s new QCC5100 Bluetooth processing IC when it launched the ZEN Blue and Aurora, combining this chip with proprietary circuits to develop an audibly superior ‘Bluetooth engine’ now also built into the NEO iDSD. While Bluetooth’s convenience and wide device compatibility is well recognised, many people don’t realise how good Bluetooth can sound because they’ve only experienced it at base-level quality using basic and outdated implementations.
Renowned high-end audio electronics engineer John Curl, best known for his pioneering balanced circuit designs and now a technical consultant for iFi, has worked closely with iFi’s in-house technical team, headed by Thorsten Loesch, The NEO iDSD’s fully balanced, differential analogue circuit design makes the most of even the trickiest headphones to perfect this design. High-quality components are used throughout, including custom ultra-low-distortion op-amps, multilayer ceramic TDK C0G capacitors, MELF thin-film resistors and inductors from Murata and Taiyo Yuden. These are more costly than commonly used equivalents, but class-leading qualities such as low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance), high linearity and low noise pay great dividends in terms of sound quality.