Ifi neo stream music streamer and dac the neo stream is the second device to join the neo series, ifis mid level mains powered range for home use, sitting between the zen series and pro series'. '.strtoupper('t')he name lsquoneo was chosen because the first device in the series, the neo idsd, featured an all new design and several features new to its product category'. '.strtoupper('t')he neo idsd, a dac headphone amp with usb, s pdif and bluetooth connectivity remains current'. '.strtoupper('t')he neo streams desktop size chassis and aluminium casework clearly resemble the neo idsd'. '.strtoupper('b')ut while its circuitry builds on existing ifi designs, its internal architecture and attributes are different'. '.strtoupper('o')pen source architecture many audio streaming devices lock users into a specific platform'. '.strtoupper('i')fi has developed its own streaming engine, purpose built to deliver flexibility and performance'. '.strtoupper('i')ts open source nature, built on a quad core arm cortex processor and linux based operating system, enables it to evolve over time, whilst ensuring users are not locked into a specific platform'. '.strtoupper('i')fis streaming engine has been designed from the ground up for the sole purpose of high quality audio streaming'. '.strtoupper('t')he firmware at the heart of this bespoke streaming engine was first utilised in the zen stream and has evolved significantly since'. '.strtoupper('t')he ifi neo stream combines the latest version of this firmware with enhanced hardware'. '.strtoupper('r')oon ready there are multiple ways in which the neo stream can interface with online streaming services or music stored on your local network, and these will expand over time'. '.strtoupper('h')ere are some of the options provided at launch the neo stream has roon ready certification, which means its ready to slot straight into a roon audio environment and work seamlessly with roon software'. '.strtoupper('a')ny dlna upnp compatible streaming app for example bubbleupnp, mconnect, audirvana and so on can be used to control the neo stream and access audio content from online services and dlna certified network storage devices'. '.strtoupper('i')ntegrated tidal connect and spotify connect'. '.strtoupper('u')sers of these popular online music services can stream directly from the tidal and spotify apps'. '.strtoupper('i')ntegrated airplay ensures easy streaming from apple devices'. '.strtoupper('t')he neo stream can operate as an naa network audio adapter in conjunction with sygnalist hqplayer software'. '.strtoupper('t')his means it can direct packets of audio data received over wi fi or ethernet cable straight to the connected dac without applying processing'. '.strtoupper('s')treaming from local storage with stream ifi app'. '.strtoupper('i')fis lsquostream ifi app is a simple tool to aid the initial set up of the neo stream and initiate streaming from local storage devices'. '.strtoupper('n')etwork bridge the neo stream can be used in two ways connect to an amp and speakers via the onboard dac stage and analogue outputs, or connect one of the available digital outputs to an external dac'. '.strtoupper('i')n the latter mode, the neo stream acts as a lsquostreaming transport or lsquonetwork bridge, like the zen stream but with a higher level of performance'. '.strtoupper('w')hether the onboard dac is engaged or not, the neo streams hi res audio support covers pcm data to 32 bit 768khz, all levels of dsd up to dsd512, and single and double speed dxd'. '.strtoupper('t')his level of hi res audio is not only supported over the lan and usb cable inputs but over wi fi too'. '.strtoupper('a') stable, full strength 5ghz wi fi signal is required for 384khz pcm, dsd256 and above'. '.strtoupper('m')qa mqa, the hi res streaming technology, as used by tidals lsquohifi plus tier is comprehensively supported, with full decoding of mqa files up to 384khz'. '.strtoupper('t')his means that the full lsquothree unfold decoding process can be performed internally, as opposed to only the final unfold in the manner of an mqa lsquorenderer'. '.strtoupper('w')hen the digital outputs are used to connect an external mqa supporting dac, both mqa passthrough and lsquofirst unfold are supported'. '.strtoupper('c')ustom dac stage the neo streams integral dac stage is based around a burr brown chipset that ifi uses extensively, selected for its natural sounding lsquomusicality and true native architecture'. '.strtoupper('t')he neo stream incorporates a 16 core xmos microcontroller, programmed by ifis in house team to optimise sound quality and ensure a perfect partnership with the burr brown dac'. '.strtoupper('t')hanks to the dac chips four channel true native design, pcm and dsd take separate pathways and remain lsquobit perfect in their direct native form, right through to analogue conversion'. '.strtoupper('i')n the case of dsd, there is no conversion to pcm or application of multi bit processing'. '.strtoupper('i')fi neo stream connectivity inputs dual band wi fi reception 2.4ghz and 5ghz with 802.11a b g n ac support gigabit ethernet lan ndash 1x rj45 1x m12 1x optical lan see below for more information 2x usb a usb2.0 and superspeed usb3.0 supported 1x usb c system update port ota ndash over the air ndash updates also available outputs analogue ...