iFi’s NEO iDSD 2 Packs Even More Than Before

The original Applause Award-winning NEO iDSD DAC/headphone amp is three years old, so a follow-up is due. Enter the NEO iDSD 2, bursting with new features and upgrades alongside all the things that made its predecessor so formidable, including extensive format support and connectivity options.

Firstly, iFi boasts that the NEO iDSD 2 "is the only DAC that can deliver hi-res and lossless sound over both wired and Bluetooth connections, to the maximum specification that any source device will allow." Of course, your headphones must be similarly equipped, but getting CD-quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) audio over wireless is still a decent start.

The high-end DAC sports a redesigned headphone amp, which we are told can deliver more than 5,550mW into 32 ohms from its balanced 4.4mm output. The new model also boasts an analogue circuit designed to reduce noise and crosstalk through the signal path.

Hi-res audio support includes PCM data up to 32-bit/768kHz and all levels of DSD. Additionally, thanks to the NEO iDSD 2's four-channel DAC chip, PCM and DSD formats take separate pathways and remain in their native forms before being converted to an analogue signal. Also, as MQA has been recently saved by Lenbrook, it is good to know that it's supported here up to 384kHz.

Connectivity is king according to iFi's NEO iDSD 2 as it offers USB-B, optical and coaxial digital inputs alongside a 3.5mm analogue input, meaning up to four devices can be connected simultaneously. Then, there's also a fifth option, thanks to Bluetooth 5.4. Not bad for a device measuring just 214x41x158mm.

Headphones are treated to fascia-mounted standard 6.3mm and 4.4mm outputs whilst, around the rear, you get single-ended RCA outputs and balanced XLR sockets, enabling the unit to connect to an amp and/or powered speakers.

An automatically rotating two-inch "retina-grade" TFT colour display adjusts to the NEO iDSD 2's orientation, while a rotary control offers easy access to functions. There's a new upgraded aluminium remote handset, and, should you prefer, there's iFi's Android and iOS-friendly Nexis app.

Nexis first appeared on iFi's range-topping iCAN Phantom headphone amp, and the module in the NEO iDSD 2 combines with the free Nexis app to provide a comprehensive, scalable, network-connected control system. iFi has some big plans for it, stating that "as the number of Nexis-compatible iFi devices grows along with the app's functionality, a network-connected iFi 'ecosystem' will develop – one app for all your requirements, like a concierge service for iFi customers".

The new NEO (neo-NEO?) can be used as a pure DAC with a fixed-level analogue output or work as a DAC/preamp with a variable output to be connected directly to a power amp or active speakers, for instance, while still having access to the amp stage for headphones.

Of course, it wouldn't be an iFi product without a shopping list of tuning choices and gain settings, would it? The DAC stage offers four digital reconstruction filters - Standard, Bit Perfect, Minimum Phase and GTO (Gibbs Transient Optimised), while the headphone amp gives the option of four gain settings - Normal (0dB), Turbo (+8dB), Nitro (+16dB) and an IEMatch attenuation mode (-12dB) for servicing sensitive in-ear monitors. Moreover, further analogue processing modes, including XSpace and three levels of XBass II, offer yet more personalisation options.

The Neo iDSD 2 will be available from October, priced at £899 RRP.

Visit iFi Audio for more information