CONCLUSION

    Just like with past DAC & headphone amplifiers I ended up spending over a month with the NEO iDSD 2 and well, I was mostly satisfied with its performance. It’s a bit unfortunate that I never had the first iDSD in the lab so I can’t really compare the two, but I can compare it with many others. If I had to categorize the NEO iDSD 2 in terms of overall performance I’d put it, one step over the FiiO R7 and one step beneath the iDSD Diablo 2 and the FiiO R9. Simply put the NEO iDSD 2 produces just what you’d expect from an audiophile-grade DAC. Mids and highs are very clear, balanced and detailed (at times mids may feel a bit “neutral” but this depends a lot on music genre and of course recording quality), separation and background (lack of noise) are near-excellent (still, soundstage is not the widest) and as for bass even though I did find it a bit lacking it’s almost on par with that of the iDSD Diablo 2. Available connectors, power output (could easily drive every headphone I have in the lab) and wireless signal strength are also strong selling points of the NEO iDSD 2. On the other hand, the lack of a memory card slot is something I didn’t particularly like since it’s a very convenient feature on models like the FiiO R7/R9 and so I do hope iFi audio adds it in future models. The TFT screen although too small for my taste is something many audiophiles all over the world seem to like (probably because it keeps the device thin) so it is what it is. Finally, I have to admit that I didn’t use aptX Lossless in this review, I just couldn’t find a compatible device in time (and well, LDAC using the M23/M15 players by FiiO is still plenty for wireless testing).

    Audiophile grade devices never come cheap and well the same applies for the NEO iDSD 2 by iFi audio which currently retails for USD899 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 899Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). The question now is whether or not the NEO iDSD 2 is worth this amount and well, even though I do believe it’s a tad higher than expected (always compared to what is available out there) it’s actually within my expectations. At the end of the day if you can afford going higher there are many better solutions out in the market (from iFi audio too) but if not the NEO iDSD 2 is a great choice and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality
- Impressive Audio Performance
- Bluetooth v5.4(Lossless)
- Supported Bluetooth Codecs (aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX, LDAC, LHDC/HWA, AAC and SBC)
- 16 Core XMOS Processor
- Quad Core Burr Brown DAC
- TFT Color Display
- Available Inputs / Outputs (6.35mm/4.4mm Balanced/XLR balanced/Stereo RCA/BNC clock/3.5mm Optical/USB)
- Power Output
- Horizontal & Vertical Placement
- Product Support

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Small TFT Display (For Some)
- Lack Of Memory Card Slot (For Some)