iFi NEO Stream - Ultra-Res Network Audio Streamer and Hub - MQA Decoding & True-Native DSD - SilentLine TFT Display - Fully Balanced Analogue Circuitry - Active Noise Cancellation

I expressly indicated "endpoint' because, although the in-built DAC is quite good, Neo Stream shines when paired with an external DAC. In my case, this is Denafrips Ares the 12th, connected via IIS. The connection works seamlessly both for PCM and DSD (not a trivial matter).I tried streaming using DLNA (Audirvana), NAA (HQPlayer) and Roon and settled with Roon in the end. One of the reasons for this choice is that the iFi's GTO filter works great, allowing Ares to run in the non-oversampling mode. Another reason - is my preference for PCM over DSD. That may well be DAC-specific and may work differently with another converter. The final reason is the Neo Stream's display. Neither NAA nor DLNA allow for the transmission of album artwork. Seemed like a waste visually. (BTW, I chose to pair Neo Stream with Ares in the first place because they have almost identical front panels,, sizewise, and so look great together. Idiosyncratic, but then, again, Neo Stream itself looks excellent, so why not display it properly :) ).The optical network connection works out of the box, but a better 5V PSU for the Optibox significantly improved the sound. I suspect changing the Neo Stream's own PSU to the Power Elite may improve things further, but I haven't gotten to that point yet because of the holidays.My only two minor gripes are on the software/firmware side. First, the unit is inconsistent in displaying the exact connection to the DAC. Sometimes it says correctly "Digital (I2S)", sometimes just "Digital". I haven't yet figured out what causes the difference. Second, the firmware allows for dimming the display but not the big LED indicating the network status. This is an apparent oversight. With the main display dimmed, the network LED is way too bright in comparison (and it is way too bright in the dark room anyway if staring at you straight from the rack). As a possible solution to the latter issue, it would be great to see the option of automatically switching off both the LED and. the main display after a period of inactivity. This should not be impossible to implement in one of the firmware updates.UPD: iFi Power Elite does improve the performance. I use the 12v one. Also, after further listening, I settled with the NAA mode and the USB connection. This is DAC-specific and may work differently for others. But this very possibility of choosing from an exceptionally wide menu of options clearly sets the Neo Stream apart from most of the competition.

Im Gegensatz zu den zahlreichen auf der Raspi -Plattform basierenden Streamern hat der IFI folgende Vorteile .- DSD über I2S (!) bis zu x512 (kann kein Raspistreamer)- bessere Klangqualität-nahtlose und perfekt funktionierende DNLA Einbindung-voller support für Bubble