I'm in a place where I've only got my Neo Stream running into a Phonitor SE. I find the Neo Stream internal DAC underwhelming. It just seems... mushy? Can't tell if it's the same DAC as the Neo iDSD or one of the Zen DACs or what, but I just can't get on with it. Hence trying the RME. (Again. I trialed it a couple years ago, to mostly positive results.)
The Neo iDSD without HQPlayer is good, but there’s this little something missing that I can’t really put my finger on. Not bad, but a bit boring. I always wanted to update the firmware to try the other filters iFi provides meanwhile, but OTOH, it’s a bit pointless as I’ll use HQPlayer for real listening, anyway.
I really should experiment more with the Neo Stream and HQPlayer. I'm just not in a place right now where I have the computer set-up to be able to run any of the better settings. Hopefully some time within the next few months. But I'm just finding the Neo DAC un-engaging right now. It's annoying that iFi doesn't tell you which DAC it uses.
RME arrived the other day. It's actually the older AK4490 chip, but I guess most reports say there's not terribly much daylight between it and the 4493. It's kind of hard to know what you're getting buying secondhand, as the serials are confusing. Top plate is a bit scratched, and the dude sent it the most ludicrously unpadded box.
But I got an okay price, and I'm not really in the mood to try a return, etc. And, well, having gotten it set up, it's immediately way better than the Neo Stream internal DAC. Now I have to work my way through the million options in the RME. Even volume settings aren't immediately obvious. Ha.
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