Ifi NEO Stream 3 Network Audio Streamer With Integrated DAC REVIEW – Follow The Bouncing Ball

The £999.00 ifi Audio NEO Stream 3 was provided as loaner by Ashley at Hummingbird Media for my review and has been returned to her; you can find the product page for the Stream 3 here. II’ve found watching NBA to be a genuine respite from the nonstop drumbeat of bad current events, so of course our mad king had to usurp our escapist pleasure by making a royal appearance at (and sleeping through) the Knicks game. Which, predictably, they lost for the first time in 14 games. If he starts showing up at Lollapalooza I’m going to abandon all hope and move to El Salvador, where the dictators are far more vigorous. In other news, the ifi NEO Stream 3 is a very solidly built, paperback-sized $999 network streamer, preamp and DAC which is intended as an all-in-one box you can simply plug into a power amp (or more likely, powered speakers) without the need for bulky, costly additional components. Connectivity is really impressive, with virtually every kind of digital/analog input and output you’ll need I also appreciated the inclusion of (cheap but functional) RCA analog and ethernet cables and Ethernet-to-optical adapter, which enabled me to use the Stream 3 as a standalone DAC for my recent crush, the SMSL PL100 Pro CD Player (review here). Viscerally, even before I started listening the Stream 3 registers as lot of machine for the money. Set-up is fairly easy (I bypassed Roon and some of the customization options) and the iFi Nexis app is straightforward and easy to navigate. Said app enables you to use your phone as a remote and to adjust all of the settings of the Stream 3, however I used the front control knob (which is quite intuitive) for set-up. The TFT display is small but legible; it will show playback mode, sample rate and audio format, as well as cover art when audio is playing. As is typically the case, the various digital filters have only a small audible effect on the sound; I did most of my testing with the “bit-perfect” filter, which ostensibly eliminates some digital artifacts. There is also an onboard “K2HD mode”, which as I understand it is a form of upsampling function to enhance degraded or lower quality files. It did seem to add more detail and openness to certain recordings, but also tended to inject an artificial brightness, so I generally left it off. There’s no headphone section, which is a curious exclusion which somewhat undermines the Stream 3’s do-it-all position. I tested the NEO Stream 3 as a standalone player and preamp (with Spotify Hi-Rez and FLAC files from a connected hard drive) through its analog outs to a neutral-to-slightly warm-sounding Acurus A100 amp and my very uncolored PSB Synergy speakers. The ifi’s sound is best summarized as “clean and crisp”, which is to say somewhat lean-textured, bright (though free from sharpness) and well-extended at the high end. Low end is well-sculpted, with very fast attack, though measured in depth and quantity. Soundstage is expansive and uncluttered—large scale orchestral works and multi-part harmonies are well-sorted out. Microdetail is very present—listen closely and you’ll hear every drumstick tap and woodwind trill, which in fairness does give heavier fare a slightly sterile (as opposed to richer) character. As advertised, there is no audible digital crud or background noise; everything sounds almost unnaturally transparent I next used the Stream 3 as a pure transport connected to my beloved SMSL RAW DAC1, which uses AK chips instead of the ifi’s Burr Brown. Like the Stream 3, the SMSL is very transparent and detailed at the high end, but has a thicker note texture and considerably more low end presence and howl; the SMSL also sounds comparatively more forward and energetic. I tended to prefer the DAC in the fuller-bodied SMSL for uptempo stuff and the better-resolving, more studio-accurate Stream 3 for acoustic and vocals. I next compared the NEO Stream 3 to Wiim’s cheap ($219) but well-regarded Wiim Pro Plus, which, plastic build aside, offers much of the functionality of the NEO Stream 3. Predictably for the price, as a player the Wiim can’t play in the same league as the NEO Stream 3—the Wiim has a warmer, smoother sound which presents considerably less information and nuance that the Stream 3; the Wiim also has a woolier, less controlled low end and an audibly less quiet background. As a transport (connected to the same SMSL DAC), however, the contrasts are more muted—the fancier power supply, capacitators, micorporcessors and other hardward on the iFi have an audible effect of cleaning up power and incoming signals, such that the music has a blacker background and a more etched quality on the Stream 3. This is most noticeable on bass-heavy genres, where the cheaper Wiim sounds boomier/less controlled. In all candor, the sonic differences aren’t massive, although for us fanatics paying thousands of dollars to achieve barely-measurable improvements, and considering the superior aesthetics, the price differential seems well-justified here. I’d also place the ifi a tier above the Bluesound Node, which has a very good OS but a less resolving onboard DAC. I don’t have a kilobuck streamer like the Aurender or Lumin on hand to compare, though I’ve spent many a Saturday afternoon listening to both and I cannot state categorically that (purely as transports) any performance difference is cost-justified. The NEO stream 3 does exactly what it advertises—clean up power, deliver bit-perfect playback and eliminate any audible distortion. As averred above, the onboard DAC on the NEO Stream 3 isn’t transcendant, and purists will of course shudder at the notion of an all-in-one device and insist on bulkier separate boxes. For most saner folks, however, the Stream 3 is about as good as you’ll need; add in the diminutive form factor and the sub-$1000 tier and the Stream 3 is ultimately an easy recommendation. Specifications NEO Stream 3 ANALOGUE OUTPUTS4.4mm Balanced, SE RCAANALOGUE OUTPUT VOLTAGEBalanced 4V RMS; SE 2V RMSDIGITAL INPUTSWi-Fi; Ethernet (RJ45, M12-X, Optical); 2x USB-A; USB-C (front)DIGITAL OUTPUT2x USB-A; S/PDIF Optical; S/PDIF Coaxial; AES/EBU; I2SDIMENSIONS214 x 151 x 41mm (8.4 x 5.9 x 1.6”)HI-RES SUPPORT768kHz PCM; DSD512 (22.6MHz)LIMITED WARRANTYUK and US – 12 months* EU – 24 months*NET WEIGHT1.0 kg (2.26 lbs)OUTPUT IMPEDANCEBalanced ≤74Ω; SE ≤37ΩPOWER CONSUMPTION≤0.5W idle; 14W max.SNR≥106dBA @ 0dBFSSYSTEM UPDATEUSB-C (back)THD+N≤0.0025% @ 0dBFSPOWER SUPPLY REQUIREMENTDC 9V/2A; 12V/1.8A; 15V/1.2A (centre +ve)TESTED AT£999.00PRODUCT PAGEifi-audio.com Found this article useful? Share it on Social Media: Click To Join Our FB Group! Our 153 DAC & Amp ReviewsThe post Ifi NEO Stream 3 Network Audio Streamer With Integrated DAC REVIEW – Follow The Bouncing Ball appeared first on Music For The Masses.