@JjB067 could you pls tell us a bit about yourself? I looked for your introductory email (normally the first thing new users do) and could not find one but you are obviously no novice.
I am a retired guy who like many others rediscovered the joys of hifi during Covid lockdown. This forum was very useful to me when thinking about what kit to think about purchasing. In an earlier life I was a research scientist but not in any audio related categories. However perhaps I miss having complex scientific kit to play with on a daily basis and have unconsciously replaced that with hifi gear ! Anyway I really like listening to music of all genres now, at the moment no vinyl or tubes just digital sources hence my interest in the new streamers.
I just received the NEO Stream and will post impressions later in the week. I traded in a Zen Stream so I’ll be able to share impressions on their differences, but I am not able to do A/B comparisons. Let me just say that I have found a discenerable difference in sound quality.
However, I’ve also had frequent disconnections from Tidal connect so far. Meaning that I have to pair Tidal on my phone with the NEO over and over again. This barely happened with the Zen Stream at all, at least during later firmwares. I have a Switch upstream and use the OptoBox. I use the dedicated Tidal connect mode and have the latest firmware. Any suggestions are welcome! I’ll start a support ticket with iFi if the problem consists.
I just received the NEO Stream and will post impressions later in the week. I traded in a Zen Stream so I’ll be able to share impressions on their differences, but I am not able to do A/B comparisons. Let me just say that I have found a discenerable difference in sound quality.
However, I’ve also had frequent disconnections from Tidal connect so far. Meaning that I have to pair Tidal on my phone with the NEO over and over again. This barely happened with the Zen Stream at all, at least during later firmwares. I have a Switch upstream and use the OptoBox. I use the dedicated Tidal connect mode and have the latest firmware. Any suggestions are welcome! I’ll start a support ticket with iFi if the problem consists.
After many days of faultless operation, my Neo Stream is also now doing lots of interruptions during playback of either local music or Spotify. They are like soft reboots but quicker than full power off/on resets. I have raised a support ticket with iFi, waiting for a response. I have switched back to the Zen temporarily, it is working perfectly of course !
After many days of faultless operation, my Neo Stream is also now doing lots of interruptions during playback of either local music or Spotify. They are like soft reboots but quicker than full power off/on resets. I have raised a support ticket with iFi, waiting for a response. I have switched back to the Zen temporarily, it is working perfectly of course !
Thanks for your reply. Then we have the same or a similar issue. I also experienced that it worked better a few days ago. Yesterday it was impossible to listen to music. Please give us updates on your progress in this thread! A little bit of patience is needed indeed
Thanks for your reply. Then we have the same or a similar issue. I also experienced that it worked better a few days ago. Yesterday it was impossible to listen to music. Please give us updates on your progress in this thread! A little bit of patience is needed indeed
Just heard back from iFi Audio support, they advise me to return it so their service team can look at it in detail. So will post it back to them tomorrow. Perhaps you should also raise a ticket with them, or wait to see what happens with my unit ?
Just heard back from iFi Audio support, they advise me to return it so their service team can look at it in detail. So will post it back to them tomorrow. Perhaps you should also raise a ticket with them, or wait to see what happens with my unit ?
I really want this solved with a software update if it persists. No inclination to send back my unit or return it to my dealer unless it’s actually a hardware issue. But yes, I’ll start a ticket. Are you getting a new unit in return?
I really want this solved with a software update if it persists. No inclination to send back my unit or return it to my dealer unless it’s actually a hardware issue. But yes, I’ll start a ticket. Are you getting a new unit in return?
All they have said so far is return it for a diagnostic repair/service, I did not push for a replacement unit. Hopefully it will just need a new software update but who knows. Quite disappointing as it sounded good when it worked !
Just an update to my original post on the Neo Stream. Software updated again today to v 2.15.14, loaded fine no new issues to report. Have now also tried the front panel USBC port to connect my SSD disk, no problems. I was slightly apprehensive as this is a bidirectional port and I am choosing the USB Audio OUT, however the Neo seems to understand what the connected devices can do and what they can't. Unit is sounding great regardless of local files or Spotify Connect as sources.
I just received the NEO Stream and will post impressions later in the week. I traded in a Zen Stream so I’ll be able to share impressions on their differences, but I am not able to do A/B comparisons. Let me just say that I have found a discenerable difference in sound quality.
However, I’ve also had frequent disconnections from Tidal connect so far. Meaning that I have to pair Tidal on my phone with the NEO over and over again. This barely happened with the Zen Stream at all, at least during later firmwares. I have a Switch upstream and use the OptoBox. I use the dedicated Tidal connect mode and have the latest firmware. Any suggestions are welcome! I’ll start a support ticket with iFi if the problem consists.
I am going to start a running log of some of these early reported issues. As a long-time ZS owner these seem close to some issues that we had back when the ZS was new.
Some Questions on the Tidal issue, Is this issue More frequent in the Exclusive Tidal Connect Mode of the Neo, or does it occur with the same frequency in AIO mode? Have you had a chance to do a full Modem, and Router/s Power cycle? In other words, completely rebooting your modem, then Routers in proper power-on order to see if the issue is lessened?
I know that Tidal Connect issue (some) were solved with DNS settings which were recommended by Tidal, I will try to find them again for you, perhaps they may help.
After many days of faultless operation, my Neo Stream is also now doing lots of interruptions during playback of either local music or Spotify. They are like soft reboots but quicker than full power off/on resets. I have raised a support ticket with iFi, waiting for a response. I have switched back to the Zen temporarily, it is working perfectly of course !
In terms of local music are you referring to a directly connected SSD or Hard Drive, or is this from say a NAS?
Regarding the Term "reboot" are you saying that the unit is physically powering off and on or is it more like a network interruption to the unit?
Also if you guys wouldn't mind let me know the Current Firmware you are on and in addition, the current Power Supply currently being used, Specifically Volts, and amps.
Thanks so much for taking a moment to respond if possible!!
In AI0 mode, you should be able to see the Volumio interface generated by the Neo, go to main settings, then System, then you should see a section called System Updates half way down that page. Then press the Check Updates button and the Neo should then check to see if a newer version is available. If so then it offers you a button to do the update. It may take a few minutes and usually the unit will power down and than back up to complete the installation of the updated software. Oh incidentally if you cannot find this Check Updates button anywhere, you may need to put the Volumio into Full Settings mode rather than simplified, see a few lines up on the System page called Show Advanced Settings. If you change any option, remember to press Save button in that section to make the change happen. Hope this helps
I found those Tidal DNS settings that I was told make a difference for using Tidal Connect", perhaps if you can give them a try on the NEO and see if they make a difference as they did on the ZS.
I am going to start a running log of some of these early reported issues. As a long-time ZS owner these seem close to some issues that we had back when the ZS was new.
Some Questions on the Tidal issue, Is this issue More frequent in the Exclusive Tidal Connect Mode of the Neo, or does it occur with the same frequency in AIO mode? Have you had a chance to do a full Modem, and Router/s Power cycle? In other words, completely rebooting your modem, then Routers in proper power-on order to see if the issue is lessened?
I know that Tidal Connect issue (some) were solved with DNS settings which were recommended by Tidal, I will try to find them again for you, perhaps they may help.
In terms of local music are you referring to a directly connected SSD or Hard Drive, or is this from say a NAS?
Regarding the Term "reboot" are you saying that the unit is physically powering off and on or is it more like a network interruption to the unit?
Also if you guys wouldn't mind let me know the Current Firmware you are on and in addition, the current Power Supply currently being used, Specifically Volts, and amps.
Thanks so much for taking a moment to respond if possible!!
Local music refers to a 1Tb SanDisk SSD connected either to the rear USBA or front USBC port, it has always worked faultlessly on the Zen Stream. It contains about 230 GB of FLAC files, these I ripped from my CD collection. I tried a NAS connection a few days ago from another hard drive and it worked fine once I understood how to fill in the Volumio credentials.
About the "reboot" term I am using, it is not a total turn off power down and then back up situation. The white led status of Internet remains unaffected during the reboot and I don't think the power has been turned off. If music is playing, it will first stop playing, then the display screen will go briefly blank, then you will hear the Startup Sound (assuming this is enabled in Volumio and you have the rest of your listening kit on). Then it will redisplay the cover art but not yet play the current song. The Web page will have temporarily frozen on your phone or tablet during all this, but it seems to reconnect OK with the unit, the interrupted song is still there but back to the start. Pressing play resumes normal operation as if nothing had happened but from the start of the song. Overall this all takes maybe 30 seconds max, a full turn on sequence would take longer certainly a minute or more.
Current firmware version is v2.15.14, the power supply is that supplied with the unit 9V 2.5A iPowerX. I have also tried an iPowerX 15V 1.5A but there are still rebooting problems. Thanks for your help.
Local music refers to a 1Tb SanDisk SSD connected either to the rear USBA or front USBC port, it has always worked faultlessly on the Zen Stream. It contains about 230 GB of FLAC files, these I ripped from my CD collection. I tried a NAS connection a few days ago from another hard drive and it worked fine once I understood how to fill in the Volumio credentials.
About the "reboot" term I am using, it is not a total turn off power down and then back up situation. The white led status of Internet remains unaffected during the reboot and I don't think the power has been turned off. If music is playing, it will first stop playing, then the display screen will go briefly blank, then you will hear the Startup Sound (assuming this is enabled in Volumio and you have the rest of your listening kit on). Then it will redisplay the cover art but not yet play the current song. The Web page will have temporarily frozen on your phone or tablet during all this, but it seems to reconnect OK with the unit, the interrupted song is still there but back to the start. Pressing play resumes normal operation as if nothing had happened but from the start of the song. Overall this all takes maybe 30 seconds max, a full turn on sequence would take longer certainly a minute or more.
Current firmware version is v2.15.14, the power supply is that supplied with the unit 9V 2.5A iPowerX. I have also tried an iPowerX 15V 1.5A but there are still rebooting problems. Thanks for your help.
Thanks so much for the details! Greatly appreciated!
My plan is more than likely to be getting a Neo as soon as I can, so I am simply taking notes, and being the "Base" is again The Stream-ifi app or iFi.local we are working from the same "page" so to speak in terms of settings and possible solutions.
I'm glad you've got the extra power supply, that helps as well, as there were some faulty power supplies in the early days of the ZS, I had one that did rather strange things, lol
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
