![]() The increments can be adjusted from 0.5 to 3dB in the player’s settings. The volume knob has a silky-smooth feel, with perfectly judged detents. On the right is the volume control, and below it are two USB 2.0 Type-A ports for connecting external drives. When using headphones, the line-level XLR and RCA outputs are muted. Both can be set for low- or high-gain mode in the Neo’s Settings menu. The look and feel is a tad short of luxurious, but far beyond utilitarian.īelow the raised Zidoo logo on the left side of the front panel is the power button, and below that are 4.4mm balanced and 6.3mm single-ended headphone jacks. When the unit is off or on standby, the display is completely black. In the middle of the front panel is a 4″W × 3″H glass-covered OLED touchscreen display. Measuring 11.5″W × 4″H × 9″D (including feet, antennas, and connectors), the Zidoo Neo S has a chassis machined from aircraft-grade aluminum alloy. The Neo’s build quality and materials are very impressive, especially considering the price. And of course, you can play music from hardwired sources, such as computers, disc players, and streamers. The Neo also supports Apple AirPlay, so you can stream music from Apple devices and it has a Bluetooth receiver that supports the AAC, aptX, and aptX HD codecs. You can stream music via UPnP/DLNA from apps that support that protocol for example, Audirvana on a PC or Mac, or mConnect on an Android device. The Neo is Roon Ready, so you can use Roon music-management software to stream music to the Neo over your home network from a Roon server. You can use its built-in Music Player app to play music stored on its SSD or an external USB drive. There are many ways to play music through the Neo. You can also output digital audio from the Neo to an external DAC or digital processor. One of three models in Zidoo’s Hi-Fi Audio lineup, the Neo has balanced and single-ended outputs for connection to a preamp, integrated amp, or a pair of active loudspeakers, as well as a built-in headphone amplifier. So why am I reviewing the Zidoo Neo S on Simplifi? Because it’s also a very interesting audio component. If I want to watch a movie, I’ll rent it from the iTunes store, pop a disc into my Blu-ray player, or play it from a streaming service. Media players like the Neo are targeted at enthusiasts who are into downloading and collecting videos, and who want a convenient way of storing them and playing them on their home entertainment systems. The company claims to be the largest supplier of media players in the Chinese domestic market and says its products are distributed in 30 countries. These can be files ripped from DVD or Blu-ray Discs using an application like MakeMKV, files downloaded from torrent sites like The Pirate Bay, or videos shot on a smartphone or digital camera.įounded in 2014, Shenzhen Zidoo Technology has a range of ten media player models, all of which can play UHD video. Priced at $1499 (all prices in USD), Zidoo’s Neo S 4K UHD Media Player can play video files stored on its internal solid-state drive (SSD) or on an external drive connected to one of the player’s USB ports. ![]() We’ve reviewed scores of such products on Simplifi: active speaker systems with built-in network streamers such as KEF’s LS50 Wireless II and Bang & Olufsen’s Beolab 28, streaming DAC-preamps such as NAD’s C 658 and Bryston’s BR-20, and streaming integrated amplifiers such as Bluesound’s Powernode and Naim Audio’s Uniti Atom.īut we’ve never reviewed a product designed for playing video-until now. With network entertainment now solidly in the mainstream, we’re seeing more and more products that depart from the traditional source-amp-speaker paradigm. Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click this link.
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