Network Audio Players/Servers

The NEO Stream is best controlled via the iFi Streamer app [smartphone screenshots, right] or web interface which offers exactly the same capabilities. While it won't win any prizes for aesthetic design – and indexing a NAS with 27,500 tracks was tedious – it does present your music library clearly. Working in the background it tries to identify artists and complete the overview with photography and artwork so, if you give it the time, your music collection will end up looking appealing, especially on a larger screen or tablet.

Missing in action are integrated streaming services or DAC-related functions, but there's an extensive selection of Internet radio stations and neat extras, such as an alarm, sleep mode and two interface skins. In the end though, it's far more likely the NEO Stream will be used as an endpoint for Roon or another streaming option. The inbuilt Network Audio Adapter (NAA) is compatible with HQPlayer software on a computer (with Roon or standalone), its powerful capabilities offering the chance to stress test your local network with large upsampled DSD or PCM streams.