Stop, look and listen

Zidoo arrives in network audio from a different angle to most. Ed Selley finds the Neo Alpha springs a few surprises

- Ed Selley

As a relatively young product category, network audio players have enjoyed a fair amount of flux in their design as manufacturers have experimented to see what proves popular. At first glance, the Zidoo Neo Alpha looks like a carefully catalogued collection of features we've come to expect from these devices in 2022. Dig a little deeper, however, and things are not quite as they first appear.

Its audio spec is impressively comprehensive. Built around an ESS Sabre 9038Pro chipset with the streaming hardware run by a combination of ARM A55 processor and XMOS XU216 interface, the Neo Alpha supports PCM to 768kHz and DSD512. This can be sent to it over UPnP or it can assemble its own database; either of an external library or by adding a 2.5 or 3.5in hard drive to an internal bay via the rear panel.

You can also access the internal decoding via USB, coaxial and optical inputs on the rear and stream to it via Bluetooth (featuring just about every format you can imagine). It is fitted to act as a preamp with a bypassable volume function that controls a 6.35mm headphone socket on the front. Connections around the back include RCA and XLR for analogue outputs as well as an optical out and USB for an external DAC. You can turn the internal decoding of the Neo Alpha off in this configuration a reflection of the power supply arrangements for the control and audio sections being separate.

DETAILS

PRODUCT Zidoo Neo Alpha

ORIGIN China

TYPE Audio and video streamer/ DAC/preamp

WEIGHT 8.5kg DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 430 x 105 x 300mm

FEATURES

Supports sample rates up to: 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512

Wired and wireless networking