Practical-experiences using the Neo X

Discussion in 'HDD Media player(RTD 1619DR)' started by Nice Monkey, Jul 25, 2021.

  1. cappy1

    cappy1 Member

    I assume you are referring only to audio performance. Video identical?
     
  2. myzidoo

    myzidoo Active Member Beta test group

    Sure.
    Ropieee (https://ropieee.org/) is a very nice raspberry distribution which turns a raspberry into a RoonBridge. It's really straight forward. You download the software package, put it on a nano sd-card (best with a software called etcher) and then insert in a raspberry....and turn on. There is a simple web interface to manage the "raspberry now turned into a roon endpoint". Then connect the NEO-X DAC in - per usb to the raspberry et voilĂ 

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    It sounds great, you seem to be as "audiophile techy driven" as I am and i can only recommend to try out roon. For me at least it ticks all the boxes.
     
  3. myzidoo

    myzidoo Active Member Beta test group

    With the risk to sound mambo-jambo esoteric I do have the impression of a more "calm" image. It's might be placebo but it's a bit the same as when I tuned my oppo with a huge linear power supply. The cleanliness of power has an influence on the video whilst per experience it is less percievable on the video side than on the audio side.
     
  4. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    @cappy1 For me Video is identical. But the sound via HDMI is definitely better. For movies it is mostly not noticed by me but with MCH music it for sure is.

    @myzidoo Might Roon give a try when it becomes certified and working? Must do 2CH (via Analog) and MCH (via HDMI) then.
    I am pretty convinced that certification will come.
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2021
  5. a5ian300zx

    a5ian300zx New Member

    Thanks for a great write up.

    Can I ask why you have 3 zidoo of the same chipset? Does having 4gb ram compared to 2gb on the z9x make a difference in the gui performance?

    How does the dune vision compare to the zidoo and do you have a write up review on that one? How is the new gui on the dune?
     
  6. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Haha, yes I am a bit of an addict to media players: Xtreamer, Eminent, Himedia, Dinobot, Egreat, Zidoo, OPPO and Dune. Made reviews for many of those.

    You can find my Dune Real Vision review here:
    https://www.futeko.com/newforum/index.php?topic=5098.0
    It also answers your compare question. Comments on it please on Futeko, this is a Zidoo forum.

    No never saw a real performance difference in any aspect using 4 GByte of RAM with UHD3000 or any other brands like Dune or Zappiti for that matter.
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2021
    a5ian300zx likes this.
  7. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Added Chapter-8 BT Input from streaming music services on smart phones to the evaluation.
    Looks like a superior alternative to running those on the media player honestly to me.
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2022
  8. Natpolly

    Natpolly New Member

    Hello, everyone.

    When will Zidoo release new firmware for Neo X?
    6.6.66 or 6.6.80 like Neo S?

    Thank you for your help and support.
     
  9. muslhead

    muslhead Member

    Mr Monkey -
    Do you know if the screen will be active when using external player applications such as roon or jriver.
    I know it is not roon ready yet, but the zidoo players work well with dlna and are excellently controlled with jriver. Using Jriver you bypass the horrible internal player and get a much better application that can show cover art, lyrics etc (correctly too). Just wondering if what is available from jriver is visible on the front screen of the zidoo. I am afraid the answer is the front screen only reflects whatever the internal zidoo player is showing. Please confirm, if you can.
    Much appreciated.
     
  10. muha

    muha Active Member

    from @Nice Monkey to Mr Monkey, fantasti, almost Avanger.
     
  11. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    @muslhead
    Only Music Player currently uses the Front Panel. No duplicates for APP's shown on the TV which would be nice with true touch control.
     
    gymnos likes this.
  12. kfpanda

    kfpanda Member

    If target as a high end music player, dont understand the rationale behind the cooling fan. the cost of a 1TB ssd wont add that much more to the total cost, % wise and will hold a lot of music and eliminate the need for a cooling fan all together.
     
  13. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Just read the review. It is very safe to turn off the fan even with a 3.5 inch HDD. No idea why it was mounted! There is no real need for it but at low it is not audible at my listening distance and I left it at Auto.

    I do recommend using a 2.5 inch HDD though (best performance/money ratio) but nobody says you can't put in an SSD using an adapter which are easy to get cheap. Using an M2 SSD slot brings no performance benefits and these modules are just more expensive per TByte compared with a SATA SSD. An universal quick loading bay is a lot more flexible and a good choice. I just feel they should have bundled such 3.5 => 2.5 adapter at this price.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2022
  14. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Updated the review making it final now including the conclusion chapter too.

    You miss something or have comments or corrections? Just let me know.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2022
  15. kfpanda

    kfpanda Member

    higher operating temperature is not good for mechanical hard drives and will shorten the life. moreover the vibration from mechanical hard drives might be an issue for audiophiles. of course one can still put in a sata ssd but i will still question the design decision to inc the 3.5" slot in the first place. for a media player, the 3.5" slot will be the right choice since videos take up a lot more space.
     
  16. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Still regard my Neo X as a universal media player and as such use it also for playing movies.
    A Z10 is a kind of bad, a Z1000 a bit better and the UHD3000 reasonably good regarding the internal HDD noise/heat produced.

    No noise or heat problems of any kind with a 2.5 inch HDD inside a Neo X. To be precise even a 3.5 inch HDD only gets mildly warm and is faintly audible a short distance. Neo X comes with a great chassis.
     
    Last edited: Feb 4, 2022
    gymnos likes this.
  17. singuser

    singuser New Member

    Read your comprehensive review - thank you!

    One clarification: Does the Neo X/S read and playback MCH SACD ISO or DSF files? Via HDMI?
     
  18. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    No it does not. It will read only the 2CH tracks from a combined 2CH/MCH SACD ISO.

    In fact I regard the Zidoo players fairly unsuitable to play MCH Music in all its formats as it has some kind of problem with each of them.
    This is all about FW as a Dune does it almost all using the same SOC (except MLP DVD-Audio).
     
    singuser likes this.
  19. singuser

    singuser New Member

    Thanks for your input. Very disappointing. Yes, almost certainly a Zidoo firmware problem if Dune does MCH SACD using the same SOC. Kodi on Shield does it too - so it's almost certainly not an Android limitation.
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2022
  20. muslhead

    muslhead Member

    Finally .... roon ready. +++
    Unfortunately unavailable anywhere in the world it seems.
     

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