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Practical-experiences using the Neo X

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

  1. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    This is a full detailed review of the Neo X and a guide for potential buyers.

    As always comments and corrections including language are more than welcome.

    Updated for running FW 6.7.06 on it. The front panel snapshot feature was used here to add the various views. It should give a good feeling for what it has currently on offer.

    It does not come with Google Play Services and neither provides access to Android Setup. I wonder if that still comes or is meant to stay like that?
    As you will see not a real problem for music streaming services. Keeping it a controlled clean machine may be essential for some features.

    My use of colors:
    - Action Point (my to do list)
    - Positive market differentiators
    - Inconvenience open for improvement
    - Caveat or serious shortcoming to be fixed
    This is a practical review of the new Neo X comparing it with UHD3000 mainly but also including some other brands.
    Reading the UHD3000 review first makes sense:
    http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/practical-experiences-using-the-uhd3000.86061/
    A lot included there also applies to this model and mostly is not repeated like MQA.
    http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?thr...ther-knowhow-for-hifi-players-playback.86336/
    Gives the background for all audio album and PCM/DSD formats.

    Chapter-1: Positioning of Neo X
    The Neo X is really quite a different player than the other Zidoo models thus far. I would call the UHD3000 a high end Zidoo Media Player with an additional high quality Stereo DAC panel included. It still is a common media player regarding look and feel offering the same way of interfacing and controls. The same seems to apply to the Dune HD Ultra Vision 4K player despite having also a big front display and similar top design DAC like Neo X.
    upload_2021-7-26_10-10-51.jpeg

    The Neo X on other hand is designed from scratch as a Music Player / Headphone Amplifier only keeping the Video Player capabilities as a kind of bonus. That is how Zidoo sees it and which can be confirmed by me using it in practice. The review including my color markings should be seen in that light.

    Looking close a the HW design this becomes very apparent. All boards are designed specifically for this player and using high end quality components including the special designed motherboard with the RTD1619DR SOC on it. The OLED touch screen front panel in fact acts as a second autonomous display and is controlled/programmed via an independent driver. This design has direct effects on many aspects.

    Being build primarily as a Music Player it is meant to be operated without turning on the TV or for Stereo Music only deployment not being connected at all. A top quality Stereo AMP, without even a HDMI port being provided at all, will then do. Some may even prefer using a classic tube AMP with it.
    The player can then be fully controlled via the Front Panel and/or the Zidoo Controller APP. The front panel can be operated in three ways: Touch control, front panel control or using the remote control. The later can be set to TV, Front or Auto. Auto to switch remote control automatically to the front panel when the TV is physically disconnected .

    The by the way excellent quality OLED screen is still too small for me to be operated on a distance so it is hardly used by me at all for that. To my own surprise after a few days started to use the front buttons instead of using touch control. The multi function select button is very handy in practice.
    Yes the player can really be used 100% for music playback perfect without connecting a TV at all. All setup controls are available including initial setup and upgrading of FW versions for such use.

    General settings.JPG

    Chapter-2: The HW and build:
    The first thing that stroke me was how big this thing really is (W=292, Length=395, H=110). It is also very heavy for a media player at around 7.7 Kg. The color is a light anthracite.

    The design with these dimensions is a very arguable one for me. Many like myself would have preferred a standard 19 inch/42 cm wide chassis in standard black / silver colors matching other components. Being wider the depth could have been reduced as now fitting this unit in a standard rack may be a true challenge. It also could have allowed for HDD front loading instead of side loading now.
    Zidoo in fact showed also sample models in black and silver which I would have preferred getting myself but these are not on sales (yet).
    I understood the width is common for some studio equipment but we are talking home units here aren't we?

    It comes in a nice box packed in an extra outside box in total very well packed. The player itself is wrapped in a nice bag in fact exactly matching the one I got with my OPPO UDP-203 player.
    There is also a box with the power cable, HDMI cable, the antennas and the well-known BT V8 remote control coming with all high end models.
    At this price level I would have expected some analog cables and an IR receiver matching that IR-input port on the back. Bundling a 2.5 => 3.5 inch adapter would have been friendly too.
    upload_2021-7-26_9-42-38.jpeg
    Looking at it in perspective shows this far better. Got it mounted in my rack only with some difficulties. I am using a 2.5 inch HDD with an adapter to 3.5 inch which in fact can't be removed when in my rack anymore. Not a real problem as I manage its content vie SMB Server but not that practical. I would have preferred myself access from the back with this design.

    Next an inside view in high resolution. You can pan around to see the many details.

    upload_2021-7-25_10-5-40.jpeg

    The length/depth of the box is directly related to the DAC and Analog processing board which includes all relevant components residing on a single board including the DAC's PSU stabilizers and the headphone amplifiers. It stretches all the way 40 cm from the front headphone connectors to the rear XLR connectors.

    A second board, in this case unit wide, holds the Analog RCA outputs, PSU main stabilizers and other circuitry including the trigger circuitry, IR-in, RS232 port and the S/PDIF outputs.

    The 3rd board mostly covered by the previous is the mainboard and was clearly designed specifically for this player. It e.g. also holds the DAC External Input circuitry, AC input logic and the 2 toroidal transformers.
    That explains why the RAM is still 2 GByte, the Flash 16 GByte and including only one HDMI Output port. Having experience with other players using those memory specs too. I frankly don't regard it very relevant or functional limiting in any way but at this price level it would be expected to be upgraded.
    That second HDMI Audio output is a miss only when using it as Video Player in combination with an older AMP (missing HDMI 2.x) which is not the prime target deployment as we already saw.

    The last 4th board is the front panel board making it a compact design with very few cables.
    All remaining free space is fully allocated to the HDD docking bay residing in a shielded cage.

    For those asking themselves how MQA works with an ES9038PRO DAC the answer lies in the fact that this DAC panel uses a superior XMOS XU216 interface which takes over the MQA processing. For sure an improved combination over ES9068+XU208 for UHD3000.
    For MQA details just read my UHD3000 review.

    The fan, heat and noise:
    In fact the whole chassis acts like one big cool unit. It looks pretty safe to run it with the fan off.
    I even wonder why it was still mounted? Maybe it was there before making the body full 5mm thick aluminium? To compensate for a fan the bottom plate could get some vent holes under the HDD slot for an airstream from bottom to top.

    The fan can be set to Auto or any of 3 manual positions Low/Medium High. The noise level at low is almost inaudible, mildly disturbing at medium and loud at high almost identical to UHD3000. In practice the fan doesn't disturb even for music when on auto which obviously is caused by the housing acting as one giant heatsink.
    As I run it with a 2.5 inch HDD inside using an adapter it never speeds up above low so left it on Auto allowing to put in a 3.5 inch too when desired.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2022
    mirak and OlivierQC like this.
  2. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    About the Power Supply Unit (PSU)
    Unlike UHD3000 the PSU design uses 2 Linear PSU's for all parts and isn't a hybrid design. But similar to other Zidoo models using a linear PSU this is made auto sensing adjusting to 110V and 230V ranges automatically.
    The PSU shield on the mainboard only covers the AC input filter and voltage adoption for the transformers it seems. The size of the PSU stabilizer heatsinks indicate being capable of dealing with bigger loads. The capacity is not revealed anywhere but estimated to be around 60W total by me.

    Power measurements:
    --------------------------
    Standby: 1.6 W
    Idle: 16.4 W
    HDD 3.5 Startup: 45+ W
    HDD 3.5 Active: 31.6 W
    HDD 2.5 Active: 19.4 W (using a 2.5 => 3.5 adapter)

    No surprises here: These figures are slightly above those of the UHD2000 using a single Linear PSU.

    Connectivity
    The back looks like this:
    Neo X Back.jpg
    The first things that strikes is the relative small size of the removable antennas for HiFi and Bluetooth. These hide totally behind the back and there is really no need to remove those despite being possible.

    Also connectivity is clearly geared to the Audiophile Music enthusiast. For Video playback only the essential connectors are included: Single HDMI Output, single USB3 (2x USB2 on front) and no SATA connector. For music via the DAC all connectors are there:
    - The obvious RCA (unbalanced) and XLR (balanced) outputs, S/PDIF optical and coaxial outputs.
    - DAC external inputs for USB, S/PDIF coaxial and even professional AES/EBU.
    - Ports for external control using IR-in, Trigger signals in plus out, RS232 and the LAN port.
    Some may miss as mentioned before a second HDMI-Audio only output for combined Video and Audio player use. Others may miss a S/PDIF optical input to connect a TV, which always seem to prefer optical S/PDIF connectors instead of coaxial. In fact coaxial is technically superior in all aspects but it is still inconvenient needing an additional optical/coaxial converter to connect a TV. This may be related to using the XMOS-216 chip which does advanced processing for S/PDIF coaxial input specifically. Lucky eARC is replacing this now on recent AMP's and TV's .


    Chapter-3: The OLED front panel and controls


    The front panel is an autonomous 5-inch color touch display which has a high potential for really nice music player features. It is a graphical upgrade to the front display present on the other models shown via the main panel view.

    Since FW 6.7.06 the screensaver timer if set will revert to the Time/Date being shown when expiring. There are various clock options with nice big fonts including an analog clock. These are well readable at viewing/listening distance. Any action will revert to the Main View again (so I actually could not make a snapshot of the various clocks).

    Main Menu.JPG

    When using the Neo X as a standard Video Player the display is still not being used at all. That may sound strange but I guess it is quite complicated to make a software driven display working in the background with the high demand front process driven video player running. An additional background process is most likely not foreseen and may have serious negative impact on video playback. So it actually may stay this way but putting an Info screen on it prior to starting the video player should be possible? Getting at least the Playing Time/Remaining Time displayed as with all other players was expected.

    The Music Player has been re-written though to deal with the dual screen HW with the front display seen as the primary screen. Typical front panel related setup items can only be found and changed using setup via the front panel: These are not to be found under Quick Setup using the TV interface nor the Zidoo Controller APP. It really got me confused for a while as it is not mentioned in the setup manual.

    Main Settings.JPG Display settings.JPG

    For album selection a Streaming Source or the File Manager can be used.

    Media Center.JPG

    This next to the Music Player view which is a copy of the one shown on the TV screen or Zidoo Controller APP. Have some music collections with individual covers tagged to each song which is looking truly gorgeous this way. Note that the Main Panel will now indicate the song playing in the background at the top right. This is a nice detail feature.

    Music Player.JPG Main Menu with Background Music.JPG

    Since FW 6.7.06 there is a meter icon/switch top right which will activate the meter view when pressed. The actual meter view can be changed on the meter view itself. Meters include the display of Black or White VU-meters and a Spectrum Analysis display. These are really good looking and the black one well suited for night operation. What about adding a nice digital bar meter? The Spectrum display could benefit from adding some color/enhancements in my opinion.

    Spectrum.JPG VU-Meter Black.JPG VU-Meter White.JPG

    There is a Front Button Volume control under DAC setup labeled "Volume Control Steps" which allows for very convenient adjustment to: 0.5 dB, 1 dB, 2 dB and 3 dB steps per click for analog output via RCA/XLR or a connected headphone.
    Be aware this Volume button also changes the volume when set to HDMI output. In that case the steps are very coarse at about 6.5 db per click and can't be adjusted. This had me confused for a while.

    There is a setup item for the Remote Control to interact with the TV Screen or the Front Panel. This includes also an Auto option supposed to change to the Front Panel when the TV is OFF (Standby). With my TV Auto does not work as expected and does not swap automatically when it is in standby mode or even unplugged. Switching the AMP to another HDMI input port first and next to the designated Analog input neither does the trick.
    It only works when HDMI is not connected at all or the AMP remains powered off. Many will want it to dual connect via HDMI + Analog as I have to the same AMP.

    Since FW 6.3.40 the colored keys on the remote are programmable to "Switch" the front panel UI or set one to make a "Screenshot" from the front panel. Good to see this was implemented.

    Chapter-4: The DAC Audio Panel / Headphone AMP and its sound

    All DAC related settings can be made via DAC setup:
    DAC Settings.JPG

    Also the input source can be selected using Front Controls:
    Source In.JPG

    The DAC panel uses here the combination of the Sabre ES9038Pro and the XMOS 216 as the basis chipset which are both the top versions of those brands. Next it uses 2 Accusilicon femtosecond oscillators for clocking which is like all other components using the best available there is. The AMP output sections are completely apart for RCA and balanced XLR and in fact reside on 2 different boards. If desired the quality used op amps (2x RCA, 4x XLR) can be swapped as these reside on sockets. This for those preferring some other types.
    Plan to get me an XLR to RCA cable and see if I can perceive an audio difference using that cable to my AMP.
    The same applies to the headphone amplifier sections following that same design.

    This is about the best design possible using standard available market components. If you still want better then one needs to design its own custom build DSP chips for the DAC and the Digital filters. The PSU would then need to be made external and hugely overdimensioned like brands like NAIM use to do. To hear the potential difference you need matching amplifiers and speakers. Above all one needs to be a lot younger than this guy is for the most important factor being an excellent hearing.

    Just a first remark about the sound compared with UHD3000 which will be interesting for most readers I expect. Obviously this is subjective like hell. This player sounds very well even compared with my UHD3000 and what really surprises me how good standard CD quality FLAC files sound. Quality mastered music albums sound very well using the UHD3000 already but with this player all albums get a real additional boost in preciseness and definition. Even cheap collection albums get that. For the first time I can also hear clearly the difference between a FLAC and the MP3 (320 Kbps) of the same source. This was confirmed also by music fans joining me for some A/B blind listening sessions. The more I listen to it the more I like it.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2022
  3. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Chapter-5: Android facilities and featured APP's
    It does not offer Google Play services and neither provides access to Android Setup. I wonder if that still comes or is meant to stay like that seen the positioning of the player? My personal guess is that Android was stripped to the bare minimum to free up processor resources. The fact that it boots a lot faster than the other models seem to confirm that (around 15 seconds).

    What surprises me being positioned like a Music Player is the absence of support for popular free and paid streaming music services. Only Spotify got included now. I expect those to still come and when asked this was confirmed by Zidoo.

    As an alternative you may run any of your favorite music streaming services on your smart-phone and next stream content when desired via the BT enabled Input on the DAC. See chapter-8: for more details.
    Looks more convenient to me anyway. So if music streaming APP specific support is really needed on Neo models?

    Chapter-6: Music Player

    Audiophiles are known to very critical on the application provided to support the various source formats. Reading this topic is highly recommended here:
    http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?thr...-useful-stuff-for-hifi-players-playback.86336
    The gap between the player HW and SW Application (MP6 for now) is still quite big but it got better over time. Using FW 6.7.06 as a reference the core music player works fairly well with a few quirks left. The different 2CH/Stereo sound reproduction format flaws were all taken care off not talking about MCH albums. Use it myself with MP3, MQA and FLAC including HD albums without any remaining problems.

    The Library feature works probably reasonable well for those with small or medium sized collections but for my huge and mixed album category collections it is still simply unusable. I am above all missing the possibility to order Artist-Album and Collection-Album per Album Category type (MP3, CD, DTS-CD, SACD, DVD-Audio and BD Pure Audio).

    Chapter-7: Use as a combined Stereo and Multi Channel Music Player
    I have no idea how important support for this is regarded by Zidoo. For myself I really like the added value of MCH sound next to 2CH on various formats like DTS-CD, SACD, DVD and BD. As the typical customer base of Zidoo comes from the Home Theater market I would expect this to be strategical?

    Obviously for MCH audio the HDMI output mode must be used. This can be done nicely without connecting a TV too for DTS-CD and SACD. Just a suitable HT AMP with matching Audio format support is needed. For BD Pure Audio discs connecting to a TV is essential. The same for playing DVD-Audio discs in DVD-Video compatibility mode as the native DVD-Audio format using LPCM with MLP compression is not supported. The TV screen is essential for control and track selection with BD and DVD. In concept this could be supported via the front panel too but if that ever comes?

    SQ using HDMI for MCH Music and Movies
    It is my clear perception it sounds better using HDMI output and as such applicable to MCH Music and Movie Sound running via the DAC within my AMP. When asked it was stated by Zidoo that also the motherboard got pure quality components including the clock source which can explain this difference by reducing clock jitter and improving accuracy. The fact that the mainboard is fed by a Linear PSU won't harm either.

    The sound produced for MCH via HDMI with my Onkyo RZ720 is definitely better than using standard brand players including Zidoo UHD3000.
    The differences are small and obviously subjective like hell but my order: UHD3000 / Z9X +> OPPO ++> Neo X. The last difference is very audible. All Zidoo models except the Neo X sound the same to me via HDMI. My Dune HD Real Vision 4K to my surprise sounds very similar to the OPPO.

    All related it seems to the quality of the crystal oscillator being used for the clocking. Applies to all sound forwarded via HDMI for Movies and Music in 2CH or MCH. With movies it remains mostly inaudible.
    I tried a shared linear PSU with all my boxes (really big external dual 12V 5A) but it did not bring me anything clearly audible. Always use oversized PSU's so back to my standard grounded 12V 5A unit doing the same job for Z9X and my Dune. It's mainly about oscillator crystals it seems but a combination with a good PSU never harms for sure.


    It is a real pity it can't do MCH with DSD via HDMI even with DSD => PCM. Still forced using my OPPO for that and also for DVD-Audio playback (MLP coded 2CH/MCH audio).

    Chapter-8: Using External DAC Inputs:

    General
    Both Neo S and Neo X have multiple DAC inputs. The USB Input is the most used and supporting all thinkable PCM and DSD formats up to exotic. SPDIF is also possible via analog which is good to connect e.g. a TV but limited to HD audio formats. Unfortunately most TV's offer only optical out. The AES/EBU is more for connecting (semi-)professional equipment.

    BlueTooth
    You can also use any streaming service on your smart phone and next stream it HiFi (if available on your phone) to the BT LDAC enabled input of Neo X.
    https://www.soundguys.com/ldac-ultimate-bluetooth-guide-20026/
    LDAC from Sony is standard implemented on Android Oreo 8.0 or above phones and is selectable (=schakelbaar) matching bandwidth conditions to run at 330 kbps, 660 kbps and 990 kbps.
    Warning: Not all implementations/conditions may support the full 990 kbps bandwidth and HiFi results may vary per environment as a consequence.
    The aptX HD standard from Qualcomm is the second popular BT standard for HiFi. It is supported by several headphones.

    Neo S and Neo X support SBC/AAC/aptX/aptX LL/aptX HD next to mentioned LDAC standards using the Qualcomm CSR8675 module. These are the only Zidoo models including the module. The next nice table (sorry for some Dutch) gives an overview of all currently existing BT audio standards.

    BT audio.JPG

    Be sure to select the optimal WiFi plus BT paired device settings on your phone to match Zidoo Neo X extensive capabilities. The Audio bypasses all Zidoo Applications and uses the DAC panel BT input straight for that. Some may want to buy this model specifically for this purpose alone.

    Chapter-9: Final verdict and suggestions for potential buyers
    In fact was waiting for big(ger) updates on Music Player and potentially Front Panel features but these did not come yet.

    The player is clearly build and advertised to be used above all as a music player. It is good to signal here first that in fact the Video Player features and functions are identical to those found on the other models. Use it personally for both. Th sound produced via HDMI (set to RAW) is definitely better than using the other models. This can be explained by using better components for the integrated motherboard specifically the clock
    crystal.

    This immediately brings me to MCH music reproduction which also uses HDMI output. There is good news here as the sound of music benefits a lot more than watching movies from that motherboard. Unfortunately the story does not end here as the player as-is has a lot of troubles with the various MCH music album sources. DVD and BD menu problems for albums in those formats, no DSD => PCM for MCH SACD albums and DTS-CD having serious gap problems. All in all I must label the player in the current state as unsuitable for MCH music playback. This is a bloody shame as other brands show it all can be done correctly using the same Realtek RTD1619DR SOC. A missed opportunity for sure which I hope will be tackled soon by Zidoo.

    For using the integrated DAC my conclusion is very positive it gives great sound above all making a difference with my UHD3000 for the average CD album played in FLAC. for the first time I now can clearly hear the difference beween a FLAC or MP3 from the same source.
    Curious enough the difference for native DSD between both is debatable. As a result the difference between DSD and PCM effectively got smaller.
    For listening to streaming music services this players facilitates audio transfer in HiFi via BT directly to the DAC input. I can very much recommend this way of listening to those as all APP's for these services are optimized for using a smart phone. No need to turn on your TV or even use the Front Panel of the Neo.

    Speaking about that Front Panel it is really nice and working well including the controls using either touch or the buttons. Using the player for music without connecting a TV is very realistic but it is is open for multiple enhancements. To name some: it is not used during Video Playback at all and there are no big font screens for reading at viewing/listening distance beyond the clock/screensaver. Still with the current features included it is clearly ahead of the competition.

    Yes it is an expensive player but build quality and sound wise definitely worth the extra money. Gives great value for money looking at alternatives of any type. The weak parts are clearly the music player developing relatively slow and for the happy few interested in it the bad functionality for MCH music albums in unfortunately all it formats beyond DTS-CD.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2022
    a5ian300zx likes this.
  4. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Suggestions/Wish list for Neo models:

    This currently includes Neo A, S and X models.
    1) On Neo models these should appear big on the Front Panel as an option easy readable at viewing/listening distance even by old guys like me. Even my 20 years old CD/SACD/DVD player included this as a feature.
    2) For movies the front panel should at least display some useful movie info instead of just a black screen optionally. Could be some static info and/or Playing Time/Remaining Time as with other models. It could also revert to the time/date when the screensaver timer expires.
    3) The Zidoo Controller APP should include the colored buttons. They are becoming increasingly important for customized control specifically for Neo/HiFi players.
    4) An equalizer feature should be considered if CPU power allows this. This to include some popular preset and also a fully configurable mode. Frankly won't ever use that myself but many expect it.
    5) Add DVD-Audio playback with MLP tracks for HiFi models (or Neo models only).
    6) The Info button used when in "BT Internal DAC mode" should show BT details with e.g. LDAC 330/660/990 information.


    Feel free to comment or do other suggestions for specifically the Neo models using the front panel.
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2022
    gymnos and a5ian300zx like this.
  5. Armin Moesslacher

    Armin Moesslacher Active Member

    If that one isn't really Roon Ready either :) .......
    Listening sessions you mention are pure subjective so I would note that ;-)
    It was always funny on the university to see "audiophiles" fail the basic double blinded tests in any way and get back on the "normal dude level" when it came down to compare cables, amplifiers, speakers and DACs in all price ranges.........................Floyd Toole had it worked out a long time ago.................
    Personally I think Zidoo is trying to fish in the wrong territory. I would focus on the video part and keep the price way down with that. There are other chinese companies like Auralic who have the high quality audio products :)

    best regards,

    Armin
     
  6. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Thanks for the response. It is still very silent here.
    - I don't think the Roon certification is working for it which obviously it should be! It remains on my list with aggregated problems which is well kept track of by Zidoo.
    - Yes my listening tests are obviously very subjective. As I normally always do added it also here to the text. Thanks for pointing out this to me!
    - Yes did some A/B blind tests and yes that still could be detected accurate enough.
    - If this is a market for Zidoo needs to be proven. I agree with you that it won't be easy. Above all the software coming with it still needs to make big steps for sure.
    - Zidoo makes enough models to cover for all type of customers. Giving this a try does not change that. The entry level Z9X is a very nice basic model with excellent price/performance so that remains well covered.

    The Neo X HW is really competing with well known high end products that is not their biggest challenge but getting the right reputation in that sector won't go easy is my guess too.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2021
  7. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Updated with a lot of front panel pictures.:)

    Hope for some more response now. ;)
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2021
    gymnos likes this.
  8. jwort93

    jwort93 Member

    Does it support a parametric EQ on the headphone output?
     
  9. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    I understand that it is planned for.
     
    jwort93 likes this.
  10. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    FW 6.6.40 was released via OTA and installed by me.

    My signalled problems with DTS-CD occur only with MCH output via HDMI. Using the Internal DAC downmixing to Stereo they all play and also gapless works.
    This was confirmed by Zidoo. The Gapless not working is general for MCH sound as a whole.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2021
  11. toshu

    toshu Member

    Nice Monkey,
    I recently bought a Z9X to play with and see how refined the HW and SW is, specifically for audiophile application. I have been playing with it at my desk and in my RV. Once I resolve a few items better, I will try it in my main system, connected to my Topping DAC> Anthem MRX1120>JMLAB
    The Neo interests me but if it costs $2000 and has similar MP6 clumsiness, then its got a long way to go, IMHO
     
  12. Natpolly

    Natpolly New Member

    Hello, Nice Monkey.

    I updated my Neo X to 6.6.40 and now I find a problem about HDR metadata. The Neo X can't send HDR metadata(min,max luminance light, max CLL and max FALL) to my Lumagen Radiance Pro. I have always turned max CLL, max FALL passthrough on. With FW 6.6.22 and 6.6.35, the Neo X can send HDR metadata without any problems.
    I hope this problem can be fixed ASAP with the next FW update. Is there a way to fix this problem right now?

    Thank you for your help and support.
     
  13. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Thanks. Most likely applies to all models. Will report this, but they for sure read along here with us too. ;)

    @toshu
    For sure a lot of work to do for Neo X (MP6 and Front Panel usefulness). They should remove focus a bit away from DV and HT4 in my humble view as these aren't the products weak points.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2021
    toshu likes this.
  14. Natpolly

    Natpolly New Member

    Hello again, Nice Monkey.

    Do you mean that other Zidoo models such as UHD3000 or other 1619DR models with latest firmware(x.x.40) have the same HDR metadata passthrough problem like the Neo X?

    Thank you for your help and support.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2021
  15. muha

    muha Active Member

  16. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

  17. mirak

    mirak Member

    Hello Nice Monkey :)

    Chapter-2: The HW and build:
    The first thing that stroke me was how big this thing really is (W=292, Length=395, H=110). It is also very heavy for a media player at almost 10 Kg. The color is a light anthracite.

    For your information the exact weight is 7.7 kg .;)
     
  18. OlivierQC

    OlivierQC Well-Known Member

    Hi Mirak,

    I'm waiting for HCFR's opinion about the NEO X
     
  19. mirak

    mirak Member

    Hello OlivierQC

    Be patient.
    Around the end of october...;)
     
  20. Nice Monkey

    Nice Monkey Well-Known Member Beta test group

    Thanks for the correction. Has been updated. Never put it on a scale myself. I think I read it somewhere but must have been including the packaging?
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2021

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