Zidoo NEO Alpha HiFi 4K Media Player

NEO α(Alpha) – 4K All-in-one Hi-Fi Media Player

The NEO α(Alpha) is Zidoo’s flagship high-end audio-visual integrated solution for 2022. It converges years of technologies and brings the ultimate audio visual experience for enthusiasts. Supporting 4K@60Hz UHD image quality and Dolby Vision high dynamic range technology, as well as cutting edge audio processing, the Zidoo NEO α(Alpha) is built to amaze. Once again Zidoo have built the NEO α(Alpha) from the ground up with top materials and luxurious components, including double toroidal linear power supplies, a flagship ES9038Pro DAC chip, a high-end digital decoder solution, a 5-inch OLED touch screen, all-aluminium thickened chassis and silent passive heat dissipation.

Key Features

• XMOS 216+ESS9038Pro DAC hardware decoding, DSD512/PCM768KHz 32Bit and MQA
• HDMI audio & video separate outputs, multi-channel DSD (2.0/5.1CH) playback and DSD Native output
• 5-inch OLED high-definition touch screen
• RTD1619DR SOC with 4K@60Hz, Dolby Vision/HDR10+
• 4K 60Hz, HDR (HDR10/HLG/HDR10+/Dolby Vision), 12Bit, BT.2020 wide colour range and YCbCr 4:4:4
• Supports DSD (SACD ISO, DSF, DFF), WAV, FLAC, APE lossless audio formats & multi-sampling seamless playback
• High-performance Bluetooth decoding with Qualcomm flagship QCC5125 module
• Supports APTX HD, LDAC audio reception
• 6.35mm headphone jack, two gain modes switching – headphone amp can drive 16-300 Ω high impedance headphones
• Gigabit wired network and 2.4G+5G dual-band 802.11 AC 2T2R 867Mbps WiFi
• Supports streaming services AirPlay, DLNA, Spotify and Roon Ready etc
• All-aluminium alloy reinforced chassis and shockproof foot pads

Powerful Processor and Large Storage

The RTD1619DR hexa-core 64-bit A55 processor and 64 bit bandwidth with larger processing capability have provided stable and efficient computing for the system. 4GB DDR4 RAM and 32GB eMMC storage will greatly meet the demand to install applications directly to the device.

512GB Internal SSD

The NEO α(Alpha) is equipped with a 512GB SSD for local music playback. High-quality digital music files can be easily stored and with data rates that are stable and fast. The SSD avoids typical heating and noise issues which can come from traditional mechanical hard disk drives.

 

 

 

ESS9038Pro DAC

The NEO α(Alpha) is equipped with an ESS9038 Pro DAC chip at it’s core for audio decoding. It’s -122db THD+N and 140db dynamic range are benchmark indicators among the industry. With support for up to DSD512 and PCM768@32bit audio streams, both performance and sound quality will meet the high demands of audiophiles.

XMOS Audio Processor

The Octa-core XMOS X216 audio processor can provide excellent digital audio processing with high-definition decoding, low latency, low jitter, and high flexibility. It also supports asynchronous transmission, PCM 768KHz, DSD512 and 8x MQA decoding.

 

 

 

Multichannel DSD Processing Technology

Equipped with a tailored multichannel DSD processing chip and clock reconstruction technology just for playing multichannel master recorded music. Both multichannel DTS and DSD are supported. This system is among the first in the industry to achieve DSD Native 5.1 lossless audio output from an HDMI DSD port.

Dual Power Supplies

Separate digital and analogue power supplies are employed to eliminate interference and improve the sound purity system-wide. A linear power supply design is used for analog audio circuits which is composed of multi-winding large toroidal transformers. While a switching power supply is used for digital circuits with lower ripple and magnetic leakage interference.

 

Double HDMI for Audio and Video Separation

The NEO α(Alpha) features 2 HDMI output ports. The first is an HDMI 2.0a main output which can output audio and video signals to a 4K TV, projectors or AV receiver. The second HDMI port (Audio/DSD) is designed to output audio signals only. It is not only compatible with HDMI 1.4 AV receivers but also can output DSD Native 5.1 audio streams with independent high-precision clocks and thus better audio and video performance.

Dual High-precision Clocks

There are 2 ultra-low noise femtosecond high-precision clocks used in the audio decoding circuit (45.1584MHz and 49.152MHz), which correspond to 44.1KHz and 48KHz multiplied sampling frequencies. Jitter has been effectively suppressed. It ensures high-precision digital/analogue conversion, with ultra-high integrity and resolution for analogue audio output and reproduces the natural sound details in the audio source.

Multiple Digital Inputs

Multiple ports like USB DAC, Optical and Coaxial can be connected with various devices (computers, mobile phones, streaming devices, set-top box, CD players etc) to convert digital signals to analogue signals by the ESS9038pro DAC. No matter which way you use the NEO α(Alpha) to play music, you will enjoy superb sound quality every time.

 

Headphone Amp Output

The built-in 6.35mm headphone jack brings great convenience for headphone enthusiasts. The amp circuit adopts a low ripple power supply, multi-level signal buffering, voltage and current staged amplifying processing, so that it has low noise, high current and maximum impact. Two gain modes are available to adapt to different headphone types in the 16~300 ohm impedance range.

Balanced Circuit and Professional Preamp

As an all-in-one preamp, the volume can be adjusted easily by the large volume knob, and it can connect with a power amplifier or active monitor speakers. Both XLR and RCA signals are processed by balanced circuit with good noise immunity. Multi-stage operational amplifier buffering and amplification, unique low-distortion filter design and independent signal loop have greatly improve channel separation, maximize the dynamic range and sound integrity.

 

 

Featured Audio Components

In order to achieve high level audio quality, both circuit design and materials are carefully chosen and deployed, such as immersion gold PCB and anti-interference wiring. Audio components like 6pcs of operational amplifier, OMRON relay, WIMA and ELNA resistors are carefully chosen for pleasing sound experience.

Master Recording Music Playback

With top hardware and an advanced decoding algorithm the NEO α(Alpha) can play music audiophile formats like master recording files (SACD ISO/DFF/DSF/DSD) and MQA, as well as ordinary CD formats (FLAC, WAV, APE, DTS etc). CUE tracks and gapless playback are also supported.

Intelligent Music Library

NEO α(Alpha) is good at managing music resources. Music files from network drives and local hard drives can be added conveniently, generating an extensive music database. Manage music easily and enjoy lossless music as you wish.

 

Music Streaming Services

Music can be streamed from music apps installed on a mobile phone, tablet and PC to NEO α(Alpha) via Airplay and DLNA protocols. Digital streaming services like Spotify and Roon Ready are also available.

Lossless Bluetooth Audio

NEO α(Alpha) has a internal lossless Bluetooth receiver with a Qualcomm flagship QCC5125 module. Supporting aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD and LDAC audio transmission to quickly connect with mobile phones or tablets and enjoy CD quality music.

CD Ripping and Playback

NEO α(Alpha) can play CD discs (DTS CD and MQA) by connecting with CD-ROM. CD ripping is based on ZIDOO HASH algorithm, album name and track names can be ripped losslessly, detailed album and artist info can be generated automatically.

 

Dolby Vision

Dolby Vision dynamic metadata processing technology will output luminance and colour info frame by frame. Shadows are darker while highlights are brighter creating a more vivid, life-like image.

Dolby Vision VS10 Engine

The Dolby Vision VS10 engine can convert HDR to SDR and SDR to HDR. The image quality from NEO α(Alpha) VS10 engine is better than any display device (HDR, SDR) for any files (Dolby Vision, HDR and SDR).

4K UHD Resolution Technology

NEO α(Alpha) video decoding is based on Linux and supports almost all video decoding including 4K Dolby Vision and HDR10+. The NEO α(Alpha) can output up to 3840 x 2160 60Hz, HDR (Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG), 12bit and BT.2020 wide colour range.

 

 

HDR Technology

NEO α(Alpha) supports HDR10, HLG and also HDR10+. The peak luminance of HDR10+ is up to 4000nits. Dynamic metadata is processed and output accurately frame by frame. That is, image colour and luminance level is obtained frame by frame and scene by scene.

10Bit/12Bit Colour Depth

The powerful image processor supports 10/12Bit processing and output, which provides rich colours and natural colour transitions, colour banding has been effectively avoided. BT.2020 wide colour range brings bright image colour and good image space.

Accurate Resolution and Frame Rate

Mainstream movies are typically shot at a frame rate of 23.976 Hz. Generally it has been converted to 24Hz for media players on the market, ZIDOO media players can output accurate resolution and precise frame rates (23.976 Hz and 59.94 Hz).

 

Network Protocols

NEO α(Alpha) supports a variety of network services like NFS, SMB v1/v2/v3, UPnP and Web DAV. Media from NAS or network drives can be accessed efficiently via Gigabit LAN even high bit-rate 4K Blu-ray files can be played smoothly. SMB sharing function can share media files stored in a hard drive to other devices or computers.

Mobile Phone and iPad Control

The NEO α(Alpha) Mobile phone and iPad control APP will display Poster Wall, Music Player and system settings. Program search and system settings can be done in the background without affecting movie playback.

Smart Home Control Protocols

Lastly, NEO α(Alpha) can be integrated into mainstream home control systems due to it’s diverse smart control ports, such as IR, RS232, HDMI CEC, HTTP(WOL) etc