The PDF of Audio
The Problem
Today, a single piece of music exists in 5 copies: an MP3 for streaming, a WAV in the studio, a FLAC for archival, a stems file for remixing, a spatial version for headphones. This is absurd.
The Solution
NEO is the PDF of audio. One file that contains everything: the compressed version for streaming, lossless quality for archival, separated stems for remixing, 3D positioning for immersion.
Universal
One format for production, distribution, playback, and archival.
Integrity
BLAKE3 hashing on every chunk. Tamper-proof by design.
Open
Unlicense. No patents. Every technology is royalty-free.
Progressive
Play in 200ms, load full quality in the background.
Built for real-world use cases
Karaoke
Mute the vocals stem instantly from any track.
DJing & Sampling
Isolate drums or bass from any song for live mixing.
Archival
Lossless + lossy in one file. Never lose quality again.
Streaming
Progressive loading. Zero buffering on mobile networks.
Rights Management
Web3 royalty splits baked into the file format.
AI Verification
C2PA proves human vs AI origin at the format level.
Three layers, zero compromise
NEO uses progressive loading: start playing instantly, then seamlessly upgrade to full quality. Lossy and lossless coexist in the same file.
Hybrid lossless reconstruction formula
original[i] = DAC.decode(stem)[i] + FLAC.decode(residual)[i]Every track, deconstructed
1 to 8 dynamic stems per file. Mute, solo, or remix any element. No external tools needed — it is built into the format.
NEO vs everything else
A feature-by-feature comparison with every major audio format. NEO is not incremental — it is a generational leap.
| Capability | ★ Recommended NEO | MP3 | FLAC | AAC | Opus | NI Stems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lossless Audio | ||||||
| Multi-Stem (1–8) | 1-8 dynamic | 4 fixed | ||||
| Neural Codec (~90×) | ||||||
| 3D Spatial Audio | ||||||
| Smart Metadata | JSON-LD | ID3 | Vorbis | MP4 | Vorbis | MP4 |
| Provenance (C2PA) | ||||||
| P2P / IPFS Streaming | ||||||
| Edit History (Git-like) | ||||||
| Progressive Loading | ||||||
| Temporal Lyrics/Chords | ||||||
| Web3 Royalties | ||||||
| Open / Patent-Free | Unlicense | Expired |
← Scroll to compare all formats →
Engineered for the next decade
Every byte is intentional. A 64-byte header, 9 chunk types, BLAKE3 integrity, and a spec designed to last.
Header
Chunks
9Conformance Levels
NEO Basic
FLAC or Opus stems with stereo output. The minimum viable .neo file.
NEO Standard
DAC neural codec, lossless residual, preview layer, and C2PA provenance.
NEO Professional
Spatial rendering, edit DAG, Merkle streaming, and Web3 rights management.