NAS <> Melco

I can't give any evidence of the Melco but I have used several different systems over the years including, vortexbox Nas and  now custom pc ans not  heard any sq difference over the network. If your not connecting the server to DAC via usb or other then IMO the Melco is overkill. 

Thanks for feedback!

I have been using a Synology NAS (running minimserver) to serve my NDS for the last couple of years. By chance, I tried a Melco and was amazed at the improvements it brought, so I now have one.

Used in a network, the Melco is designed to provide isolation from 'network noise' and I suspect I have a relatively noisy network which is why it has brought such an improvement in my system.  It has also improved the sound quality of Internet radio, Spotify etc, in fact anything that I feed via the network to the NDS.

The improvement over the standalone NAS is big, however, serving files from the NAS, through the Melco to the NDS (so the music passes through the Melco rather than being served by it) greatly improves as well, so the difference between files stored on the NAS and those stored on the Melco itself is relatively small once the Melco is in place.  So, in my experience, if you have a large library that you can't fit on the Melco, it can still work it's magic when you serve files through it, from a NAS. 

I guess, as with most things, the improvement it may bring over your NAS may be different depending on your network setup itself, but based on my experience, I would thoroughly recommend giving one a try.

Thanks- as you mentioned, it works great when you attach a streamer directly to the "LAN out" to Melco. My setup would be to run Melco as UPNP server/SMB share and access it with roon.

Jason posted:

Used in a network, the Melco is designed to provide isolation from 'network noise' and I suspect I have a relatively noisy network which is why it has brought such an improvement in my system.  It has also improved the sound quality of Internet radio, Spotify etc, in fact anything that I feed via the network to the NDS.

CAUTION.. unless there is clear explanation of what is being achieved, I would treat such statements about so called ‘network isolation’ with extreme caution. 

To isolate and subdivide a layer 2 subnet to bridge or route between with specific forwarders so as to effectively remove network noise would require a fair omount of configuration and when I last looked at the Melco there was no such configuration at all for doing such an operation.

If it’s simply addressing common mode electrical noise on the link segment, this is fair enough, it’s a bit like ferrite chokes around the Ethernet lead, but this is NOT the same as network noise which is something entirely different.

Are there some tests where they compare Core vs Melco vs Innuos vs some other special build NAS? Thanks!

Some time ago, well before they moved premises, Signals showed me (let me hear) the difference between U'Serve to NDS, U'Serve to Melco to NDS and then Melco to NDS, all with the same source material.

Had I been at all interested in streaming, and I wasn't and am still not except for driving the kitchen MuSo, then the Melco would have been on my list of things to buy. Each stage was an improvement. Of course, the U'Serve is yesterday's technology, but probably at least as good as an off-the-shelf NAS.

Have a proper listen at your local dealer and you can decide.

I started with a QNAP on my journey. A first step was putting a good power supply on the QNAP, and the difference was significant, it was one of those things I heard but couldn’t belief.

Then I heard a demo and was immediately convinced of the Merits, it was again a significant step up in performance.

Now some on this forum have argued that the price is high for just storing the music, yes true...., but it has been a significant upgrade which can be seen as half a box upgrade in Naim terms....

Many thanks for feedback Nick and Bert! That sound interesting- a power supply on Qnap influences SQ? I have an external (small) power supply for TS251...

...seems that power supply is important...even for NAS. Just checked that Melco announced a N10 unit with seperate PSU...for almost 7500E (outch...)

Uniti Core has a toroidal transformer build in, some amps don‘t have such...seems that naim puts power in there to spin some disks ????. Reading the Melco specs, they are concerned about PSU as well...so this seems an important part , even for NAS,  ... Innuos claims special designed PSU as well...

I"ve used a uServe, Minim (Synology nas) and Asset (qnap nas) and now Roon all to serve over my home ethernet network to Naim networked players.  They all sound the same to my ears.  

I cannot discern differences between minim and Asset running on the same NAS but I can hear  differences between minim running on QNAP NAS versus minim running on SOtM SMS200 using a USB disk. Unexpectedly (for me) QNAP has more “meat” and “bite” despite SOtM being more exclusively built for audio. It is fair to say that SOtM have written to me that the SMS 200 is primarily built as a renderer and only incidentally can also run server duties but this somehow confirms the thesis that “servers make a difference”. 

Based on this experience I plan to try a good server (I aim at the Mk3 version of Innuos products which were first shown in Munich this year but have not yet hit the stores). 

Many thanks...and 1010010 should always sounds the same:-) I guess I have to try by myself,,,

T38.45 posted:

I know that there are many discussions about Melco... but did somebody compared already ripped files served by NAS vs file served by Melco ? I wonder if there is a real gap in SQ when running it as upnp server not attached to the streamer directly!

Thanks!

I do not know but why wouldn't you want to connect a streamer to the Melco's dedicated Ethernet port? That seems to be main point of advantage of a Melco against a NAS. If you do not plan to use the Melco's dedicated Ethernet or USB ports than, sound quality wise, you can probably run your preferred UPnP server on any off-the-shelf headless computer or NAS. In my view, the Melcos are aesthetically more appealing than most computers or NAS devices, though.    

nbpf posted:

T38.45 posted:

I know that there are many discussions about Melco... but did somebody compared already ripped files served by NAS vs file served by Melco ? I wonder if there is a real gap in SQ when running it as upnp server not attached to the streamer directly!

Thanks!

I do not know but why wouldn't you want to connect a streamer to the Melco's dedicated Ethernet port? That seems to be main point of advantage of a Melco against a NAS. If you do not plan to use the Melco's dedicated Ethernet or USB ports than, sound quality wise, you can probably run your preferred UPnP server on any off-the-shelf headless computer or NAS. In my view, the Melcos are aesthetically more appealing than most computers or NAS devices, though.    

Roon doesn't work that as I understand it. ND555 is an Roon endpoint, as such music can be streamed directly to it. But I'm 100% with you- guess this is the most elegant way when not using Roon!

I don't use Roon, but if it is a streaming service accessible on a streamer I believe you should still be able to access on the ND555 as you would anything else via the Melco, unless you have the Direct Stream mode enabled. In Network mode I can access and operate Spotify and Internet radio on my NDS with the Melco in the chain just the same as if it wasn't there; the only difference being the improved sound quality with the Melco in place.

I believe Roon would only be unavailable if the Melco was switched to direct mode, where only music stored on it can be played and no network access is possible (which again brings another lift in sound quality for stored file playback).

If the below link works, this should hopefully answer your query on the different functionality :

https://www.melco-audio.com/products/n1-mk2/

cool- thanks!

it seems that roon can have access to ND555 "through" Melco with the right connection mode....I will ask my dealer if this is possible, but that would be great!!

nbpf posted:

T38.45 posted:

I know that there are many discussions about Melco... but did somebody compared already ripped files served by NAS vs file served by Melco ? I wonder if there is a real gap in SQ when running it as upnp server not attached to the streamer directly!

Thanks!

I do not know but why wouldn't you want to connect a streamer to the Melco's dedicated Ethernet port? That seems to be main point of advantage of a Melco against a NAS. If you do not plan to use the Melco's dedicated Ethernet or USB ports than, sound quality wise, you can probably run your preferred UPnP server on any off-the-shelf headless computer or NAS. In my view, the Melcos are aesthetically more appealing than most computers or NAS devices, though.    

You might find using a used Cisco 2960 switch achieves the same effect for a fraction of the cost.

Simon,

I have a Cisco 2960 and the Melco N1A/2. IME the Cisco provides nothing like the effect the Melco has on sound quality, but then in a different system, who knows!

Quite.... I guess it might depend how electrically noisy your house is.