Melco Audiophile NAS

[simoncn]

Thanks, this explains why I could not find this DELA model on the Melco website.

[maikeru]

(15-06-2020 08:46)simoncn Wrote:  Thanks, this explains why I could not find this DELA model on the Melco website.

Indeed;-)

As I decide which NAS to get I’ve picked up an s100. It’s replacing a cheap buffalo switch.

More detail. Better separation perhaps. Maybe too analytical though?

Did you find there is a break-in period?

[simoncn]

I think there has been some change since I first got the S100. Initially I was hearing amazing amounts of ambient acoustic, to the point where it sometimes bordered on sounding unnatural. This has now reduced without losing the improvements in separation and detail. It is also possible that my brain has adjusted to the new sound.

[maikeru]

Thanks as always for sharing your insights.

I’m now using a cinnamon Ethernet cable for switch to Lumin
And looking for a new cable for switch to NA1

Generally is it good to exactly match?

Or - if I took this opportunity to try the vodka would it be a bad idea to mix the two? If not where should the better cable go?

[simoncn]

If your LUMIN has an optical link, I suggest you use this to connect it to the S100.

I have very little experience with different Ethernet cables. As I said in a previous post, I use Melco cables and these work well. If the cables are not the same, I suggest using the better cable for the renderer rather than the server.

[maikeru]

Got it.

I’m finding that the S100 is highly resolving. I hear, for example, buried/blurred male back up
vocals on an oft-listened-to female lead’s track where before it was not apparent.

But I also find it anodyne and unengaging/ less musical. It might just be personal
preference, system idiosyncrasies, or just getting used to new (for me) level of, what?, less distortion maybe?

Anyhow I’ll continue to test it but may send it back.

Question: I fear I might not like the melco sound but had my heart set on their NAS. Do you think the NA1 with SSD’s would color my listening in a similar way?

[simoncn]

It is impossible for me to know whether or not you would like the sound of an N1A with SSDs. You have a different renderer, listen to different music and have different listening preferences. I can only say that for me, using an N1A with SSDs as the server has significantly improved the sound I am hearing.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon. I have a first generation Melco N1ZH with two 3TB HDD's running MS2. I have not reformatted the HDD's or had the EX upgrade performed. It works well and sounds great to my ears feeding an Auralic VEGA G2 DAC via Ethernet, and also feeding an Auralic ARIES G2 transport via WiFi, which in turn feeds the VEGA G2 DAC via USB and HDMI. How involved would it be to swap out the Melco HDD's for two 2TB Crucial SSD's? I would lose approximately 2TB of potential storage, but it could be worth it for a material sound quality bump, quieter operation, and the seemingly lower possibility of disc failure. Thanks very much.

[simoncn]

It is straighforward to do this. Take the lid off the case and you will see how the HDDs are secured. Space is a little tighter inside an N1Z than an N1A but there is enough room to do the swap without major disassembly.

Before you start, make sure you have a full backup that you can restore after swapping the disks. For best sound quality, you should format the SSDs as spanned (not RAID 0). Buy the Crucial MX500, not BX500.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon, and thanks for the reply. I am assuming that discussion of possible modding of a MS2-based Melco is fair game for this thread (if not, please say so, thanks). If I understand your post, the order of operations is as follows:

1. Do a full backup of the Melco HDD's onto a drive OTHER THAN the to-be-installed SSD's. (Does this backup include the Melco firmware and MS2, or just the music files?)

2. Open the Melco and remove the HDD's.

3. Install the SSD's in the same manner that the HDD's were installed.

4. Replace the Melco cover, plug it in and power it up.

[At this point, does the Melco ask you to format the SSD's and offer the choice of Spanned or RAID 0?]

5. Once the SSD's have been formatted, use the backup HDD to reinstall the music files (and Melco firmware/MS2?).

If I do the above, would the new SSD's be formatted in Melco's newer preferred disc format (ext4) as opposed to the original format (xfs)?

Lastly (and this is probably a question for Melco), if I mod my Melco in this fashion, would it still be eligible for the dealer-installed "EX" upgrade?

Thanks very much.