Melco Audiophile NAS

[MNG]

Has anyone managed to get Minim server onto the Melco NAS?

[Peter@57m]

(27-03-2015 23:32)MNG Wrote:  Has anyone managed to get Minim server onto the Melco NAS?

I was told by Melco before I bought it it would be easily available. Now that I have one, they have yet to respond to my email.

So waiting and hoping......

[Martin H]

I know that this is being worked on but they will be holding off on a reply so that they can offer the final 'commercially robust release' - 'idiot proof'. No reflection on you but there are some idiots out there and if it can be done wrong manually they will find the way.

So best to sit tight for that release I reckon. If they proliferate the beta versions they risk having all sorts of confusion later. That's my tuppence on it anyway.

[Martin H]

Very quick update.

Done some straight listening followed by some A B testing. First a lazy version where I plugged it all in and simply tested it using files held on the Melco vs the same files held an existing server. So both have the benefit of the network isolation of the player but some files flow across the network from existing disks. I did this because it was super easy and I thought if there was any indistinguishable difference here then I would be onto a good thing. (I should explain that the DS and Melco are racked in an adjoining room with only the speakers inside the room I listen. With cable tied cables etc. swapping the ethernet demanded some prep and a short delay between A and B). Good news is that we were consistently picking up on improvements and out of 5 or 6 tracks multiple times - we only picked differently once.

Today I rearranged things so that a full A vs B (Melco vs existing setup) was easier/quicker in turnaround time and we were off. We repeated the same songs which for interest were:

All I want - Blue (24bit) - Joni
The Last Time I Saw Richard - Joni (24bit)
Running up that Hill - Kate Bush - (16 bit)
Superstition - Talking Book (24 bit) Stevie Wonder
Hotel Cailfornia (live) - Hell freezes Over - Eagles

Slam dunk. More on the differences tomorrow if that's OK. In the meantime, order under way

Looking forward to popping on minimserver asap too.

[Martin H]

Right I will have a go at this but finding the right words to convey the difference in sound is always a challenge for me

I should say that logically, even now, I am sceptical about exactly how much difference to the sound the Melco should make. I understand (just about) the theoretical points of uplift but it still seems unlikely that these should make a significant difference and one that would make me ditch my otherwise awesome NAS server (note: only from a music perspective) and lay out more cash. Surely that would be dumb huh? Read on . . . .

Again apologies in advance for my clumsy words.

Listening to all of the above tracks there seems to be more space around each instrument and voice that brings an extra tweak of clarity. The most noticeable differences were on Hotel California (live version) where the opening guitar just pops into perfect focus and also on Superstition where the magical opening beats are now perfect. Moving up to Exakt put the sounds right and somehow (don't ask me how) the Melco just tweaked the timing putting the whole thing into the sharpest focus. It sounded great before but now it is even better.

The words that I want to use are timing, space and sharp focus. I read another post somewhere that mentioned the background was blacker (or something like that) and I hadn't understood but I do now.

To context all of this. If you are moving up from a cassette player or are happy with the sound coming from your 'tranny' (different connotations these days but hey ho) then this isn't your first purchase. But if you appreciate not only the tune but the clarity of the music/sound then I would urge you to listen to a demo because it appears to be one of the more affordable uplifts around - the N1A.

Many thanks to Hamish at Sound Organisation (York) for allowing me the time to demo this. Shameless plug but they are awesome (no connection just a happy customer).

Now excited to try the Minimserver release as soon as it is ready. Life is good

[Martin H]

Probably should have added that the test extended to include Sevendust, Jack White and some Beethoven, Vivaldi etc. and finally some Ella/Count Basie but the core was on the songs above.

Another revelation was the Talk Talk album Asides Besides which was special.

I will stop gushing because I don't want to get this out of context. It's an unexpected and more affordable improvement that I would say is worth exploring for those that have fallen into the trap of getting the most out of their music and the kit they play it on.

[Mihaylov]

(20-03-2015 11:22)Mihaylov Wrote:  

(18-03-2015 23:25)simoncn Wrote:  

(17-03-2015 17:20)Mihaylov Wrote:  Strange. There is nothing about "opto-isolated ethernet port" on dela or melco website too.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl...&sandbox=1

I've queried this with Melco and they will provide a definitive answer on opto-isolation soon. The N1 uses NDK's ultra-low-jitter clock, as used on the Marantz NA-11S1 (see attachment for location).

Great, Simon! This is true. I didn't see it earlier . XO 24.0 MHz is X14 on the Melco board (see photo). It's for Universal Serial Bus 3.0 Host Controller LSI mPD720201 (IC99 on photo).

But where are XOs for ethernet controlers? They shall have the frequency of 25.0 MHz.

[best]

(01-04-2015 12:58)Martin H Wrote:  Right I will have a go at this but finding the right words to convey the difference in sound is always a challenge for me

I should say that logically, even now, I am sceptical about exactly how much difference to the sound the Melco should make. I understand (just about) the theoretical points of uplift but it still seems unlikely that these should make a significant difference and one that would make me ditch my otherwise awesome NAS server (note: only from a music perspective) and lay out more cash. Surely that would be dumb huh? Read on . . . .

Again apologies in advance for my clumsy words.

Listening to all of the above tracks there seems to be more space around each instrument and voice that brings an extra tweak of clarity. The most noticeable differences were on Hotel California (live version) where the opening guitar just pops into perfect focus and also on Superstition where the magical opening beats are now perfect. Moving up to Exakt put the sounds right and somehow (don't ask me how) the Melco just tweaked the timing putting the whole thing into the sharpest focus. It sounded great before but now it is even better.

The words that I want to use are timing, space and sharp focus. I read another post somewhere that mentioned the background was blacker (or something like that) and I hadn't understood but I do now.

To context all of this. If you are moving up from a cassette player or are happy with the sound coming from your 'tranny' (different connotations these days but hey ho) then this isn't your first purchase. But if you appreciate not only the tune but the clarity of the music/sound then I would urge you to listen to a demo because it appears to be one of the more affordable uplifts around - the N1A.

Many thanks to Hamish at Sound Organisation (York) for allowing me the time to demo this. Shameless plug but they are awesome (no connection just a happy customer).

Now excited to try the Minimserver release as soon as it is ready. Life is good

The improvements in sound quality you describe are similar to the ones I
have experienced with and without a lan isolator in my setup. That further begs the question whether the Melco is adding more value than a lan isolator.Is anyone in a position to make this comparison? I use a pc loaded with minimserver, and a Giso lan isolator.

best

[Peter@57m]

Based on my experience with Melco N1A I was curious about this too.

I have ordered an Acoustic-revive LAN Isolator (RLI-1) from Japan. Will take a while to arrive but will report back when I have done a comparison.

I would use two of these with my Renew DS and DSM if they work well.

[nrwatson]

Help just got the Melko
Not impressed with Twonky want to put minim server on is this possible yet
Thanks Neale