Melco N1A - an instrumental part of my review hardware With thanks to Ed Selley, freelance journalist for avforums.com, Hi-Fi Choice and Home Cinema Choice When I was sent the Melco N1A for review back in 2015, I will freely admit to a degree of scepticism about the notion of ‘audiophile storage’. Even by that time, I had been using network audio players for a number of years and the storage arrangements I had up until that point, had seemed perfectly adequate for the task. After a week or so, my attitude had changed to the point where I purchased the N1A and it has remained with me ever since!
The initial testing I carried out on the N1A was enough to demonstrate that Melco has not only built a range of products that improved the performance of a network audio set-up I had previously thought was performing optimally, but had done so at the same time as producing a product that actually felt more robust and rugged than the equipment I had previously selected for that purpose. In some ways, the sonic benefits are the ‘expected’ bit of the equation. Thanks to the use of audiophile components in critical areas of the design, the N1A ensures that content is delivered in the most accurate fashion to your network audio player. Thanks to the use of a dedicated output from the Melco drive to your player, the connection between the two units is not being called upon to do anything else and the benefits of this arrangement are considerable. Crucially, across dozens of different test subjects, although the level of improvement has varied a little, the Melco has always improved the performance of the device connected to its output over using it in a normal network arrangement. There are other hi-fi considerations, too. Firstly, it is completely silent, not ‘silent from my listening position’ or ‘silent until you’re near it’ but silent. The idea of my old NAS drive sitting in the same rack space would have been crazy (and by the standards of most ‘bay’-type NAS drives, it was pretty quiet) but the N1A has done so since day one without a second’s thought. Perhaps less importantly, (but still something I like) is that it looks good while it does so. For me though, the ruggedness and reliability of the N1A have been just as important to it becoming an instrumental part of my review hardware. It has been in constant use since it arrived and on occasions, has travelled offsite with me to be used to test other systems and it hasn’t missed a beat. It still boots from a standing start in 18 seconds and appears on my network with the reliability of a bullet train. It is also worth noting that despite being an original Melco product and one superseded by the improved Melco N1A/2, I still receive software updates and functionality roll-outs for it. Melco has supported their products with a diligence that any high-end brand would be proud of and ensured that my N1A is better now than when it originally won me over when it first arrived. I don’t regard hi-fi equipment as an ‘investment’ but if any piece of equipment I’ve bought could justify the term, it would most likely be this one.
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Libraries – not just where you'll find books With thanks to Andrew Everard – Editor, Hi-Fi Critic and contributor to Gramophone, Hi-Fi News and more.  Once, in my dim and distant past, I worked in public libraries: small local branch libraries, where the staff were on hand to answer enquiries, and freezing mobile libraries, where one was dumped for an afternoon in a windswept outpost of the borough, with not even a phone to summon help when required.
Many of those places where I served time have now gone, and when I asked why, the answer was simple: ‘It’s the Internet.’ As an example of how things of changed, I know of teenagers who don’t even own a book – in fact, when I presented one with a carefully selected volume as a birthday present, I was asked ‘What do I want that for? I can just Google it. To listen to some commentators on matters audio, you’d think music is going the same way: forget ‘physical media’, even music downloaded or ripped, and stored on a home computer or server, is now considered in some quarters as old hat. Why bother with all that, the argument goes, when a world of music is available instantaneously from a streaming service? I even know of those who have junked their entire music collection, usually sold off for a pittance, and now depend solely on streaming. Well, there are plenty of reasons to bother, not least of which is that, for a truly comprehensive online music selection, you’d need to subscribe to several services, and juggle between them to find what you want, especially if your tastes stray beyond the mainstream. Then there’s the ease with which you can search, given the variability of metadata tagging of files on online services – not to mention the uncertainty about what exactly you’re getting in terms of file quality and history. All of which overlooks the service dangers of committing all your listening to an intangible source. Not all of us are lucky enough to have an Internet service fast or reliable enough to deliver the music we want when we want it, not to mention the problems when a houseful of connected devices are fighting for the available bandwidth. And what happens if the service to which you subscribe changes its file formats, falls out with the label for which your favourite artists record, or just decides to shut up shop? After all, most online services are mainly aimed at the common denominator, meaning the mass-market user probably listening on a phone or tablet, not the audio enthusiast. For all of the above reasons, I’ll be sticking to storing my music at my fingertips, along with a sensible back-up routine in case of disaster. My music collection is where I know I can find it, with the help of carefully curated tagging and search technology such as Melco’s Intelligent Music Library. Now pre-loaded with the new EX Series and offered as a firmware upgrade for existing Melco users, it has already showed its potential, and opened up some intriguing connections between the music in my library. Not to mention making music easier to find. In fact, a bit like having a knowledgeable librarian to hand to answer your questions and point you in the right direction – which, I think, is where we came in… New products from Melco: |
Introducing Melco EX SeriesAlan Ainslie, Melco Europe GM |  |
Melco recently announced the Melco EX series platform – this finally solves the problems caused by trying to Browse and Search music collections which have incomplete or inconstant metadata and permits browsing by any tag in any order, rather than the conventional (and very restrictive) ‘browse by Artist, Album, Song’.
We have created other documents highlighting the benefits of this advanced and unique technology (including the blog post here), but the purpose of this short post is to clarify the EX situation for existing Melco owners.
We have created other documents highlighting the benefits of this advanced and unique technology (including the blog post here), but the purpose of this short post is to clarify the EX situation for existing Melco owners.
| | Melco EX on N10/ N100 Melco N10 and N100 have in fact already been designed based on the new EX platform. This means that the next major firmware update V4.xx – expected early December – will give full EX functionality to all existing N10 and N100 at no cost to our users. |
Melco EX upgrade on existing N1 Mk1 & Mk2
The current Melco N1 platform must be upgraded to the EX platform in order to accept the EX firmware. This is not a hardware change and can be applied to both Mk1 and Mk2 N1 machines. It is all software, but because the HDDs will need a total rebuild, the update can only be carried out by Melco or approved service points.
We will issue full details shortly, but the plan is to be able to offer upgrades from March 2020 - possibly sooner, dependant on the availability of some software tools.
All Melco dealers and distributors will have full details of how the service will be offered in each market in December, at the time of the EX hardware launch, so please speak to your dealer at that time.
Melco N1 EX machines released in December will be a higher price than current Mk2 machines, because of all the extra software licenses etc. So the EX upgrade will also carry a charge - this will be nominal for machines purchased after the EX announcement at Munich this year (May 2019) and for older Mk2 will be comparable to the price difference between Mk2 and EX.
Mk1 machines can also be upgraded - the costs will be confirmed in December and all Melco dealers will be aware of these.
The current Melco N1 platform must be upgraded to the EX platform in order to accept the EX firmware. This is not a hardware change and can be applied to both Mk1 and Mk2 N1 machines. It is all software, but because the HDDs will need a total rebuild, the update can only be carried out by Melco or approved service points.
We will issue full details shortly, but the plan is to be able to offer upgrades from March 2020 - possibly sooner, dependant on the availability of some software tools.
All Melco dealers and distributors will have full details of how the service will be offered in each market in December, at the time of the EX hardware launch, so please speak to your dealer at that time.
Melco N1 EX machines released in December will be a higher price than current Mk2 machines, because of all the extra software licenses etc. So the EX upgrade will also carry a charge - this will be nominal for machines purchased after the EX announcement at Munich this year (May 2019) and for older Mk2 will be comparable to the price difference between Mk2 and EX.
Mk1 machines can also be upgraded - the costs will be confirmed in December and all Melco dealers will be aware of these.
VTuner
The new Melco EX Platform includes both Melco Intelligent Music Library (MIML) and VTuner for Internet Radio when using USB-DAC and Melco Music HD app. The Melco Music HD app has recently been updated to include the VTuner capability when used with EX platform machines and this is visible to all users - but any Melco not running firmware V4.xx cannot use VTuner.
Melco N1 Mk1 and Mk2 without EX upgrade
N1 Mk1 and Mk2 that are not updated to EX platform V4.xx will continue to receive support updates to FW V3.xx.
For example, there will be a firmware release V3.92 which will include an Installer for MinimServer2 Starter Edition and SongKong Lite. Although these two installations do not match the functionality of EX, both can be upgraded by payment of license fees to the full versions. (You can purchase the MinimServer upgrade here. The SongKong full license can be purchased from here).
V3.92 will therefore allow for SongKong Lite and MinimServer Lite to be installed, but EX upgrade is necessary to give full EX functionality including front panel OLED control and Internet Radio.
We hope this helps clarify how to benefit from the EX platform – please do contact your dealer with further questions and as noted above, they can help with upgrades when the time comes.
The new Melco EX Platform includes both Melco Intelligent Music Library (MIML) and VTuner for Internet Radio when using USB-DAC and Melco Music HD app. The Melco Music HD app has recently been updated to include the VTuner capability when used with EX platform machines and this is visible to all users - but any Melco not running firmware V4.xx cannot use VTuner.
Melco N1 Mk1 and Mk2 without EX upgrade
N1 Mk1 and Mk2 that are not updated to EX platform V4.xx will continue to receive support updates to FW V3.xx.
For example, there will be a firmware release V3.92 which will include an Installer for MinimServer2 Starter Edition and SongKong Lite. Although these two installations do not match the functionality of EX, both can be upgraded by payment of license fees to the full versions. (You can purchase the MinimServer upgrade here. The SongKong full license can be purchased from here).
V3.92 will therefore allow for SongKong Lite and MinimServer Lite to be installed, but EX upgrade is necessary to give full EX functionality including front panel OLED control and Internet Radio.
We hope this helps clarify how to benefit from the EX platform – please do contact your dealer with further questions and as noted above, they can help with upgrades when the time comes.
The magic of DSD
There are many urban myths surrounding Direct Stream Digital (DSD), so I thought it might be interesting to look at DSD in detail and dispel some untruths. It may be simplified a little, but the following should give an insight into this remarkable format, in the context of Melco, of course, and is also applicable to USB-connected DACs as well as Ethernet streamers.
What is DSD?
Remember bitstream audio? It was used to indicate an elegant digital path in the mastering of LPs before CD was launched. It was a single-bit digital ‘stream’ and was considered a really useful digital format because decoding (D/A conversion) did not depend on high-precision resistive ladders etc. as used in DACs for PCM – at the time, 16-bit DACs were costly and had compromised performance.
PCM requires that the DAC has the ability to differentiate levels approximately 1/65,000 of peak level for 16 bits; more precision required for more bits. This requires an extremely precise ladder DAC or similar technology, whereas DSD is pulse density or delta-sigma modulation of a single bitstream; the decoding requires no special amplitude resolution and is, therefore, easier to implement.
Move the clock forward a few years and SACD uses the same digital stream with good results, making bitstream effectively a consumer format. With the advent of CD – a 16-bit PCM format – DACs have moved on in leaps and bounds since the ‘80s, but still there is the requirement to have extremely precise DAC implementation for 16, 24 or even 32-bit, or to use extreme oversampling/ clever data techniques to get around the basic problems of a PCM ladder DAC.
Bitstream never went away, though, and today it is known as DSD and offers many potential advantages over PCM.
There never was a specific physical carrier (silver disc) for DSD, so the download and digital files environment was necessary to popularise DSD. SACD is the same format but is copy protected, so the files do not move off of the silver disc carrier.
PCM requires that the DAC has the ability to differentiate levels approximately 1/65,000 of peak level for 16 bits; more precision required for more bits. This requires an extremely precise ladder DAC or similar technology, whereas DSD is pulse density or delta-sigma modulation of a single bitstream; the decoding requires no special amplitude resolution and is, therefore, easier to implement.
Move the clock forward a few years and SACD uses the same digital stream with good results, making bitstream effectively a consumer format. With the advent of CD – a 16-bit PCM format – DACs have moved on in leaps and bounds since the ‘80s, but still there is the requirement to have extremely precise DAC implementation for 16, 24 or even 32-bit, or to use extreme oversampling/ clever data techniques to get around the basic problems of a PCM ladder DAC.
Bitstream never went away, though, and today it is known as DSD and offers many potential advantages over PCM.
There never was a specific physical carrier (silver disc) for DSD, so the download and digital files environment was necessary to popularise DSD. SACD is the same format but is copy protected, so the files do not move off of the silver disc carrier.
DSD formats
DSD exists in several forms:
There is the concept of single DSD or DSD 64 (being 64 times the sample rate of CD) and this is the original SACD standard. By doubling and quadrupling the data rate we get double DSD, DSD 128 and Quad DSD, DSD 256.
If the data was being created in the studio to master a CD, then the DSD would be 64, 128 etc. times the CD data rate. But if the data is being taken from analogue sources (microphone mixers, tape machines etc.) and is not for CD production, then the convention of 48 kHz sampling equivalent applies.
On the front of a Melco, when playing single DSD, a data rate of 2.8 MHz is shown for CD-related files and 3.1 MHz for 48 kHz related files.
If the data was being created in the studio to master a CD, then the DSD would be 64, 128 etc. times the CD data rate. But if the data is being taken from analogue sources (microphone mixers, tape machines etc.) and is not for CD production, then the convention of 48 kHz sampling equivalent applies.
On the front of a Melco, when playing single DSD, a data rate of 2.8 MHz is shown for CD-related files and 3.1 MHz for 48 kHz related files.
How to justify record company claims ‘from the Master Tape/s’
The sample rate is a really useful clue as to the origins of the expensive download that you might have purchased and shows whether the claim, ‘Direct from the master tapes’ really applies or whether this has been lifted from CD-production data. Direct from an analogue tape will give DSD of 3.1, 6.1, 12.3 MHz etc. But, if the material was lifted from CD production data, the giveaway is the data rate of 2.8 MHz, 5.6 MHz etc.
Markerless DSD
To move DSD from one device to another, it is usually necessary to put the data into packets. This is also the case for USB and Ethernet. The packets contain the DSD data and have additional markers at the start and end of each packet to identify their place in the data queue. These markers take up around 30 per cent of the available bandwidth.
Some recent DACs and streamers can accept data without these markers. Melco supports this and tests the comms automatically. If markerless is possible with the specific DAC then there is a sound quality improvement due to the data rate dropping. There is no requirement for the user to intervene – markerless happens whenever possible; another clever Melco innovation!
Some recent DACs and streamers can accept data without these markers. Melco supports this and tests the comms automatically. If markerless is possible with the specific DAC then there is a sound quality improvement due to the data rate dropping. There is no requirement for the user to intervene – markerless happens whenever possible; another clever Melco innovation!
DXD
DSD is really convenient but is not possible to easily edit, change levels, fade in and out of tracks etc. This requires PCM.
DXD is a 32-bit, 384 kHz (CD production) or 32/352 kHz PCM format. This is used before the finalised DSD.
DXD is a 32-bit, 384 kHz (CD production) or 32/352 kHz PCM format. This is used before the finalised DSD.
Equivalent resolution DSD vs. PCM
The question always asked surrounds DSD vs. PCM resolution. They are totally different digitisation regimes and comparison is not easy, but it helps to think of SACD/single DSD/DSD 64 being something of the order of 20-bit resolution; sample rate equivalence depends on the DAC technique but it’s safe to say 96 kHz.
DSD 128 can be considered equivalent to a 24-bit PCM format.
DSD 128 can be considered equivalent to a 24-bit PCM format.
Playing DSD
There are several DACs that take full advantage of the DSD format. There are a lot more DACs that are based on PCM and, therefore, have to convert the DSD into PCM. Some do it well, some do not, and this is possibly the reason that opinion is divided on the merits of DSD. Conversion from DSD to PCM in the DAC is not so easy, the maths is immense.
With Melco connected to a USB DAC, you can choose! Many DSD-capable DACs are actually PCM DACs with inbuilt conversion. The Melco, however, can very precisely convert DSD into 32-bit PCM. Presenting this PCM data to a DAC designed originally for PCM is probably the best way to use the DAC with DSD.
DSD-over-Ethernet sometimes requires DoP (DSD over Packet) depending on the streamer; there are several one-time options for the Melco to communicate in the most stable way with the streamer.
With Melco connected to a USB DAC, you can choose! Many DSD-capable DACs are actually PCM DACs with inbuilt conversion. The Melco, however, can very precisely convert DSD into 32-bit PCM. Presenting this PCM data to a DAC designed originally for PCM is probably the best way to use the DAC with DSD.
DSD-over-Ethernet sometimes requires DoP (DSD over Packet) depending on the streamer; there are several one-time options for the Melco to communicate in the most stable way with the streamer.
Buying DSDs or DXD
As mentioned, there is no physical carrier for DSD (other than SACD which is copy-protected). But many vendors offer DSD and (in some cases) DXD downloads. If you purchase the highest resolution files you often can access the lesser files as well, making interesting sound quality comparisons.
Most telling is DXD versus Quad DSD: one uses a PCM DAC and the other a DSD DAC, so it allows a lot of insight into the performance of your hardware.
Most telling is DXD versus Quad DSD: one uses a PCM DAC and the other a DSD DAC, so it allows a lot of insight into the performance of your hardware.
Listening tips
There are many vendors of DSD, but we do enjoy relationships with HighResAudio.com and Native DSD.com, plus both have samplers available for Melco owners. Particularly fine recordings are:
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We hope this helps introduce you to the world of DSD – enjoy!
Why Melco?
Hi-Res Audio: a customer perspective by Chris Baillie
My first experiences of hi-res audio
Hi-res music has been around for some time now. Personally, I wasn’t too interested initially as I’d been lucky enough to own fairly high-end CD players, which certainly outperformed the SACD (Super Audio CD) players of the early discs I had when played on Universal DVD players. Indeed, it was rare to find any definitive reviews, stating preference for the early disc-based formats.
However, when I finally hooked up my first decent Blu-Ray player to a decent DAC, I noticed music had a more solid foundation and a very dramatic presentation, compared to CD. Eventually, I took the plunge, bought a Chord Electronics Mojo and bought a few hi-res downloads from Qobuz, which allowed me to hear similar improvements over standard CD resolution files, played via a PC. Yet I still preferred the sound of my CD player in the main system. This led to me reading up on servers, such as the Melco, as well as a couple of competitors. I’d decided against a computer-based NAS drive as I was concerned about noise from the machine getting into the audio chain.
Discovering Melco
Having spoken to a couple of dealers, I decided to listen to a couple of options. The first one I decided against, as it didn’t have a USB output and I’d read its data-tagging made it difficult to transfer to other systems. This narrowed down the choices between the Melco N1A/2 and the similar sized and priced competitor.
I took along my CD player to the demo as a reference and fed both into my CD player’s internal DAC. First the competitor - which I noticed immediately didn’t sound as good as the CD being played direct. Switching to the Melco it immediately gave all the detail and musicality of the CD, but with more space around the instruments. So the Melco sold itself! I made the mistake of then playing the Melco through a DAC with an internal streamer, which sounded even better than into my CD player (especially via Ethernet), so I traded in the CD player for that, also!
Getting your hi-res library onto your Melco
Having imported my CD library to the N1A/2, I set about transferring the few hi-res files I already had. At once, this opened another dimension musically and I was hooked. Compared to the CD files, there was so much more air and space to the music, as well as greater dynamic range. Cymbals sounded less harsh, vocal sibilance was more natural and less jarring on the ears. I was able to hear further into dense mixes and a far greater sense of a soundstage.
The great thing about the Melco unit, is you can set it up so it immediately imports your library of purchases from ‘Qobuz’ and HIRESAUDIO (highresaudio.com). This initially made getting the music across to the main system very easy.
I also purchased some music from other sites such as Onkyo, Bleep, Burning Shed, Acoustic Sounds etc. The Qobuz and HIRESAUDIO purchases go straight into the Melco’s ‘Download’ folder, with the ‘Import’ folder to be used for anything you transfer to the unit via USB.
Generally, it’s better to transfer files via USB than the network. By doing so, you minimise the chances of errors caused by routers, network switches etc, although it’s often hard to hear the differences, so many users are happy to do things this way. Certainly, this can be a good way of transferring less critical material, fast. It’s possible to import data from hi-res disc formats, such as DVD-A and Blu-Ray Audio. There’s lots of info online about this, but be sure to check the legality for the country you live in as it does vary!
What type of file formats are used for hi-res music?
FLAC
The most popular way of downloading a hi-res music file is FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec). You can find some files come as compacted files, often 30-40% smaller than the standard file, or uncompressed. Now the compacted files still contain all the data, in an uncompressed form, but your renderer will have to unpack the file as it’s playing it. Think of a compacted FLAC like a Zip file, which extracts back to its original form. How much sonic effect this has depends on your equipment. I find with the Melco it’s very hard to detect, so I tend to leave the auto downloaded files from Qobuz and HRA in this format. If I purchase a file that gets downloaded to my PC, I unpack the file (using dBPoweramp to ‘zero compression’) just because it’s easily done and I’ve got 6TB of drive space on the NA1/2, so there’s really no reason not to! The other benefit of FLAC files is they have a standard way of storing metadata – the song titles and artwork etc.
PCM
PCM (Pulse-Code Modulation) music - the same system used by CD - in raw state, is referred to as a WAV (Waveform Audio Format) file. In theory, these are the purest form of PCM file, but can be a pain to work with when transferring from one machine to the other, due to the way the metadata is written. This can, of course, be fixed using SongKong for Melco, which you can read about on the Melco website. Again, with some equipment, you may find the WAV files sound slightly cleaner and more transparent, but often this is down to your playback equipment’s ability to unpack the FLAC files. FLAC is not always compressed but Melco CD import (by default) is uncompressed FLAC – so you effectively get the WAV/ PCM data, but with embedded metadata of a FLAC.
Your PCM files can vary from standard 16/44.1 files – CD quality, right up to 32/384! However, your typical hi-res file will be between 24/44.1 and 24/192 the bigger the numbers, the higher the resolution, so potentially the better the sound quality. Unfortunately, the bigger files take up a lot more space on your hard drive!
ALAC
Apple have their own format capable of storing hi-res files, called ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec). I’ve not used it myself as I’m purely a PC user, but it’s basically a compression format that hypothetically, is lossless.
There’s very little music available above 24/192. Generally, you find a lot of files above this are up sampled or music recorded by very small audiophile or are music labels, which might be an acquired taste! You may find some files referred to as DXD (digital EXtreme Definition) – this is 24/352.4 PCM, stored as WAV or FLAC, originally designed for professional editing of DSD files.
DSD
Finally we have DSD (Direct Stream Digital), which was originally the format developed by Sony to support their SACD format – DSD64. This can sound extremely good on the right equipment. Instead of the usual PCM format, which takes file words of typically 16 or 24 bits, DSD has words of 1 bit, but sampled very fast! This format does demand a very good DAC in my experience, as there’s a potential for noise in the high frequencies, which is dealt with poorly by lesser DACs. There is some music available in what’s known as ‘Double DSD’ or DSD128. This has the potential to sound very realistic in my experience, possibly above 24/192 quality, but there’s very limited content. Music recorded in ‘Quad Rate DSD’ or DSD256 is even rarer and often taxes the DAC to a point where it’s working at the edge of its operating envelope, so it offers little or no advantage over DSD128. Often, the content of higher-rate files is up-sampled from lower-resolution files anyway!
DSD files come in two formats: Sony’s DSF (designer file), which includes limited metadata storage or the Phillips version (DFF) which is generally only used in professional applications and is a right pain to work with in home audio as it doesn’t offer metadata storage. So stick to DSF at all costs unless you’re a recording engineer in a studio!
There are specific sites that sell DSD music, such as Native DSD, Blue Coast Music and Acoustic Sounds a this will usually be in DSF format. There are lots of free sample files available online so you can download and decide if it’s a format that works for you and your system.
MQA
Most audiophiles will by now have come across MQA (Master Quality Authenticated). There is lots of information online about this, but it’s stored as a FLAC file that’s compacted. The file is then unpacked by MQA-compatible streamers and DACs. They will still play without MQA-compatible equipment, but you won’t be getting the benefit of the hi-res content. Your Melco will deal with these files in the same way as standard FLACs.
The main benefit of MQA files is that they can be stored as smaller files, so they take up less space which is particularly beneficial if being played from an online streaming service as it requires less internet speed (maybe less so for locally stored files but the listener can decide that).
Managing and listening to your hi-res files
All being well, playing your hi-res files should be exactly the same as your CD rips. Sometimes, you may find some of the data-tagging is incorrect, depending on how you’ve sourced your files, what format they’re in and what app you’re using to replay them.
You can look at the data manually and fill in the missing track data or thumbnail photos, but this may become time-consuming and laborious! Fortunately, Melco have teamed up with a company called J.Think, who have written a fantastic piece of software called SongKong for Melco. This is a very easy to use piece of software, which can either be loaded onto your Melco machine or a PC from which you can access your Melco via your network.
SongKong scans your files and matches the acoustic fingerprint of the file to various online databases and fills in the missing data, meaning you can get on with enjoying your hi-res music.
So that brings me to the end of my post. Hopefully I’ve helped demystify hi-res music and both new users and potential users can understand the benefits and enjoyment to be gained from playing the files on their Melcos. From a personal experience, it’s completely changed the way I listen to and enjoy l music. I hope this inspires more people to do the same!
Hi-res music has been around for some time now. Personally, I wasn’t too interested initially as I’d been lucky enough to own fairly high-end CD players, which certainly outperformed the SACD (Super Audio CD) players of the early discs I had when played on Universal DVD players. Indeed, it was rare to find any definitive reviews, stating preference for the early disc-based formats.
However, when I finally hooked up my first decent Blu-Ray player to a decent DAC, I noticed music had a more solid foundation and a very dramatic presentation, compared to CD. Eventually, I took the plunge, bought a Chord Electronics Mojo and bought a few hi-res downloads from Qobuz, which allowed me to hear similar improvements over standard CD resolution files, played via a PC. Yet I still preferred the sound of my CD player in the main system. This led to me reading up on servers, such as the Melco, as well as a couple of competitors. I’d decided against a computer-based NAS drive as I was concerned about noise from the machine getting into the audio chain.
Discovering Melco
Having spoken to a couple of dealers, I decided to listen to a couple of options. The first one I decided against, as it didn’t have a USB output and I’d read its data-tagging made it difficult to transfer to other systems. This narrowed down the choices between the Melco N1A/2 and the similar sized and priced competitor.
I took along my CD player to the demo as a reference and fed both into my CD player’s internal DAC. First the competitor - which I noticed immediately didn’t sound as good as the CD being played direct. Switching to the Melco it immediately gave all the detail and musicality of the CD, but with more space around the instruments. So the Melco sold itself! I made the mistake of then playing the Melco through a DAC with an internal streamer, which sounded even better than into my CD player (especially via Ethernet), so I traded in the CD player for that, also!
Getting your hi-res library onto your Melco
Having imported my CD library to the N1A/2, I set about transferring the few hi-res files I already had. At once, this opened another dimension musically and I was hooked. Compared to the CD files, there was so much more air and space to the music, as well as greater dynamic range. Cymbals sounded less harsh, vocal sibilance was more natural and less jarring on the ears. I was able to hear further into dense mixes and a far greater sense of a soundstage.
The great thing about the Melco unit, is you can set it up so it immediately imports your library of purchases from ‘Qobuz’ and HIRESAUDIO (highresaudio.com). This initially made getting the music across to the main system very easy.
I also purchased some music from other sites such as Onkyo, Bleep, Burning Shed, Acoustic Sounds etc. The Qobuz and HIRESAUDIO purchases go straight into the Melco’s ‘Download’ folder, with the ‘Import’ folder to be used for anything you transfer to the unit via USB.
Generally, it’s better to transfer files via USB than the network. By doing so, you minimise the chances of errors caused by routers, network switches etc, although it’s often hard to hear the differences, so many users are happy to do things this way. Certainly, this can be a good way of transferring less critical material, fast. It’s possible to import data from hi-res disc formats, such as DVD-A and Blu-Ray Audio. There’s lots of info online about this, but be sure to check the legality for the country you live in as it does vary!
What type of file formats are used for hi-res music?
FLAC
The most popular way of downloading a hi-res music file is FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec). You can find some files come as compacted files, often 30-40% smaller than the standard file, or uncompressed. Now the compacted files still contain all the data, in an uncompressed form, but your renderer will have to unpack the file as it’s playing it. Think of a compacted FLAC like a Zip file, which extracts back to its original form. How much sonic effect this has depends on your equipment. I find with the Melco it’s very hard to detect, so I tend to leave the auto downloaded files from Qobuz and HRA in this format. If I purchase a file that gets downloaded to my PC, I unpack the file (using dBPoweramp to ‘zero compression’) just because it’s easily done and I’ve got 6TB of drive space on the NA1/2, so there’s really no reason not to! The other benefit of FLAC files is they have a standard way of storing metadata – the song titles and artwork etc.
PCM
PCM (Pulse-Code Modulation) music - the same system used by CD - in raw state, is referred to as a WAV (Waveform Audio Format) file. In theory, these are the purest form of PCM file, but can be a pain to work with when transferring from one machine to the other, due to the way the metadata is written. This can, of course, be fixed using SongKong for Melco, which you can read about on the Melco website. Again, with some equipment, you may find the WAV files sound slightly cleaner and more transparent, but often this is down to your playback equipment’s ability to unpack the FLAC files. FLAC is not always compressed but Melco CD import (by default) is uncompressed FLAC – so you effectively get the WAV/ PCM data, but with embedded metadata of a FLAC.
Your PCM files can vary from standard 16/44.1 files – CD quality, right up to 32/384! However, your typical hi-res file will be between 24/44.1 and 24/192 the bigger the numbers, the higher the resolution, so potentially the better the sound quality. Unfortunately, the bigger files take up a lot more space on your hard drive!
ALAC
Apple have their own format capable of storing hi-res files, called ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec). I’ve not used it myself as I’m purely a PC user, but it’s basically a compression format that hypothetically, is lossless.
There’s very little music available above 24/192. Generally, you find a lot of files above this are up sampled or music recorded by very small audiophile or are music labels, which might be an acquired taste! You may find some files referred to as DXD (digital EXtreme Definition) – this is 24/352.4 PCM, stored as WAV or FLAC, originally designed for professional editing of DSD files.
DSD
Finally we have DSD (Direct Stream Digital), which was originally the format developed by Sony to support their SACD format – DSD64. This can sound extremely good on the right equipment. Instead of the usual PCM format, which takes file words of typically 16 or 24 bits, DSD has words of 1 bit, but sampled very fast! This format does demand a very good DAC in my experience, as there’s a potential for noise in the high frequencies, which is dealt with poorly by lesser DACs. There is some music available in what’s known as ‘Double DSD’ or DSD128. This has the potential to sound very realistic in my experience, possibly above 24/192 quality, but there’s very limited content. Music recorded in ‘Quad Rate DSD’ or DSD256 is even rarer and often taxes the DAC to a point where it’s working at the edge of its operating envelope, so it offers little or no advantage over DSD128. Often, the content of higher-rate files is up-sampled from lower-resolution files anyway!
DSD files come in two formats: Sony’s DSF (designer file), which includes limited metadata storage or the Phillips version (DFF) which is generally only used in professional applications and is a right pain to work with in home audio as it doesn’t offer metadata storage. So stick to DSF at all costs unless you’re a recording engineer in a studio!
There are specific sites that sell DSD music, such as Native DSD, Blue Coast Music and Acoustic Sounds a this will usually be in DSF format. There are lots of free sample files available online so you can download and decide if it’s a format that works for you and your system.
MQA
Most audiophiles will by now have come across MQA (Master Quality Authenticated). There is lots of information online about this, but it’s stored as a FLAC file that’s compacted. The file is then unpacked by MQA-compatible streamers and DACs. They will still play without MQA-compatible equipment, but you won’t be getting the benefit of the hi-res content. Your Melco will deal with these files in the same way as standard FLACs.
The main benefit of MQA files is that they can be stored as smaller files, so they take up less space which is particularly beneficial if being played from an online streaming service as it requires less internet speed (maybe less so for locally stored files but the listener can decide that).
Managing and listening to your hi-res files
All being well, playing your hi-res files should be exactly the same as your CD rips. Sometimes, you may find some of the data-tagging is incorrect, depending on how you’ve sourced your files, what format they’re in and what app you’re using to replay them.
You can look at the data manually and fill in the missing track data or thumbnail photos, but this may become time-consuming and laborious! Fortunately, Melco have teamed up with a company called J.Think, who have written a fantastic piece of software called SongKong for Melco. This is a very easy to use piece of software, which can either be loaded onto your Melco machine or a PC from which you can access your Melco via your network.
SongKong scans your files and matches the acoustic fingerprint of the file to various online databases and fills in the missing data, meaning you can get on with enjoying your hi-res music.
So that brings me to the end of my post. Hopefully I’ve helped demystify hi-res music and both new users and potential users can understand the benefits and enjoyment to be gained from playing the files on their Melcos. From a personal experience, it’s completely changed the way I listen to and enjoy l music. I hope this inspires more people to do the same!
Finding Your Digital Music:
Introducing Melco Intelligent Music Library
Alan Ainslie, Head of Melco Japan
When I was a lad, I had my LPs in a cabinet, all in order. Finding things was easy, except sometimes classical LPs had more than one work (related or otherwise) and I needed to work out which was the main work.
CD was similar, except the CD now played for longer, so classical albums usually had second or third works and even some jazz and rock had other material which made organisation tricky. Multiple CD sets and compilations were also difficult to order on the shelf, but we managed.
Browsing digital files
In the digital music world, ripped CDs and downloads become hard to browse on an app, which is odd because we should be able to use the very ‘deep’ metadata to give us many browse and search options.
There are two basic problems: the metadata comes from a single lookup when ripped and is likely incomplete or even misleading. While the UPnP server (which presents the library to the Control Point) has to work with this incomplete metadata, whilst not being aware of whether you are looking for jazz or classical or rock. These browsing requirements are totally different.
The result is the frustrating browsing and searching experience that annoys all digital music fans with a reasonable sized library.
Metadata edit
Of course, there are metadata edit tools available – a sense of logic evolves as you re-tag your collection, which takes considerable time and is not much fun. But, as the metadata edit really is logical, and as there are some great additional databases available, there is the potential to automate the process. The finest example of this is SongKong for Melco software, which can tidy up the tagging and make it consistent.
But even then, with much deeper and more accurate metadata, there is still a problem if the UPnP server does not understand what you are browsing for. Tags for ‘Choir’ or ‘Conductor’ are not much help to a rock fan, but ‘BPM’ and ‘Record Producer’ are not a lot of help to the opera fan, either.
Melco Intelligent Music Library
Staying with the finest, let me introduce MinimServer – the best-kept secret of digital music browsing, because among other things, it is extremely flexible and configurable – if you know how to do it and have the patience.
If Melco were to put SongKong for Melco into a Melco music library and then include MinimServer in the same hardware, all sorts of opportunities would be possible.
Metadata can now be tailored exactly as required by MinimServer. Plus, MinimServer can be given profiles to optimise for rock, or jazz, or classical browsing. At that point these two innovative softwares work together to give a powerful ‘Browse’ and ‘Search’ that we call Melco Intelligent Music Library (MIML) – incorporating the powerful MinimServer Intelligent Browse algorithms.
As soon as we combine SongKong and MinimServer within Melco hardware, we can offer browse tags that are relevant for the music selected rock, classical etc. And we can have a browse path including searches in any order. So we can search first, then browse within those results, search within those results and find exactly what we are looking for with the least number of clicks and no backward steps.
We can take apart the CD and browse for individual works or albums including many works if you choose. Within the works, we can then search by artists and then search again for a specific song or movement.
Multiple discs are seen as a single work – whether Pink Floyd’s The Wall or Die Rheingold. Just a work, not a pile of CDs.
Well, if I say we could do this, then of course we should! The MIML concept will be previewed in the hi-fi press – and was subject of a major press launch at High End, Munich. We will be telling the story in the period up to launch, which will be late summer.
Coming soon…
So, keep watch for news of MIML from Melco – there really is no better way to browse and search a digital music library. Plus, it comes with lots of other useful tools like; remove or hide duplicates, prioritise by sample rate, simple edit from tablet of not only album art but every aspect of metadata, one-button updating of metadata for a whole library and much more. This can be acheived because you are working with your library in real time, all metadata changes are persistent, meaning that your library performs just as well even if copied to portable devices, the car, or within a multi-room system.
Exciting times and we’re looking forward to you all getting started with MIML.
CD was similar, except the CD now played for longer, so classical albums usually had second or third works and even some jazz and rock had other material which made organisation tricky. Multiple CD sets and compilations were also difficult to order on the shelf, but we managed.
Browsing digital files
In the digital music world, ripped CDs and downloads become hard to browse on an app, which is odd because we should be able to use the very ‘deep’ metadata to give us many browse and search options.
There are two basic problems: the metadata comes from a single lookup when ripped and is likely incomplete or even misleading. While the UPnP server (which presents the library to the Control Point) has to work with this incomplete metadata, whilst not being aware of whether you are looking for jazz or classical or rock. These browsing requirements are totally different.
The result is the frustrating browsing and searching experience that annoys all digital music fans with a reasonable sized library.
Metadata edit
Of course, there are metadata edit tools available – a sense of logic evolves as you re-tag your collection, which takes considerable time and is not much fun. But, as the metadata edit really is logical, and as there are some great additional databases available, there is the potential to automate the process. The finest example of this is SongKong for Melco software, which can tidy up the tagging and make it consistent.
But even then, with much deeper and more accurate metadata, there is still a problem if the UPnP server does not understand what you are browsing for. Tags for ‘Choir’ or ‘Conductor’ are not much help to a rock fan, but ‘BPM’ and ‘Record Producer’ are not a lot of help to the opera fan, either.
Melco Intelligent Music Library
Staying with the finest, let me introduce MinimServer – the best-kept secret of digital music browsing, because among other things, it is extremely flexible and configurable – if you know how to do it and have the patience.
If Melco were to put SongKong for Melco into a Melco music library and then include MinimServer in the same hardware, all sorts of opportunities would be possible.
Metadata can now be tailored exactly as required by MinimServer. Plus, MinimServer can be given profiles to optimise for rock, or jazz, or classical browsing. At that point these two innovative softwares work together to give a powerful ‘Browse’ and ‘Search’ that we call Melco Intelligent Music Library (MIML) – incorporating the powerful MinimServer Intelligent Browse algorithms.
As soon as we combine SongKong and MinimServer within Melco hardware, we can offer browse tags that are relevant for the music selected rock, classical etc. And we can have a browse path including searches in any order. So we can search first, then browse within those results, search within those results and find exactly what we are looking for with the least number of clicks and no backward steps.
We can take apart the CD and browse for individual works or albums including many works if you choose. Within the works, we can then search by artists and then search again for a specific song or movement.
Multiple discs are seen as a single work – whether Pink Floyd’s The Wall or Die Rheingold. Just a work, not a pile of CDs.
Well, if I say we could do this, then of course we should! The MIML concept will be previewed in the hi-fi press – and was subject of a major press launch at High End, Munich. We will be telling the story in the period up to launch, which will be late summer.
Coming soon…
So, keep watch for news of MIML from Melco – there really is no better way to browse and search a digital music library. Plus, it comes with lots of other useful tools like; remove or hide duplicates, prioritise by sample rate, simple edit from tablet of not only album art but every aspect of metadata, one-button updating of metadata for a whole library and much more. This can be acheived because you are working with your library in real time, all metadata changes are persistent, meaning that your library performs just as well even if copied to portable devices, the car, or within a multi-room system.
Exciting times and we’re looking forward to you all getting started with MIML.
Melco at Munich High End 2019
Daniel Raggett, Sales Manager at Melco Audio
I arrived on the Monday evening, full of anticipation for the week ahead! Tuesday was all about getting the room ready – we shared our room with our German distributor DREI H, Chord Cables, Clic Furniture and S Booster Power Supplies. Mike from Clic Furniture and his brother did an amazing job building and painting all the false walls, making it ideal for displaying Melco products.
We had all products on show - and even had prototypes of the N100, D100, N10 and E100 in black casing, which will be heading to European shores very soon! We were excited to showcase these new-look designs and feedback was very positive.
Thursday - Trade & Press Day
The room was busy all day and it was great to see so many familiar faces from dealers, distributors and press. It was also fantastic to meet lots of new people from different countries, who we will be keeping in close contact with to expand Melco products availability across Europe.
Friday - Public Day 1 & Melco Press Conference
This was the most important day of the show for Melco. We arrange a press conference at 13.30 to showcase our special upcoming firmware update: the integration of MinimServer and SongKong. Melco Intelligent Music Library (MIML): a powerful new search/ metadata software incorporating MinimServer Intelligent Browse for easy and accurate music searching.
An industry first - breaking free from the constraints of the physical CD that was used to rip music into the Melco, we can now give effective search or browse based on the real music search intentions of the user. We’ve come together to integrate the full functionality of a powerful metadata engine that delivers deep and accurate metadata, to a very versatile UPnP server, that is pre-configured as to what to expect by way of metadata. Resulting in precise, speedy & easy browse, search and play - including large collections and all genres of music.
Melco Intelligent Music Library will be available for all Melco digital music libraries, including the new N10 and N100 and will also be available as a firmware update for existing Melco users.
We were overwhelmed with the number of people who joined us. stars of the show were Simon Nash (MinimServer) and Paul Taylor (SongKong), so thank you to them.
We spoke to lots of interesting customers throughout the event - some knowing and owning Melcos and lots more very interested to explore Melco further and find out the changes it can make to their hi-fi systems.
“It is an honour for us to welcome our partners to Munich for the world’s most important hi-fi show. The Munich Hi-Fi show is the best opportunity to meet the Melco team and all other Melco distributors and dealers. It is a great place to share ideas and get new ones from other successful Melco partners, as well as hearing what’s new in Melco’s world – black casing of cerrain models and MIML in this case!”
Mika Dauphin, Director at DREI H
We had all products on show - and even had prototypes of the N100, D100, N10 and E100 in black casing, which will be heading to European shores very soon! We were excited to showcase these new-look designs and feedback was very positive.
Thursday - Trade & Press Day
The room was busy all day and it was great to see so many familiar faces from dealers, distributors and press. It was also fantastic to meet lots of new people from different countries, who we will be keeping in close contact with to expand Melco products availability across Europe.
Friday - Public Day 1 & Melco Press Conference
This was the most important day of the show for Melco. We arrange a press conference at 13.30 to showcase our special upcoming firmware update: the integration of MinimServer and SongKong. Melco Intelligent Music Library (MIML): a powerful new search/ metadata software incorporating MinimServer Intelligent Browse for easy and accurate music searching.
An industry first - breaking free from the constraints of the physical CD that was used to rip music into the Melco, we can now give effective search or browse based on the real music search intentions of the user. We’ve come together to integrate the full functionality of a powerful metadata engine that delivers deep and accurate metadata, to a very versatile UPnP server, that is pre-configured as to what to expect by way of metadata. Resulting in precise, speedy & easy browse, search and play - including large collections and all genres of music.
Melco Intelligent Music Library will be available for all Melco digital music libraries, including the new N10 and N100 and will also be available as a firmware update for existing Melco users.
We were overwhelmed with the number of people who joined us. stars of the show were Simon Nash (MinimServer) and Paul Taylor (SongKong), so thank you to them.
We spoke to lots of interesting customers throughout the event - some knowing and owning Melcos and lots more very interested to explore Melco further and find out the changes it can make to their hi-fi systems.
“It is an honour for us to welcome our partners to Munich for the world’s most important hi-fi show. The Munich Hi-Fi show is the best opportunity to meet the Melco team and all other Melco distributors and dealers. It is a great place to share ideas and get new ones from other successful Melco partners, as well as hearing what’s new in Melco’s world – black casing of cerrain models and MIML in this case!”
Mika Dauphin, Director at DREI H
Me & My Melco
Jason Kennedy - Editor, The Ear.net
I reviewed the N1A shortly after it was launched and was so impressed that I decided to keep it. Since then, it has become a reference point for all the servers that have followed, including new models from Melco themselves.
In the four years that it has been in my system, it has proved to be entirely reliable and trouble-free. The introduction of the Melco Music HD control App has been a real boon: in the early days, I used various third-party Apps that worked with varying degrees of success when using the Melco as a USB source for a large range of DACs.
I use my N1A as an archive for my vast digital music collection which consists of FLAC, WAV and AIFF files with a few examples in DSD and a smattering of MP3s of material that can’t be had in other forms. I find that the Melco approach both sounds better than most CD players but more obviously, makes accessing my music quick and easy; there’s no need to hunt for discs, of course, and very little reason to leave the sofa, or there wouldn’t be if I had remote volume control, the life of a purist is never easy!
I like the Melco build quality and reliability, and the ease with which you can put music onto them is a major bonus: the software enables you to add music via the front panel interface, too.
I generally prefer the sound via a streamer of some kind and have had fabulous results with devices from Naim, Auralic, Lindemann and Aurender, among others. That said, I have had some pretty spectacular results with USB-connected DACs as well and it’s safe to say that the Melco has decent USB output.
I like the fact that the N1A has a dedicated ethernet output which provides a degree of isolation for the connected streamer and means that you don’t really need a network switch in normal system set up. This is doubly beneficial because it eliminates a noisy power supply from the system as well, and noise is the enemy of digital audio. I have to say that I am a convert to streaming audio and rarely use CD for serious listening; Melco is a big part of my musical picture.
In the four years that it has been in my system, it has proved to be entirely reliable and trouble-free. The introduction of the Melco Music HD control App has been a real boon: in the early days, I used various third-party Apps that worked with varying degrees of success when using the Melco as a USB source for a large range of DACs.
I use my N1A as an archive for my vast digital music collection which consists of FLAC, WAV and AIFF files with a few examples in DSD and a smattering of MP3s of material that can’t be had in other forms. I find that the Melco approach both sounds better than most CD players but more obviously, makes accessing my music quick and easy; there’s no need to hunt for discs, of course, and very little reason to leave the sofa, or there wouldn’t be if I had remote volume control, the life of a purist is never easy!
I like the Melco build quality and reliability, and the ease with which you can put music onto them is a major bonus: the software enables you to add music via the front panel interface, too.
I generally prefer the sound via a streamer of some kind and have had fabulous results with devices from Naim, Auralic, Lindemann and Aurender, among others. That said, I have had some pretty spectacular results with USB-connected DACs as well and it’s safe to say that the Melco has decent USB output.
I like the fact that the N1A has a dedicated ethernet output which provides a degree of isolation for the connected streamer and means that you don’t really need a network switch in normal system set up. This is doubly beneficial because it eliminates a noisy power supply from the system as well, and noise is the enemy of digital audio. I have to say that I am a convert to streaming audio and rarely use CD for serious listening; Melco is a big part of my musical picture.
Melco at the Bristol HiFi Show 2019
Daniel Raggett, Melco Europe Business Development Manager
 |  |
Wow! After a great weekend at The Audio T Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2019, here is my first opportunity to sit and reflect on how well it went.
Melco had a new space for this year in the first bay window on the show’s entry floor, which was the perfect platform for lots of conversations with Melco customers and those looking to learn more about our products. We had the full range of Melco products available – N10, N100, D100, E100 & N1ZH.
An interesting talking point amongst visitors this year was embedded Internet Radio. We have taken this onboard to see how we can improve our product and feature set further to accommodate.
We were very lucky to be joined by Melco’s President from Tokyo Mr Araki, who was on hand to speak to customers and met many of our fantastic dealers who support us in the UK. Mr Araki has worked for Melco for 8 years and is always keen to talk to customers to find out what we can do better. He is a long-standing Buffalo Software Engineer and developed many innovative digital solutions such as the first Japanese digital TV set top box.
Paul Taylor, Founder of SongKong, joined us on Friday and Saturday to talk Metadata and managing digital music libraries – a topic you’re well keen to learn more about. You can read more about SongKong for Melco here & Melco customers can access a free trial.
Our presence at the show was supported by many other manufacturers using Melco as the digital source. A big thank you must go to:
- Russell K & Tellurium Q
- ATC Loudspeaker Technology
- Neat Acoustics
- Harman Group
- Decent Audio
Thank you to our customers who came and supported us at the Show – it’s always good to see familiar faces, showcase new products for their collections and find out how they’re getting on with their existing Melco products.
All in all a great event – thanks Audio T! Were any of you there? What did you think? Did you make any additions to your HiFi systems?
Hope to see you at Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2020 & other HiFi Shows nationwide!
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