Sound Matters 4

Edition 4 - December 2019

Season's Greetings!

Welcome to the fourth edition of Sound Matters, Melco Audio’s newsletter which is designed to keep you updated on Melco news and industry insights.

Melco offers the world's first audiophile-grade source components to access, store, deliver and play Hi-Res digital music without the use of computer hardware and peripherals. Our uncompromising digital music libraries are the talk of industry awards and are regularly used by leading audio manufacturers to showcase their devices. 
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We want to make sure this newsletter continues to be a valuable read for you, so please send ideas and suggestions for future content you’d like to see to: hello@melco-audio-masters.com   

Happy reading and enjoy the music!

Wishing you all the best for the festive season and a Happy New Year 2020!                 

Alan Ainslie
Melco Europe General Manager

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New products from Melco:
​EX Series and S100 data switch
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Excitingly, December sees the introduction of two new products to the Melco portfolio: the EX Series and the S100 data switch.
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EX Series

There are new EX Series versions of all Melco music libraries and all incorporate our new Melco Intelligent Music Library technology – MIML. ​

Conventional UPnP solutions are severely limited in browse and search capabilities, whereas MIML allows for browse or search by ANY tag in ANY order – which is simply not possible with UPnP. MIML installs MinimServer 2 into the Melco, along with SongKong which ensures that the most accurate, consistent and most detailed metadata is available.

Browse ‘trees’ for rock really should be different to jazz and classical: rock does not need conductor or composer, while classical does not need bpm, for example.

Selectable from the Melco front panel, it is simple to select browse trees for classical, rock and pop, jazz and as a simple default for casual listening. These profiles greatly assist finding music in your library.

Additionally, as most classical releases contain multiple works of one or more albums, Melco browses for work rather than complete albums, although at any stage a complete album can be played.

The EX Series software is available on all Melco N1, N10 and N100 supplied from December 2019. There is an upgrade program for existing N1 units, so please discuss this with your dealer.

Existing N10 and N100 models will simply update to full EX functionality with an over-the-air V4.10 firmware update, which is the next big firmware update due mid-December.
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For more information about the EX Series, please visit this LINK
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S100 audiophile data switch

It is not possible to rely on standard data switches to optimise audio sound quality: the ISP-provided switches on the router are optimised for video streaming and normal data switches do not prioritise audio packets.

The new Melco S100 is like two switches in one: there are four audio-optimised 100M ports where sound quality is better than 1G ports. There are four 1G ports as well – one of these is audio-optimised for Roon Core (Roon Core hits system sound quality hard due to heavy network traffic – the S100 minimises this problem).  

There are two AFDP fibre ports, also audio-optimised and lots of details like a simple switch to kill port traffic lights and improve sound quality.

While the obvious role of the S100 is for audio systems which do not already have a Melco, it is easy to demonstrate the sound quality benefits in a Melco system as well.

For more information, please visit this LINK or talk to your dealer.

Meet the Melco Master Dealer

In each edition of Sound Matters, we’ll be focussing on one of our Melco Master Dealers. Melco has a training programme dedicated to creating a network of skilled Master Dealers who have been assessed in respect to Melco features, installation and support, as well as advanced Hi-Res audio techniques and network infrastructure for hi-fi devices.

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In this edition, we speak to Alan Gornall
​Managing Director at HiFi Cinema

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Which brands do you sell?

We sell systems that bring music to life!  The equipment is just a vehicle for making this happen, but we find that some manufacturers just get it right: Melco, Naim Audio, Linn, Anthem, Focal and Dali are just a few.
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Why do you do what you do? ​

HiFi Cinema was born out of a passion for listening to music. We were already enthusiasts with a keen interest in many of the products we now sell. As customers, we were disappointed in the level of service we were getting from the then current dealers around, so we decided to do it better.  

With an engineering background and an existing ISO9001 Quality system in place, we applied these service levels to our new business – that was 15 years ago now.
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What do you enjoy about Melco? ​

We love Melco because it fundamentally changes the whole listening experience for something so much better. The musical presentation, sense of involvement and the removal of digital clutter and harshness are just a few significant improvements to any streamer.  In a complex world of digital music acquisition, storage and delivery, Melco provides a second-to-none support service making it a simple and effective device for bringing together all your music.
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Do you have a recent customer success story? ​

There are many customer success stories, but a notable one (who prefers to remain anonymous) started with one 40th-Anniversary N1Z in his high-end Naim system, with a Linn Klimax DS music streamer.  

With some major house moves and renovations, he now has two Melco servers in different properties. The main house has an industrial scale network with five main managed switch nodes (typically 54 ports), an enterprise-grade router and 26 zones of Linn multi-room music, alongside a Naim Statement system with ND555 streamer.  Everything works seamlessly and any zone can access the Melco server.  The main Naim / Melco system is the best we’ve ever heard!

Guest blog:
​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…

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In the press

Here’s the hi-fi news we’ve been featured in recently:

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HiFi+
N10 - Server of the Year 2019 award from Hi-Fi Plus

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AVTech Media
N10 – Best Hi-Fi Network Player - AVTech Media Awards 2019 (Hi-Fi News, Hi-Fi Choice and Home CInema Choice)

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HiFi Critic
​Glowing N10 review, an N100 product overview and a column on Melco Intelligent Music Library

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Hi-Fi News
Hi-Fi News 2019 Yearbook features N10 review

Events

We’ve got a busy new year of hi-fi shows planned and we’d love to welcome you to our room at one of the forthcoming events LINK 

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Melco in action

If you’re thinking of treating yourself to a Melco for the festive season, then do pop along to one of our knowledgeable dealers LINK where you can hear Melco for yourself and discover how it can enhance your existing hi-fi system.

We hope Santa is kind to you!

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​WIN! Meze 99 Neo headphones!​
A giveaway worth nearly £200!

Have all your Christmases come at once?!

We’re delighted to have teamed up with our friends at Meze Audio to offer one lucky Sound Matters reader the chance of WINNING a pair of black 99 Neo headphones!

A fresh take on the 99 series for the uptown audiophile, 99 Neo brings together Meze Audio’s signature sound quality with cutting edge style. The 99 Neo shares the strive for precision in every component with the Classics series. Cast zinc alloy hardware with electroplated coating, stamped manganese spring steel headband, memory foam and soft PU leather are premium materials to be found here as well.

You could own these headphones before the New Year! All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning is visit this page and enter your email address.

Deadline for entry: Thursday 19th December 2019
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The winner will be drawn at random and informed via email on Monday 23rd December 2019 so keep an eye out!

Customer feature

Thanks to this Melco customer for sharing a photo of his hi-fi system, including a Melco N1ZS music library and Melco D100 CD ripper – what do you think? Melco integrates nicely with Naim, making a great match! A breakdown of his set-up can be found below: 

Naim ND555 streamer
Naim 555PS power supply
Naim Statement pre-amp
Naim Statement Monoblock power amps
Focal Maestro Utopia speakers

If you’d like to feature in Sound Matters, please send a photo of your kit with a breakdown of models to: hello@melco-audio-masters.com or DM us via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter

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