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Melco Audiophile NAS - Printable Version

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RE: Melco Audiophile NAS - simoncn - 12-08-2020 10:19

I have done backups but not at the same time as playing music. I have only used the expansion port for testing. Sound quality when playing from an expansion drive was not as good as playing from the internal drive.


RE: Melco Audiophile NAS - maikeru - 13-08-2020 03:41

got it. this should be obvious, but just to be certain, I am now set up as follows:

wall/internet--->switch--->Melco NAS......Melco NAS direct to Lumin using the player out ethernet port.

The quality of the switch should have zero impact on anything played from the internal SSD of the Melco yes? And only impact music streamed from Tidal etc.?


RE: Melco Audiophile NAS - simoncn - 13-08-2020 11:16

The switch does have an impact because it creates noise and some of that noise travels down the LAN connection to the Melco.

You can reduce this noise by setting a static IP address for the Melco. This stops some network traffic that is required when in DHCP mode. There will still be network traffic to the control point when a song is playing (usually one interaction per second). If DHCP is disabled, you can unplug the network connection from the switch to the Melco as a test to see whether stopping these interactions with the control point improves the sound.


RE: Melco Audiophile NAS - maikeru - 15-08-2020 14:15

That’s very interesting thank you. I’ve got a static ip for the Melco and will play around with the dhcp settings. Meanwhile another question:

I’ve got a Melco S100 inserted into the system now.

Wall internet to S100

Then S100 out to Melco NAS

but also to a Synology wifi mesh router and an Apple TV

The Apple TV (Ethernet connected) when playing video is atrociously slow now

Before I was using a cheap buffalo switch. And enjoyed super fast and stable video streaming. I live in Tokyo and have some of the world’s fastest internet.

But now I am seeing test download speeds of 12 to 20Mbps (vs measured spreads of seriously up to 50x that previously as I live in Tokyo and pay for enterprise level connectivity)

And now I am seeing massive interruptions in video playback. Super long load times where normally it played immediately; where normally even HD streaming was immediate and smooth all the way through, now I am seeing massive load times and frequent full stops on any video stream.

I am perfectly fine sacrificing speed for audio quality but this seems extreme.

Is my S100 defective ? Or is this intentional for audio quality ?

If intentional would it suit for me to change my set up to:

Wall to the old cheap buffalo switch
Cheap buffalo switch to Apple TV and s100
S100 only to Melco?


RE: Melco Audiophile NAS - simoncn - 15-08-2020 16:52

Ports 1-4 on the S100 are 100 MB/s, intentionally to improve audio quality. For best sound quality, you should connect your UPnP renderer to one of these ports. My renderer is a Melco N1Z, connected to port 4.

Ports 5-8 on the S100 are gigabit. You should connect your UPnP server to one of these ports. My server is a Melco N1A, connected to port 8.

If you use the S100 to connect your Apple TV, it should be connected to a gigabit port. It would be better not to connect it to the S100 at all (the last suggestion in your post) so that network traffic to the TV is kept separate from playing your music.

Also, Melco recommends that you don't use the N1 player port if you have an S100. This means you should connect your LUMIN directly to the S100, either by RJ45 to port 1-4 or by optical cable to port 9.


RE: Melco Audiophile NAS - maikeru - 16-08-2020 02:24

Ah, I had indeed mixed up the gigabit and 100MB/s ports. The use of the word “fast” had stopped me from reading it all the way through.

What’s the logic of routing the N1A through the extra step of the S100 instead of simply going direct to the LUMIN?


RE: Melco Audiophile NAS - simoncn - 16-08-2020 08:21

According to Melco, doing it through the S100 sounds better because the switching circuitry in the S100 is better than that in the N1. I have tried it both ways and I agree with this.


RE: Melco Audiophile NAS - Donuk - 16-08-2020 12:07

I can confirm Simon's comments above about the sonic improvement by configuring the S100 with a Melco N/1 as above. (Not using the player port at all).

Also, I have found in my own system that, in effect, the only thing one can connect to ports 1-4 on a Melco S100, is - in my case - my Linn Akurate Katalyst streamer. Even connecting the Melco N/1 to ports 1-4 can cause buffering problems especially on hi-res files. But the S100 certainly brings a lot to the party. A significant (and surprising) upgrade for me.

Also I too have experienced a slight improvement by fixing the Melco network address, eschewing the DHCP process. There is also a far more tangible advantage of using a fixed address. Periodically in my experience, one's router has a fit, or something else is changed in the network and DHCP in its wisdom decided to allocate completely new addresses to everything.
By making the Melco fixed by address in the network, one's playlists are preserved. Playlists need of course to record the exact location of each music file. Changing address is just like moving one's music library to another hard disk!
There is also the probability that by fixing the address, control points may behave less eratically.

Donuk beautiful downtown York


RE: Melco Audiophile NAS - simoncn - 16-08-2020 14:15

(16-08-2020 12:07)Donuk Wrote:  Also, I have found in my own system that, in effect, the only thing one can connect to ports 1-4 on a Melco S100, is - in my case - my Linn Akurate Katalyst streamer. Even connecting the Melco N/1 to ports 1-4 can cause buffering problems especially on hi-res files. But the S100 certainly brings a lot to the party. A significant (and surprising) upgrade for me.

As you are using your Melco as a server, it needs a gigabit port. My Melco N1Z renderer is connected to port 4 and my Melco N1A server is connected to port 8.

Have you noticed an improvement from the S100 compared with the Cisco 2960 that you were using previously?


RE: Melco Audiophile NAS - Donuk - 16-08-2020 14:42

Yes Simon, I was recommended the Cisco 2960 which I borrowed from a friend who had been active in the Naim forum and had bought some cheaply!
This indeed sounded better than my TP-LINK TL-SG108E.
Then I was told by Hamish from The Sound Organisation, York, that I really ought to borrow the (then) new Melco S100 switch and the improvement was vast. It was not an upgrade I wanted to make at that stage but there was no going back.

Incidentally, following from your discussion above, as well as fixing the Melco network address, I have also got into my Virgin Superhub and while still leaving DHCP enabled I have fixed (reserved) the addresses for both the Melco and my Linn streamer. I haven't listened to it yet, but I reason that this might also reduce traffic to my streamer. If anyone knows more about what I am doing, please do say.....

Donuk