Melco Audiophile NAS

[simoncn]

(14-04-2015 14:05)Peter@57m Wrote:  Well I now have MinimServer running on the Melco. So it would be option 5) above Melco MinimServer to KDSM/1.

And this is quite clearly my favourite. Its more spacious, better clarity and I think better timing.

So now there overall ranking would be (best first): 5) 2) 3) 4) 1)

A big thank you to Simon and Alan (Melco)

So now back to listening to music and not doing comparisons........

I think I have solved the mystery of why you prefer 2) to 1) and I prefer 1) to 2). My preference is based on using a Cisco switch to connect MinimServer (running on QNAP or Synology) with the KDS/1. I also have a NETGEAR GS108Tv2 and I tried the comparison again using the NETGEAR switch in place of the Cisco. This reversed the order of preference, with the RLI-1 now having a positive effect. For this comparison, I wasn't using the N1A.

It seems the effect of the RLI-1 depends on which switch is being used.

I also tried putting the RLI-1 inline into the connection between the N1A and the KDS/1. This made the sound worse.

The best combination for me is 5) using the NETGEAR switch to connect the N1A to my LAN. This is slightly better than 5) using the Cisco switch to connect the N1A to my LAN.

The LAN switch connection to the N1A does matter because it appears that audio packets sent by MinimServer[N1A] to the KDS/1 are routed via the LAN switch even when the player port of the N1A is connected directly to the KDS/1. If the cable from the N1A to the LAN switch is removed while audio is playing, the audio stops. I will do some further investigation to try to find out why this is happening.