Melco Audiophile NAS

[ac16161]

(27-04-2019 17:08)simoncn Wrote:  The LAN player port and USB output port both produce excellent sound quality. Which is better will depend on the DAC you are using. In my setup with a DAC that has both USB and LAN inputs, the USB output sounds better (but only when using a good USB cable).

Out of curiosity, what are you using? I had a Vitus RD-101 on loan recently, much cheaper than the new price of my Linn Katalyst KDS, and the Vitus gave the Linn quite a kicking - just so much more analogue. I have heard the Vitus Signature at a dealer, similar price to the Linn, and the Vitus Signature DAC is so far ahead of Linn it's hard to believe.

I borrowed a Melco N1Z today and it's an immediate non-starter due to the whirring noise of the drives. Also, almost no improvement in sound at all in my system. Perhaps that's my ears, or the Russ Andrews power supply on my network switch, or Linn having designed a really good pre-DAC stage on the Katalyst KDS. But the improvement was negligible. I'm more interested in Melco as a transport for a USB DAC to replace the KDS (with which I've never really fallen for), and ideally Melco would do a transport-only box (I'm just not interested in setting up yet another storage platform, I already have two NAS units taking care of all media duties in the house). An alternative seems to be the Lumin U1 Mini, potentially good value if it's compatible with a wide range of DACs. So Lumin is probably my next lead to explore.