Melco - The Streaming Solution

Melco at Fanthorpes HiFi

Melco, the audiophile division of leading Japanese computer company Buffalo, is swiftly becoming a shop favourite.

Below is an article explaining why we think Melco offers fantastic streaming solution in the shape of its Digital Music Library range the N1A and N1Z.

Hand built in Japan, Melco incorporates audio-grade SSD (N1Z) and HDD (N1A) drives. Designed from the ground up to be used as a high end hi fi separate.

All digital processes, including the external Ethernet, are obtained from an ultra low jitter data clock to ensure total freedom from jitter-induced artefacts on final D/A conversion.

The Melco has separate power supplied for internal and external data communications, protecting delicate analogue circuitry elsewhere in the playback system.

Neither the N1A or N1Z has a web server therefore does not require a computer to either configure it or to enable them to play. A versatile array of useful customisations is available from the OLED front panel display and navigation buttons. During playback, the display shows the selected track along with sample rate.

Storing music files to the Melco is done via the USB 3.0 socket on the rear or over Ethernet, whilst backup is done via the Backup USB 3.0 socket at the rear, which starts to backup the music data onto any external drive with enough capacity upon connection. The dedicated socket also supports the data recovery as well.

Expansion to over 12Tb is easily achieved by simply adding a USB drive to the dedicated rear-mounted Expansion port.

The flagship N1Z is provided with SSD storage of 1Tb total capacity, which can be arranged simply to backup internally or to backup externally from the front panel OLED display.

The N1A is fitted with a HDD of 4T total capacity that has been thoughtfully selected for better sound quality. Expansion and backup options are exactly as the N1Z. In addition, a front Panel USB port is available for importing from a USB drive.