Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not disputing the reviewer’s observations. What I’m saying is that to talk of the sound over ethernet being superior to USB in relation to the Melco is nonsensical, because there is then a network streamer in the equation and that is essentially what you are then listening to rather than the Melco.
The point is that you are not comparing the sound of the Melco via USB to the sound of the Melco via ethernet. The Melco can’t make any sound via ethernet. It requires a streamer, and that is what you are then listening to.
So, just for clarification, are you suggesting that all Melco models, when using the player function, are inherently inferior to all network streamers? That seems to me to be what is being suggested by reviewers and some people here.
To say that you pefer your Innuos Pulsar is fair enough. But I don’t see that you can extrapolate that to all Melco’s/streamers.
No. As I have said, it may be likely the streamer transport functionality may be improved the higher up the Melco chain you go. Less likely that it’s server quality when used on a network will be appreciably improved.
I suppose you may ask why I did not replace my N100 for a N1. The answer to that is that the Melco user interface is very poor.
It occurs to me that saying “I prefer the sound of my Melco via ethernet rather than USB” is in effect saying “I prefer the sound of my NAS drive to the sound of my Melco via USB”. It’s a nonsense statement.
Melco has continually upgraded the USB output and the USB input on DAC:s have also gained better isolation. I have heard a demo of the N1 with a Holo May KTE DAC and it was pretty amazing.
Having the DAC directly connected require the musicserver to be very quiet when it comes to HF/RF noise so a Melco should be a very good choice. To really isolate one could add something like a Holo RED.
The N1 is above my budget but I’m waiting for the N5 and to listen with my favorite DAC, the Schiit Yggdrasil OG, I prefer multibit DACs and the superb transient handling you get with them. And the Yggdrasil is as close to a “olive” DAC I have experienced.
I also sort of like the simple 2-box idea of having the music-server, streamer and renderer in one box. Leaving the choice of DAC to me in box 2. Maybe a bit nostalgic, but I really liked my old Naim HDX with the Naim DAC/XPS2.
OK yes I agree. But hopefully you take my point. Used in the ethernet configuration the Melco is just a souped-up NAS drive - it’s not a player of any description, so to talk of it as having a sound of it’s own in that instance is just nonsense. The sound you hear is then the sound of the streamer being used.
You seem to argue that a direct connection is nirvana and that an Internet connection in the chain of transmission to be avoided at all costs.
I am not sure I agree this philosophy. It is certainly the case in the analogue world that less is more. The less that gets in the way of the signal, the better it is. I am not convinced the same applies for digital, which has protocols to assure that the data is transmitted precisely. The network is part of the transmission and am inclined to prefer the isolation it provides from the server. It also provides me access to the high definition data from Quobuz.
A network also introduces more opportunity for picking up RF superimposed on the digital datastream, which can cause modulation of the audio if it reaches the DAC, depending on the latter’s susceptibility, which can vary considerably, no network reduces the risk. From a different angle a network’s numerous cables and switches etc, are a tweaker’s delight…!
As for internet-based sources, they do offer greater choice, however I think the consensus is that local source more often than not beats internet streaming for sound quality (assuming the same recording/mastering/resolution).
I agree but think these issues are overdone. There are countermeasures to this interference, such as galvanic isolation (whatever that is) as well as the assured data accuracy of the Internet protocol. Buffering by the streamer also provides an uninterrupted, timed feed to the DAC.
On my own set up, I use the Internet connection out from Melco, directly into my Innuos Pulsar. It is better than the direct usb out from Melco to my DAC.
At an additional £5k one would hope it does sound a lot better!
At that sort of cost, I wonder what improvement a Chord MScaler would bring between a Melco USB output and a DAC. (Will of course depend on the DAC amongst other things.)
Well Melco seem to take the view that the direct USB connection is far preferable.
But really I wanted to avoid streaming over my local network because I have read of so many potential problems. Also the need to have and maintain a separate NAS drive. I wanted as simple and elegant a solution as possible so for me the Melco was a no-brainer. It does exactly what I want and with my Chord Qutest DAC it sounds superb. YMMV.
Streaming from remote servers like Qobuz is of course a different propostion altogether. One can hardly avoid the internet in this case. So one either does it or not.
Quite right Mr PJL. I use Melco - USB - DAVE, no need to mess with noisy ethernet streaming stuff. I went from Mac Mini to Melco a number of years ago, & it works a treat. I suspect, depending on your system, going up the Melcro range ain’t going to yield much in the way of improved sound quality; the only way you’d know is to try one yourself if you’re so inclined. Now’t wrong with the Melcro app. either.
Nice to hear from you. I’ve followed your experiments with speakers with interest in the other place (of which I’m no longer a member - having been cast out because I robustly disagreed with a bunch of people who insisted that all cables sound the same and that there was no scientific reason for them not to).
It’s fortuitous that you posted here because I wanted to suggest that you tried Klipsch Heritage speakers, perhaps Cornwalls as an alternative to your DBL’s. I now use Klipsch Forte III’s with my Moon integrated amp and they are truly superb IMO. I abandoned Naim some time ago but I think the horn-loaded Klipsch’s have much of the strengths of the Linn and Naim speakers of old. (I had Kans and then IBL’s).
Just a suggestion in case you hadn’t thought of it. You may hate them!
How are you getting on with your Accuphase amps?
PS. What USB cable do you use? I use a Chord C USB (improved Silverplus apparently).
Not the same at all! Aside from the amount on Dave being worth it as it is such s phenomenal DAC (you can read elsewhere on the forum about the literal wow moment upon hearing) the point I was making is that you inserted something costing £5k between Melco and DAC, to improve the sound, so not simply comparing Melco to DAC with Melco via ethernet… (And to do the same would be a major additional cost for the OP.)