I know that one or two of you here swapped their Melco N10 for the new Melco N1, having been very impressed on audition. There was an earlier topic about this but it’s now closed.
I am interested to know how N1 owners are finding the sound after bedding in to their systems for some months. I’m particularly interested in how you would characterise the difference vs to N10, and whether there are any drawbacks (apart from the price!).
All observations gratefully received.
1 Like
Sorry……so-long ago. It just sounded more how i feel music should sound.
Get a demo, preferably at home.
1 Like
Thanks Gazza. I only ask because I will probably not be able to get any kind of a demo in Ireland.
You say ‘so-long ago’, but surely it’s less than 6 months or so? Did it improve in your system over that period, do you think?
Put it another way, I presume you have no regrets?
No regrets at all, sounds great, i personally like the new styling. As mentioned it improves the sound making it more enjoyeable.
Perhaps @MichaelF can offer some more inspiring words.
Will a dealer or distributor not be prepared to send you want to try on a fully refundable return basis? Maybe one serving NI if there isn’t one in Eire. When I was looking into Melco a few years ago the UK main dealer indicated willingness to send me one, to my non UK island halfway between them and you. No harm in asking anyway.
As IB suggests If possible you should try to do a comparison yourself. After the change from the excellent N10 in my full 500 system the music was flowing in a more natural way with a better soundstage. The N1 seems to control the attack and decay of instruments better and portray them more realistically. I love the styling of the N1 over the older Melco units it really looks as great as it sounds.
As always this what I found in my system your experience might be different in your system and to your ears!
2 Likes
Michael, i just borrowed a Musicworks G5 powerblock from the Signals crew……very nice indeed over my previous G4 block.
I bought the Melco N10 from a dealer in Belfast but he has ceased to be a Melco dealer, meaning there is no dealer on the island of Ireland.
Brexit has made the concept of buying sale or return from Britain into a big no-no, as I discovered when shipping my N10 back to increase the disc capacity from 3TB to 5TB.
Thus I may need to rely on third party opinions for this decision.
Yes, the dreaded Brexit has lots of negative knock-on effects (and I’ve yet to see a single positive).
Others’ opinions may give you some idea, but one person’s “night and day” improvement is another’s minor increment… Dublin to various UK airports is quick and not horrendously expensive, so maybe if people’s contributions make it sound worthwhile it might be worth a weekend break to include a comparative audition…
Thanks Michael. That’s very useful, as I share the same 500 setup as you.
Of course I still have the problem of how to sell my N10 if I decide to buy the N1. The absence of a dealer is very frustrating.
Well, I bit the bullet without hearing it. It arrived on Saturday last and restoring from the N10 backup took 55 hours!
I know the sensible thing would have been to fly over to Britain for a couple of days and audition carefully etc. But I just wasn’t going to face into airports, trains , taxis, hotels etc.
Life is short ( shorter than ever when in my eighth decade) so I decided to take a calculated risk based on the opinions offered here and in press reviews.
And I am delighted to say that the result has far exceeded my expectations. The N10 was already top class and I didn’t expect it to be bettered by such a margin.
So here I am with a whole new music collection to explore. Where to get the time?!
Thanks to all here who contributed to my decision.
2 Likes
Not wanting to hijack this thread so apologies in advance but has anyone tried the new Plixir Statement power supply on their Melco N100? I use a Plixir Elite BDC but I would be fascinated to hear the new Statement supply. Only problem is that it’s around three times the price!
On the topic of the N1, I’ve seen that it mentions that it’s “roon ready”. Does anyone know what this means? Detail is hard to find (on Melco at the bests of times, but that’s for another thread…), so I’m wondering whether it means that it can be used as a Roon server, or “merely” as a player into a DAC…
My understanding is that it can’t be used to host the Roon software.
1 Like