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Melco Music Library

Melco music libraries stream digital music files directly from internal storage or from on-line streaming services with the highest sound quality. They also conveniently solve the problem of how to organize digital music files so you can quickly find the music you want to listen to.



Adapted PC, MAC or IT industry NAS drive based systems will play a tune, but are prevented from true high resolution audio because they are crippled from the start by inferior power supplies generating noise, bad data timing from poor pulse edges and reflections on the data bus. By using dedicated hardware design, customized data management, and the greatest possible data precision and noise mitigation, the Melco N100, N50, N10 and the recently launched flagship N1 music libraries minimize the errors, noise, and jitter that degrades sound performance.

All Melco music libraries comprehensively cover the elements you need to enjoy your own personal digital file collection and on-line streaming services:


checkboxAccess, Store, deliver and play high resolution digital music files

checkboxRip and play CDs by connecting a USB optical drive mechanism

checkboxPlay songs using the Melco HD App or other media player apps from your tablet or smart phone

checkboxDedicated ethernet port for Network Player and/or connect to USB DAC

checkboxEasy access to Tidal and Quobuz streaming services via App

checkboxRoon endpoint for roon based system integration

checkboxTwonky, Minim Server, and SongKong built-in for better digital file management

checkboxBack-up to or play from external storage

checkboxExpand with additional external storage

checkboxDisplays connected devices, song title playing, sampling rate, storage used

checkboxEasy setup, configuration and operability with front panel buttons and display prompts

checkboxEasily integrates with most existing systems (verified compatibility list)

checkboxRobust boot-up hardware check, connected device and configuration scanning, and song database management

checkboxReliable operation from quality manufacture and rigorously tested software

checkboxOne click on-line firmware upgrades

checkboxNo computer hardware or peripheral devices required

checkboxNo specialist knowledge required

checkboxAffordable !


Why Sound quality is limited when streaming from 'computers', DIY based servers, or plastic NAS drives

In general purpose computers and their operating systems, audio processing is never the highest priority. They are designed to manage multiple simultaneous tasks using an interrupt driven polling process to allocate processor resources moment by moment. Moving data to and from disk drives is optimized for speed over precision and internal USB data transfer may not be bit perfect unless the drivers are well designed and robust.

The lack of precision creates timing errors that induce jitter within the audio samples. Sound is further degraded by the introduction of noise from several sources; closely packed circuits operating at high frequencies, bursts of processor activity, and power spikes from hard drive operation. When random noise is mixed in with the digital samples it interferes with the DAC's ability to handle the digital stream.

How a Melco Music Library is built from the ground up for higher sound quality

Melco Audio products are specialized audiophile-grade source components dedicated and designed to stream audio data without compromise.

Single threaded RISC ARM processor

Melco uses a RISC type processor to manage the digital data with simple instructions executing in one clock cycle on one "pipe". Data is preserved in a single stream like a CD giving far greater audio data timing precision than complex multithreading CISC processors (INTEL) whose internal machine level instructions require varying numbers of clock cycles while creating higher levels of electrical noise and proximity interference that is very hard to completely remove becoming a problem elsewhere.

Internal architecture designed for low jitter data

A proprietary USB-like internal bus architecture always keeps the data under rigorous clock control all the way to the USB audio connectors which become true high fidelity interfaces something which is never the case in the typical computer environment.

Custom hard drive and SDD control electronics

Melco writes to and reads from internal hard drives in a different way than implemented in standard computers. The audio-grade duty internal disc drives are run at a lower speed and there is no noisy fan in the unit. Since the typical background wear leveling optimization algorithms that are needed to prolong life on Standard solid state drives (SSDs) may degrade sound quality, Melco SDDs are carefully controlled so these processes do not intrude into music streaming

Low-noise power supplies, separate regulators and true ground reference

Melco's level of sophistication in power supply including true ground reference using 3-wire IEC connector and metal casework is not even considered in plastic NAS drives. Internal batteries in Laptops have a floating ground and wall warts and 2-wire inline supplies have no grounding for interference rejection from circulating ground currents within the USB environment that adds noise to other components in the Hi-Fi system.

Optically isolated Ethernet ports

No noise is passed on to the player or therefore the rest of the audio system.

Specially optimized server software

Minim server is highly tuned software with better memory allocation management which is particularly important with very large audio files.

Other Melco products for CD ripping and improving network performance

The Melco D100 audiophile grade optical drive is a companion product to rip CDs at archive quality that many have found to sound better than rips made with PC software on a PC for all the same reasons why Melco's technology works so well in the Music Libraries. The D100 can also be used to play CDs in real time like a high-end CD transport.

Recognizing the opportunity to greatly improvement network streaming, the Melco S100 offers a helping hand to take care of network traffic and takes care of the noise introduced by low cost commodity routers and switches. On most of these, and the ones provided by Internet Service Providers or sold in stores, prioritize video data packets by default. The sound quality boost is far greater than the data switches found on the shelves of big box stores. The Melco S100 Data Switch has both 100mb ports that are optimized for sound quality and 1GB ports which provide extra bandwidth for peripheral devices that generate a heavy load of network traffic such as the Roon Core. There are also two Fibre Optic SFP ports that benefit high end audio products using this interface.


Melco also offers higher bandwidth precision engineered cat 7 data cables to reduce rise time and prevent cable induced jitter.

Connecting to your system

Melco USB connectionsMelco ethernet connections

Melco Music Libraries can connect to both USB DACs and Network Players. There is also a 'direct mode' where the Melco generates its own I.P. Address. A wired ethernet port is required but if one is not available, a powerline erthernet bridge can be used.


kemela commentary

Melco N100, N50, N10 and new Reference Level N1 music libraries are the definitive source for digital music and include a major unique feature that the others don't have...

Finding the music we want to listen to - the usual methods don't always work

Question. What do grocery, retail stores, public libraries, transport systems, and your music collections have in common? Answer. Some kind of organizational structure so we can find what we need. But do I file my "Ella and Louis Again" jazz CD under Ella Fitzgerald or Louis Armstrong? And what if I only wanted to listen to songs on this CD concatenated in this case as George-Ira Gershwin? Another question. How do I know which CD has "Dove Sono" on it from my three CD set of Mozart's Marriage of Figaro - I can never remember if it's on the end of disc two or the beginning of disc three - and if I lost the booklet that comes with the set, the CD player is no help as it only displays track number. Same goes for finding Julie London's "Cry me a river" (composed by A.Hamilton) on my excellent two-disc "Jazz of the Millenium" compilation set. There is no shelf position to help with digital files.

Unfortunately when the professional specifications for audio CDs (red book standards) were finalized, putting information about the actual track contents was not encoded on the disc, and the normal practice is for the publisher of the CD to go to a third party to produce the booklet to go with it. At least some digital file formats have associated "meta data". These data include tags (labels) that we can browse for but they are inconsistent and may "fall off" when copied from one machine to another. The problem is compounded when using proprietary server and ripping technologies using specific or non-robust tagging schemes. Until now the only way to tidy up a music library was to export a music file to a PC and run a program to manually fix the tags (in a way the specific server software can understand) and the load back onto the music library server.

Melco Intelligent Music Library (MIML) - a better way to manage your digital music files

In most streaming systems the UPnP server, that handles data transmission and presents the library to the control point app, may be confronted with incomplete meta data. Melco Music Libraries allow you to choose between an optimized version of Twonky - a well known UPnP server platform - and a Starter Edition of "MinimServer"

MinimServer is a specialised UPnP server platform developed over time independently by Simon Nash. It has the capability to expand the limited fixed browsing hierachy tree of Twonky by allowing you to browse tags in any order and takes into account your previous browsing selections and contents of your music library. MinimServer calls this Intelligent Browsing. The starter edition in Melco Music libraries has preconfigured browsing profiles for classical, rock/pop and jazz. Each genre of music has its own set of applicable tags such as "choir or conductor" for classical music or "BPM" or "Record Producer" for rock. Once the music has been organized more appropriately, these convenient options make browsing far easier. You can further customize these and using advanced configuration features by upgrading to the full version of MininServer

SongKong is a music metadata management tool developed by JThink Ltd Indie developer Paul Taylor and a version SongKong for Melco is also included in all Melco Music Libraries. The Melco version of this indispensable music library tool has been optimized for Melco Servers and comes with a set of reconfigured profiles to work with the MinimServer 2 and actually is a very comprehensive version of the software (Note the license also applies when accessing SongKong in the Melco by a networked computer which may be more convenient for larger libraries) Looking through the Blog on SongKong's site it's clear that a lot of work has gone into this software to make it easy to use but be able to deal with all the non-standardized issues that crop up with metadata It's particularly useful to deal with missing cover art or unnamed "track 01" songs and to sort out duplicates and because all changes are also stored in a database, they can be undone.

Together these are effective tools that you can use directly without needing a PC and add a lot of value to Melco products.

About Melco

Melco stands for Maki Engineering Laboratory Company and is a family business based in Japan where the product is manufactured. Founder Makoto Maki is an enthusiastic audiophile and had previously released a very high end turntable in the UK in 1980. Melco developed into the largest computer peripherals manufacturer in Japan and currently has fourteen global subsidiaries the largest of which is Buffalo Inc. Buffalo's USA division is located in Austin Texas. Melco music library products were initially the result of a two year collaborative effort and included many highly respected audio industry experts. They continue to evolve with regular updates.

Melco products come with a two-year nontransferable limited warranty.

 
Melco music library

Melco N100 2TB or 4TB Music Library

  • Melco's entry level music library is a clear step up from "computer audio" and provides a dedicated LAN port for a Network Audio Player or can be connected to USB DAC.
  • Supports PCM up to 384 kHz/32 bit and up to 11.3 MHz quad DSD
  • Three USB 3 ports for easy back-up, expansion, CD ripping from external disk drives, and import from USB flash/HDD drives
  • Can play music files over open shares on network and USB drives in addition to music files stored internally
  • Automatically adjusts sample rate to match capability of DAC and converts DSD to PCM for non-DSD DACs
  • Built-in SongKong meta data management tool and MinimServer as alternative to Twonky media server
  • Audio grade power supply, ultra low jitter data clock, and Low noise light-piped LED Ethernet port indicators
  • Automated on-line Firmware updating
  • No fan, internal drives are barely audible
  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 2.4" x 10.7" (WHD); Weight: 6.7 lbs
  • Price: $2,199 2TB, $2,599 4TB; black or silver finish

Melco N50 6TB Hard Drive or 3.8TB SSD Music Library

  • Exceptional performance value with choice of storage types and built in advanced power supply
  • Anti-vibration craddle for HDD drive, Neutrik USB 2 port for DAC, high current 3-pole true ground IEC mains connector with built-in noise filter
  • Ultra low jitter data clock and micro miniature high performance network pulse transformers to minimize digital signal distortions
  • Supports PCM up to 384 kHz/32 bit and up to 11.3 MHz quad DSD
  • Three USB 3 ports for easy back-up, expansion, CD ripping from external disk drives, and import from USB flash/HDD drives
  • Can play music files over open shares on network and USB drives in addition to music files stored internally
  • Automatically adjusts sample rate to match capability of DAC and converts DSD to PCM for non-DSD DACs
  • Built-in SongKong meta data management tool and MinimServer as alternative to Twonky media server
  • Automated on-line Firmware updating
  • No fan, internal hard drive option is barely audible
  • Dimensions: 17.2" x 2.4" x 13.9" (WHD); Weight: 15.4 lbs
  • Price: $3,499 6TB HD, $5,499 3.84TB SSD; black or silver finish

Melco N10/2 5TB Hard Drive or 3.8TB Solid State Drive Music Library

  • Two box system with isolated toroidal linear power supply
  • Specially selected 5TB hard drive mounted on massive nonmagnetic foundation for heat sinking and damping or 3.84 Solid State Drive options
  • New dedicated Neutrik USB 2 port for DAC
  • Three USB 3 ports for easy back-up, expansion, CD ripping from external disk drives, and import from USB flash/HDD drives
  • New EX firmware with Melco Intelligent Music Management
  • Supports PCM up to 384 kHz/32 bit and up to 11.3 MHz quad DSD
  • Can play music files over open shares on network and USB drives in addition to music files stored internally
  • Automatically adjusts sample rate to match capability of DAC and converts DSD to PCM for non-DSD DACs
  • Built-in SongKong meta data management tool and MinimServer as alternative to Twonky media server
  • Linear power supply, ultra low jitter data clock, and Low noise light-piped LED Ethernet port indicators
  • Dimensions: 13.8" x 3.0" x 14.6" (WHD); Weight: 17.9 lbs
  • Price: $7,999 5TB HD, $9,499 3.84TB SSD; black or silver finish

Melco N1 Flagship Music Library

  • Reference level system with advanced 3.84TB solid state drives and many other upgrades including external 10MHz clock connection and SFP Port to completely eliminate noise when connected to S10 or S100 audiophile switches
  • Highest quality Neutrik ethernet LAN and Player ports
  • Three USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port for easy back-up, expansion, CD ripping from external disk drives, and import from USB flash/HDD drives
  • Dedicated LAN port for Network Audio Player to purify network traffic and overcome router limitations
  • Higher performance CPU with larger internal flash memory for future firmware updates
  • Light-piped Ethernet ports for complete electrical isolation
  • Can play music from open shares on network, plugged in USB drives, in addition to music stored on the Melco
  • Supports PCM up to 384 kHz/32 bit and up to 11.3 MHz quad DSD
  • Solidly built 3mm thick chassis
  • Dimensions: 17.3" x 3.2" x 14.3" (WHD); Weight: 30.9 lbs
  • Price: $11,999 ; black or silver finish

Melco D100 Audiophile Optical Drive

  • Drive for bit perfect ripping of CD's to Melco Music Libraries or direct play of CDs like CD player
  • Thick aluminum case using Melco highly stable storage system
  • Dedicated PCB with audio-grade capacitors for power supply and quality clock generator gives noticeably superior rips than is possible with regular PC
  • "TO HOST" type B USB 3.0 port to Music Library when ripping or playing CDs
  • "TO DEVICE USB" type A USB 3.0 port for connecting another USB device (available even if device is off)
  • Can be used with non-Melco devices
  • External power supply with potential for future upgrades
  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 2.4" x 10.7" (WHD); Weight: 7.7 lbs
  • Price: $1,299 ; black or silver finish

Melco E100 USB Expansion Drive

  • Increased storage capacity
  • 3TB 3.5" Hard Drive
  • Audio-grade capacitor bank for lowest noise internal power delivery
  • Rigid steel chasis and totally metal enclosure for mechanical stability and total screening
  • External power supply with potential for future upgrades
  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 2.4" x 10.7" (WHD); Weight: 7.9 lbs
  • Price: $1,299 ; black or silver finish

Melco S100/2 Network Switch

  • Designed for data integrity the S100 delivers a data stream that far exceeds what is put out by generic IT data switches typically provided by internet service providers
  • 1.5MB buffer capacity
  • Permanent network connection without compromise to sound quality
  • Thick aluminum case using Melco highly stable storage system
  • Four 100MB fast ethernet ports optimized for sound quality
  • Four 1GB ethernet ports optimized for both sound quality and throughput such as Roon Core
  • Two fibre Optic SFP/LC connections for Lumin high performance network players
  • Can be used in non-Melco systems
  • The new mk2 version has improved power circuit board and AC adapter
  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 2.4" x 10.6" (WHD); Weight: 5.5 lbs
  • Price: $2,199 ; black or silver finish

Melco S10 Network Switch

  • Two box system consisting of heavily upgraded casework and power management S10 "head unit" and separate toroidal transformer based linear power supply
  • 1.5MB buffer capacity
  • Permanent network connection without compromise to sound quality
  • Four 100MB fast ethernet ports optimized for sound quality
  • Four 1GB ethernet ports optimized for both sound quality and throughput such as Roon Core
  • Two fibre Optic SFP/LC connections for Lumin high performance network players
  • Can be used in non-Melco systems
  • Separate linear power supply
  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 2.4" x 10.6" (WHD) x 2 ; Combined Weight: 28.7 lbs
  • Price: $5,499 ; black or silver finish
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Music Library/Server





Optical Drive for playing/ripping CDs


Expansion Drive


Audiophile Switch