Melco v Aurender

[PhilP]

...

I'm also not convinced by the sound quality of online streaming in my system - sorry PhilP. Yes Qobuz is much better than Tidal but it's still a long way off the sound you get from, say the Melco N1Z running a FLAC file, which quite frankly is the best I've heard to date. Period. I honestly think that if 80% or more of your listening is Qobuz or Tidal then the Melco is to surplus to requirements; it is after all a highly optimised NAS. 

Oh boy we're digressing... just Melco v Aurender ok? 

Guillaume

Guillaume,

sorry for being demanding - it's your test so, of course you must perform the comparisons that you want to do

One option I had considered was using a Melco for streaming local files and a Mac for Qobuz and iRadio - possibly the best of both worlds because its easier to add new services to a Mac.  Alan Ainslie said on here that it was possible to get very good results streaming TIDAL using the Melco plus Bubble UPnP. From his comments I didn't think Melco were intending their products to be used just as an optimised NAS but were actively extending its capabilities to be more like a streamer?  I would guess that many or maybe most on here are looking for or already have a streamer solution that covers local files, on-line music services and iRadio and aren't just looking for a box to stream local files...

I had thought the comparison with AIR would be exceptionally easy to do and relevant to many people.

Anyway,  it's up to you and I look forward to your comments with great interest