Any Melco users out there?

[octaviars]

Hi Octaviars, I have no idea about that. if you go on there website and contact them through that they will help you. i did this a few weeks ago when i wanted some more information and they could not have been more helpful.

I will do that.

If I do decide to get a N1A can you recomend a dealer in the UK that will ship to Sweden?

Melco's website shows a dealer in Finland, plus the price looks a little lower in Euro's. (2000€)

Ok, I will look there.

Got a good price from the dealer in Finland with shipping to Sweden.......this I need to think about.

[GuillaumeB]

I remembered that I had some correspondence with Melco back in early September regarding their control app, to quote:

"There is a plan to make a control app available – but it is distant and so the feature set is not settled yet."

So that leaves two big questions, how far in the future is "distant", and what will the feature set look like?

Right, I made a few more enquiries yesterday.

Melco are working on something big, that's about as much as I can say. 

I personally think this dedicated app thing is a bit of a red herring. To my knowledge there are already countless decent UPnP apps out there that do the job perfectly well and with such a wide range there is almost an app for everyone. With the choice of Minimserver (as a UPnP server) it is possible to tweak the database directory structure so that you can browse your music collection in a way that suits you.

Apps like Linn's Kazoo integrate Tidal perfectly and are a joy to use. Linn has literally spent millions of pounds on this platform and it works very well.

I realise that UPnP doesn't suit everyone and some may require even more control over metadata, and for that a PC-based solution such as JRiver is probably best. Having used UPnP since 2007 when I got my Linn KDS I also know that it's important to get the network setup correctly and some routers work better than others. I once had a BT Home Hub that was a nightmare, since moving to a Draytek a few years ago it's been almost flawless.

For the price - i.e. £1600 - I still maintain that nothing comes close SQ-wise. 

Guillaume

[Womaz]

I remembered that I had some correspondence with Melco back in early September regarding their control app, to quote:

"There is a plan to make a control app available – but it is distant and so the feature set is not settled yet."

So that leaves two big questions, how far in the future is "distant", and what will the feature set look like?

Right, I made a few more enquiries yesterday.

Melco are working on something big, that's about as much as I can say. 

I personally think this dedicated app thing is a bit of a red herring. To my knowledge there are already countless decent UPnP apps out there that do the job perfectly well and with such a wide range there is almost an app for everyone. With the choice of Minimserver (as a UPnP server) it is possible to tweak the database directory structure so that you can browse your music collection in a way that suits you.

Apps like Linn's Kazoo integrate Tidal perfectly and are a joy to use. Linn has literally spent millions of pounds on this platform and it works very well.

I realise that UPnP doesn't suit everyone and some may require even more control over metadata, and for that a PC-based solution such as JRiver is probably best. Having used UPnP since 2007 when I got my Linn KDS I also know that it's important to get the network setup correctly and some routers work better than others. I once had a BT Home Hub that was a nightmare, since moving to a Draytek a few years ago it's been almost flawless.

For the price - i.e. £1600 - I still maintain that nothing comes close SQ-wise. 

Guillaume

I am assuming that you mean the Linn Kazoo app will work with the Melco? Also that I will be able to use an internet radio service with the Melco too? If true that is good news and I will have a look at this app.
My dealer is coming back on Monday to see if we can get it working without the dropouts.
He says he has a couple of tests to do that will tell him whether it is a problem with the router.
As for the SQ of the Melco. I always find this almost impossible to judge in an hour when someone is sitting there next to you. All I know is when I have been using AIR and then I have to switch to my CD transport, I can tell straight away a drop in quality. Bass is not as good and it just sounds a little harsh.
So when the Melco was first put on I waited for the drop in SQ. To my delight there was none. It could even have been better to be honest. The soundstage seemed to open up even more and a better bass too. It was also a lot louder at my normal volume level, so maybe this is due to the noise reduction.
I chose Melco after a huge amount of research and reading as I like the concept. It is not a flashy product with a big marketing push, it just seems that they want to get the best SQ to the chosen amp/network player.
It also takes my NAS and PC out of the music playback chain, so that’s what I want if I do have to pay for something to enable me to play my downloaded music.
I only hope it works on Monday or I am back to sitting on the fence again!

[thumb5]

Fingers crossed the Melco dealer can sort out the gremlins for you...

[octaviars]

Lumin just relaesed their Android app, this I need to test.

http://www.avbuzz.com/audio-video/201510...roid/0.htm

[Womaz]

Lumin just relaesed their Android app, this I need to test.

http://www.avbuzz.com/audio-video/201510...roid/0.htm

Good news for you. From what I saw of it I was quite impressed. Neat and tidy. Some of the icons a little small for my liking but overall I liked it

[Bob Ryan]

A bit discouraging Melco control app information has been inconsistent. Henceforth I await actual developments/releases from Melco/Buffalo and will avoid inquiring to the company outside of any possible warranty/parts service. As stated in previous post, not all control features of Lumin app are accessible when used with the Melco N1A, however the essential ones function well enough to make the app more than acceptable.

[nicoludio]

Bob Ryan, would you be able to elaborate on what bits of the Lumin app are not accessible? Thanks.

[Bob Ryan]

Bob Ryan, would you be able to elaborate on what bits of the Lumin app are not accessible? Thanks.

I owned/used Lumin A1 for a year. Lumin app has upsample section with various settings which are not compatible with the N1A. I've spoken to upsampling in past and am of opinion favoring no upsampling or upsampling only to next higher sample rate. Which to use depends much on recording/source rip in question. There are of course other variables related to ones hearing acuity, their system and use of up sampling. In short, no silk purse from sows ear applicable. No panacea for one and all.

[nicoludio]

Thanks. Am using Lumin A1 too.

I suppose it would make sense that certain functions would be accessible only when available on the renderer or, possibly and just a guess, the instructions are proprietary to Lumin players and not part of the OpenHome protocol.

Native vs PCM upsampling vs DSD do yield different results. On RBCD, I prefer native or PCM upsampling. As a generalisation, DSD yields more space/depth but loses out on texture/decay and the ability to follow the lines/separation.