Aurender N100 or Melco N1A

[Womaz]

Well I have the Melco demo tonight and I have ordered one. To be honest an hours demo not really enough time for me to do a comparison with AIR, but I really liked the sound and I needed something that worked consistently. My initial impression was that it was very like AIR which I was delighted about. It might have had a bit more soundstage and vocals stood out a bit more. But I will only really tell once I have it in the system. So my AIR replacement has been found. The Lumin app had one or two problems and it's not a patch on the JRiver app but I can live with that.
Overall I was worried that nothing would match AIR, I think it does and maybe even better. Difficult to tell in an hour like I say. But seven months after getting the 200 I will have a system that will work consistently ......oh and I will be able to listen to my downloaded music too ?
Also ordering the Tellerium Q Blue USB cable
Dealer thought the slight brightness I hear could be down to my room. It's wooden flooring and very little soft furnishing. Minimalistic I think the term is.

Well done! Looking forward to hearing your impressions once you've got it set up and settled.

I'm still holding out, but if roonspeakers get announced and Melco adopt it, it will definitely go on the demo list.

Like you say, at a certain point just having reliable playback trumps any slight SQ differences. You'll soon forget Air exists and be happy.  

Yes it will be interesting to see what I hear when I put it in the system. Before the lad arrived I played the same track about 5 times through AIR, then I could compare. Through the Melco did not sound any worse that's for sure. And possibly even better. Like i said above maybe gained a little more soundstage and detail too.
Worry is a few dropouts but lad thought it was the minimiserver confliction on the app. I hope so and I have to trust him to sort it out. The lack of dedicated app is my biggest concern though as this could be problematic in the future. But like I say I needed something

[thumb5]

Hifi_swlon just beat me to it! Well done, and I hope the Melco gives you lots of hassle-free, enjoyable listening.

[Confused]

Now for the big question ....... Did you order it in silver or black? And for your next purchase? How about a nice shaggy rug to help tame those room issues?

Keep us posted on your sound quality observations once you have been able to spend some proper time with it!

[Womaz]

Silver ? To match the system. Funny about the rug too as my daughter has been wanting me to get one for a few year now as she says will look great with the dark wooden floor ?
Maybe it's now time.
Dealer didn't think it was bright , he said very slightly on certain tracks, I need to stop looking for perfection

He tried some Entreq gear and I thought it made it worse, but it was a lot of listening in one sitting

[Womaz]

Hifi_swlon just beat me to it!  Well done, and I hope the Melco gives you lots of hassle-free, enjoyable listening.

Cheers .......bloody better had!  

[Womaz]

OK I have woke up this morning worrying about those dropouts. Tended to be at the beginning of the track and music went off for a couple of seconds............further questions need to be asked I think.
Lad thought it could be a conflict between Minimserver and the music I copied onto the Melco hard drive. should not be dropouts when using USB surely? It looked like it was the app.
Hopefully only a minor glitch.
Any Melco users out there what app do you use? Lumin has been recommended, I also downloaded Audionet MM, but had a few issues with that, and not that visually appealing.

[Hifi_swlon]

OK I have woke up this morning worrying about those dropouts. Tended to be at the beginning of the track and music went off for a couple of seconds............further questions need to be asked I think.
Lad thought it could be a conflict between Minimserver and the music I copied onto the Melco hard drive. should not be dropouts when using USB surely? It looked like it was the app.
Hopefully only a minor glitch.
Any Melco users out there what app do you use? Lumin has been recommended, I also downloaded Audionet MM, but had a few issues with that, and not that visually appealing.

I didn't want to say anything Womaz, but there's no way I'd buy a streamer if there were dropouts during a demo - especially as a replacement for Air….

Have you tried Roon?  If so, and you liked it, why not hold off for a month or two and hope that they release their 'endpoint' for a raspberry pi.  It's in beta now, and has been seen running at one show.  Its probably not going to be better than a Melco/Aurender, but it may be, and the combined price of lifetime Roon and an endpoint is going to be a lot less than the Melco, and a lot simpler setup.  Thats what I'm holding out for - I think its going to open up a lot of streaming options, and with a nice interface.

[Womaz]

OK I have woke up this morning worrying about those dropouts. Tended to be at the beginning of the track and music went off for a couple of seconds............further questions need to be asked I think.
Lad thought it could be a conflict between Minimserver and the music I copied onto the Melco hard drive. should not be dropouts when using USB surely? It looked like it was the app.
Hopefully only a minor glitch.
Any Melco users out there what app do you use? Lumin has been recommended, I also downloaded Audionet MM, but had a few issues with that, and not that visually appealing.

I didn't want to say anything Womaz, but there's no way I'd buy a streamer if there were dropouts during a demo - especially as a replacement for Air….

Have you tried Roon?  If so, and you liked it, why not hold off for a month or two and hope that they release their 'endpoint' for a raspberry pi.  It's in beta now, and has been seen running at one show.  Its probably not going to be better than a Melco/Aurender, but it may be, and the combined price of lifetime Roon and an endpoint is going to be a lot less than the Melco, and a lot simpler setup.  Thats what I'm holding out for - I think its going to open up a lot of streaming options, and with a nice interface.

To be honest I am looking for a solution that takes the PC out of the playback equation. The dropouts are a worry, but I have decided to buy something as its been 7 months since I had uninterrupted music and I have lost my patience. The lad who sorts my hifi gear out does not seem to think its a problem and says he will sort it.
I am no expert by any means, but if its USB connected this surely cant have anything to do with my network. The music is on the Melco. All a bit confusing for me, but I have asked him a few questions this morning.

I do confess to waking up and it being the first thing that struck me

[octaviars]

OK I have woke up this morning worrying about those dropouts. Tended to be at the beginning of the track and music went off for a couple of seconds............further questions need to be asked I think.
Lad thought it could be a conflict between Minimserver and the music I copied onto the Melco hard drive. should not be dropouts when using USB surely? It looked like it was the app.
Hopefully only a minor glitch.
Any Melco users out there what app do you use? Lumin has been recommended, I also downloaded Audionet MM, but had a few issues with that, and not that visually appealing.

Have you tried Bubble UPnP app? I use it on Android now with my Aries and I have Mininserver on my NAS, works flawless.

[Womaz]

OK I have woke up this morning worrying about those dropouts. Tended to be at the beginning of the track and music went off for a couple of seconds............further questions need to be asked I think.
Lad thought it could be a conflict between Minimserver and the music I copied onto the Melco hard drive. should not be dropouts when using USB surely? It looked like it was the app.
Hopefully only a minor glitch.
Any Melco users out there what app do you use? Lumin has been recommended, I also downloaded Audionet MM, but had a few issues with that, and not that visually appealing.

Have you tried Bubble UPnP app? I use it on Android now with my Aries and I have Mininserver on my NAS, works flawless.

I will look at this option, but I am tending to go with my dealer here as he uses the Lumin app.
He is in contact with Melco and awaiting their response.
I have to admit this is one of the fears I had about Melco not having a dedicated app. Even if we get it to work now, who is to say a future app update changes all that. I really want to get this sorted but there always seems to be something that crops up.
The lad i deal with will help me with this as he has always guided me in the right direction.