Aries connected via Melco N1A

[kblundy]

Morning all, just thought I would start a little discussion on connecting an Aries to a Melco N1A audiophile NAS drive.

 

If you haven't seen the reviews for this fantastic piece of kit then you can start to read about it here: MELCO including a great review.

 

So what are the advantages?

- Audiophile grade NAS storage

- isolation of a Ethernet connection directly connected to the Aries or other bridge/streamer

- able to work as a streamer in its own right.

- easy to operate - no computers required at all

- Oh and yes it sounds fantastic

 

I have only had it a few days but the results are stunning. The blackness in background created due in part to galvanically isolating the Ethernet connection to my Aries - work brilliantly for both my music library stored on the device and also when steaming via tidal.

 

I hear you saying - connecting the Aries via wifi gives the same effect - trust me to my ears it chalk and cheese - and cheese with the Melco is very rich and mature indeed.

 

Anyone else experienced this remarkable device? There are lots of discussions on other board - but little here.

[jtwrace]

Good evening from Hawaii. Never heard of that but I'm really happy with my Synology NAS.

[kblundy]

Good evening from Hawaii. Never heard of that but I'm really happy with my Synology NAS.

 

Take a look at the reviews. Melco is the parent company of Buffalo systems - IT pedigree with Audiophile beginnings.

[kblundy]

Very interesting device! Simon (minimserver) has made very good review on his page: Melco Audiophile NAS It seems they have plan to replace twonky with minimserver ?

Have you tried to connect usb dac directly to Melco? based on these picture it seems these is possible.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]17854[/ATTACH]

 

Hi Slavo,

I have heard the same about Minimserver. I think this will be a great solution. Regarding connection directly to DAC - I haven't tried it as yet as I am still experimenting - but a friend of mine has had his connected directly to an Arcam D33 for many months (he is also in the Hifi trade - selling very high end stuff) and says its simply brilliant.

[Norton]

looks interesting but I'm not sure I understand the product. Presumably it's designed to sit in the listening room connected via a short length of Ethernet cable directly to the player. Given the cost (£6200 in UK for SSD version...)what would the big plus be compared to, say, just connecting an external SSD to the player via USB or ESata?

[jtm]

There is the OP's machine, the Melco N1A, with HDD's at about 2000 EUR, and the one Norton mentioned, the N1Z, with SSD's at about 8000 EUR and a more sophisticated electrical and structural layout.

 

I have tested the N1A in my system a few weeks ago and can confirm the OP's findings regarding sound quality and differences to my regular Synology DS413 with Minimserver. My Pioneer N-70A immediately recognized the Melco unit and the N1A is on my shortlist as it can sit right next to the streamer thanks to its silent operation.

[Norton]

There is the OP's machine, the Melco N1A, with HDD's at about 2000 EUR, and the one Norton mentioned, the N1Z, with SSD's at about 8000 EUR and a more sophisticated electrical and structural layout.

 

I have tested the N1A in my system a few weeks ago and can confirm the OP's findings regarding sound quality and differences to my regular Synology DS413 with Minimserver. My Pioneer N-70A immediately recognized the Melco unit and the N1A is on my shortlist as it can sit right next to the streamer thanks to its silent operation.

 

But is the SQ as a result of something special that the Melcro is doing or just the difference to be achieved by accessing files on any form of locally attached (or internal) storage, compared to from a remote NAS?

[kblundy]

But is the SQ as a result of something special that the Melcro is doing or just the difference to be achieved by accessing files on any form of locally attached (or internal) storage, compared to from a remote NAS?

 

Difficult to answer that one as there are many variables at play here.

One of the most important issues with Galvanic Isolation of the upstream Ethernet connection from the downstream connection to the Aries or other device is going to be common-mode rejection of noise injection via the ground connection.

 

This may sound silly - but the issue of noise injection via this route can significantly effect the power supplies internally of the connected unit(s) - it might/could act as a modulation signal on the power rails and hence on all of the clocks and data generated from it. This might result in numerous intermodulation effects - none of which are going to be easy to describe or be able to be guaranteed in an installation to installation situation as the noise fields come from so many interfering sources.

 

Since the Melco allows us to have a silent NAS drive designed for low jitter low noise and isolation of common mode noise injection - sitting right next to our system then its got many things going for it. In many ways it's really is back to the much held wisdom of keeping signal paths short and reducing the number of potential antennas to receive and transmit noise to a minimum.

 

All this talk almost takes me back to my electronics an RF days - designing radar systems and trying to stop high energy signals interfere with the little bit of high speed digital stuff and ending up smearing the whole picture. The audio equivalent being a muddled / smeared audio sound stage.

[Cebolla]

Since the Melco allows us to have a silent NAS drive designed for low jitter low noise and isolation of common mode noise injection - sitting right next to our system then its got many things going for it. In many ways it's really is back to the much held wisdom of keeping signal paths short and reducing the number of potential antennas to receive and transmit noise to a minimum.

The problem with that analogy is that there is no signal path between NAS and streamer. The realtime digital audio signal is generated entirely in the streaming renderer and all that comes through the network is non-realtime audio file data. Surely all that's required is the opposite, ie, keep the potentially 'noisy' NAS well away from the streamer and then also have the final network link to the streamer short & isolated. Being connected to a network, the streamer certainly doesn't need the NAS on the other end of the final network link to it.

[jtwrace]

Difficult to answer that one as there are many variables at play here.

One of the most important issues with Galvanic Isolation of the upstream Ethernet connection from the downstream connection to the Aries or other device is going to be common-mode rejection of noise injection via the ground connection.

 

This may sound silly - but the issue of noise injection via this route can significantly effect the power supplies internally of the connected unit(s) - it might/could act as a modulation signal on the power rails and hence on all of the clocks and data generated from it. This might result in numerous intermodulation effects - none of which are going to be easy to describe or be able to be guaranteed in an installation to installation situation as the noise fields come from so many interfering sources.

 

Since the Melco allows us to have a silent NAS drive designed for low jitter low noise and isolation of common mode noise injection - sitting right next to our system then its got many things going for it. In many ways it's really is back to the much held wisdom of keeping signal paths short and reducing the number of potential antennas to receive and transmit noise to a minimum.

 

All this talk almost takes me back to my electronics an RF days - designing radar systems and trying to stop high energy signals interfere with the little bit of high speed digital stuff and ending up smearing the whole picture. The audio equivalent being a muddled / smeared audio sound stage.

 

If one is streaming wirelessly with the ARIES from their NAS that solves many of the issues you're talking about. I still don't understand how this unit is of any benefit.

[Doak]

Why would you want to (further) complicate your system with a 2nd streamer.

I know the Melco does more than that --- so,then why the Aries?

[MNG]

I have a Melco and am very happy with the sound it delivers. I also have an Aries.

 

It may depend on your system, but to my ears, plugging the Melco into the Aries yields a slightly different presentation which you may or may not prefer to the Aries running on wireless. I believe that the next Aries firmware upgrade will disconnect the LAN when connecting via wireless which may yield a slight improvement in SQ.

 

I am currently running the Aries wireless and plug the Melco into my Chord DSX1000 since it yields a bigger sound improvement that way. I use the Aries for Qobuz and the Chord for NAS playback.

[baddog]

Actually the v2.2 firmware release added the feature where when using a wireless connection the Aries ethernet controller circuit is shut down.

 

I enjoy your comments in regards to the Melco.

[MNG]

Actually the v2.2 firmware release added the feature where when using a wireless connection the Aries ethernet controller circuit is shut down.

 

Ah, didn't realise - thanks. That's interesting because when I first tried it, I definitely preferred the Aries wired via the Melco but still not as good as the DSX1000 via the Melco.

 

I tried it again recently and was hard pressed as to whether I preferred the Aries via the Melco or running wireless. There were differences, but more a question of taste rather than one definitely being better than the other.

 

Ideally, I'd prefer to use the Aries for everything and just use the DSX1000 as a DAC/Preamp because I prefer the Aries App and it would just be more convenient. Also, I like that you can set up what you want to play and then just close the DS App down and stop messing with the iPad.

[kblundy]

Sometimes you just can't explain why something is better - but as I said in my original post - its is better. Darker, cleaner - somehow more analogue.

[bmichels]

I also have an ARIES and I am interested in the MELCO because.... in my listening room, I do NOT have access to wired Ethernet (only Wifi). So a direct connection MELCO <--> Aries through a simple short ethernet cable without having to use an ethernet network like you will have to do with a NAS is ideal to me.

 

But... if I want to use ROON, how do 1 do ??? Indeed, the Aries is only an "end-point", and I do not believe that the MELCO can run "ROON SERVER" ? So.... do I still need to have a PC running ROON somewhere on the network ? :-((((

 

And how do I use TIDAL ? Indeed, if I connect the MELCO with a direct ethernet short cable, then I configure the ARIES for "wired", so how do I access TIDAL (can't have "wired" and "Wifi" at the same time ??

[seasusa]

I also have an ARIES and I am interested in the MELCO because.... in my listening room, I do NOT have access to wired Ethernet (only Wifi). So a direct connection MELCO <--> Aries through a simple short ethernet cable without having to use an ethernet network like you will have to do with a NAS is ideal to me.

 

But... if I want to use ROON, how do 1 do ??? Indeed, the Aries is only an "end-point", and I do not believe that the MELCO can run "ROON SERVER" ? So.... do I still need to have a PC running ROON somewhere on the network ? :-((((

 

And how do I use TIDAL ? Indeed, if I connect the MELCO with a direct ethernet short cable, then I configure the ARIES for "wired", so how do I access TIDAL (can't have "wired" and "Wifi" at the same time ??

 

If you connect the Melco to your wireless internet router and then connect the aries to the dedicated melco connection you should be able to use tidal.

[Rexp]

I also have an ARIES and I am interested in the MELCO because.... in my listening room, I do NOT have access to wired Ethernet (only Wifi). So a direct connection MELCO <--> Aries through a simple short ethernet cable without having to use an ethernet network like you will have to do with a NAS is ideal to me.

 

But... if I want to use ROON, how do 1 do ??? Indeed, the Aries is only an "end-point", and I do not believe that the MELCO can run "ROON SERVER" ? So.... do I still need to have a PC running ROON somewhere on the network ? :-((((

 

And how do I use TIDAL ? Indeed, if I connect the MELCO with a direct ethernet short cable, then I configure the ARIES for "wired", so how do I access TIDAL (can't have "wired" and "Wifi" at the same time ??

Maybe one of these connected via a powerline adapter is all you need:

 

ELAC Discovery Series DS-S101-G Music Server | AudioStream

[bmichels]

Maybe one of these connected via a powerline adapter is all you need:

 

ELAC Discovery Series DS-S101-G Music Server | AudioStream

 

thanks for the link

[plissken]

Since the Melco allows us to have a silent NAS drive designed for low jitter low noise and isolation of common mode noise injection - sitting right next to our system then.

 

I'm at a loss for words...

 

Jitter on a non-realtime connection just being the start of what is so wrong with the conjecture.

[Cebolla]

The 2 years that have passed since haven't changed my opinion on statements, either!

 

It looks like the old thread was revived under a misapprehension anyway, so perhaps best let it RIP

[Meni]

I use Melco N10 as a server connected

direct to Melco ethernet cable into Naim ND555 network,very expensive but sound amazing

[betsy]

Re: - kblundy, way back in 2015 started this discussion on connecting an Aries to a Melco N1A audiophile NAS drive...''Direct Mode".

Well, i had to share my excitement with connecting the HA-N1 to direct mode (directly connected to the Network Audio Player with an Ethernet cable, ie the rj45 player port on my Melco N1A to my brand new Auralic Aries G2.1 player.

it took some work, settings for the direct player connection on the Melco and no luck...then i reinitialized the Melco...and success!

(my Aries G2.1 is running via the lightening ds software on m iPad and the Melco internal library is recognized as well as Quobuz.)

 

The sound from Hi-res Music files Stored on the Melco internal ssd and direct mode played thru the Aries G2.1 streamer/player is nothing short of amazing!

 

Soundstage is natural, realism, open, quiet and detailed like never before....light years ahead of Melco alone (via  network ethernet port alone) as well as the Auralic Aries alone (via network port)

 

Listening to the Melco N1A player music files, via direct Mode, player port on my Aries G2.1 is the only way to listen...never going back!

 

Probably, no..definitely the most important sonic change I have ever heard!

[Rexp]

On 9/8/2020 at 11:03 PM, betsy said:

Re: - kblundy, way back in 2015 started this discussion on connecting an Aries to a Melco N1A audiophile NAS drive...''Direct Mode".

Well, i had to share my excitement with connecting the HA-N1 to direct mode (directly connected to the Network Audio Player with an Ethernet cable, ie the rj45 player port on my Melco N1A to my brand new Auralic Aries G2.1 player.

it took some work, settings for the direct player connection on the Melco and no luck...then i reinitialized the Melco...and success!

(my Aries G2.1 is running via the lightening ds software on m iPad and the Melco internal library is recognized as well as Quobuz.)

 

The sound from Hi-res Music files Stored on the Melco internal ssd and direct mode played thru the Aries G2.1 streamer/player is nothing short of amazing!

 

Soundstage is natural, realism, open, quiet and detailed like never before....light years ahead of Melco alone (via  network ethernet port alone) as well as the Auralic Aries alone (via network port)

 

Listening to the Melco N1A player music files, via direct Mode, player port on my Aries G2.1 is the only way to listen...never going back!

 

Probably, no..definitely the most important sonic change I have ever heard!

Do you have the Auralic Aries 2.1 or the Vega 2.1, I'm assuming the latter since that has a DAC? 

[betsy]

On 9/8/2020 at 11:03 AM, betsy said:

Re: - kblundy, way back in 2015 started this discussion on connecting an Aries to a Melco N1A audiophile NAS drive...''Direct Mode".

Well, i had to share my excitement with connecting the HA-N1 to direct mode (directly connected to the Network Audio Player with an Ethernet cable, ie the rj45 player port on my Melco N1A to my brand new Auralic Aries G2.1 player.

it took some work, settings for the direct player connection on the Melco and no luck...then i reinitialized the Melco...and success!

(my Aries G2.1 is running via the lightening ds software on m iPad and the Melco internal library is recognized as well as Quobuz.)

 

The sound from Hi-res Music files Stored on the Melco internal ssd and direct mode played thru the Aries G2.1 streamer/player is nothing short of amazing!

 

Soundstage is natural, realism, open, quiet and detailed like never before....light years ahead of Melco alone (via  network ethernet port alone) as well as the Auralic Aries alone (via network port)

 

Listening to the Melco N1A player music files, via direct Mode, player port on my Aries G2.1 is the only way to listen...never going back!

 

Note: Using Ethernet cabling ...all ''wired''.

 

.....🎶definitely the most important sonic change I have ever heard!