Network Audio Players/Servers

Once again, this mk2 version of Melco's flagship N10 [HFN Jun '19] is not simply a music storage device. Instead, like the Innuos Statement [HFN Jan '20], Aqua LinQ [HFN Sep '20], Grimm Audio MU1 [HFN Dec '20], Auralic Aries G2.1 [HFN Feb '21] and Roon Nucleus+ [HFN May '18], plus the various 'Melcos' – the N1ZS20/2 [HFN Jun '17], N1ZS10 [HFN Feb '15], N1AH40 [HFN Aug '15] and N1ZH60 [HFN Jun '16] – it is also a transcoding/signal conditioning device. Unlike the Grimm Audio and Auralic network bridges, however, the Melco N10/2 does not invoke its own upsampling or digital filtering when converting between network and USB data formats. Data buffering (de-jittering) and delivery from a very low-noise source, with very low levels of circulating RFI, is the focus of Melco's ultimate music library.

As I've previously outlined when testing a digital-to-digital component, performance differences can only be inferred via a third-party player or DAC. The jitter suppression and/or galvanic isolation of the attached USB DAC is a factor here, so a DAC with excellent data recovery/re-clocking may not express a significant difference just as any jitter 'baked in' at the DAC chip level will remain unchanged. For this review, I compared a number of AC mains-, battery- and hub-powered DACs via both PC and N10/2 USB sources with no attempt made to 'price match' these components – they were selected by way of example only.

USB DACs including the Mytek Brooklyn [HFN Aug '17], Matrix Sabre-X 3, and dCS Vivaldi One [HFN Feb '18] have sufficient data/clock management on board that no difference was observed. However, a significant 'cleaning up' was realised with iFi Audio's NEO iDSD [HFN Mar '21] where the 550psec of ±33/66/99Hz sidebands collapsed to just 10psec [red vs. black spectra, Graph 1] with Melco's N10/2 as the USB source. Chord's new Mojo 2 [p70] also fares exceptionally well by default but the N10/2 successfully eliminated those minuscule residual sidebands [marked, Graph 2]. Every little counts! PM