Melco N1Z Music Libraries Upgraded Without Price Increase
Melco has upgraded its two flagship Japanese-engineered digital music libraries but kept the price the same.
Melco's HA-N1Z/2EX-H50 (HDD) and HA-N1Z/2EX-S40 (SSD) have been treated to new, improved power supplies and new, higher-performance single-drive storage, which, says the company, results in the best-ever Melco sound quality.
The flagship N1Z series machines offer solid-state or hard disc storage that has been specifically engineered for audio, boasts Melco. This latest update also sees both models sport new single drives. The SSD-based HA-N1Z/2EX-S40 now benefits from a new, high-performance 4 TB storage drive, and the HDD-based HA-N1Z/2EX-H50 is supplied with a new 5 TB unit.
We're told that moving over to the new single drives means that Melco's engineers no longer have to incorporate a RAID system (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) in the operating software. Apparently, dropping RAID gives an immediate sound quality upgrade thanks to the higher quality single drives.
More sound performance improvement comes by way of the new and improved power supplies. Overall, the current-generation Melco N1Z series the best it has ever been.
Naturally, the new N1Z machines feature the latest EX upgrades, including the February-launched firmware (v. 4.10), which adds Roon playback, plus several additional features, including markerless DSD compatibility for more devices.
The N1Z models benefit from heavy, anodised aluminium chassis sections, with a rigid internal H-frame to isolate the unit from vibration and isolate the hardware sections.
A high-precision, low-jitter clock manages the data flow to either the USB DAC or the Ethernet-equipped streamer.
Despite these upgrades, the pricing remains unchanged: the HA-N1Z/2EX-H50 is priced at £5,249 (~US$7,448), and HA-N1Z/2EX-S40 is £9,999 (~US$14,189). Asian pricing has yet to be confirmed.
Visit Melco for more information
Jay Garrett
StereoNET’s resident rock star, bass player, and gadget junkie. Jay heads up StereoNET as Editor for the United Kingdom and Europe regions. His passion for gadgets and Hi-Fi is second only to being a touring musician.
Posted in: Hi-Fi
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