THE 6 TB JAPANESE-MADE N50 HDD BRIDGES THE GAP BETWEEN THE ENTRY-LEVEL N100 AND THE COMPACT N1Z

Melco Audio, the Japanese brand known for their digital music libraries, has announced a new full-width HDD model that bridges the gap between their entry-level N100 and the compact N1Z, whilst offering a sizeable 6 TB drive.

Made in Japan, as are all of Melco’s music libraries, the new N50-H60 offers key performance upgrades over Melco’s most affordable music library, the half-width N100, whilst benefitting from greater accessibility over the N1Z/2EX-H50; all three are HDD-based.

MELCO N50-H60 HDD DIGITAL MUSIC LIBRARY

A full-width design, the high-capacity N50-H60, which is available in silver or black, features the classic aesthetics of Melco’s full-width predecessor, the N1A, with wide-ranging internal upgrades to power supplies, circuity and drive unit performance. The N50-H60 retains the 1.7 mm-thick chassis, IEC power inlet and noise filter and classic Melco appearance.

Melco N50-H60 HDD Digital Music Library

MELCO N50-H60 6 TB HDD

Key to the performance of the new N50-H60 is an enhanced main circuit board with a specially selected, 6 TB HDD drive coupled to a brand new rigid HDD mounter carefully floated inside the chassis for greater isolation. Additional audiophile-quality storage capacity can also be added with Melco’s E100 3 TB HDD drive.

PSU

The new model also adds a new dynamic PSU with 25 % more output, plus re-engineered isolation feet for additional protection from unwanted vibration.  The new N50-H60 also offers Melco’s ease of use and operation. Accordingly, the rear panel includes four specific USB ports: USB 3.0; EXPANSION; BACK UP; plus a dedicated USB DAC output for USB convertors and USB DAC-equipped amplifiers/active speakers.

The USB suite enables connected devices to operate without any configuration offering: importing/playback from memory devices, HDD/SSD drives and CD drives/rippers; capacity expansion with Melco’s E100 (or other) storage drive; plus easy back-up.

DEDICATED DUAL ETHERNET PORTS

The back panel also includes a key Melco USP: dedicated dual Ethernet ports which provide a dedicated PLAYER port in addition to the LAN port, to minimise the unwanted effects of noise on the music signal and present network audio players with a direct, high data-integrity connection. The N50-H60 can be connected to a streamer (via Ethernet) using the PLAYER port, or used as a local player with the dedicated USB DAC output.

Melco N50-H60 HDD Digital Music Library rear panel

OLED DISPLAY

The N50-H60 benefits from a high-quality OLED display with push-button control, plus Melco’s Intelligent Music Library suite comprising MinimServer and SongKong software.

ROON READY

The library is Roon Ready, DSD compatible and offers app control via DLNA/UPnP (in USB DAC mode) with support for TIDAL, Qobuz and vTuner streaming. Qobuz Downloader and HighResAudio.com also enable direct, high-res downloads without the need for a computer.

Cabinet TV in empty interior room ,dark wall with wood shelf,lamp ,plants and table wood ,3d rendering

MELCO N50-H60 HDD DIGITAL MUSIC LIBRARY PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

The Melco N50-H60 is available now in silver or black, priced at £2,999.

The new HDD model follows the October 2021-announced N50-S38 (£4,999) which is differentiated by the use of a high-performance SSD drive for improved sound quality.

HiFi Pig Says: The new Digital Music Library from Melco bridges a gap and gives customers the option between HDD and SDD drives.