Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Home DELA (Melco) S5 network switch – Switch to Magic!

DELA (Melco) S5 network switch – Switch to Magic!

10

Pros

  • Beautifully crafted
  • Lots of connectivity
  • Noticeable improvement in sound quality

Cons

  • Sharp edges on the bottom
Build quality
Usability
Sound
Price
Alpha-Audio Approved
DELA S5 netwerkswitch

The test setup

Contents

Yeti Reference Source

Reference system

Type test
Single Test
Accessory type
Network Switch
Conductor material
Not relevant
Type of conductor
Not relevant
Shielding
No
Dimensions
  • Width: 44 cm
  • Depth: 35 cm
  • Height: 14 cm
Production country
Japan
Number of ports
11
Special clock
Yes

Winkels met Melco

Sint-Antoniusstraat 15
2300 Turnhout, BE
Joseph Bensstraat 21
1180 Ukkel, BE
Bredabaan 1031
B-2930 Brasschaat, BE
Pelikaanstraat 126
2018 Antwerpen, BE
Schoenmakersstraat 19
6041EX Roermond, NL
Parkweg 23
8084GG 't Harde, NL
Steenstraat 54
6828 CM Arnhem, Gelderland, NL
Strandlaan 281
8670 Koksijde, BE
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10 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Philippe Becker
4 months ago

Jaap, I believe you also reviewed the Matrix SS-1 Pro. What comparison can you make with the Dela? Thank you.

Renato
5 months ago

Man… sucks to be poor… 🙁

Hermann Jäger
5 months ago

Ojee, wat een recensie over de Dela s5.
Ik heb een Melco s100/2 met een externe voeding (Farad). Die brachten een enorme verbetering t.o.v. de standaard switch.
Na het lezen van dit artikel nu de vraag: biedt de Dela S5 nog meer dan mijn huidige combi en is dat het spaargeld waard.
Maar hartelijk dank voor de review.
Hermann Jaeger

Gordon
5 months ago

Back in the dark ages I designed T1/T3 and remote bridges for a very large company. I was in the mix with 100M design and got asked in the 1M design which I opted out. Nibble (4 bit) half duplex seemed pretty stupid (1M Ethernet) to me coming from full Duplex 100M. Not surprised your hearing better results with 100M over 1M. But then again it also depends on files, location yada yada. As with anything audio, everything makes a difference. Sometimes good sometimes bad. Isolation though is a big deal for almost anything if done correctly.

Larry
5 months ago

This seems like an incredible amount of money to spend for a switch. Is there a less expensive product (products) that can produce similar improvements in sound?

Martijn (redacteur)
Reply to  Larry
5 months ago

From the first page:

That a network has an audible impact does not immediately mean that you should spend 9000 Euros for a decent solution, but it does mean that it deserves attention.”

and: https://www.alpha-audio.net/review/a-very-deep-dive-into-network-switches-listening-and-measuring/

Eric Rhodes
5 months ago

Very nice review. Thank you. I hope you all get to keep the switch.

Tobias
5 months ago

Thank you for reviewing this sort of more expensive ethernet gear also!

Did you use the Jcat ethernet cable also the switch output side?
I ask since I have noticed that we can´t really hear the full effect when using really great switches/LAN isolators unit we use ethernet cables that is able to protect the low noise signal that they manage to output.
The lower the noise output we achieve, the better ethernet cables seems to be needed, to protect the even lower noise levels.

Is this something you agree on?

Alpha-Audio Approved
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