The Melco N5-H50 is based on the flagship N1-S38 released by the manufacturer in March this year.
The new Melco N5-H50 is encased in a – as the Germans so nicely put it – “präzisionsgefertigte” two-tone metal housing. The body consists of an extremely stable chassis, into which a base plate of 3 mm thick stainless steel is inserted. This should reduce unwanted vibrations. Difference with the N1-S38 is, that this time no SSD but a traditional hard drive has been used in order to reduce costs somewhat. Otherwise, hardly any concessions have been made. You will find in the interior, for example, a high-quality clock with low jitter from NDK. Or what about the industrial RJ-45 (network) connection? Melco’s own PLAYER connection is provided too. This allows for a noise-isolated optical connection with PLAYER compatibility as well.
USB 2 and 3
The USB connectors on the rear are also of industrial caliber. Here you can choose from USB 2.0 for audiophile DACs and USB 3 for high-speed data transfer. Power is via an IEC socket, EMF-filtered and all. Melco designed a linear PSU for the cleanest possible supply voltage. The Melco N5-H50 will cost you about €9000.
