Melco
CD Players
Digital Sources
Best Known For
Digital Sources
/
Used Products
21
 Available
Average Price
$5,001-$10,000
Brand Popularity
250
 of 900+
Products Listed
5
Review Count
9
Founding Year
1975
Headquarters
Japan
Melco
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What's unique about the brand

Melco Audio specializes in digital music servers and network switches designed specifically for audiophile applications, featuring unique elements like a 1.5MB buffer for stable data transmission and industrial-grade USB ports. Their products are designed to be user-friendly for audiophiles without computer expertise, while offering technical advantages like optimized Ethernet output and exceptionally quiet operation for enhanced music clarity.

What reviewers are saying

We read all the reviews. Here's what reviewers feel most strongly about:

Our favorite reviewer quotes:

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Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

From Julian's interview with
.

Lineup comparison

We think it's helpful to understand how their products compare. To learn more about each, scroll to the section above to click through to individual product pages.

N100  

  • Positioning: An entry-level digital music library designed for simple home setups.  
  • Description: Offers a clear OLED display, a compact half-width design, and basic steel chassis isolation providing reliable performance for small rooms with straightforward control using physical buttons or a free app. Compared to the N50, N10, N5, and N1 models, it has simpler connectivity and fewer advanced noise-reduction features, making it best for users with modest budgets and basic functionality needs.

N50  

  • Positioning: A mid-range digital music library that builds on the entry-level design with added storage and improved components.  
  • Description: Uses enhanced drive isolation and larger storage options while retaining a compact design and user-friendly front panel, making it a step up from the N100. Compared to the more advanced N10, N5, and N1 models, it offers additional capacity and improved performance.

N10  

  • Positioning: An upper mid-tier digital music library featuring a distinctive two-box construction for improved performance.  
  • Description: Features a separated drive and processing unit design that minimizes interference and better manages vibrations, delivering a cleaner sound. When compared with the N50 and N100, its refined isolation and extended connectivity set it apart, while still being more affordable than the top-tier N5 and N1.

N5  

  • Positioning: A higher-end digital music library aimed at users who want advanced functionality without reaching flagship price levels.  
  • Description: Combines modern design elements with effective chassis isolation and an upgraded control interface that improves user interaction and operational precision. Unlike the N10 and N1, which stress ultimate performance with more complex architectures, the N5 offers a balanced mix of superior build quality and connectivity improvements over the N50 and N100.

N1  

  • Positioning: A flagship digital music server crafted for comprehensive high-end audio performance.  
  • Description: Features advanced engineering such as an isolated steel chassis and extensive connectivity options that ensure minimal vibration and optimal sound delivery, including 8K HDMI support. Compared to the N5, N10, N50, and N100, its high-grade components and premium design are intended for users with the highest sonic ambitions and functional demands.
Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer

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Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

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What other products pair best with yours?

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Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
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ExtremeHiFi
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Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
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About the brand

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Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
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Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

Industry leading intuitive touch panel interface and 4K video support, which allows you consume content in a new and immersive way without sacrificing audio quality.

What's your approach to customer support?

We have a dedicated service and tech support team. Our sales reps are also trained on supporting the line.

We always encourage the dealer to be involved in the support process since many of the issues can be resolved at the dealer level. Having the dealer involved also provides an opportunity for them to learn how to resolve more common issues. We are also happy and available to assist end users who reach out to us directly.

The best course of action is to reach out to your dealer and alert them of an issue. If your dealer is unable to resolve the issue, they can reach out to their rep or our support team for assistance. If they do not have a dealer, our support team is available via email at [email protected]

Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm CST.

Our goal is to respond to support issues within 1 business day. If a product is deemed to be defective within the first 30 days of receiving the unit, we will usually offer to replace it.

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

  • Led Zeppelin-Black Dog Live - New York 1973 -4K (Youtube)
  • (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay feat. Jack Johnson | Otis Redding 50th Anniversary (Youtube)
  • Forever - Mildlife

What other products pair best with yours?

McIntosh, Luxman, Pass Labs 

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Digital Sources
/
Average Price
$10,001-$20,000
Used Products
75
 Available
Brand Popularity
79
 of 900+
Headquarters
South Korea

About the brand

Aurender is a hifi brand focused on digital music servers that offers unique storage configurations with user-installable drives up to 16TB, particularly beneficial for audiophiles who prefer streaming services. Their servers feature specialized components like Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillators for AES/EBU output and dual-mono DACs with analog R2R stepped-attenuator volume controls, which minimize noise and jitter for superior sound quality.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

All Aurender models, even dating back to our very first "S10", cache songs to a built in NVMe/SSD prior to playback, for improve stability and to reduce noise from the HDD, even when local storage is installed.

All Aurender models come with either built in storage or empty trays for users to populate their own 2.5" SATA drives in capacities that suite their collection. You only have 200 CD's that are ripped? Purchase a 1TB drive. Have 20,000 album collection, you can install up to an 8TB drive in each available slot!

What's your approach to customer support?

Our support is one of the driving factors for our brand. One of the keystones of this is our remote support capabilities. By sending us an email using our Conductor V4 software (for Android and Apple phones and tablets), we can remotely access the unit and troubleshoot, reconfigure or fix errors that are giving you trouble...without even taking the unit out of your rack! This level of support comes from our hardware and software engineers based in South Korea. This is available for every Aurender customer, whether you just purchased our flagship streamer or you purchased an 8 year old Aurender N100 on the second-hand market. We give this level of service to everyone. I personally offer advice, consultations and troubleshooting assistance for North America, so you can get hands on assistance when Korea is unavailable due to the time difference.

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

I have a hard time offering test tracks because everyone's music tastes vary so much. My personal tastes are not considered "audiophile" music and often poorly recorded, such as Punk, Hardcore, Emo and Alternative Music. Now with that said, I thoroughly enjoy listening to all this music through my Aurender! Speakers also play a huge role in how palatable that style of music is presented. If you twisted my arm to pick a test track that resonates with a lot of people, I'd say: Sara Bareilles-"Once Upon Another Time". It's a very intimate recording with a candle wick crackling throughout. Subtle noises in the background and then the bass hits and you realize how big the venue actually is. Every time I play that track, people get a bit of the "Wow" factor.

What other products pair best with yours?

Brand pairings are often user preference and one of the best parts of the hobby, in my opinion. I hear that Aurender is often paired with Berkeley Audio Design, MSB, Audio Research, dCS, just to name a few. The best part of an Aurender is it really gets you all the detail out of your DAC, so you can hear what it is truly capable of.

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page

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