There are 2 versions of the Melco N50 available, the S38 and the H60, they both look identical to one another and also identical to the popular but now discontinued N1A, visual appearances aside they are quite different when you dig a little deeper.
The only thing both versions of the N50 share with the older N1A is the casework and connections, everything else is all new, such as a new mainboard, new power supply (which is 25% more efficient) and all new storage options. It is the storage solutions that separate the 2 versions of the N50.
The N50-S38 was the first N50 to launch at the end of 2021, it features a 3.84TB SSD drive, not an off the shelf drive but one commissioned to Melco’s exacting specification. It is a superb model, it sounds great and has been very popular since release, I’d even go as far to say it outperforms the N1ZH which was always a sweet spot in the Melco range, the N50-S38 is priced at £4999.
The other version of the N50 is the H60 which launched in the Summer of 2022 – this version uses a 6TB HDD (as opposed to SSD) so it offers a lot more storage space than the SSD version, it’s a great upgrade over the half width N100 and the older N1A and is priced at £3000 so it bridges the gap perfectly between the model above and below it.
The H60 performs to a very high standard and not everyone is in a position to spend £5000 on the S38 and for those looking for great performance and the flexibility of 6TB of onboard storage it is a brilliant solution.
In terms of connectivity both versions of the N50 are identical and they offer
4 x Rear USB Ports – 1 x USB DAC, 1 x Back Up, 1 x Expansion, 1 x USB 3.0 (for importing music via USB drives or a D100)
1 x Front USB Port – USB 2.0 (used for importing)
1 x LAN Ethernet Port
1 x Player Ethernet Port
As with the other Melco models the N50 can be used in 2 different ways in a system.
The most popular method of connection is to a USB-DAC using the dedicated USB-DAC connection, the other method is to use the Player Port. This comes into play if you have a Network Audio Streamer – such as a Naim or Linn for example. You connect your streamer to the Melco Player Port so it receives its network connection via the Melco as opposed to being connected directly to the network, this helps to improve performance by isolating your existing player from noise on the network.
Melco recently submitted the N50-H60 to Hi-Fi Choice Magazine to be included in a Digital Music Server Group Test and I’m delighted to announce that the Melco was awarded the Group Test Winner Award! A great award and coup for Melco as it was up against some solid competition.
You can read the full review below
If you are thinking of upgrading your system to a Melco N50-H60 (or S38) part exchange is welcome, if you have a Melco N100, N1A or any other product (streamer or otherwise) to trade in or you have any questions please get in touch and I can work out a price to swap.
