Melco announced on the 13th of a May a new firmware release (3.92) for anyone with a mk1 or mk2 machine.
This update is potentially the final software update for these machines in terms of functionality as the Melco platform moves forward with EX.
This update has added simplified versions of Minimserver 2 and SongKong. They have been added as separate menu items within Settings>Music Database. They both can be updated independently of the Melco software itself as they get updated with new versions reasonably frequently.
Minimserver 2 is the basic starter edition and SongKong is the Lite version. Both are limited in terms of functionality as they stand, but you have the option to purchase a full licence for either program to unlock the full package of features.
With Minimserver these additional feature include user profiles (there are 4 available as standard which are classical, rock, jazz and default) which change the search parameters as you browse your library. You also have the ability to create your own profile and custom tags, so if you really want to fine tune your library you can. The full version also allows the use of Minimstreamer as well which allows you to transcode formats on the fly if needed.
SongKong is much the same, the Lite version allows you to manually edit metadata, but with the full licence you unlock the ‘fix songs’ function where you can simply set the program off and it will fill in the blanks all by itself, useful in a large library and certainly not as time consuming as manually editing everything! There are several other really useful functions unlocked by the full version as well, like the ability to automatically rename filenames to match metadata and if coming from the Naim ecosystem (Unitiserve, Core or HDX) the ability to rewrite the metadata so it can be displayed.
Minimserver 2 with the use of profiles and custom tagging is a great addition and really puts you in control of finding your music and using it with SongKong to get your library just how you want is great.
One point to stress is by updating to 3.92 and purchasing licences for both Minimserver 2 and SongKong doesn’t automatically turn your machine into a fully fledged EX series model. You don’t get Internet Radio and the full EX update will be required to unlock Roon when that update goes live, plus moving forward the EX platform will be adding new functions and features over time as well, as mentioned above 3.92 will be the final update in terms of functionality for mk1 and mk2 models.
If you update to 3.92 and purchase licence keys for Minimserver 2 and SongKong they can always be moved over to the EX version should you upgrade in the future.
Anyone with a mk1 Melco can update to EX for £500, for mk2 owners this is £250.
Any questions on this new update or the EX upgrade please don’t hesitate to get in touch
Further Reading
