Audiophile Digital Optical Technology (ADOT) MC01 Review
My music system has been totally transformed by the incredible sounding Melco Audio N100 and S100 which have been in constant use over the period of time that I have had them in my possession, and to be honest I will be so sad when they have to be returned as I have loved the sound from this combination, when I was asked if I wanted to review the ADOT kit with the Melco Audio electronics it was a NO brainer. Of course I wanted to as it means more time with them and it also gives me a chance to see what differences can be had by adding the fibre kit to the Melco Audio affair.
Dealing with fibre optic installations on a daily basis I know how well data can be streamed and effectively via these tiny cables and unlike copper and other metal conductor wires they don’t suffer from the usual type of interference that can plague these type of cables, so installing next to mains and other electrical cables means you do not get any noise or ‘EMI’ leaking into the signal chain. This type of isolation makes them a perfect choice then to stream your audio signal which can then pass it through to your delicate HiFi intact. Melco Audio knew this and that is why the S100 comes with the optical SFP connections built in.
So the guys at ADOT and ADMM the distributor have 3 versions of this brilliant media converter to choose from MC01, MC02 and MC03 respectively and with a number of cable lengths that can also be ordered when purchasing, with custom orders of up to 200M so customers and installers can make good use of this type of flexibility. The options include a linear PSU upgrade and then to the Plexir PSU mains power units and filters so as to isolate any and all noise from your supply.
Using full Duplex fibres with transmission of the signal following TX and RX the SFP connections are easy to install and connect to the S100, then using a high quality Ethernet cable connected to your router it isolates your digital audio stream and converts back to electrical with your audio signal free of noise in the S100, until you try and hear the difference that can be made to your listening sessions. I suspect a lot of people are very sceptical as to how these type of installations can improve sound, well they do and until I installed the Melco Audio S100 I thought that my system sounded good but instead it elevated it to another level which I am totally smitten. Removing the noise music has better clarity and detail with a fuller and more dynamic sound. So what can this MC01 kit do for my system?
For listening purposes I am using 2 streaming options with the Melco Audio N100 + S100 plus a subscription to the Quobuz High Resolution audio service, also music stored on my NAS drives. I am also using the BlueSound Node 2i streaming box which is my own and a great bit of kit in its own right. Both offer great flexibility and are connected to my LAN via the S100 and ADOT MC01 media kit.
Starting off with a favourite album of mine streamed and owned on various devices, Late Night Tales - Jordan Rakei which is a beautifully arranged album with some great songs featuring various other artists. Streaming from Quobuz the song He Came from the Sun is a haunting yet beautiful sounding track and the bass has a cleaner more defined sound, listening to the same track stored on my NAS drive it sounds cleaner but with greater impact in the bass department.
More from Quobuz and Imelda May’s album 11 Past the Hour and the track Breathe sounds incredible through my system with such clarity and again the bass sounds cleaner with a more natural response, listening to it from the NAS drive and the same but with more attack and weight added it is harder hitting, when I switch back to just an Ethernet connection it sounds like it has lost some of the dynamics in the bass with a slightly softer less enjoyable sound, it is not a massive difference in sound quality but more subtle and the same for Jordan Rakei’s album, more noticeable at louder volumes.
Moving on to a album from another new find on Quobuz and the group Soda Blonde’s Small Talk album which has a wonderful sound with great music. When I find these new artists I have to purchase the music and subsequently download from Bandcamp so that I have a stored version. Streaming from Quobuz Terrible Hands track sounds so good, it is most certainly a cleaner presentation with the ADOT sitting in between the router and S100 and on both streaming devices my BlueSound Node and the Melco Audio N100.
The track “I still have feelings for you” needs to be heard on a good system as the lead singers vocals sound incredible, when HiFi sounds this good it becomes so addictive as you love to find new music to listen to and this album has certainly proved that point. The combination and added improvements that each addition to the Melco Audio N100 + S100 and now the ADOT MC01 has refined the sound into something quite special.
Conclusions and final thoughts
Having started off with a standard Melco Audio N100 digital library and then adding an S100 switch and finally the ADOT MC01, with each link in this chain it has refined and bettered the sound with each upgrade and if you own the Melco combination then it really is a no brainer to add the ADOT kit as it just adds the finishing touches to a stunning high end digital music library and streaming solution.
Price at time of review MC01 £349, MC02 £399, MC03 £750.
http://www.admm.uk.com/where-to-buy.html
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