Melco S10 Audiophile Network Data Switch

Melco S10 is an audiophile network data switch in a two-box solution that includes a separate power supply, a higher model than the S100 Mk2. It's designed to provide a cleaner networking environment than lesser switches when using your network for audio files.

The S10 features two sets of RJ45 ports for connection to two network speeds, 100Mb and 1Gb. The 1Gb ports are ideal for connecting to the Roon core which has a high traffic flow. The dedicated power supply has an oversized toroidal transformer and gives even higher performance than the S100 Mk2. S10 also features dedicated SFP Fibre Optic Ethernet connectors for connecting to Melco’s higher end music libraries and/or other suitable devices.

What is a network data switch?

Your home network is probably based on Ethernet. In fact your Wi-Fi router will have at least four Ethernet ports to hardwire devices such as PCs or Smart TVs. However, larger networks will need more RJ45 Ethernet ports. That is where network switches come in. This is complicated by the fact that there are two speeds in use, 100Mb/s and 1Gb/s. However, standard Ethernet switches are not optimised for audio.

Audio over a network

The Ethernet network carries the audio signal to every network player, streamer or NAS. It is also used by streaming services such as Tidal or Qobuz. These services originate from a remote server. All this data will pass through the network switch.

Ethernet networks were not really designed for audio signals. Digital audio ideally needs perfectly timed data in a low-noise environment to avoid packet loss and jitter. Most home networks have several noisy devices connected to them. Hence Melco have designed this dedicated managed switch for audio.

Another feature of the S10 is the size of the packet buffer, this is 1.5MB and helps to deal with erratic external connectivity.

Fibre-optic networks

High performance network players, such as Lumin and the higher end Melco music libraries, can connect to a Fibre Optic network connection. This should provide the cleanest possible audio signal. The S10 is equipped with Fibre Optic SFP connectors, for connecting to these devices.

Separate power supply

The S10 network switch now has a separate power supply that isolates any interference, for the best possible performance from the main head unit which shields the sensitive data carrying electronics. The power supply features an oversized toroidal transformer mounted on a solid steel base with specialist insulators from Japan’s TAOC. Moreover, their is a ‘102 SSC’ conductor from Tokyo’s Oyaide for the connecting DC cable.

The casework has also been upgraded, with thicker aluminium, as well as a rigid steel screened chassis. Additionally, the S10 uses a bank of audio-grade capacitors to ensure the lowest noise environment.

Good connectivity

The rear panel features two sets of RJ45 ports for different speeds. The 1Gb ports are great for the Roon core that has high throughput for Hi-res audio files. There are also two Fibre Optic network capable SFP ports.

Who is Melco?

Melco was founded in 1975 and began life as an audio company. They made some of the finest audio components of the time, and produced a well received turntable in 1980. This set new standards and established the company. Later they moved into manufacturing computer peripherals, which were advanced products based on many years of research and development.

Melco was the largest peripherals manufacturer in Japan at one point, and are ideally placed to take this experience in electronics and focus it on making high-end products for digital music storage and transfer.