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Streaming
Store and serve your library from a Japanese-built music server engineered specifically for audiophile network playback.
where to hear it
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about dela (melco)
DELA traces back to Melco, founded in Nagoya, Japan in 1975 by audiophile Makoto Maki — the name Melco an acronym for Maki Engineering Laboratory Company. The brand built its modern reputation on the digital music library: a purpose-built network server-and-storage appliance, engineered for audio rather than repurposed from IT NAS hardware, with isolated networking, careful power handling, and storage tuned for clean playback to a connected DAC or streamer. In 2025, marking its 50th anniversary, the company unified its global branding under DELA, the name it had always used in Japan, with engineering continuity from the Melco era intact. The defining product is the N50 digital music library, sold in configurations such as the SSD-based N50-S38 and HDD-based N50-H60, alongside the newer N5-H50 and the compact S50 entry model. These are not general-purpose computers — they are single-purpose appliances built by Japanese craftsmen for one job: holding a music collection and serving it with minimal electrical noise. In the US, DELA is distributed by The Sound Organisation in Dallas, Texas, with retail through dealers including Underwood HiFi. It is recognized within the streaming-and-server niche — Stereophile reviewed the N50 — but is not a household name outside dedicated network-audio circles. It competes against other audiophile server and streamer brands where buyers prioritize a closed, audio-optimized appliance over a self-built solution. Design and manufacturing remain in Japan.