Thanks Shyam. I was not aware SSDs on USB introduced more noise into the signal path.
Seeking advice in selecting Solid state drives to store music (external drives)
- Thread starter Analogous
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D
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I’ve never tried a SSD. But whenever I compared sound quality via USB sticks and externally powered HDD (both as plugged into the CXN streamer), the latter was clearly superior. I don’t know if externally powered SSDs are available. If not, externally powered HDDs suit music application very well. I use Seagate HDDs (Backup Plus Hubs). Yes, they are huge, but not visible when I place them in the cabinet. They consume more power than SSD, but that difference is negligible in comparison to the power the amplifier uses when I am playing music. And whatever sound they make is not audible at all to me from the distance (8 ft) I listen to my system from. Also, the response lag while navigating the directories is nowhere near a deal-breaker, I am hardly conscious of it.
I wonder what real additional value does a SSD that costs multiple times of an externally powered HDD bring to music listening? Write speeds? Probably. But it’s not as if one copies music onto the disk everyday. The quietness might make a difference in desktop music systems and near-field listening. Size might rarely come into the picture when one doesn’t have the possibility to hide the disk. But in most use cases externally powered HDD would be a better option especially given the economics.
I wonder what real additional value does a SSD that costs multiple times of an externally powered HDD bring to music listening? Write speeds? Probably. But it’s not as if one copies music onto the disk everyday. The quietness might make a difference in desktop music systems and near-field listening. Size might rarely come into the picture when one doesn’t have the possibility to hide the disk. But in most use cases externally powered HDD would be a better option especially given the economics.
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Useful insights, these. Thanks to @SachinChavan, @shyamv and @dub123
I compiled a list for each:
HDD:
Larger in size
Needs power (higher capacity ones)
Has moving parts; wear and tear is inevitable.
Makes some noise while internal motor and disk are spinning
Cheaper (per GB/TB) as compared to SSD
Introduces less electrical noise into signal path as compared to SSD.
SSD:
Smaller in size
Feeds power off player or streamer
Introduces more electrical noise into audio signal path
Faster read/write speeds
No mechanical noise or wear and tear, but electrical failure still possible?
More expensive compared to HDDs with same capacity.
Did I miss anything important?
Reviewing the list and considering which matter most to me, I feel longevity/reliability, lesser noise (mech and elect) and cost would be main decision making factors...
it also occurred to me just now that I have read about high capacity SD cards.
Any thoughts on the use of these for music storage and playback (with a card reader)?
D
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Mech noise can be damped/isolated. Electrical noise gets inside the signal.
But both are unwelcome?
What are good ways to dampen/isolate to reduce mechanical noise?
Would long usb cables work?
But then I hardly am aware of the mechanical sound of my HDD except when I go close.
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IndianEars
Well-Known Member
Did I miss anything important?
Sound Quality ?
it also occurred to me just now that I have read about high capacity SD cards.
Any thoughts on the use of these for music storage and playback (with a card reader)?
SD Cards are often stated to offer the BEST Quality music playback.
Dont miss the Laminar Streamer SD Card Player by Lossless. US $ 91,000.
Also some purple prose on Mono & Stereo
A word of Caution when writing to large capacity SD Cards .... All SD Cards heat up when data is written onto them. Writing a 1 GB (expensive) SD Card should Not be done in a since session, the Heat will blow the SD Card!
Hi @IndianEars, just noticed 
Mine are golden (an FM remarked given my hearing loss with age, I should drop the “G”); but yours are desi. They Trump it all!!! Yes Sound quality should definitely be on the list. Are there notable differences between the three?
The Laminar is outrageously priced, ... must be targeted at audiophiles.
Mine are golden (an FM remarked given my hearing loss with age, I should drop the “G”); but yours are desi. They Trump it all!!! Yes Sound quality should definitely be on the list. Are there notable differences between the three?The Laminar is outrageously priced, ... must be targeted at audiophiles.
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arunkvivek
Well-Known Member
Hilarious word play!! Audiophile reference was the killer punch!Hi @IndianEars, just noticed
The Laminar is outrageously priced, ... must be targeted at audiophiles.
Just My 2 cents, external hard drive work just like internal ones so there won’t be any impacts due to mechanical noises. On the electrical noises sides can be solved through pi based players. But these players needed to be set up to accept external HDD.
A thought that had been floating just below my consciousness burst forth as I woke up this morning: “WHAT ABOUT MICRO SD CARDS!!??”
I understand they are now available with 1Tb capacity.
Smaller, faster....better for this purpose?
I understand they are now available with 1Tb capacity.
Smaller, faster....better for this purpose?
I'm not sure whether read write speed of those 1TB memory card matches with that of harddisk. HDDs generally have better speed than the memory cards. For playing MP3 not much speed is required but if the size of the music file big then it would demand good read write speed from your hardware. The newer version of HDDs have very good transfer rate i.e. speed.
Appreciate the input. Any thoughts about reliability of HDDs over time.
I started this thread in response to a slowly growing sense of dread that after 4-5 years my HDD with my music would stop working and I would be left in a post apocalyptic, dystopian situation with no music.... I think it all started a few months ago when I read some random article referring to HDD failure. Like an itch that won’t go away, this thought persisted and even grew culminating in several of us getting involved in this thread.
My close friends who I turn to for reassurance shrug and say “it happens.... it can happen....everything is impermanent ..be positive ...etc”
so...back on thread: any thoughts on reliability and longevity of HDDs, SSDs, SD cards ?
in this large and varied forum, there must be a few who share my anxiety, surely?
I bought my external hdd in 2011 and it hasn’t given me any issues. same goes for my laptop’s internal hdd as I’m using it as my external hdd. And I bought my laptop in 2010. Both these got filled up so I bought a new one about 3-4 years back. All this three are working just fine.
The major difference between the old and new, other than the transfer rate, is that the latter is far more quiet and sturdy.
Are they your meditation buddies?? looks like a quote from Bhagavad Gita!!
The major difference between the old and new, other than the transfer rate, is that the latter is far more quiet and sturdy.
Are they your meditation buddies?? looks like a quote from Bhagavad Gita!!
Majority of us have this anxiety and then the dread when it actually happens with a hdd crash , only way to eliminate this anxiety is via redundant storage. I intend to do this mainly with
i) All my digital photo backups
ii) My favorite music Playlist
iii) HD/4k content of movies i like ( please don't ask how do I source it and if it's legal
)I have once lost all my picture collections 2006-2009, don't want it to happen again as it's a bigger collection now
Sometimes I think of buying a dCS network bridge to use it as a server/streamer/player. If I do go ahead then I would buy a 4TB portable external HDD, attach it with USB of dCS, power the HDD from the power bank with a Y USB cable, and always keep a back up of my music files with one more probably even bigger HDD.
If the music library is under 1TB then buying a SSD is not a bad thing though IMHO this will be overkill. However I would use that money to buy two HDD, one each for data and backup.
If the music library is under 1TB then buying a SSD is not a bad thing though IMHO this will be overkill. However I would use that money to buy two HDD, one each for data and backup.
You can opt for a two-stage strategy, put a local copy on an HDD/SSD for local consumption and a backup copy on some cloud storage (Backblaze, super cheap). This way you don't have to lose your sleep over losing the data, your data will be 100% protected, all the time.
jigarpatel
Active Member
NAS + Backup = peace of mind.
Remember NAS is not backup, In case by mistake you delete file.
So a good backup strategy is always required.
Remember NAS is not backup, In case by mistake you delete file.
So a good backup strategy is always required.
I had not though of this. Thank you. That’s definitely another option to consider.
Do you know If play back of the files stored in the remote cloud storage would be possible?
This lets me keep my existing HDD as a back up.
in other words the cloud storage becomes a NAS.
..... far fetched? (It’s from the cloud!)
instead of buying 2.5" ssd, get yourself a 2tb samsung oem drive and a usb enclosure, which would cost you steep 14k, but it will provide read and write than 2.5" ssd and size like a pendrive. Samsung nvme have better reliability and failure rate than other brand, and enough lifespan that you can pass it on as heritage to your children.
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