Computer Audio Asylum

• I have.... - SeVeReD 18:59:47 11/02/06 (0)
  In Reply to: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? posted by TN034 on October 31, 2006 at 17:01:11:

  5 320GB acomdata E5 ()7200 HDs linked with firewire to my laptop. I like to think that using firewire reduces the load on my usb out to my Stello 100 usb dac. I think it all works very well. I have had them under a year; I have not compared them with others sonically. They are built very solid; fanless, using enclosure as heatsink...

  I also have 5 320 GB Seagate offline backups
  
  

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• Don't some drives spin down...? - bshapiro 16:37:04 11/01/06 (0)
  In Reply to: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? posted by TN034 on October 31, 2006 at 17:01:11:

  Don't some drives spin down when not in use? I know I have a lacie that does that and I think another too. That seems ideal for leaving on and forgetting for music playback. Does anyone know what drives do this fer sure?
  
  

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• Re: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? - endust4237 03:10:14 11/01/06 (3)
  In Reply to: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? posted by TN034 on October 31, 2006 at 17:01:11:

  Try G-Technology drives. I am using quie a few of them from 250 GB to 500 GB and works very well. You can find individual and RAID protected drives and disk arrays in their product range. Works very well even for professional video editing.

  If you need extremely quiet and affordable 3 or 4.5TB disk arrays for a price of a mid-high-end cd player look for fibrenetix.
  

  • http://www.g-technology.com/   (Open in New Window)

  
  

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  • Re: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? - Tuckers 00:54:12 11/05/06 (0)
    In Reply to: Re: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? posted by endust4237 on November 1, 2006 at 03:10:14:

    That looks like a very good drive, and what I meant when I said 'not consumer'. They look great too! I wonder how quiet they are?
    
    

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  • Re: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? - e_desilva 09:52:39 11/01/06 (1)
    In Reply to: Re: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? posted by endust4237 on November 1, 2006 at 03:10:14:

    I just took a peek at the G-Tech drives. One says its RAID 3, another says its RAID 0, and I didn't see anything obvious about RAID 1, 5, 10, or 0+1 support. Both RAID 0 and 3 imply faster access times, but no redundancy. If you invest the time to rip your CD collection, I'd recommend something with redundancy like RAID 5. I've had a large number of "consumer" external drives go bad on me--I'm now using 1TB buffalo terastations configured in RAID 5 for music/media.
    
    

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    • Re: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? - Triodeuser 19:05:12 11/01/06 (0)
      In Reply to: Re: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? posted by e_desilva on November 1, 2006 at 09:52:39:

      you said "I've had a large number of "consumer" external drives go bad on me"

      I haven't had any external drives - so I haven't had a large number go bad on me.

      However, I've had enough internal drives go bad, that there's no way I would do it without redundant backups.

      
      
      

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• i tried a prestigio externo 200gb/7200rpm drive last night - jeromelang 00:33:28 11/01/06 (1)
  In Reply to: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? posted by TN034 on October 31, 2006 at 17:01:11:

  i ripped the same cd (using itunes, no compression) onto both my vaio hardrive and this external drive. when i compared sound quality, i prefer the sound off the vaio. even through my sony in-ear phones output from the vaio, the difference is audible - sweeter, more dynamic, less veiled, less jittery through the vaio. the external drive is link to vaio using usb cable.

  what other choices are there in external drive that will give me comparable sound quality to my vaio's harddrive?
  
  

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  • Perhaps your rip settings were different? - Crimson 09:53:53 11/01/06 (0)
    In Reply to: i tried a prestigio externo 200gb/7200rpm drive last night posted by jeromelang on November 1, 2006 at 00:33:28:

    I don't see how it can sound different if ripped the same way, whether it's stored on an internal, external, or network drive.
    

    --I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for some new music today.
    
    

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• Alternative...... - doodlebug 21:28:28 10/31/06 (0)
  In Reply to: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? posted by TN034 on October 31, 2006 at 17:01:11:

  I'm using a network-attached drive. iOmega, in my case. I've got it tucked away in the garage and it allows me to have my iTunes on one computer in the house while I have the Squeezebox pull the MP3s from it in another room.

  Its been running 24x7 but the fan does kick in since its in a small enclosure. I'll be mounting it in a media distribution center shortly since I work out of my garage (its really my Romper Room these days) now.

  Cheers,

  David
  
  

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• con: heat - bobp 18:05:35 10/31/06 (5)
  In Reply to: Ideal external hard drive for music storage? posted by TN034 on October 31, 2006 at 17:01:11:

  External drives are not meant to be powered 24/7. They overheat and may fail. if your space permits, the way to go is to use cheap minitower PC in another room filled with several hard drives and powerful fans to provide air circulation.

  The cheapest megabytes per dollar are in 300 gb size. Buy two, when you fill up 80% go buy new ones, what is cheapest at that moment, probably it will be 500gb.

  
  If you have to go with external drive, use only corporate-strength drives (ones with 5 years of warranty).

  
  
  

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  • Re: con: heat - Tuckers 20:30:22 10/31/06 (1)
    In Reply to: con: heat posted by bobp on October 31, 2006 at 18:05:35:

    Many 'consumer' external drives may overheat. Try a LaCie or other drive and you will find it is very well sinked to a metal case.
    
    

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    • I disagree somewhat - hermanesque 11:35:37 11/01/06 (0)
      In Reply to: Re: con: heat posted by Tuckers on October 31, 2006 at 20:30:22:

      It's not the drives, they are the same drives as those mounted internally, it is the cases. Many cases are not ventilated so the drives get hot. In the cases where they are properly ventilated how can that be different than an internal drive?
      
      

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  • Astonishing! - aliendude 19:42:09 10/31/06 (2)
    In Reply to: con: heat posted by bobp on October 31, 2006 at 18:05:35:

    Wow, you mean all of those drives sitting in external enclosures in computer labs and server rooms around the world are not meant to be powered on 24/7? Amazing!
    
    

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    • Re: Astonishing! - xmasparty@mac.com 23:53:08 10/31/06 (1)
      In Reply to: Astonishing! posted by aliendude on October 31, 2006 at 19:42:09:

      Alien - all those drives are the industrial strength drives Bobp referenced. They do not use USB or Firewire. They live in air-conditioned, filtered environments with hefty fans. They see stable voltage regulated power. They are never turned on or off with the network they support. They are designed to be hot-swapped (replaced while the other drives stay on). They are generally run in a RAID scheme that provides data redundancy. They are constantly monitored. And they are religiously backed up, usually to a different physical location.

      Most peoples home systems do not meet these criteria...
      
      

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      • Re: Astonishing! - aliendude 00:11:07 11/01/06 (0)
        In Reply to: Re: Astonishing! posted by xmasparty@mac.com on October 31, 2006 at 23:53:08:

        Thanks for the explanation, though I already knew what you stated. :)
        
        

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