I have now set up my Mac mini as a headless Roon core machine. I have 4TB of stored music on an external HDD connected to the Mini that I now want to store on an SSD for reliability. I have pretty much decided on a San Disk drive. They seem like a good value. There a 2 available. The basic one read/writes at about 1000 MB/s the PRO version writes/reads at twice that. Is the speed important for this application. The basic is $140 less. Or do you have other suggestions? I like the Samsung T5/7 drives but they only come in 2TB maximum.
No, speed is not important for the music storage drive.
2 Likes
I use T7 SSDs, and have multiple backups on HDD. I didn’t notice any difference switching from HDD to SSD. Speed is not a factor.
2 Likes
Yes I was happy with the speed of my WD HDD portable drives but I have lost 2 of them in the last year so need something way more reliable. Will keep back ups on HDD but they are not built for continuous use in my experience.
No.
If cost is not a concern, I’d look for MLC storage SSD. TLC is the norm nowadays. Others like cheap QLC but I don’t.
Unfortunately that is always going to happen, regardless of brand.
Thanks Peter.
Yes I realize that the brand has little to do with HDD life span in these instances.
I believe the Samsung T7 uses MLC NAND, but not sure about the San Disk Extreme. I guess there are not many MLC types around nowadays. Will call WD tomorrow for NAND info on the Extreme. If its MLC I think I will go for that one. Don’t need the Pro version as it not only increases speed but also price!
If you use the USB connection, then the speed of the HDD/SSD has no relevance: it will be limited by the maximum speed of the USB (which is much lower than that of the HDD/SSD).
In addition, the storage speed doesn’t really affect the operation of Roon, with the exception of the Roon Core start-up time and the library analysis time (I think), which happens occasionally.
For a better life span, I think that enterprise products are safer, but they are much more expensive (as far as I know - I have not used and do not know this area).
OK so now I’m really going to stir things up!!!
Has anyone got any (nice) thoughts on SQ differences between SSD’s?
Been reading on several forums about the better sound from SLC drives than others. I have been trying to find some SLC based drives but it looks like almost everyone is now using TLC or QLC with 3D variations.
Let the flaming begin 
Let’s not be ridiculous.
1 Like
OK…lets not!
Have you ever compared drives for SQ?
I’ve been using a T5 for a couple of years for main library (36K tracks) with absolutely no problems.
I’ll leave the drive SQ matter to others, life’s too short…
3 Likes
I agree time is valuable but as I am buying a new SSD system why not ask for other experiences before plonking down some serious cash. I have spent lots of time and huge amounts of money to build a great sounding rig. So why not at least ask? I have a coupe of T5’s that I use for my DJ rig and they have worked well.
1 Like
Mahalo Torben 
As a general rule in the Hi-Fi world, the more expensive something is, the blacker the blacks and wider the soundstage. 
Thanks for the valuable input.
The problem is what to believe and what not to believe - what is real and what is blablabla …
Hier is a statement from an support- and sales manager from an expensive audio server producer:
“The PM893 has been tested at our facility at proven to be both very reliable and the best sounding we have used to date.”
Almost 400€ for 2TB SSD.
As a general rule people who don’t know stuff always put down those that are at least trying to know stuff. Thanks again for the input.
Always good to hear other opinions and experiences. And then let one’s ears do their thing. Just shooting down opinions or experiences and then belittling the messenger is rather sad and a symptom of our age and hobby.
Aloha.