Question: Better sound from a $40 USB 2.0 HDD external drive OR from a custom-built low noise, low vibration external USB 2.0 HDD device?

Adding to the pool of knowledge is never time wasted. There will always be people who will find this sort of information useful. They don’t always speak up but they are there.

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Do you have a link for that? I’m starting the process of building a new core so I am in the market for this.

Hi Tony, Did not keep the web links … That said, believe I read this for the NAD M52 and Naim HDX.

The question is the roon need for speed and can you hear SSD electrical noise or for that you can hear the improvement of a mechanical HDD?

It’s more capacity. I keep a 2TB physical library on a laptop I use on the road. That’s a Firecuda SSHD. It’s fast, I have never noticed any noise, heat, anything that would even trigger the laptop fan.

My static library is scattered around on an existing (broken) mock, a NAS, some external HDD’s. So I want to rationalise that mess. I also want to be able to comfortably mirror the laptop “portable” library on a NUC I am planing, but with spare capacity for other content. I cannot get a bigger SSHD for the NUC which would be my preference so I am looking at regular 4/5 TB 2.5 inch HDD. Five or six years ago, noisy, hot, HDD’s were an issue. I’m not so sure anymore. If my FireCuda experience is anything to go by, noise and heat from mechanical HDD may well be a non-issue for most these days.

Hi Tony, I somewhat agree. Had a laptop with HDD working fine in the Artic and in the desert. Acoustic noise has improved over recent years so agree there.

Cannot find good data in terms of electrical noise related to HDD and what electrical noise advantage a mechanical drive can provide in audio audible terms ??? Hydride drives again ask another question to SQ?

There may be zero audible difference and is that may be bourn out as to why the roon Nucleus uses SSD and such recommendations for the NUC with SSD etc.

I have priced the parts I have for #2 experiment/build at circa $250, which is a lot for maybe v little benefit, nothing or worse SQ.

Ah, I see where you are coming from now. I don’t know if there are any audible differences from electrical noise from any modern drives these days, regardless HDD/SSD/SSHD. I don’t think I would be able to hear it anyway. But I guess that was the objective of your project to find out.

From normal listening distances I certainly don’t notice any differences in mechanical noise these days from drives. I can hear a fan though but if the worse comes to the worse I can always stick the NUC in a cupboard as others have done.

I’ll keep looking. I would be interested in those links if you stumble across them again.

Is this the worlds most expensive & pointless HDD?

Photo
#1 USB 2.0 HDD $40
#2 USB 2.0 HDD $240 - Home build from spares (except SATA to USB) power filtered all the way (power in to HDD out), anti-vibration, mass heat sink passive cooling.

Covid-19 lockdown means I can not blind test at this time if there is an SQ difference…!

@Henry_McLeod and @Jacques_Distler wait for Lockdown to pass or I just perform a first run = 1st being a straight A/B of 6 tracks (12# total) a. better b. worse c. no differance? 2nd test session as blind Covis-19 Free … laters?

Yes, but I respect the workmanship and creativity.

Indeed. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Slim,
What if the worlds most expensive & pointless (?potentially?) HDD (#2 HDD) when put under my scope measures better than #1 HDD? Should that = better SQ to the Ear as a general rule? i.e. does Ear outdo scope or Scope outdo ear?

(just ramping up the lockdown fun factor …!)

Logically, there is no reason, this side of hell, why a souped-up HDD should effect SQ.

I await the results of your testing. :pensive:

You can improve the pointlessness by adding another 70 USD to your BOM by using one of these:

I built a fanless server years ago with several of these (probably earlier models). Never really heard a difference and took them out as they were awkward in a small case.

Tony, there is a similar device in #2 HDD taken from a once critical server. These devices can extend HDD live span etc, they measure better, yet as for SQ…

The motivation for this thread was 1. Just interest 2. I had most of the parts 3. Bit more time 4. all the mountains of views, opinions, conflicting & heated debates, bits are just bits, measurement of this, do that, streamer make no difference, Ethernet switches, filters this that yes no… Etc etc etc…

Plus not really seen much or expert comments on the HDD/storage mediums re audio SQ.

Yet, in this audio realm I find there are some surprises with an open mind and the test of your ears. Some not so great measured kit can sound great, as some good measured kit can sound just OK…IMO. I give some of my experiences above. I find generally that a clean or cleaner signal into a DAC/streamer makes for better SQ (Ethernet an exception - Ethernet IN to a DAC), yet have tried some USB devices where I heard zero SQ gain at all and felt a fool for biting on the hype.

I do value people’s experiences especially with comparisons.

Heard some very hi-end systems that blow me away and others that just sounded fine and no better.

My main system for me is pretty much end game??? Thus the tinkering.

IMHO. Spend priority is the music then speaker/amp. Digital kit just gets better and cheaper all the time as the convergence of telecoms, compute, electronics and software provides us all with… Better.

It’s off-topic, HDD, I know but still curious what you found during your experiments? In general cleaner signal paths help SQ, except for the case of Ethernet?

While you’re at it, you may want one of these -
https://kitsunehifi.com/product/jcat-sata-cable-v2/

I actually have three of those, one for my OS Drive, one for my Music drive and one for my backup drive Night and day difference, truly unbelievable. It worked best to copy the music to the backup drive first with the cables in place, This way the bits are getting a good cleanup before they are send to the DAC which is very important. I don’t know how they did it but these cables truly add some magic to it, I just couldn’t believe it myself. It transformed my system beyond recognition, it is that good. There are simply no words for it, it’s feels like I can finally listen to music for the first time in my life, a thick curtain removed, soundstaging just spooky real. Diana Krall is drewling on my lap, it is that realistic. My system is now totally unlistenable without them. Best value for money ever spend in my life.

well, offcoarse not, who are you kidding?

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I can think of better ways to spent that kind of money - Music for a start.

If this question is directed at me, I’m kidding all that buy into this stuff. :smirk:

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Update… Covid making blind testing a challenge . That said my wife was happy to listen to 6 tracks x 2 (2 types of drive) she knows well over 2 sessions. I used volumio as this was easier to manage swops of budget USB drive and the over the top? USB clean monster drive. The time between the swops was not as quick as I was hoping for.

Not a proper test and my wife has zero hifi interest yet can jive to any bit of kit.

Session 1= 8 out of 12 correct .66% in favour of the clean monster. Second session the same result.

I have not heard the drives from the sweet spot chair in the room myself as l know which drive was in place (biased). From behind the scene (beside the hifi…behind the speakers) i could not hear any difference in SQ.

Result: Not conclusive … Only 16% better than a flip of a coin from 50/50 guess …16% ?

Once covid is over I hope to have 4 people repeating the same thing.

I still hope no real difference is the end result. That said I do have the USB clean monster now as a back up drive… Nice.

Sorry, but my reply is that you’re are giving your wife some sort of cue.

If you really want to be scientific about it, you have to do double blind trials.

No, cue’s from me. I am biased towards no difference . Considering my bias the % then makes the 16% look light. Plus, did mention this was not a proper test… and this is just a bit of covid lockdown fun, right!