+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 35

Thread: SSD vs. HDD for Music Storage ?

  1. #1
    Join Date: Feb 2017

    Location: Hong Kong

    Posts: 21
    I'm Adrian.

    Default SSD vs. HDD for Music Storage ?

    This may have already been addressed somewhere in Digital Expressions, and if it has, apologies ...

    As a newbie to TAoS, and having read Welder's Ripping Guide with enthusiasm, and then Marco's Analog Dinosaur's write-up on using a Raspberry Pi 2 and a IQ-Audio DAC, I began thinking about whether I might go down the same digital path.

    SO QUESTION #1: What about storage for all the FLAC files I have? I know SSD costs more than traditional HDD, but other than that, are there any specific benefits that one medium has over the other? (At present I have them all stored on a networked Western Digital drive - and I've seen Rothchild's BEWARE notice regarding Seagate's NAS, meaning WD must do the same DNS request thing.)

    AND QUESTION #2 (somewhat related): Is there a downside (besides relatively limited storage capacity) to simply using an android tablet (like my Samsung Galaxy Tab S2) to store and play music out of the 3.5mm headphone jack into the RCA audio inputs on my pre-amp? (I believe the Tab S2 comes with a built-in DAC.)

    Hope #2 doesn't horrify any readers! Ha, ha.

  2. #2
    Join Date: Feb 2017

    Location: U.K.

    Posts: 43
    I'm Terry.

    Default

    Go with hdd .
    Ssd costs loads more,

    I use wd enterprise drives for storage, these are heavy duty, for servers ect, fail rates are very low. Last for yrs. I think they claim so many million hrs ect.
    Ssd are more expensive, fast , but only have so many write read cycles before cells start to show errors.

    Go with hhd.

    I have 2 ssd drives that are 3 yrs old and have errors appearing.

  3. #3
    Join Date: Jan 2013

    Location: Carlisle - UK

    Posts: 1,956
    I'm Ken.

    Default

    SSD are faster, you will get quicker boot up times for instance.

    SSD are completely silent as they have no moving parts.
    HDD have a spinning disc and vary from almost silent to quite noisy depending on make/model.
    So it largely depends on your kits location/listening position and the trade off with SSD having a higher price. 500Gb or below and the SSD are reasonable, they get expensive above this. (Roughly £120 per Tb).
    Watch out for drives claiming SSD when they are a hybrid of both, the spin speed gives this away in the spec.

  4. #4
    Join Date: Nov 2011

    Location: fuck off

    Posts: 2,033
    I'm fuckoff.

    Default

    Ssds have come a long way; really, don't worry about how many write cycles they have... new ones have been stress tested and will last FAR longer than a music storage solution (or pretty much any other domestic use will place on them) will ever need.

    Ps. Ssds not having moving parts will definitely reduce 'noise'. I used an external hdd to back up music once. It was next to a speaker cable, every time it span (aka was used) my right speaker picked this noise up and crackled so alarmingly that i turned the amp off for the duration of the task.

    So what? Well, i can't comment on the impact to sq, especially on a networked solution, but it can't help. Did the same with an ssd (yes same cables etc) and no noise.

    Don't let reliability or noise sway your decisions, as they're either the same or better. Plus no moving parts, reduced vulnerability to shock impact, lower power needs, FAR superior speed are plusses. Jus' saying.

  5. #5
    Join Date: Apr 2008

    Location: Cheshire, UK

    Posts: 2,829
    I'm Clive.

    Default

    My new music player has a 1TB SSD. SSD makes sense for any system drive and given that it cost me just £150 extra to go from a small SSD system drive to a 1TB SSD which easily now contains the system and all my digital music - it was a no brainer. I've had enough HDDs fail on me to believe that reliability of the latest SSDs won't any worse and could be better. If I search for a track, the result is instant. My PC is fanless too so a spinning disk would be an anachronism.

    However, you won't go far wrong with either option (HDD or SSD).
    TT 1 Trans-Fi Salvation with magnetic bearing + Trans-Fi Terminator T3Pro + London Reference
    TT 2 Garrard 301 with NWA main bearing + Audiomods Series Six 10.5" + Ortofon 2M Mono SE
    Digital Lindemann Bridge + Gustard R26 with LB external clock
    Pre and Power Amp EWA M40P + M40A
    Bass Amp & DSP Behringer iNuke NU3000DSP x 2
    Speakers 1 Bastanis Sagarmatha Duo with twin baffleless 15" bass drivers per side
    Speakers 2 MarkaudioSota Viotti Tower

  6. #6
    Join Date: Feb 2017

    Location: Hong Kong

    Posts: 21
    I'm Adrian.

    Default

    Thank you all for your input. Good to see contrasting views. Storage here in HK is fairly cheap so I will go explore options at lunch today.

    Surprisingly, no one has yet responded to my Question #2. I suppose what I suggested might be too shocking to consider!
    Amplifier: Now: NAD C 315BEE; Previously: Magnum Audio A.100 Mono-block Amplifiers (2 @ 400W/8R); P.100 Pre-Amplifier; PS.100 Power Supply
    Speakers: Now: Epos Elan 15s; Previously: Celestion SL700s

    CD: Linn Mimik
    DAC Streamer: Cambridge Audio CXN

  7. #7
    Join Date: May 2010

    Location: Worcestershire, UK

    Posts: 1,101
    I'm Rob.

    Default

    Q2: The quality of the DAC and audio output stages in tablets isn't very good. 3.5mm out to pre-amp will work, but you'll hear a definite improvement by putting a decent DAC between the two. The issue then becomes what outputs the tablet provides? USB, optical, bluetooth, AirPlay?
    Rob.
    Powered by crossed fingers and clenched buttocks

  8. #8
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    the dac will make a big difference. taking it off a hard drive to a dac is best option. there are plenty smaller ones if you dont want a full form one. The m6 from smsl is very good and quite small..you could have the stuff stored on a tablet and take it off wirelessly via a chromecast. it has a dac in it and has an optical out too. Great solution but will need a player on tablet that casts
    Last edited by struth; 02-03-2017 at 10:56.
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  9. #9
    Join Date: Feb 2017

    Location: Hong Kong

    Posts: 21
    I'm Adrian.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ReggieB View Post
    Q2: The quality of the DAC and audio output stages in tablets isn't very good. 3.5mm out to pre-amp will work, but you'll hear a definite improvement by putting a decent DAC between the two. The issue then becomes what outputs the tablet provides? USB, optical, bluetooth, AirPlay?
    Output besides 3.5mm? Only Micro USB 2.0, but it seems I can get a third party LAN adapter. And it has Bluetooth, but that would mean loss in hi-fi quality, no?
    Amplifier: Now: NAD C 315BEE; Previously: Magnum Audio A.100 Mono-block Amplifiers (2 @ 400W/8R); P.100 Pre-Amplifier; PS.100 Power Supply
    Speakers: Now: Epos Elan 15s; Previously: Celestion SL700s

    CD: Linn Mimik
    DAC Streamer: Cambridge Audio CXN

  10. #10
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Adrian Ho View Post
    Output besides 3.5mm? Only Micro USB 2.0, but it seems I can get a third party LAN adapter. And it has Bluetooth, but that would mean loss in hi-fi quality, no?
    Bluetooth is mp3. Afaik. Wifi is ok tho.

    Some info on using chromecast here which is 44/16 streamer wireless

    http://www.guidingtech.com/37079/str...ic-chromecast/
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 4 123 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •