Best SSD for music

[sandyk]

2 hours ago, alfe said:

 

If you want to go for an SSD  choose an SLC .

An HDD can do the job even better.

 

 

An SSD will almost certainly have noise injected into the main PSU with a waveform having shorter rise and fall times than that of the HDD in the attachment, (i.e. noise over a wider bandwidth) but I would expect that powering the SSD via a +5V regulator from the main +12V supply would overcome this problem of noise injection into the supply , as well as reducing any radiated RF/EMI  (?)

[sandyk]

The best SSDs for Audio will be those shielded from the rest of the PC/Server . This may be able to be achieved by mounting them on a metal adaptor and installing them inside a metal drive bay. They should use the shortest possible SATA3 6GB/s cables which have 2 internal screened cables instead of the generic 7 wires side by side. Their power supply cable should also be screened if possible (a DIY solution) and they should be powered from a low noise +5V supply derived from the +12V rail using a separate voltage regulator to reduce interaction with other components via the power supply, as they have a much higher square wave noise level injected back into the PSU than a HDD.  (see also  https://thessdguy.com/solving-ssd-power-spike-issues/#more-1312)

 They can also radiate a lot of RF/EMI which can affect other components including WiFi.

See attached .pdf.

14A2-B4.pdf

[sandyk]

6 minutes ago, sb6 said:

Or even better - power your 2.5" SSD or HDD with a dedicated 5V LPSU separate from the motherboard and any other power rails. 

 

 Not necessarily. It's best to share a COMMON Earth reference point. Doing this may result in a minor earth loop problem.

[sandyk]

1 hour ago, AudioDoctor said:

Do we really think that one SSD will be "better" than any other with regards to sound quality? This has to be the absolute most ridiculous thing I have seen here...

 

 Well, that is not MY experience, with even the actual Power supply for the SSD making a difference. There are many members that use separate Linear PSUs for that reason. In my case I use the existing +12V SMPS regulated down to a very low noise (<4uV) +5V supply .

It's no more ridiculous than the original C.A. Symposium organised by Chris many years ago, where most present preferred the  sound of SSD over HDD when playing the same material.

[sandyk]

28 minutes ago, sb6 said:

IME a dedicated SSD LPSU had sonic improvements over a sharing power / rail LPSU. In fact I'm running 4 separate LPSUs for my music PC with no ground loop issues whatsoever yet each dedicated LPSU yielded better sonics.

 Just because you are unable to hear the usual effects of separate Earth references  (hum) does not mean that they can't cause Audible degradation such as a little low level harshness or a less than " black" silence.

[sandyk]

8 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

I recently updated the SSD on my Mac mini from a 60GB version that was a few years old, to a 250GB version. Both Electra 6G from OWC. I am sure something has changed over the 4 years or so in between the two of them other than price. There was zero change in sound.

 

That is with your ears and your System. It does NOT mean that others are unable to hear these differences.

 Have you even tried using a low noise +5V supply to power them like many other members have ?

 Try making statement like that in Rajiv's massive thread .

[sandyk]

7 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

How are any potential differences going to get past my Optical Rendu?

 Yeah, I know, another person that doesn't believe that the quality of the front end matters just as long as the 1s and 0s spew out in the correct sequence.

 I am wasting my time discussing this further with you, so I won't bother further replying to you.

[sandyk]

6 hours ago, kumakuma said:

 

Yes, that thread is a great resource for finding others who share one's own beliefs and for avoiding the hard work of actually trying to determine for yourself what actually matters and what doesn't.

 

These guys ARE determining for themselves what actually matters and what doesn't ,by trying these things for themselves instead of blindly following the ASR Measurement regime's more often than not, incorrect conclusions based on inadequate measurements, like a flock of sheep.

[sandyk]

15 hours ago, wouterk said:

Glad I went for the external Samsung SSD. 

Stating the obvious here:

quieter than mechanical disk

much faster, so less CPU load

Any sonic difference: up for debate, but I am happy with the performance. 

 To get the best out of an external SSD , ideally you should also power it by an external  good quality low noise power supply.

 The same applies to both external HDDs and CD/DVD/BR writers.

In the case of using an external writer for ripping CDs, some have found that the device runs quieter , with fewer CDs needing re-ripping due to errors.

[sandyk]

3 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

@sandyk I am not now, nor have I ever been a member of ASR. Furthermore, I have never even visited the site. What I do have is a well tuned bullshit detector and a healthy dose of skepticism without facts which you are very short on.

 

 Perhaps your Bullshit detector needs recalibrating ? 😛

 In case you didn't notice, my reply about ASR was not directed at you, it was directed at Tom, who if I said something was Black, would insist that it was White on principle.

[sandyk]

1 hour ago, sb6 said:

SandyK, you must have 2 personalities. A day ago when I said a separate LPSU for an SSD gains sonically you said, "Not necessarily. It's best to share a COMMON Earth reference point. Doing this may result in a minor earth loop problem. Now you are for an external LPSU?

 No. In this case the SSD is EXTERNAL, NOT internal.

It's no different to using an external low noise PSU to power a Regen for example. Even then you may notice a very small degradation due to capacitance to Mains earth in the Linear PSU . Even connecting the screen of an R-Core transformer in the Linear PSU can do this.A Battery derived supply is better in this respect for USB power.

 That's why for lowest noise you should use a transformer with a split bobbin which has less capacitance between Primary and Secondary sides. An R-Core transformer is however better in this respect than a Toroidal transformer

 I have verified this by fitting a toggle switch on the back of a Linear PSU for USB with an R-Core transformer ,that can switch between earthing the screen and not earthing the screen.

 If the devices are internal it's best to use the main 0 volts of the internal PSU for best results , although you may still get good results with careful attention to the external earthing arrangements, such as the PC mains plug and the LPSU mains plug being plugged into the same power point or adjoining sockets in the Power Board.

 In the case of a PC using a 3 pin mains plug you can also get a minor earth loop with many USB devices, (even USB memory) which have 0 volts and the Shield connected internally. The shield of the USB socket in this case is likely to be connected to the metalwork of the PC, and the 0 Volts ("Earth")  of the USB +5V supply is connected via the cabling DIRECTLY to the main 0 volts of the internal SMPS .

[sandyk]

1 hour ago, jabbr said:

IDK I just use my MacBook Pro with an external USB-C CD reader and the rips from XLD are just perfect. I rip direct to NAS. Works just great. 

 

Yeah. Then you need to send them via an expensive (to others) Gigabit speed Optical network to try and get rid of all the RF/EMI  for acceptable Audio quality

[sandyk]

30 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

I am going to get an external linear PSU for my coffee maker...  See how that goes.

 

Why have one box, when you can have 15!!!!

 In my case I don't normally have any external Linear PSUs , other than when I play around with flawed USB Audio that even Jabbr has abandoned for an expensive Optical Network . 

 I leave the multiple Linear PSUs to the guys in Rajiv's massive thread .

I further improve my PC's internal +12V supply for a very low noise regulated +5V (<4uV noise )  supply for my 2 internal SSDs using a small internal additional PCB with 2 separate isolated +5V outputs.

[sandyk]

1 hour ago, jabbr said:

The rules of that thread are explicit in that only post which agree with the current flow are permitted.

 

That isn't quite correct. There are many instances of minor disagreements, and the fact that not all tweaks work universally.

 They just don't want to have others start spouting theory in an to attempt to shut down their line of thought or  investigations, and prefer to find things out for themselves. They try to learn from each other, for the betterment of the whole group. 

[sandyk]

13 hours ago, jabbr said:

I fully understand the difference between science and religion, and understand that religion is quite useful for many people and forms an essential part of their lives.

For many E.E.s ,especially those that migrated to ASR, preaching Religion based on their own understanding of Science appears to be an essential part of their lives

[sandyk]

2 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but this isn't ASR...

 

Here we go again. Back to disruptive thread crapping, just like before several troublemakers left .

 

[sandyk]

#52 

[sandyk]

#67

[sandyk]

" Practice what you Preach"

 

 Check out MY Profile and you will find answers to that, including the 7th photo down which is a dual +12V to +5V Low noise (<4uV) PSU add on  to supply 2 SSDs with Isolation of the power supply between each

I have NO separate Linear PSUs in my PC Audio set up , only a simple low noise voltage regulator that works in conjunction with the existing internal SMPS.

 I have nothing further to say to you on this subject, as I have way better things to do such as evaluate some of John Dyson's recent corrected CD versions.

BYE .!

[sandyk]

46 minutes ago, 4est said:

Wow, you are willing to go through all of that, but refuse to check out a simple upsampling program that truly makes a much larger difference.

It's not hard at all to do that in a suitable PC case with 51/4" drive bays, where  an adaptor plate is needed anyway, as I am more interested in reducing RF/EMI which SSDs are far worse for in that   respect than HDD,  besides which I don't need , or want everything upsampled to DSD .

Got it ?

 

14A2-B4.pdf

[sandyk]

17 hours ago, Jgwtriode said:

Noticeably more involving sound in all ways. 1 is my music system boot drive with Jplay femto, Audiophile Optimizer 3, Process Lasso, and Fidelizer 8.6. I have also found bracing them further with a solid metal block, copper bar stock,  further kills any vibration in them.

 

When using them in a desktop PC with metal drive bays, make sure that both the metalwork and especially the case of the SSD/HDD itself , has as low as possible resistance measured to the case of the SMPS and the earth contact of the mains IEC socket .  

 This may result in a very worthwhile improvement in distortion and soundstage.

One and a half (Gary)  got me to try this by measuring the voltage (mV scale) between the cases and the PSU metalwork.