SSD

[lejonklou]

In this thread we discuss the musical performance of various SSDs, when used in HAKAI.

[NinthWave]

In determining that INTEL 320 series sound best, were SAMSUNG series evaluated?

[lejonklou]

Yes, I think all of them.

[FairPlayMotty]

Whilst switching from Volumio to Snakeoil OS I used a spare OCZ SSD and the Intel 320 was clearly superior.

[matthias]

There are ongoing discussions on other forums about the sonic benefits of getting rid of SSDs with booting from RAM.
Any experiences here as well?
Thanks

Matt

[FairPlayMotty]

Do you have a link Matt?

[matthias]

Do you have a link Matt?

You can start here:
https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topi ... ent-921728

or you can do a search on the same forum with "ramboot".

Matt

[FairPlayMotty]

Many thanks Matt!

[matthias]

Many thanks Matt!

Welcome FPM,
another interesting thread about "non-SSD" storage with an "extreme" server is this one:

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/ ... 8me.27433/

Matt

[FairPlayMotty]

That's extreme in every way, I'd love to hear it!

[lejonklou]

There are ongoing discussions on other forums about the sonic benefits of getting rid of SSDs with booting from RAM.
Any experiences here as well?
Thanks

Matt

Yes.

Couldn't make it sound better than when using an SSD. I was really puzzled why it was always significantly worse.

[matthias]

Couldn't make it sound better than when using an SSD. I was really puzzled why it was always significantly worse.

Interesting,
do you have an explanation?

Matt

[lejonklou]

Couldn't make it sound better than when using an SSD. I was really puzzled why it was always significantly worse.

Interesting,
do you have an explanation?

Matt

Not really. I was quite convinced we could make it sound better by running everything from RAM and disconnecting the SSD, but it never sounded as good.

It's a bit similar to why it's better to have a small buffer and constantly request packages instead of storing the whole song or even playlist in RAM (which always sounded worse). Or why it's better to request those packages from a NAS on the LAN, passing a switch, instead of from, for instance, an internal SSD in the streamer (which always sounded worse).

There are some patterns in all of this that are very difficult to understand from a technical perspective, but the patterns keep appearing. I was convinced we could start from scratch and find a completely different and better way of doing things, but we were unsuccessful.

The original architecture of how to connect the streamer, switch and NAS to the LAN that Linn suggested when introducing their DS players was probably the result of lots of trial and error - and finding these patterns for what sounded good in practice. I'm certain they tested other architectures that worked well but were dismissed simply because they didn't sound any good.

[matthias]

Thanks,
so IIUC it is better to keep digital data in a permanent constant flow like analog data of a turntable.
Maybe the reason that some music lovers prefer playback from a good cd transport to playback from a NAS.

Matt

[Lingomatik]

I'm not sure which of the current SSDs to buy for an audio NAS.
I found a GY-N3150-D3V motherboard and looking for a suitable 2.5 "SSD.
The intel 320 series is hardly available as a 600GB version.
Which 500GB or 1TB version is recommended?
I tend towards older slow TLC types. Would the Sandisk PLUS 1TB be ok ?

[Lego]

Buy at least 2 of the biggest Intel 320s you can find on ebay.

[FairPlayMotty]

I'm not sure which of the current SSDs to buy for an audio NAS.
I found a GY-N3150-D3V motherboard and looking for a suitable 2.5 "SSD.
The intel 320 series is hardly available as a 600GB version.
Which 500GB or 1TB version is recommended?
I tend towards older slow TLC types. Would the Sandisk PLUS 1TB be ok ?

My recommendation would be to stick with the Intel 320 for the os. Yesterday I tested it vs a mini pcie SSD card and the Intel 320 was clearly superior as it was when I tested it against other SSDs last year.

However, when it comes to the SSDs for flac storage I was unable to detect any audible difference using three different 1TB drives last year.

I guess it depends how much music you have to store. On my Hakai server I have the three 1TB drives. I have upwards of 4,000 albums using around two thirds of the first two drives. The third drive is empty so far, save for a few test files.

You can buy 2TB SSDs for around £130 each at the moment.

[Lingomatik]

a small intel 320 for the OS is ok, but I need 2-4 TB SSD space.
Hence the question of whether there is experience with other SSDs.

[FairPlayMotty]

I have three different brands for the flac files with no audible difference in sound quality.

[FairPlayMotty]

I believe mine are from Kingston, Crucial and Silicon Power.

[ThomasOK]

Anyone building a NAS might be interested to know that the Samsung EVO 870 SSD are on a Cyber Monday sale at B&H Photo as of right now. $60 off the regular price on 1TB and 2TB units. Best price I’ve seen on what are considered the most musical SSDs.