External hard drives and sound quality

Lots of long posts here on this thread...

I'm in the middle of testing an external drive again (as I had over a year ago with a Dell laptop). This time, with a macbook.

Both times (with the Dell and now the Macbook), the external drive made a difference for the better. And others on other forums say the same thing. I can a/b pretty easily by loading up the external drive's library in Itunes and then loading up the internal drive again for comparison of the same music.

I wouldn't take my word (or Blindjim's or Mapman's for that matter), you will have to try it for yourself. Drives are fairly cheap.

BTW, I do think it is a good idea to use an external hard drive for music files for various practical reasons.

For one thing it offloads the file access from the internal drive which is where OS and other files needed for basic computer operation resides. THis generally should result in better throughput (data can be read faster). IT also is safer to have a drive dedicated to music files in case the computers drive has to be rebuilt for some other reason.

It is also possible that some playback software could take liberties with sound quality as a means of dealing with delays in reading disk data which is more likely in general if the files are stored internally. I do not know specifically of a music playback program that does this, but it is certainly possible, and not a solution that audiophiles would take to. There are other ways to handle this but sometimes a computer can get so bogged down with various processing that goes on in the background, that all the bits are not availble in time when needed for playback.

So in general, using an external drive for music files can be considered a best practice I believe (I do it) even though the same data files with the exact same amount of musical information is available regardless of storage location. Its just the safest and most practical approach to take.

BTW, using a networked music player, like the Rokus in my system or Logitech Squeezebox, absolutely makes the origin of the music files a moot point in regards to sound quality. These are essentially dedicated, optimized, computer devices designed specifically to play back music. They cache the data locally in memory for fast, optimal access when needed and then forward bits on to the DAC (internal or external) in real time without issue. The only issue that can occur with these is a weak network data connection from server to network music player, and/or a slow running server, which together may result in the bits not being cached and ready to go when needed. The result in this case is a silent delay in playing until all the needed bits are cached. Sound quality is for sure not compromised when playing though.

If you use computer for anything else (I do) - use Firewire interface instead of USB. USB is loading main processor while Firewire is a little more intelligent and has own processor that handles transfers - less load on main uP. I also think that daisy chaining in Firewire is cleaner/better than USB hub. Firewire cable cannot be longer than 15ft (10ft for USB). Extra 5ft might be important if you want to hide disk (noise).

Granite Digital offers firewire cables that include a number of special design provisions that are claimed to make possible lengths up to 32 feet. They offer 1394A and 1394B cables in that length for $90 to $100. I have no experience with them, although I've used some of their other products (with good results). Datasheet pdf's are linked to here.

Also, firewire hubs and repeaters are widely available, which can also be used to extend firewire connection lengths.

Best regards,
-- Al

Alright. This kind of applies here. I have a Sonos player and I stream my NAS drive through it. Just about 30 minutes ago I upgraded the coax cable to the modem and replaced every ethernet cable in the chain to CAT6 patch cables of 8 feet each. The sound improvment was insane. I just wanted to be able to get all the info through with ease. I wasn't expecting an audible difference. Now I have some serious bass response. And everything seems just... more fluid... like it isnt even trying anymore. It ranks with one of my best upgrades so far. $21 worth of patch cables and a $12 quad-shielded coax. Awesome. Wonder if a gigabit router would make a difference. ????