Best external hard drive to store PC ripped music

Drobo is much better, simpler, and easier than RAID, which I used to have.

Michael beat me to it, but I was going to suggest the OP get a RAID solution using it in Mirror mode. You would then have two or more duplicate copies of your music library. If one fails you pull the drive and replace it with a new one - the RAID system will automatically copy the remaining drive, creating a new duplicate. And so on. You can, of course, have more than one duplicate, but the RAID enclosure will become more expensive the more copies you have. They also tend to be more noisy than conventional drives (especially the cheaper models), requiring more cooling in larger housings. The other downfall is that this system does not maintain an off-site backup.

If you are simply looking for recommendations for external raw drives then Hitachi Ultra-Star's would be my pick. That said, any of them can fail, which is why back up is mandatory, IMO.

Drobo is much better, simpler, and easier than RAID, which I used to have.

I'm not sure I follow you here. Drobo is a brand. RAID is a technology. If you are using one of their arrays, AFAIK, that is just a mirrored RAID system. Not sure how it could be simpler than any other mirrored RAID system. The one I use requires no software at all and works entirely automatically. Two mirrored drives. If one fails a red light comes on and the other drive is put into use. Remove the bad drive, slide in a new one, and a brand new copy is automatically made on the new one maintaining a mirrored state. How is the Drobo array any simpler?

I had a RAID system for several years. I used one of our IT guys to set it up, and it worked very well. But, it is not simple, it is not plug and play as the Drobo is.

Check out the DROBO website or any of the reviews on it. It is a one box solution to storage that includes self-back up. A drive fails, you replace it, don't lose any info.

Raid is much more involved.

My business requires bullet proof backup, that said I went with a NAS solution using Buffalo products. As my home system is the business backup system as well, all of my sales and engineering staff can access my location in a manner very similar to a mainframe in the old days.

The bonus for my audiophile needs is that I now have something like 10,000 movies on demand. My AV setup is a Denon 5308 with a UD4010 feeding the source.

A recent upgrade on power conditioning shows real promise on the fidelity, but with this set up, I can watch or play anything, anytime.

One additional feature is the ability to access my video and tunes from anywhere in the world that gives me internet access.

The Denon is the key here of course as it connects to everything offered on the planet.

A bonus in using the NAS solution is that when I have clients over to discuss design changes and engineering improvements I can use the Elite 60" PRO150 to do the display, it sure beats looking at a PC screen.

The downside of this is that I am fortunate enough to have a Network Engineer on the staff and his responsibility covers support on this system. But even though it is complicated, he can access the system remote, so there is no drive time required to tweak it up.

The Raids came in at $4 Grand but you can start at the $1 Grand mark for a reliable 2 TB NAS. There are cheaper ones out there, but since they have been installed there have been zero problems.

Hope this helps. Most all of this comes from getting professional advice from the manufacturers and those in the know. Make sure you trust your source for information before you invest.....

Ballisticman