[skunark]

I am considering picking up a few silver Seagate 2.5 drives currently on sale for $49.99 at Best Buy. 

Would these be appropriate for use with the BDP-1?  Didn't know if the 18" USB cable might be a problem.  Since I won't need the backup software, should I reformat the drive?   What file format?  I will most likely be ripping my audio files on my Windows XP machine, but my current FLAC hires files live on my MacBook Pro.  Will I be able to transfer these FLAC files from the Mac to the Seagate as well?

This is a good sale, but should I be considering something else instead?  Should I be considering a USB 3.0 drive instead?

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultraportable USB 2.0 500GB. 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Seagate+-+FreeAgent+GoFlex+500GB+External+USB+2.0+Portable+Hard+Drive+-+Silver/9929098.p?id=1218196478444&skuId=9929098&st=Seagate%20500&cp=1&lp=1

You can also just connect the drives to the BDP and mount it as a network share.  The BDP is essentially can be used as a NAS and since you are on Windows search for "SyncToy" on the Microsofts website and you can use that to automate s,yncing of the files.  (Mac users can use rsync via the command line).

[zybar]

I am considering picking up a few silver Seagate 2.5 drives currently on sale for $49.99 at Best Buy. 

Would these be appropriate for use with the BDP-1?  Didn't know if the 18" USB cable might be a problem.  Since I won't need the backup software, should I reformat the drive?   What file format?  I will most likely be ripping my audio files on my Windows XP machine, but my current FLAC hires files live on my MacBook Pro.  Will I be able to transfer these FLAC files from the Mac to the Seagate as well?

This is a good sale, but should I be considering something else instead?  Should I be considering a USB 3.0 drive instead?

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultraportable USB 2.0 500GB. 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Seagate+-+FreeAgent+GoFlex+500GB+External+USB+2.0+Portable+Hard+Drive+-+Silver/9929098.p?id=1218196478444&skuId=9929098&st=Seagate%20500&cp=1&lp=1

You definitely don't need  USB 3.0 drive (you don't need nor could you take advantage of the increased transfer speed with the BDP-1).

Is the 18" cable long enough to allow you to place the drives where you want to?  If not, you just need to buy longer USB cables.  I bought 6' long cables at amazon basics for a few dollars each.

I would leave the drive formatted as NTFS.  I believe Seagate provides a driver that allows you to read the NTFS drive from your Mac.  This means you can directly transfer your existing FLAC files.  If this doesn't work, you can always see the drives from your Mac as shared network devices and transfer the files that way.

George

[headshrinker2]

Thanks Rick.  Which model WD drive?  If there was backup software (and other extra stuff), sounds like you didn't bother deleting it.

This is what I have. Basically the same specs only its WD. I copied the ripped files from my laptop, connected it to the BDP-1, and that was it. No formating, just plug and play.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+Digital+-+WD+Elements+500GB+External+USB+2.0+Portable+Hard+Drive/9875558.p?id=1218187081307&skuId=9875558

Rick

[headshrinker2]

Thanks Zybar. 18" could definitely be limiting.  I need to do a bit more reading, but I believe some of these little drives do not use normal USB connections on the drive end (i.e. it's proprietary).  Thus, I'm not sure I can just get a longer normal USB cable. 

You are correct about the drive coming with an NTFS driver for my MPB.

Looks like the silver drive is going to match my Bryston gear nicely.

You definitely don't need  USB 3.0 drive (you don't need nor could you take advantage of the increased transfer speed with the BDP-1).

Is the 18" cable long enough to allow you to place the drives where you want to?  If not, you just need to buy longer USB cables.  I bought 6' long cables at amazon basics for a few dollars each.

I would leave the drive formatted as NTFS.  I believe Seagate provides a driver that allows you to read the NTFS drive from your Mac.  This means you can directly transfer your existing FLAC files.  If this doesn't work, you can always see the drives from your Mac as shared network devices and transfer the files that way.

George

[headshrinker2]

Very cool.  Skunkark, what do you do for a living? 

You can also just connect the drives to the BDP and mount it as a network share.  The BDP is essentially can be used as a NAS and since you are on Windows search for "SyncToy" on the Microsofts website and you can use that to automate s,yncing of the files.  (Mac users can use rsync via the command line).

[terrycym]

Kind of interesting article (not sure if the guy is being serious or it's some sort of geek insider joke cum humour) in the latest issue of HiFi Critic where the author claims to hear differences between drives connected to hid Naim streamer.
He compared different brands, both mechanical and SSD, different NAS boxes, different flavours of RAID even different models from the same NAS supplier, different drives in the same NAS. All sound noticeably different to him.

The mag does tend to be full of errors though - the BDP-1 comes with a 25 year guarantee, Naim DAC only do 48k etc etc.

[zybar]

I am going to try two different HD's and a memory stick with the same hi-rez files and see if I can hear a difference.

My BDP-1/BDA-1 will be back to me next Tues or Wed, so look for some comments by next weekend.

George

[zybar]

You definitely don't need  USB 3.0 drive (you don't need nor could you take advantage of the increased transfer speed with the BDP-1).

Is the 18" cable long enough to allow you to place the drives where you want to?  If not, you just need to buy longer USB cables.  I bought 6' long cables at amazon basics for a few dollars each.

I would leave the drive formatted as NTFS.  I believe Seagate provides a driver that allows you to read the NTFS drive from your Mac.  This means you can directly transfer your existing FLAC files.  If this doesn't work, you can always see the drives from your Mac as shared network devices and transfer the files that way.

George

I know that this drive has the different connection options, but it can't use a standard USB cable?  If that's the case, it would stop me from buying it.

George

[zybar]

I know that this drive has the different connection options, but it can't use a standard USB cable?  If that's the case, it would stop me from buying it.

George

Answered my own question...

Here is what Seagate's website says:

Q: Can I use a standard USB cable with my drive?

A: Yes, when a GoFlex drive is mated with a USB 2.0 adapter, you can use a standard USB mini-B cable to connect it to your computer. However, be careful when using longer cables as they may not transfer enough power to allow the drive to function.

George

[ted_b]

Thanks Zybar. 18" could definitely be limiting.  I need to do a bit more reading, but I believe some of these little drives do not use normal USB connections on the drive end (i.e. it's proprietary).  Thus, I'm not sure I can just get a longer normal USB cable. 

It's just a mini-b connector, either of two types; not proprietary at all. 

edit: jinx! 

[RLL1]

Thanks Rick.  Which model WD drive?  If there was backup software (and other extra stuff), sounds like you didn't bother deleting it.

The drive is WD Elements 500GB. If there are any extra files or software on the drive, they are hidden, and I did not search for them. I also have two 16GB thumb drives with assorted tracks connected to the front. The only thing I did to any of these drives was rename them.

Rick

[RLL1]

Kind of interesting article (not sure if the guy is being serious or it's some sort of geek insider joke cum humour) in the latest issue of HiFi Critic where the author claims to hear differences between drives connected to hid Naim streamer.
He compared different brands, both mechanical and SSD, different NAS boxes, different flavours of RAID even different models from the same NAS supplier, different drives in the same NAS. All sound noticeably different to him.

The mag does tend to be full of errors though - the BDP-1 comes with a 25 year guarantee, Naim DAC only do 48k etc etc.

I can see the future now. $1500 HD's with proprietary shielding and teeny weeny isolation feet to prevent vibration. All it will take is a few reviewers to suggest noticeable sound differences in drives, and the industry will jump at the opportunity to capitalize. The worst thing is, I will probably be first in line to buy one! 

Rick

[ronman]

Hello hello

Just a little tip to anyone interested. 

I have a mass of 8gig flashdrives loaded with music which has become a shlep to keep changing in and out of my BDP-1. (busy sorting and loading 711 cd's onto a Seagate 2T hard drive before I get to transfer all the music off my pc). So out of curiousity I plugged an external powered USB 7 port hub into the left front USB port on the BDP-1, and plugged as many flash drives into it as possible. Due to physical size restraints I could only fit in 6 flashdrives into the USB hub. The BDP-1 recognised them all through the USB hub, and played off each one. Flashdrives are 'Axis',  'Verbatum' brand (as well as the Bryston sample flashdrive). Sadly none of my 32gig 'Transend' flashdrives are recognised by the BDP-1.

Oh. One quick question when changing flash drives from the front ports of the BDP-1, is it best to switch off the BDP-1, or can you change the drives 'on the fly'?



         

[skunark]

Kind of interesting article (not sure if the guy is being serious or it's some sort of geek insider joke cum humour) in the latest issue of HiFi Critic where the author claims to hear differences between drives connected to hid Naim streamer.
He compared different brands, both mechanical and SSD, different NAS boxes, different flavours of RAID even different models from the same NAS supplier, different drives in the same NAS. All sound noticeably different to him.

The mag does tend to be full of errors though - the BDP-1 comes with a 25 year guarantee, Naim DAC only do 48k etc etc.

Funny thing about all of this, it's data until it hits the sound card, then jitter, noise and anything that can creep up downstream.   In other words, the media software will copy the file to RAM, convert it to PCM as needed and then issue a DMA command for the sound card to pull in as needed as it spits it out of the AES and BNC ports.    The HDD's power supply if there is one, will be the main source of noise and that will probably impact not only the BDP, but whatever component is sharing the power.  The cable will not matter as the data transfer will either be correct or fail the ECC checks and log a fault for the user.  The PCB board and the chip of the HDD would be the final, but very unlikely source of noise as it's just a function power supply noise or perhaps a faulty part.

[skunark]

Very cool.  Skunkark, what do you do for a living?

I'm an Electrical Engineer with focus on high performance computing and low power design (almost an oxymoron).

[RLL1]

Funny thing about all of this, it's data until it hits the sound card, then jitter, noise and anything that can creep up downstream.   In other words, the media software will copy the file to RAM, convert it to PCM as needed and then issue a DMA command for the sound card to pull in as needed as it spits it out of the AES and BNC ports.    The HDD's power supply if there is one, will be the main source of noise and that will probably impact not only the BDP, but whatever component is sharing the power.  The cable will not matter as the data transfer will either be correct or fail the ECC checks and log a fault for the user.  The PCB board and the chip of the HDD would be the final, but very unlikely source of noise as it's just a function power supply noise or perhaps a faulty part.

Thanks for the explanation skunark, it might help save some of us from ourselves!

Rick

[James Tanner]

Hello hello

Just a little tip to anyone interested. 

I have a mass of 8gig flashdrives loaded with music which has become a shlep to keep changing in and out of my BDP-1. (busy sorting and loading 711 cd's onto a Seagate 2T hard drive before I get to transfer all the music off my pc). So out of curiousity I plugged an external powered USB 7 port hub into the left front USB port on the BDP-1, and plugged as many flash drives into it as possible. Due to physical size restraints I could only fit in 6 flashdrives into the USB hub. The BDP-1 recognised them all through the USB hub, and played off each one. Flashdrives are 'Axis',  'Verbatum' brand (as well as the Bryston sample flashdrive). Sadly none of my 32gig 'Transend' flashdrives are recognised by the BDP-1.

Oh. One quick question when changing flash drives from the front ports of the BDP-1, is it best to switch off the BDP-1, or can you change the drives 'on the fly'?



       

Hi - you can plug and unplug with the BDP-1 on.  What size were the Thumbdrives?

james

[terrycym]

The article got me thinking. I'm interested in digital photography but in my film days really liked Kodachrome, maybe if I chose the right drive to store my pictures on, maybe they might look like Kodachrome?
If I chose RAID, they might look like Ektrachrme?

This bets better. What happens to my Word documents if I store them on different brands of NAS?

I'm confused. I thought it used to be straight forward, but it seems no longer.

[ronman]

Hello James

5 of the 6 flashdrives plugged into the USB hub onto the BDP-1 are 8 gig each, the 6th being the 2 gig Bryston flashdrive. Formatted the 'Transend' 32 gig flashdrives in both FAT32 and NTFS but the BDP-1 does not 'see' them - even when connected via the USB hub onto the front of the BDP-1. I will have to try a different brand of 32 gig flashdrive - unless the BDP-1 doesn't recognise that size flashdrive. Mind you. The BDP-1 does not 'see' any of my 8 gig 'Cruzor' flashdrives either.  Awesome player regardless. Waiting for the arrival of the Audioquest Raven silver balanced interconnect to arrive to connect to the BDA-1. I am sure that will improve sound quality.   


 

[James Tanner]

Hello James

5 of the 6 flashdrives plugged into the USB hub onto the BDP-1 are 8 gig each, the 6th being the 2 gig Bryston flashdrive. Formatted the 'Transend' 32 gig flashdrives in both FAT32 and NTFS but the BDP-1 does not 'see' them - even when connected via the USB hub onto the front of the BDP-1. I will have to try a different brand of 32 gig flashdrive - unless the BDP-1 doesn't recognise that size flashdrive. Mind you. The BDP-1 does not 'see' any of my 8 gig 'Cruzor' flashdrives either.  Awesome player regardless. Waiting for the arrival of the Audioquest Raven silver balanced interconnect to arrive to connect to the BDA-1. I am sure that will improve sound quality.

ronman

I did not think the BDP could see drives through a hub so that is interesting. There should be no difference in size recognition though?

Glad you are enjoying the sound of the player.

James