For sure, if you put your SSD in close proximity to your hifi physically and in network terms connect it close then yes you will very likely hear a difference. That explains why you have and do hear a difference.
With a server and nas storage however you can take a different approach to place those items far far away from your hifi and in a network configuration where they are fully or mostly decoupled from a network perspective and power perspective. In that location they will have no or very limited impact on the sound, especially if you have common ground earth and your hifi equipment is on a separate spur which I am sure you do. Am I making any sense?
I have only ever tried melco’s in my system. I have had 4 different models, 2 running SSD.
All have sounded slightly different when i have transferred the music to each one.
I use a SSD as back up
I did dance, some years ago, in another forum and I was ridiculed as a result. Apparently there was no technical difference between the files. However, in my system my rips from the Melco D100 sound much better than my earlier Unitiserve rips, so much so that I ripped 2k+ CDs a second time. The most important part of my system, my ears, tell me that there is a significant difference for the better. I’m just surprised that no one has yet figured out the reason.
Their reply would be that they made a better mouse trap, and fair play to them. The explanation of the detail would involve more time than I have available. They are obsessive in the detail of everything they do.
That’s the bit I can’t get my head around. If it was happening technically I would straightaway burn every digital download I have ever made onto cd and rip again straight away and have it sound better than it did before I burned it to cd. I bet sound engineers would pay a fortune for that!
I think we have previously several years ago… it really is not that difficult… and if someone uploads two examples again we can re confirm all these years later. Certainly we could see why different files could sound ‘different’ on different renderers, but it was nothing to do with the rip.
I cast doubt that the files (not rips) you reference were all identical… as that would be exceedingly unlikely…
I can’t quite understand the reticence to share a Melco rip file and a non Melco regular rip file of the same CD. There is nothing to hide is there? This is all so mind blowingly straightforward and it would help everyone’s understanding in the community, after all don’t we try and help each other?
Many years ago I borrowed an early Melco… I didn’t hear any difference to my then windows server ripper on my then system. But we are talking a long time ago… so would love to compare now.
Well I think, as with many things, it’s more complex than that and depends largely on how the server is coupled to the actual playback device.
A motor generates both mechanical and electrical noise, In a CD player, the playback is in the same enclosure so putting in great effort to isolate the DAC and analogue output stage from microphonics generated by the motor makes a lot of sense. As does isolating or filtering out electrical noise from a motor itself.
If the DAC is directly attached to the media server/streamer, then it seems reasonable that some of these concerns are still valid - although if galvanically isolated, such as using an optical connection, the effects or electrical noise on the ground plane become less relevant. However if there is another physical layer between them such as a network with a switch, then there should already sufficient isolation between ground plane electrical interference.
Ideally, the storage appliance for your media is located elsewhere anyway, but that’s not always possible in a home setting. I locate all my storage and UPnP servers in utility room and there are in fact two switches between that and my NDX. And yes, it is all spinning HDD. If I moved the server but not the storage to a listening room, I think I’d leave the disks as-is. If I also had to move the storage to a listening room, even if the connection to the player was still LAN or WiFi, I’d opt for SSD for no other reason other than they are audibly silent whereas HDDs whirr and grind. That audible mechanical noise in the room is absolutely going to be more intrusive than any electrical noise imagined or real.
Galvanic isolators focus on DC or very low AC frequencies, galvanic isolators don’t impede HF currents, or what many call noise.
The primary function of a galvanic isolator is to prevent earth loops or DC coupling, by splitting the DC ground plane.
However optical connections, like Toslink, as you say absolutely achieve all electrical isolation, galvanic and otherwise, specifically preventing common mode noise currents. Most quality coaxial SPDIF connections are only galvanically isolated, meaning they can couple HF common mode noise, but prevent earth loops.
That’s what I’m hoping someone will do - but as @feeling_zen pointed out when the offer has been made before no-one with a Melco and hearing a difference between a Melco file and another ripper confirmed AccuratdRip was willing to follow up and send the two files. Last time at least one person cited copyright, as the reason not to, though as the offence is probably the ripping they’ve already brocjen copyright!
There are so many CDs with out of copyright content now, that should not really be a valid reason for anyone… and as you say the ripping process as already created a copy.
… and rips and resultant files are not the same thing… I am starting to wonder if that is where some of the potential confusion is coming from?
Naim’s objection in the old thread was not that there were CD rips, but that the rips were being shared. They were worried that their forum could be deemed to be hosting file sharing, or at least encouraging it, and that there could be legal implications for them.
That, at least, was their stated reason. Nothing to do with a blind test finding that Core rips weren’t as good as Unitiserve rips, I’m sure!!
Yes, the question is whether the resultant file from Melco vs other rippers (having identical digital data) causes something different to the sound, whether causing different noise in the replay process, or potentially even triggering an identification check to switch on or off some particular DSP.
The intent of my original post to start the thread is still valid, however, I have enjoyed the considerable debate on ripping CD’s.
After all the contributions in the thread, I am now seriously re-thinking whether or not to rip my CD’s and locally store/play them as I’ve no significant reason or driver to have to do it.
To help me in my decision making I’m going to demo an Innuos Statement this weekend and compare it to streaming Tidal on the same equipment to help determine what, if any, the sound quality difference is and if it’s not much difference I will just stay with streaming Tidal and playing my CD’s on my CD Transport, until such time as I have no other choice and am forced to rip my CD’s because of more pressing personal circumstances.
@feeling_zen I was wondering if more switches might introduce too much (or just more) noise. Correct me if I’m wrong: wouldn’t it be better to have only 1 switch if possible?
Also I was wondering which produces more electrical noise on paper, HDDs or SSDs? Maybe somebody has already said that here, I might have missed it.
I think it depends on the quality of the switches and the level of decoupling in how they are connected (shielded v unshielded cable, optical etc) and if your hifi and final router is on a separate spur/circuit. Also clean separation of power cables and ethernet cables. I run 5 switches. My server and nas are on switch 4 from the perspective of the hifi. I am getting great advice on how to optimise this setup using standard quality components in a separate thread. It has already made a significant improvement in sound quality and distortion levels I hear. I will eventually summarise that advice and my findings in that thread.
Ssd less noise than hdd but obviously whole device still generates em noise. I would argue like many here that behind a couple of well setup and well decoupled switches and located in another room, the impact is minimal. Not all can arrange for that to happen though.
I bet sound engineers would pay a fortune for that! 