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Post by Dan on Jan 13, 2018 22:04:22 GMT
When I purchased my X30 three and half years ago, it seemed like a wise idea to go for what was the largest storage capacity available, namely 4TB. Now, in the cold light of day, it seems a little optimistic to think that not only would I fill all that space, but equally importantly, have time to listen to it all. As of today, I am up to approx 42,000 songs on 2900 albums by 700+ artists. Current space usage 1.04TB. All songs stored in FLAC format. The streamer still behaves well.
It occurred to me that by investing in a 2TB solid state drive, this would be a good way of improving speed (which, to be fair, was plenty fast enough with the original HDD) and prolonging the integrity of my music database since there are no spinning electromechanical magnetic disks or movable read/write heads in a SSD, no wear and tear, no data degradation and of course no overheating problems, not to mention wake/up time from a 'sleeping' hard disk.
The problem for me was the specification of the original X30, which stated a maximum allowable capacity of 500GB for SSD. Significantly short of what I needed for my existing collection, let alone any future expansion. My guess was that the 500GB limit was due to one thing. Technology. In 2014, a 2TB SSD didn't exist (not commercially, anyway). I could see no reason why a larger storage capacity would hamper the performance of the streamer. So, backing up the old HDD and then restoring to the new SSD............ it worked! Is it an improvement? Strangely, it is slower in some actions and in others it's faster. Powering up from off, is slower; song selection about the same; deleting tracks or albums is quicker. Also when searching for titles or albums, it's marginally faster. Was it worth the extra outlay? Jury's still out on that one. But I'm glad I tried it and I am happy it works.
I must state here for the record, that I am not advocating that this is the way forward. I have no vested interest in either form of storage. The purchase of the X30 was only ever to archive my CD music collection and nothing else. This whole exercise was just an experiment by me to see what if...
If anyone wants to talk about this topic on the forum, I'm happy to do so if I can be of any help.
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Post by Ray Yeardley on May 26, 2021 16:01:15 GMT
Hi. I’ve got an X30 and contemplating upgrade to SSD. I currently have a 2TB hard drive but I like the idea of silent operation more than anything but would also welcome a bump up in speed when loading album covers while browsing the database if possible . Is yours still going strong with no problems?
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Post by Dan G on Aug 7, 2021 9:50:02 GMT
Hi Ray.
Things have moved on a lot for me in the space of 3½ years. I now own an X50, an improvement on the now outdated X30. In answer to your question though, yes the 2TB drive is still going strong (now installed in the X50). I read somewhere that an SSD doesn't last "forever" (mind you, neither does a conventional HDD). There is a finite number of times that one can delete or write to an SSD, before 'failure.' I believe though, that that number is in the tens of thousands. (Reading from it is in the millions!). As usual, ensure that you buy a good quality SSD like Samsung or Sandisk. (My SSD is a CRUCIAL MX300 2TB, which I believe is available now for under £200. I paid nearly double that in 2017!) At the risk of stating the obvious, ensure you back-up your Music database. It took me nearly 3 years, (on and off) to transfer all my music to the Streamer. If the machine/drive fails or it is stolen even, replacing the streamer will be the least of your worries! Good luck with it. Let me know how you get on.
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lesh
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Post by lesh on Mar 13, 2022 22:41:35 GMT
Dan, Ray
I've contacted you guys as you've been discussing storage. I have an X30 with a 2TB HDD and my dilemma is with backing up my HDD contents. I use WD My Passport for external backup drives.
My problem? The X30 has needed two new motherboards and Novofidelity can't say why they should've failed but suggest that the external droves may be demanding too much power from the USB ports and that externally powered drives might be the answer. However..... how can I power them? I have a Belkin 4 port USB hub which would normally be connected to a computer with driver software that enables sight of which USB sockets functioning. I can't see how the X30 can see which port the external drives connected to and am wary about connecting the Belkin hub to the X30's USB socket in case another board fails.
I'm wondering whether my WD drives are demanding too much power from the X30's USB Sockets and if so, if other brands such as SanDisk or Samsung might need less? Any suggestions and thoughts would be appreciated.
Help....
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Post by Imor95-guest on Mar 14, 2022 16:15:40 GMT
Hi, the WD drive is one of the lowest power users at less than 4watts. Have you asked SVC what power is output at each USB port? I use two WD drives and have done for the last 5 years with no problem with the wifi dongle and a keyboard. You can buy USB external powered hubs.
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lesh
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Post by lesh on Mar 14, 2022 19:31:32 GMT
Hi and thanks for coming back. You say you've been using WD external drives.
You didn't say whether you've been using them with your Cocktail/ Novafidelity and if you have been, which model is your unit? And are you using them via plugging directly into one of the unit's USB ports?
I'll ask SCV what power output my X30 can safely handle.
You said that powered external USB drives are available - could you recommend one or two that might suit my X30?
Thanks
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lesh
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Post by lesh on Mar 14, 2022 19:39:03 GMT
I may have misread your comment about powered hub's and thought you meant powered drives.
I have a Belkin four USB hub which would normally be used with a computer with which port to whuch the hardware connected to it can be selected. What I don't understand is how my cocktail can connect to the USB port in the hub the external drives plugged into as it does not have a screen or the means to select a particular port on the hub.
Can you help me understand that? I do not want to put the mother board at risk and hope you understand my concern.
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Post by Imor95-guest on Mar 18, 2022 13:07:53 GMT
You can buy (amazon) powered USB hubs. Connect the hub to the Novafidelity by its primary connection (usually built in cable) connect the power supply to the mains and connect you disk to the hub. The USB hub will present any drive attached as a unique USB drive number just as your pc as the driver is a scsi subset. Do NOT buy a USB switch as they are switches not hubs. Many USB hubs are not externally powered so make sure you buy one that has a power supply.
Your Novafidelity is a computer that runs Linux as the OS and media management as the application and like you pc has various hardware ports such as network USB and audio. Cheers Ian m-r
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lesh
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Post by lesh on Mar 18, 2022 13:45:43 GMT
Ian
Thanks for coming back. I has bought a powered hub from Amazon and hope I've bought the right thing - a USB hub with on/off switches for each socket. and not A USB switch.
This is what I got and hope I've bought the right thing - a hub. I'd appreciate your thoughts.
Deal: Sabrent 4-Port USB 3.0 Data Hub with Individual LED Power Switches | 2 Ft Cable | Slim & Portable | for Mac & remived
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Post by Imor95-guest on Mar 18, 2022 14:10:47 GMT
No this is a passive hub which draws power from the host hence charging not supported. You need the um3 with the included power module or similar. This information is at the bottom of the amazon page where it says " power module included NO" Cheers Ian m-r
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lesh
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Post by lesh on Mar 18, 2022 14:19:10 GMT
Ian
The one I bought came with its AC to DC power supply adaptor. If you Hit the link you should see the powered version at £15. I hope that's the correct one?
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Post by Imor95-guest on Mar 18, 2022 14:45:17 GMT
You state you bought the um43 when in fact you have bought the ump3 powered version that has a 2.5 amp power supply that will run your drives fine. However the x30 ports are rated at 1amp continuous so am surprised you have had issues. All USB ports are fuse protected either blow or thermal resetable. The ports are rated to support a cd, drive or dongle so again you should not have a problem. Make sure you connect and power up before connecting to the x30
Cheers Ian m-r
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lesh
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Post by lesh on Mar 18, 2022 15:20:06 GMT
Thanks Ian. Your comment's reassuring. The reason I bought a hub was because the x30's CPU has been broken twice and Cocktail support suggested that my external drives might be asking too much of it. In fairness, support didn't know exactly what I was using for backup drive.So, Whatever, the hub should minimise any risk of damage going forward. Thanks for your help.
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Post by Imor95-guest on Mar 18, 2022 15:38:42 GMT
Hi, I hope all is well from here on. The Novafidelity systems are excellent devices and fullfill many needs especially the larger models with the better audio. Most problems are down to poor application software and usually a factory reset fixes ir with the occasional reload. Not sure about the new db structure as you may as well use windows media as that is free and it has too many issues as yet. Cheers Ian m-r
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lesh
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Post by lesh on Mar 18, 2022 18:25:22 GMT
Hi Ian
I must say the X30's audio output directly to speakers leaves a lot to be desired. I use mine via Naim amps and they greatly improve output quality. The database is OK for me.
I'd love to upgrade to one of the bigger units but they are a tad pricey.
Again, thanks for your reassurance about the hub
Best regards
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