MicroSD Memory Card Transport Project

Simple answer is yes. SSD would sound different compared to HDD and, for example, different SSDs might also sound different. There are a lot of reports and discussions out there about this topic.

As an example of what could influence the sound quality is media generated vibration. SSD compared to a spinning HDD generates no vibration of its own. It is likely as well that these devices in turn have different sensitivity to external vibration and vibration isolation as well.

To expand on your question - how reproduction of the same music files, all other things beeing equal, stored on SSD would differ from SD cards. From pure mechanical point of view I would expect SSD to be superior as it has higher mass, hence potentially it is less sensitive to external vibration.

NB Vibration in audio is a bitch.

How would the miniscule vibration of a HDD affect the audio?
 
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I had found the biggest advantage from linear supplies was powering the CPU. It is by far the noisiest thing on the board; separating it from the powering of the other rails is probably the biggest advantage. The video card relieves the CPU of video duty. It is an old card, you want one with minimal onboard memory - mine is 256K - I would like one with 128K but could not find one. I think I paid twenty dollars for the thing many years ago.

How, CPUs tend to have more4 than one voltage...
Also how does a linear supply cure one of the biggest source of noise, simultaneous switching noise...
I do have experience of digital gear powered by both linear and SMPS and the SMPS won, simply because it generated less overall noise especially lower frequency noise that could have more of an influence on the audio.
 
Forget it. Not from me. I have done enough to discover it myself over many years through listening to different systems privately, attending shows and demo's.

So if you are sincerely interested in the topic in order to rip the potential benefits prepare yourself for a long jorney. There will be no free lunch here and you will need to spend time and effort to make your own discoveries. You will only believe your own ears, that's at least how it works for me.

You do not need to wait, however, to meet your local dealer to test isolation platforms or feet or to attend the next CES show. Just use some suitable materials at hand in your house to isolate your CD player, DAC, or your power distribution device. Put a bag of sand on top of any of these devices and listen. You might be up for a surprise.

NB Apologies if you already know all of that.

Having worked on high vibration configurations with audio and seen the results of vibration tests I would be interested in any data you have because we did not notice any real problems at vibration levels you would never see in a domestic environment. Using a computer in a domestic environment is probably the best way to avoid any effects vibration may have on the playback system...
 
Having worked on high vibration configurations with audio and seen the results of vibration tests I would be interested in any data you have because we did not notice any real problems at vibration levels you would never see in a domestic environment. Using a computer in a domestic environment is probably the best way to avoid any effects vibration may have on the playback system...

This topic (influence of vibration on SQ of audio systems) has been widely and deeply discussed since very long ago. A lot of designs aimed to mitigate the vibration have been produced and implemented in different commercial products both in active and passive components, both in digital and analogue, both in signal and power cabling, etc.

And it is important not only to isolate audio components from external sources of vibration but also to drain vibration energy generated or stored in these components. What is a big challange to achieve these two objectives at the same time in the same system.

I think the best way to dive into this vast area is to explore some online sources that discuss this on much more professional (and exciting) level than I could do.

This one might explain some points http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/vibration.html

Or this one http://www.mother-of-tone.com/vibration.htm
 
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I disagree that the miniscule HDD vibrations (and they are SMALL in a working HDD) are going to have any effect compared to a SDD..
As to the rest I believe like many things in audio, vibration and its effects are taken to the limit, with no measurements...
There is no argument we all have the right to have our own opinion. Did you read the articles, however?
 
Did you read the articles, however?

They were quite amusing. One was clearly a marketing blurb for snake oil products, and the other was based on the wonderful justification of "Well, as we all remember, mechanical vibration can have an effect on a turntable. If you jump on the floor, the needle may also jump out of the groove."

Yes, if you drop a microphone on the floor you will hear a sound too. Enough said?
 
Yes I have read them and have pondered this in the past over many years. Like all things in audio I think there are certain limits where doing more provides no more results and time is spent on another aspect... And here we differ because todays hard drives are excellent and have little vibration and if mounted correctly using AV mounts (or not) in a PC will not be any worse (or better) than SSDs.
The vibration work I did was for vehicle communications systems where the vibration is HIGH and the background ambient noise can be 110dB, far higher than a domestic situation and the signal quality did not suffer... Done even higher vibration stuff and again the signal quality is unaffected to a great degree by the huge amounts of vibration, in fact just now I am cutting out a paper model of a flex-rigid PCB....
 
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This topic (influence of vibration on SQ of audio systems) has been widely and deeply discussed since very long ago.

The fact that some people (and some vendors of snake oil products) keep ranting about it doesn't make something true.
Any pointers to actual scientific findings?

And it is important not only to isolate audio components from external sources of vibration but also to drain vibration energy generated or stored in these components.
Nothing a couple of magic crystals won't solve...

I think the best way to dive into this vast area is to explore some online sources that discuss this on much more professional (and exciting) level than I could do.
Reading those links I realize you must have a very interesting definition of "professional".
 
There is no argument we all have the right to have our own opinion.

As long as we don't confuse "opinion" and "fact". "I like Radiohead" is an opinion. "2 + 2 = 4" is not an opinion, it is a fact. "2 + 2 = 5" is also not an opinion. It is a false statement.

"The vibration from a hard disk causes audible effects in digital electronics" is also not an opinion. It is a statement that forms a proposition (a claim). The trueness or falseness of that statement should be judged based on the evidence available.
 
Yes I have read them and have pondered this in the past over many years. Like all things in audio I think there are certain limits where doing more provides no more results and time is spent on another aspect... And here we differ because todays hard drives are excellent and have little vibration and if mounted correctly using AV mounts (or not) in a PC will not be any worse (or better) than SSDs.
The vibration work I did was for vehicle communications systems where the vibration is HIGH and the background ambient noise can be 110dB, far higher than a domestic situation and the signal quality did not suffer... Done even higher vibration stuff and again the signal quality is unaffected to a great degree by the huge amounts of vibration, in fact just now I am cutting out a paper model of a flex-rigid PCB....

I have no doubt that your solutions for that project were very well thought through and designed. And you have applied right set of measurements.

In high end audio when you are trying to reproduce and approach the energy and emotion of a live musical event, all things (improvements) that make significant and small impact on the quality of reproduction are important and have cumulative effect. You need to experience it yourself to start believing. At the moment you have your own reference points based on your own experience and preconceptions. And these are absolutely valid as they reflect your experience.

It think it might be interesting for you to visit a high end dealer in your area and ask for a demo. If you are interested let me know the dealer you want to visit and their web site. Depending on the range of products they sell I could suggest a couple of set ups to ask them to demo for you.
 
In high end audio when you are trying to reproduce and approach the energy and emotion of a live musical event, all things (improvements) that make significant and small impact on the quality of reproduction are important and have cumulative effect.

Have you ever talked to the studio engineers (as in "an operator of recording, broadcasting and mixing consoles") or the electrical engineers (as in "a practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics, and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical, social and commercial problems") that develop the systems for music recording?

To start with, they would laugh at the idea of "reproducing and approaching the energy and emotion of a live musical event". They would tell you that you got it the wrong way around - their main challenge is trying to get the live performance to sound at least somewhat like what they created in the studio.

Then they would tell you that what they care about is not minute details, but the overall result, reliability and repeatability.

You need to experience it yourself to start believing. At the moment you have your own reference points based on your own experience and preconceptions. And these are absolutely valid as they reflect your experience.
How about actually finding out facts instead of just believing things?
 
I have no doubt that your solutions for that project were very well thought through and designed. And you have applied right set of measurements.

In high end audio when you are trying to reproduce and approach the energy and emotion of a live musical event, all things (improvements) that make significant and small impact on the quality of reproduction are important and have cumulative effect. You need to experience it yourself to start believing. At the moment you have your own reference points based on your own experience and preconceptions. And these are absolutely valid as they reflect your experience.

It think it might be interesting for you to visit a high end dealer in your area and ask for a demo. If you are interested let me know the dealer you want to visit and their web site. Depending on the range of products they sell I could suggest a couple of set ups to ask them to demo for you.

Hmmm having owned a variety of systems over the years... including such things as speakers from KEF 104.2, TDL, Tannoy and a variety of home made speakers including my Curvy Changs and currently OBs with 2 x15" per side powered by SET monoblocks, electronics from the likes of Audiolab, Marantz, Sugden, Kenwood Trio and having friends and family with a range of set-ups including ATC speakers in one case (SCM100s) I am probably quite au fait with music reproduction systems, also working in a design bureau that includes the likes of Focusrite as well as other pro-audio companies amongst its customers and having friends and aquaintences who work for such companies as the previously mentioned, Music Group etc I am exposed to a lot of stuff related to the design of music reproduction and recording stuff... Oh and I have spent many years working on military communications which is audio...
Finally my Mum was Lead trombonist with the Ivy Benson Dance Band so I was exposed to live music from a very early age...
So my comments whilst not as qualified as some come from a wide area of experience of music reproduction...
 
Hmmm having owned a variety of systems over the years... including such things as speakers from KEF 104.2, TDL, Tannoy and a variety of home made speakers including my Curvy Changs and currently OBs with 2 x15" per side powered by SET monoblocks, electronics from the likes of Audiolab, Marantz, Sugden, Kenwood Trio and having friends and family with a range of set-ups including ATC speakers in one case (SCM100s) I am probably quite au fait with music reproduction systems, also working in a design bureau that includes the likes of Focusrite as well as other pro-audio companies amongst its customers and having friends and aquaintences who work for such companies as the previously mentioned, Music Group etc I am exposed to a lot of stuff related to the design of music reproduction and recording stuff... Oh and I have spent many years working on military communications which is audio...
Finally my Mum was Lead trombonist with the Ivy Benson Dance Band so I was exposed to live music from a very early age...
So my comments whilst not as qualified as some come from a wide area of experience of music reproduction...

I did not mean that you are not familiar with different audio systems. My point was to listen what differences changing components and tweaking an audio system would make to the sound. As you would expect a good dealer has more stuff available on hands to play with.
 
My point was to listen what differences changing components and tweaking an audio system would make to the sound. As you would expect a good dealer has more stuff available on hands to play with.

I am sure many of us have been there and done that. Long ago I actually believed what I read in the "flat earth" hi-fi press, and spent a lot of time tweaking and changing components in my systems - and usually hearing a clear improvement. Then I actually participated in some serious double blind listening tests, and started to apply that methodology to my own system tweaking - only to find out that many of the improvements didn't actually make any difference at all.

As to access to gear, I am indirectly (through owning part of a management restructuring company) an owner of a high-end audio dealership.
 
When I used a USB SD card writer I was hearing the same kind of sound that made me give up on computer audio. That is when I realized much of the sound of computer audio that I could not enjoy was from USB. This was using my old rips, previous to the OS mod. When copying the disks using a SATA writer that sound was gone. That sound is confusion and lack of resolution in the lower midrange to the upper bass.

You are telling that there is audible difference depending on how you copy music files into SDCard? I don´t want to be rude, but this sounds somewhat strange... Please correct me if I understod something wrong, because english is not my native...

However if there is differences between USB and SATA based writers, I wonder how would laptop succeed with it´s SDCard port? For example Review HP EliteBook 8740w Mobile Workstation - NotebookCheck.net Reviews or is it just for card reding this port usually in laptops?
 
You are telling that there is audible difference depending on how you copy music files into SDCard? I don´t want to be rude, but this sounds somewhat strange... Please correct me if I understod something wrong, because english is not my native...

However if there is differences between USB and SATA based writers, I wonder how would laptop succeed with it´s SDCard port? For example Review HP EliteBook 8740w Mobile Workstation - NotebookCheck.net Reviews or is it just for card reding this port usually in laptops?

Sorry o' god o' audio but it has not been thoroughly hashed out. If it has for you then why do you bother looking at this thread. Let me guess: you do not use or own a SDTrans? I bet I am right.

To the quoted one:
If I did not hear a difference why would I post? I am not trying to start a controversy. IF you use an SDTrans it is simple enough to buy the other format writer and hear for yourself. Your English is fine it is your reasoning that I do not understand. I have no idea how a laptop would perform since I do not use one. I know I would not use a laptop for audio but then I have no idea what I am talking about and what I hear is a fantasy I have created within my own limited consciousness. Proceed with caution. In fact, do not proceed at all. Just leave it alone and wait patiently for the next celebrated fancy box full of chips, DC-DC converters and ceramic capacitors. Therein will lie the truth. Who cares if it sounds bad? But it will be new. Who wants to listen to this stuff anyway? More on this below.

But to all, whatever you do DO NOT TRY any of this for yourselves. You will not hear any difference at all. It is all a big joke and you smart fellows did not get sucked into it. You should be, and I know, you are, immensely proud and pleased with yourselves. AS you should be. You know full well that audio is a settled "science" and there is nothing anyone can do to improve it so quit trying. Spend your time with home theater, it will be more rewarding.

And most importantly, why bother to listen to music at all? It is stupid. There aren't any pictures and it demands much too much time which would be better spent writing comments on audio forums. Then again maybe those boxes as mentioned above are what put too many of you in such a cranky mood?

Back to work ...