Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming HD Drive for MD600

Guys - I have a WD Caviar Green SATA 2TB drive that I bought but never used, since I already have that drive can I use it in the MD600 with the newer version which is a Sata II drive? Does it matter if one is SATA and the other is SATA II?

This is the drive I own. : WD20000CSRTL
This is the newer model: WDBAAY0020HNC-NRSN

Hi,
Since the MD600 hard drives are not hot swappable, I surmise that they probably plug directly into the main board of the MD600. My guess would be that the firmware supporting the drives would allow pretty much any SATA drive to be used - although the same capacity should always be used in each bay. I would not think that SATAII and SATAIII drives would be an issue although the SATA III would only operate at SATAII speeds. However, I would advise caution.

Meridian would undoubtedly prefer if you always had exactly the same drive in each bay. I am sure that it is easier to support with that configuration. Compared to the price of the MD600 itself, I would recommend that you always source exactly the same disk - they are relatively inexpensive.

On another note, I imagine that upgrading from 2TB to 3TB would be quite complicated and time consuming.
/Marcus

For piece of mind, I'd purchase a matching pair of 3TB. Why risk grief to save 110.99 USD?

Also don't forget you need 3rd party storage as well to backup the Sooloos and keep off site.

Regards,
Carl

I ripped my whole collection a couple of years ago when I was using iTunes/Apple TV. But I will rip everything again to make sure I get the best quality possible, fun days ahead!

My understanding was that they must be of the same size, but that they don't have to be exactly the same; otherwise, given the short lifecyce of drive models, everytime one fails you'd have to replace both (unless you kept a spare on hand).

Good point. Maybe Rick or the other dealers can ask Meridian to clarify.

I actually do things the other way around. I rip CD's using dBpoweramp in a Windows PC then both copy the FLAC files to a NAS drive AND import them into my MD600.

My STORA NAS drive runs the CrashPlan server so it backs itself up to the cloud (Along with my precious pictures and family videos).

You could say that I use my MD600 as an "data end point" ( )

From the MD600, I can export the lot to iTunes in MP3 format. From iTunes (MP3) I can put it on my Playbook or Blackberry bold phone to take stuff with me when I go out and about.

/Marcus

Well, I pulled the trigger and now I'm waiting for my MD6000/MS600 kit of my own.

To be honest I didn't think this day would come as I was (and still am) pretty disgusted with the whole Meridian "don't call, call your dealer fiasco". However, what were my options? Sell the lot for pennies to the dollar? I don't think so! At the very least I didn't go for the 818. I hope I really, really like the sound from the MS600, if it is anything like the G98/G91 players I'd be terribly disappointed, but as some have mentioned before, if it is on-par with the 808.2 I'd be delighted; yes, after reading those comments my expectations are really high.

Anyway, turns out my WD drive is a WD20EARS, the same model Meridian recommends. I just purchased another one to make the pair but one interesting point, been a discontinued model, I paid about 50% more than what I paid for the one I bought back in 2010 (which is still under warranty!). So to the point they both need to be exactly the same, I have to think they may have to be the same size and maybe in the same range, but exactly the same? This is something one of the dealers on board should ask and corroborate with Meridian.

Anyway, it will be interesting times ahead for me as I plan to re-rip my whole collection, again. Thank God it's not 9K CD' as I had thought though.

Thanks to all who helped me in making this decision and for all the advice received (and to my wife who so kindly said, honey go get it, you deserve it) ... can you believe that?!?!

MJC

It's already clear: see Meridian_FAQ_2011_12_20_-_Sooloos_Media_Drive_600_Recommended_Hard_Drives.pdf .

At the bottom:

Fine, bring the thread to a screeching halt .....

WD introduced their "Red" NAS optimized HDD line recently:

http://wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810

The recommended drive list from Meridian was created prior to the release of these new drives. Seems perfect for the MD600. Here is Anandtech's review:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6157/...-are-nasoptimized-hdds-worth-the-premium

I wouldn't be surprised to see them update the list to add these.