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The MD600 and Ensemble will run the Sooloos Core without a Disk installed

I don't believe that an MC200 will run without a Disk though and I'm sure that a C1x will not

Refusing to buy a single disc MC200 "because the single disk is doomed to failure" should surely then be applied to all single disk PC purchases, as they are equally likely to fail?

Hi Ronnie

Thanks for the clarification.

Russ

That's not strictly true: both the MD600 and Ensemble have small SSDs on which the OS is run. Not sure if the OS is run on the main MC200 disk or on a similar SSD.

I'm not sure that I would call those cards "SSD's" in the sense of how they are normally sold and supplied in PC's

I'd prefer to use the word "Flash Memory" (which is what SSD's use anyway)

I believe that the MD600 and Ensembles are configured just like many modern NAS's in that they have Flash Memory which is where the customised versions of (usually) BusyBox is run from (and can also be overwritten / updated)

In any case, the MD600 and Ensemble can run the Core without the Large 3.5 inch Disc being installed with the 3.5 inch drive being used for Media Storage only.

I believe that the Disk on the MC200 has the OS installed on it, but I'm not 100% sure... the C15 definitely has the OS installed on it.

Agreed, they are not strictly SSDs in the normal sense.

Useful info QNAP HDD Compatibility List.

Ronnie appears right with the cheapest option being the TS-269L, available on Ebuyer for �374, unless you can find a second hand TS-239 Pro or TS-259 Pro. None on eBay at the moment!

Show me a PC or Mac that I cannot open up to replace a failed or dying hard disk.

If the MC200 is so secure, why then do Meridian offer the MD600 with integral redundancy? Their own promotional literature recognises that if anything should go wrong your music library is backed-up to the second drive.

My understanding is that the MC200 is a sealed unit system. If the disk fails you have lost your music library.

If Meridian updated the MC200 with user-chanageable drives I would be far less resistant in buying one.

It's extremely difficult to replace a hard drive in any modern iMac, and I believe it's not considered user replaceable.

The disk in the MC200 can be replaced fairly easily, in terms of the mechanics of opening the box. If you're really worried about failure, why not just periodically open it up and use a disk cloner as a backup?

Of course, the HDD failing doesn't junk an MC200, Meridian would, I'm sure, put a new drive in.

They use server grade drives, though, which are designed to run all day every day for years reliably. As I understand it the failure rate so far is practically non-existent...

Having said all this, I do think that a standalone 'core' or core store which would sit below an MC200 price wise is justified - when buying my 818 I was essentially paying for A/D and output stage, etc on the MC200 I would probably never use!

IMO looking to the future Meridian would be best concentrating on selling end points which contain a core you pay for, and leaving storage to a compatible Qnap...

That said, no one has yet heard whether the NAS makes a difference in SQ compared to a dedicated Meridian server...

I shall resist the temptation to open up the can of worms about core and store being co-located and thus offering advantages when using devices that can therefore avoid an extra network shuffle to decode in a core before sending to end zone ... Ronnie will have my guts for garters

@ Spinaltap
I'm not really following your argument here at all about what you think M do or don't say or imply about backups and number of HDD. They very clearly state and make several options available to ensure that music libraries are backed up to separate HDD and machines. They clearly state that the multi-HDD Raid1 set ups are not fully protected against total failure and that libraries should be properly backed up. Same applies for the single HDD machines.

Libraries must be backed up... period!

Hi Nick,

Just for the record, I'm already on record here as being in favour of the Core and Store being on the same Device ... even if it's only for the reason of avoiding the extra Network Data going to another device in the Sooloos chain.

While this may be controversial, I believe that the Sooloos Core is better served by only needing to concern itself with the Decoding to PCM and the Sending of those Packets to the Endpoints.

Adding the extra overhead of Receiving the FLAC Files by Packet Data from the Store adds an overhead which may be better avoided.

All of which is why I've in the past advocated that:

a) Those with C15's (or MC200's) and e.g. an MD600 should preferably run the Core on the MD600.

b) Why I advocated much earlier in this thread that Meridian allow the Core to run on the QNAP NAS, assuming the QNAP was going to be the User's Primary Store.

And on that last point about the Core being run on the QNAP, Meridian could provide this functionality as a QPKG Plug-In and if necessary charge for the Plug-In. IMHO, charging for the Plug-In is a much better long term solution than the Cheap Core device that some here are calling for.

Now, if you want to start talking about Powerline versus Cat 5 or Wifi, we can talk again about those Garters

Given your Avatar, I'll focus on Apple machines...

None of the Macbook Air's or Macbook Pro Retina Models (which use Flash Memory) have "Hard Drives" that can be replaced by the User without losing the Warranty, which is exactly the same as the MC200.

The Mac Pro's are headed in the same direction with their new design and the iMac's will soon follow.

Does that mean that you will soon stop using Mac's as they will not offer "User Replaceable Drives"?


"If the disk fails you have lost your music library."
Again, how is that different to the Mac that you currently use?

You likely use Time Machine Backups to ensure that you have a Backup if the Mac's hard drive fails... which is exactly what you do with an MC200... you take regular Backups, which can then be restored onto a new Drive in a repaired or replacement MC200.

I don't fancy splitting yet another set of Off Topic posts, to their own thread. So can we please stay on topic here.

Regards,
Carl