External firewire hard drive to go with Mac Mini.

Thanks Larry, are you talking about the WD 2TB My Book Studio Addition II with RAID?

Thanks for your suggestions. Is the WD 2TB mybook studio HD very quiet?

Rbstehno, thanks suggesting the Seagate. I was interested in the Free Agent 2 TB HD, but there seems to be a problem with Free Agent drives and Macs. Specifically, there is an Amazon review by a guy who bought this drive for his Mac. Here is A. Leong's review on May 31, 2010:

"Do not buy this drive if you use sleep/ hibernate on your mac. I bought two of these to house my media library and to serve as a backup drive for my Mac Mini in my living room. First the positives: this drive is fast. I didn't have any problems with delay when I accessed data on the drive (iTunes library, movies, pictures). It's also quiet. It's fanless so no distraction when listening to music. The light on the bottom is anoying, but tollerable. Now for the big problem: if the drive goes into hibernate, it will not wake up, freezing you computer and forcing a hard reboot. With the updated firmware from Seagate, it takes about 15 min on inactivity. I used an applet to constantly ping it so that it wouldn't sleep. That was fine except if your mac goes to sleep, it will also hiberate this drive. Somehow, the time machine drive would still sleep everyday and freeze the mini, as a result. So, in short, if you're the kind of user who boots up your computer, does what you need to do, and then shuts it down, these are the drives for you. If you leave your computer on for any period of time, don't buy these."

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-FreeAgent-FireWire-External-ST320005FJA105-RK/product-reviews/B002DW94WS/ref=cm_cr_pr_recent?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Have you had any problem like this?

Anyone have any problem with the Seagate drive and Macs like the guy I posted about above?

Would appreciate if people limit their posts to my original question and about the Seagate drive.

Kijanki, no worries. Thanks for your input on the fantom drive.

Thanks. Will look into the Fantom. How far do you sit from the Fantom drive when you listen to your system? Which model do you have specifically? I like the Seagate because it comes with 5 year warrenty, something no other hard drive maker can match.

The 938s are great speakers - really can't touch them unless you are willing to spend over $10k. I am finally moving onto different speakers which cost a lot more but better sounding.

Well, I'm not sure I would use Hyundai and Toyota as an analogy given Toyota's recent debacle. You may be surprised if you test drive the recent Hyundai's. Unfortunately, most HD fail within the first three years, and some in the first year. I think most of these HD makers only give 1 year warranty because they expect it fail not too soon after warranty. I have not had a HD last more than 4 years, so 5 year warranty is reassuring. I have Mac Mini with FW 800.

WD has been recommended for its quietness but it has virtual Smartware you can't get rid of taking up 700 MB of disk space. Seems like there are as many good reviews as bad on WD drives.

Haven't heard the 968's. I've heard it's an improvement over the 938s but not on another level. Hyperion has had some issues with customer support, although I have had great support from them. I'm getting the Ridge Street Audio Sason. It's a two way but sounds like no other two way I've heard, including the Magico Mini's. I can send you some pics if you want, just email me.