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Quietest 500GB Firewire drive?

I'm researching external drives for my music room (Firewire drive > PowerBook G4 > [USB DAC when I have more $] > Arcam FMJ). I want it to be as quiet as possible. (I would be very happy if it were as quiet as the PowerBook.) I have an older Lacie Big Disk in my office and, even though it is fanless, it isn't sufficiently quiet for my music room (I can hear the disks spinning and electrical hum).

Here are the drives I'm comparing so far:

- LaCie d2 Quadra Hard Disk
- Western Digital My Book Studio Edition
- Seagate FreeAgent Go for Mac

Can anyone speak about their relative noise levels? Lacie tells me the Quadra is much quieter than my older Big Disk, but I would like to hear from actual users.

Thanks!
syncrasy
syncrasy OP
14 posts
 
correction: the Seagate option should say Seagate FreeAgent "Desk" for Mac (the "Go" version doesn't come in a 500GB size).
macdadtexas
1,794 posts
 
if your collection is that big you really need a Raid system with multiple drives, or what is actually easier is a Drobo with multiple drives that make it nearly impossible to lose your data, and can give you up to 3TB of storage with backup.
syncrasy OP
14 posts
 
Macdad,

I've already got a 1TB LaCie drive for backup so, unless both drives fail simultaneously, I'm not too concerned about data loss.
fytunes
19 posts
 
Lacie makes a 500GB USB powered drive and a 1TB FireWire powered drive that are quiet and don't use fans. :)
syncrasy OP
14 posts
 
Fytunes,
Yes, I know -- I listed the LaCie d2 Quadra among my choices! The question is: how quiet is it? For example, if I'm listening to a quiet classical or jazz piece, I don't want to be reminded of a humming silver metal brick during the silent passages. Has anyone actually used one in their music room?
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