Looking for Quiet External HD...

I've got two Seagates in a Cavalry Raid Box - very, very noisy,, especially when first firing up - I'm considering enclosing it in a small foam lined beer cooler - the kind you carry to the beach. Don't get Seagate.

From what I've read, there are quiet and noisy external drives manufactured by all the manufacturers mentioned thus far, so I don't think one can make a blanket statement about noisiness of the drives based solely on brand. Size, design and enclosure all make a difference.

I'm hoping for some folks to contribute specific makes and models that are quiet: 1TB (or 2TB), Firewire 800, external drives.

Even with specific models, it's not simple. I vouch for the Lacie linked above, which seems to me quite acceptable in an audio context, but when I was looking, I was struck by how widely customer reviews would vary on the question of noise, *for the same model*. Easy to find the same drive being called "noisy" and "quiet" by different customers. I concluded that there are huge individual differences in customer tolerance and experience, and also probably in the performance of individual units (perhaps due application).

Fortunately, drives are cheap, and it would be easy enough to try a few. Might be a good time to invest in "Amazon Prime," for the shipping!

J

01-24-11: Larry_s
SATA drives have an Acoustic Management option that is usually "performance" mode as shipped, not the quietest that drive can do.

Good point by Larry. Grant, see my post here, and the link provided therein.

Best regards,
-- Al