Introduction

There have been rumors on the forum Audiophile Style circulating about a possible SSD geared for audio lovers and audiophiles alike. Naturally, this does seem like the next logical step from sound cards for audio lovers to gravitate to. As audio quality improved on motherboards and laptops, it became harder to justify needing a sound card or external headphone amp for your machine in order to listen to good music. But now, there may be an alternative to achieve an even higher fidelity sound. Previous efforts included a $2,500 ethernet switch that was focused on audio quality, covered by TomsHardware, and this new SSD falls right in line with that product in terms of niche audience.

Product Details

The latest rumor circulating is that this SSD is in the sampling and testing phase. It apparently will increase audio quality and produce 3D sound more efficiently and at a higher fidelity (fidelity: the degree of exactness of which something is copied or reproduced). The developer has been said to have designed this product throughout with an audiophile in mind, and is working closely with an SSD controller manufacture who has yet to be named. Realtek SSD is a manufacturer who has been making sound processors for years, and recently started producing SSD controllers.

This product will contain (supposedly) 1TB of 3D TLC flash storage, but only 33% of that storage will be useable. This is due to the configuration – which will sacrifice capacity for performance and endurance with pSLC technology (pseudo-SLC). This is also noted to also have a 5V DC power input, on an eight-layer PCB with two ounces of copper. The product will also feature a 300% grounding area with 5u gold plated connectors and a copper heatsink.

Other Thoughts

I do not believe this product will capture the mass market of low price and high performance SSDs. However, it is not uncommon for fans of high fidelity audio and enthusiasts to purchase very expensive hardware and tuning software. Audiophiles often want to get their listening environments how they want them. This SSD may prove to be beneficial to that niche who wants the highest quality storage available for their files. Lossless formats (including WAV) are larger file sizes than the standard compressed files of MP3. If all the files are lossless there will be less room on the SSD. Users will have to choose wisely what they want to keep on that device.

Conclusion

Although this is a niche product, it is quite interesting. It has also gained interest from the audiophile, audio lover, and music lover niches thus-far. I am interested to see how the product is accepted and reviewed once it is released.