Opinion 1

Broadband Internet access is now a standard, to which we got accustomed to, but also grew to expect everywhere we go. Even a slightest unavailability, like when we go for a stroll in the woods or mountains, is sometimes able to trigger deep fear states in the more fragile minded individuals, or at least some disorientation. Because how is it possible not being able to share a picture of the beautiful berry we see, a mushroom or at least a picturesque view with or without our selfie? This was additionally strengthened by the pandemic, which made not only our work and school move to the Internet realm, but also we started to view TV, do shopping or even meet with friends on-line. It is worth remembering, that for us – audiophiles – music is most important in the digital realm, by which I mean all kinds of streaming services and shops offering digital downloads. Because why should we put everything on the shelves at our home, which tends to get smaller with time, when everything is available within reach, just a mouse click away. So we listen to what we want and whenever we want. Simple, isn’t it? Yes. If the Internet is not fading that day, or our offspring is clogging our link with on-line gaming, or the streaming platform has some bandwidth issues or even the artist we like had a tantrum and removed all his work from the streaming platform we use. Is this at all possible? Of course. But before you start having nightmares and anxiety states looking into the future, you can make sure you have some kind of safety and independence, as well as comfort of user-friendliness (or not need to handle it at all) of an external, big storage space for your files. And here enters our today’s guest, the 10TB disk Silent Angel Expander E1, supplied to us by the Wroclaw based Audio Atelier.

As can see for yourselves, the chassis of the Expander E1 is a tightly sealed, massive aluminum profile, covered in grey-titanium varnish. It is placed on four turned, anti-vibration feet. The disk itself is placed in a dedicated, anti-vibration basket. This basket is not a run-of-the-mill, standard computer one, but placed on four columns, decoupling it from the chassis, vibration reducing spikes and has a cover, several millimeters thick. This quite worked out construction resulted in reducing the sound of the working drive below 26dB. Additionally, excluding the power supply outside of the USB port allows to minimize the interference with the signal flowing between the disk and the receiver. The power supply itself is a standard “laptop” type 12V/1A brick, but common sense and experience suggest, that if you have the chance, you should use a line PSU, like for example the Forester F2.
The only decoration is the company logo on the top cover and a small LED in the right, lower corner of the fascia, informing us the unit is powered on. A bit more is happening on the back, where we have a USB 3.0 type B port, a DC 5.5×2.5 socket and the main power switch. So we do deal here with a USB disk, and not a NAS with an Ethernet LAN port. And what comes of it? For the common user it just means he or she will not need any additional accessories (of course besides a streamer equipped with an USB expansion port), like a switch (N8 Pro or N8) or appropriately refined Ethernet cables. Not even mentioning a UPnP server. You can even say, that this is an ideal proposal for those ascetic brothers and sisters with golden ears, who leave the Wi-Fi outside of their audiophile seclusions, and like to select the material for their listening using buttons on their players or a remote, scrolling through the directory trees.

Moving on to the section devoted to the sound of the tested device, I would like to split it in two parts. The first one would be about its “own” sounds, and the second, proper one, about the reproduction of music stored on it. The reason for that seems obvious, as all kinds of network appliances, like NAS, etc, we are able to expedite outside of our listening room, their working sounds (fans, or even resonances of their chassis) are almost, or completely irrelevant. And we will not be able to place the Silent Angel proposal too far away from the streamer, so it will remain in the field of our view or hearing. Fortunately the manufacturer is aware, and managed to achieve very satisfactory results, so that during copying complicated, and quite “heavy” content, we can hear something when putting our ear against the chassis, but during normal operation, when we are just playing back the material on the disk, it turns out to be as loud as boulders in the forest – completely silent. Of course if we concentrate on the sounds the unit produces, as in fact it shares the files stored very nicely and quickly, although it is based on a spinning drive and not a SSD.
And now we are moving to the second, main part, where on the playlist we could not forgo the very moody and minimalistic “From Heaven on Earth – Lute Music from Kremsmunster Abbey” by Hubert Hoffman, recorded in one of the “quietest” recording studios in the world – the Belgian Galaxy. It was about verifying with my own ears, if even at very low volume levels, something (the tested disk) will not interfere with the musical contemplation. And? The test passed with flying colors. The presence of the Silent Angel was only noticeable due to the lit LED, while the music on itself enchanted with quietness, resolution and blackness ready to receive the Vantablack certificate. So we can immediately remove all kinds of artefacts like noise, grain or semi-transparent moire from the list of items that could degrade the holography of the sound. Am I imagining things? Absolutely not, because it was enough to take any “civilian” 2.5” USB disk, powered from the USB port (I had 3 WD Elements Portable discs with a capacity from 500GB to 2TB to choose from), to immediately notice, that something intruded the sound, a certain nervousness, the upper registers lost a bit of clarity, and the whole was played with much less energy compared to the Expander E1. To be sure, I also took the full-sized LaCie 500GB with external power supply, but its operating culture (or rather lack thereof) disqualified it after just a few pieces.
But let us be frank – maybe the lute is a nice instrument, but the scale of its dynamics is quite limited. This is why, after those refined notes, I added completely different repertoire to the playlist, something full of electronics, shouts and metal sounds, albeit not devoid from melody – “I, the Mask” by In Flames. As you can probably imagine, this is not an album, which can, or should, be listened to being fully concentrated and with low volume levels. Absolutely not. Here the volume knob is going closer to the borderline of common sense, inducing evil looks from other household members and a perspective of compensating the neighbors for the sound levels. But this is what you need to do to truly verify the assets of the tested component. Yet even at really concert-like levels of volume I have not noted anything disturbing (except for the above mentioned concerns of course). Both the insight into the recording, as well as separation of the individual parties, were on a very high level. Dynamics, especially the macro one, tried to remove that part of my body, where the back loses its name, and I could only start to move my head rhythmically, although it is long past the time, when it had hair on it, that could warrant proper headbanging. There are no flies on.

Maybe the Silent Angel Expander E1 is not as functional as a classic NAS, communicating through the Ethernet cable, maybe it is more expensive than the “civilian” external USB disks with similar capacity, but if our main criterium, we use to complete our audio system, is the sound quality, then I suggest to think about at least testing out over a weekend, if not buying outright. And then you can respond to yourself if you can warrant such a purchase and have the full library of your music at your disposal, regardless of the fact if you have access to Internet sitting in your listening chair, or not.

Marcin Olszewski

System used in this test:
– CD/DAC: Ayon CD-35 (Preamp + Signature) + Finite Elemente Cerabase compact
– Network player: Lumin U2 Mini + Franc Audio Accessories Ceramic Disc TH + I-O Data Soundgenic HDL-RA4TB
– Digital source selector: Audio Authority 1177
– Turntable: Kuzma Stabi S + Kuzma Stogi + Dynavector DV-10X5
– Phonostage: Tellurium Q Iridium MM/MC Phono Pre Amp
– Power amplifier: Bryston 4B³ + Graphite Audio IC-35 Isolation Cones
– Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Contour 30 + Brass Spike Receptacle Acoustic Revive SPU-8 + Base Audio Quartz platforms
– IC RCA: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond
– IC XLR: Organic Audio; Vermöuth Audio Reference; Acrolink 7N-A2070 Leggenda
– Digital IC: Fadel art DigiLitz; Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Copper; Apogee Wyde Eye; Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 200
– USB cables: Wireworld Starlight; Goldenote Firenze Silver; Fidata HFU2; Vermöuth Audio Reference
– Speaker cables: Signal Projects Hydra; Vermöuth Audio Reference Loudspeaker Cable + SHUBI Custom Acoustic Stands MMS-1
– Power cables: Furutech FP-3TS762 / FI-28R / FI-E38R; Organic Audio Power + Furutech CF-080 Damping Ring; Acoustic Zen Gargantua II; Furutech Nanoflux Power NCF
– Power distribution board: urutech e-TP60ER + Furutech FP-3TS762 / Fi-50 NCF(R) /FI-50M NCF(R)
– Wall power socket: Furutech FT-SWS(R)
– Anti-vibration platform: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Slim Platform
– Switch: Silent Angel Bonn N8 + Silent Angel S28 + Silent Angel Forester F1 + Luna Cables Gris DC
– Ethernet cables: Neyton CAT7+; Audiomica Anort Consequence + Artoc Ultra Reference + Arago Excellence; Furutech LAN-8 NCF
– Table: Solid Tech Radius Duo 3
– Acoustic panels: Vicoustic Flat Panels VMT

Opinion 2

Even if you are not playing music from files, you do know, that if you do not use dedicated streaming platforms, you have to store those music files somewhere. And when you would think, that this is pretty basic, as you just need to buy an appropriately large external hard disk, but you need to solve a few issues. It is well known, that different products were not created equal and we always have a choice. Either regarding the price, durability, quality or regarding technical refinement of a given drive. This is the reason, that when we got the chance to test, what this all is about – in the sense of comparing the old HDD I own with the newest product of a strong player in the file business, there was no way getting around testing it out. So after the tests of the streamer Rhein Z1, the power supply Forester F2 and the Ethernet switch N8 Pro, we will see today another product from this line, the hard disk Silent Angel Expander E1, distributed in Poland by Wroclaw based Audio Atelier.

As you can expect, when some product should correlate with others, it must look similar to those. And this is the case here. The unit is of similar size to the rest of the family, and made out of aluminum. On the front you can only see a LED indicating the function of the disk, while on the back plate, three most elements, necessary for the device to function properly. One is the USB terminal, which allows it to be connected to a streamer, a power socket and main power switch. The whole chassis is supported on four, quite low feet. In terms of technicalities, the most important information is, that inside a very quiet HDD with 10TB capacity is installed. A nice add-on is a set of basic cabling.

What interesting can I tell about our tested hero? In theory, this is just a simple external disk, one like many others available on the market. Maybe, but as I mentioned during the introduction, in the process of getting the best out of our audio gear, we fight for each and every aspect improving our musical experience. And the tested unit has at least one aspect, significantly better than my disk, and many others on the market, for that matter. I mean, that it is surprisingly quiet, despite using a spinning drive inside. And I assure you, this is very important when you can only connect using a USB cable. Not once, when I was visiting somebody, during low volume passages, there was something on the verge of perception, but evidently there. Of course, we can get used to anything, but let us not fool ourselves, such artefacts are a clear interference, and we are combatting those. Personally, I would not be able to live with something like that, and I am happy, that at least during the test, I was able to taste the audiophile black background of the accompanying electronics. And how did this translate into the music and fared compared to the NAS I am using on a daily basis? Regarding the second part of the question, I cannot answer for 100%, as the tested device can only be connected via USB, and my home music databank only via LAN. However in my perception, it was better when using USB. Probably due to the fact of using a better cable and the streamer having a better port – the tested disk is dedicated to the SA Rhein Z1 source, as used in the test, but still, it was better. However for the first question – let me put it this way: this is very important, when you are listening quietly and at night, something I am doing very often. The background noise level, that I am almost hearing the bats waking up, what during listening to live recordings poses quite some challenge for the system. Fortunately the tested disk was dead quiet and I could not only listen to rock sessions with the newest AC/DC album “Power Up”, but also to musical projects like the newest production of the Oles Brothers with Piotr Orzechowski “Waterfall”. But why did I mention rock music? This was done on purpose, as if the disk would be noisy, that could be the only kind of music that I would be able to play. I like this group, I grew up with it, but a man does not live on rock alone and when you have your solitude, you do not want to waste the night for something else, than moving your soul. And the mentioned jazz disc is an ideal example of that. This is a kind of project, and not a lullaby, where once you start listening into the slow, seemingly placed far apart in terms of conversation, notes, once you enter the world created by the musicians, we start not only to understand their intentions, but also see their sublime understanding of each other. Unfortunately with any external sound – even a minute and sporadic one – it is easy to fall out of the trance, losing our grip on the story, so our tested device turned out to be absolutely key to be able keep the tension and our state of mind intact. It functions absolutely flawlessly, despite the modest looks and functionality. Kudos to it.

Now we reached the concluding paragraph, I am obligated to compile the thoughts scattered through the text into one whole and recommend something to someone. Unfortunately we are talking about a fairly simple device, so I will not extend this paragraph artificially, and will only state, that in my system – if I move to listening to music from files (something I am doing very sporadically) – I do not see another option than to purchase the Silent Angel. Why? This is easy – it looks nice, it can be placed amongst our electronics and use the best connecting cable we can afford. And most of all, it is silent, it allows us to get drowned in the music we are listening to. So to whom would I recommend this product? This should be clear – to everybody, without any exceptions. Because this is the only interesting proposition in the audio world? Of course not, but this one I got to know very thoroughly, and this is why I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Jacek Pazio

System used in this test:
Source:
– transport: CEC TL 0 3.0
– streamer: Melco N1A/2EX + switch Silent Angel Bonn N8
– DAC: dCS Vivaldi DAC 2.0
– Master clock: Mutec REF 10 SE-120
– reclocker: Mutec MC-3+USB
– Shunyata Research Omega Clock
– Shunyata Sigma V2 NR
– Preamplifier: Gryphon Audio Pandora
– Power amplifier: Gryphon Audio Mephisto Stereo
– Loudspeakers: Gauder Akustik Berlina RC-11 Black Edition
– Speaker Cables: Synergistic Research Galileo SX SC
IC RCA: Hijiri Million „Kiwami”, Vermouth Audio Reference
IC XLR: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond, Hijiri Milion „Kiwami”, Siltech Classic Legend 880i
Digital IC: Hijiri HDG-X Milion
Power cables: Hijiri Takumi Maestro, Furutech Project-V1, Furutech NanoFlux NCF, Furutech DPS-4.1 + FI-E50 NCF(R)/ FI-50(R), Hijiri Nagomi, Vermouth Audio Reference Power Cord, Acrolink 8N-PC8100 Performante
– Table: SOLID BASE VI
– Accessories: Harmonix TU 505EX MK II, Stillpoints ULTRA SS, Stillpoints ULTRA MINI, antivibration platform by SOLID TECH, Harmonix AC Enacom Improved for 100-240V, Harmonix Room Tuning Mini Disk RFA-80i
– Power distribution board: POWER BASE HIGH END
– Acoustic treatments by Artnovion
Analog stage:
Drive: Clearaudio Concept
Cartridge: Essence MC
Step-up: Thrax Trajan
Phonostage: Sensor 2 mk II

Polish distributor: Audio Atelier
Manufacturer: Silent Angel
Price: 9 199 PLN

Product Specification
– Capacity: 10 TB
– Power Input: (DC) 12V/1A max.
– Power Use: 12W max.
– Interface: USB3.0 Type-B female connector
– Dimensions (W x H x D): 200 x 76 x 200 mm
– Weight (net): 2.5 kg