2012 MacBook Air USB 3.0/Thunderbolt - best storage option?

Please forgive me if this has been discussed before, but I've done some research on the subject and still am coming up blank.

I need a 4-bay drive enclosure for my new 13" MacBook Air. I've got my own drives, and I don't need RAID.

USB 3.0 would be preferable, because it is much less expensive than Thunderbolt. However I need to know that the USB 3.0 drive would actually WORK with Apple's new USB 3.0 ports.

I ordered the Mediasonic ProBox 4 Bay USB 3.0 enclosure here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817576009

It had good build quality, was fast, small, simple, and I really liked it. However, it simply is not compatible with Apple's USB 3.0 ports. There are lots of issues with this that make it unusable. Maybe a firmware update will fix this down the road, but who knows. Lots of other people are having issues with this enclosure, and many other USB 3.0 enclosures. I'm returning it tomorrow.

Can anyone recommend a 4 bay USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt enclosure that is relatively inexpensive (i.e. not $500 bucks!) and guaranteed compatible with the new MacBook Airs?

I do a lot of audio recording, so a quiet enclosure is a plus.

Thank you so much for any help you can provide!

WesCole said:

Maybe something like this?

http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Sh...sku=13486476&gclid=CJnW1LSgs7ECFeSMTAodsS8A5g

I have no experience with it, but It is sold by a Mac website.

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Wow, this looks promising. Thank you!

Might be a touch loud since the drives are exposed, but I could keep it under the desk and put a cardboard box over it when I'm recording.

I'm nervous to order, never used that website and there are no reviews. I'll do some more research on this unit and see what I can find.

Has anyone here used one of these with USB 3.0?

3drteest said:

Hi,
I know this is an old thread, but I recommend the "Mediasonic HF2-SU3S2 ProBox 4 Bay Hard Drive Enclosure with USB 3.0 & eSATA" from Amazon. Some, if not many, of the current USB 3.0 enclosures do not work with the 2012 Macbook Pro or Air for some strange reason. Apple insists that there's nothing wrong on their end and that everybody else needs to get the manufacturers to update their firmware.

Anyway, I have the Mediasonic enclosure mentioned above on my 2012 Macbook Pro and it's running great, but that was after they sent me an updated board for my unit after the new Macs came out. But I believe that all the new ones they send out are fully compatible with the new Macs.

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Thanks, this is exactly what I ended up ordering, as well as a Vantec NexStar3 single enclosure. Both are working great, and fast fast fast.