It's been sounding like a dead fan bearing in the rack for a while, there's really old machines in there. Turns out no! The drive did the screeching. I was stunned for a second when the noise stopped upon its removal.
Platter smoke. Don't breathe this!
There's nothing funnier to me than the jargon you get from "audiophile" gear, especially when it comes to stuff in the digital domain. I've seen "audiophile" network switches.
Or fiber optic cables with gold plated connectors.