Which external SSD for music streaming?

I too recommend a known brand-but-cheaper format of SSD (“longevity” generally relates to rewrite-ability of a drive before it risks corruption/failure and so as already mentioned, won’t apply to a read-only drive for a CD collection) e.g. QVO Samsung. For sake of comparison, Samsung’s EVO and PRO options are unnecessary in your case as the benefits relate to rewrite-ability (not applicable to a read-only drive) and read/write speed (only important for heavy tasks on a traditional computer, although moving a large music collection onto said drive may show you a one-time slight uptick in convenience; hardly worth the additional premium IMO).

I suggest you disregard recommendation for “upgrading” the USB cable between external drive and streamer. There is no evidence of these being a bottleneck for sound quality, and notice how there is never mention of any SATA-to-USB or NVME-to-USB adapter chipset being the compromise in that part of the “chain” since apparently no hifi company offers a bespoke external USB case (yet…?). Money more effectively spent on more drive storage capacity.

It is generally recommended to back up a SSD’s data on a traditional HDD (instead of an identical SSD) - magnetic (HDD) drives have more reliable lifespans when unplugged/unpowered for long periods. That said, I’ve had large capacity SSD’s (4 & 8 TB) show no signs of data corruption after 2+ years unpowered. YMMV, of course.

Isn't the Samsung QVO an internal drive? I need an external one. Following your advices, brand/no need for speed, the Crucial X6 would be a good option, I think.

What kind of USB protocol does your streamer use? Is it 2.0 or 3.0 or 3.2? I would confirm what USB protocol the streamer uses and check that against the SSD drive you intend to buy.

I made the mistake of buying a Samsung external SSD that uses the USB 3.2 protocol and my Cambridge CXN V2 uses a 2.0 protocol which meant it couldn't read the SSD. So I ended up getting a 2TB HDD and instead use that as my primary drive for my digital collection. The portable SSD is my back-up drive so if something happens I won't lose all my music.

I think it is 2.0

stievus OP

41 posts

03-20-2024 at 10:54pm

Isn’t the Samsung QVO an internal drive? I need an external one.
…

@stievus fair question. The difference between an external drive and an internal drive is generally that an external drive is sealed inside a case that converts SATA or NVME to USB, whereas with an “internal” drive you select one of many empty 2.5” SATA or M.2 drive cases (or open connectors) that contains the chipset to convert the same. Only difference being an external drive is generally not separable from the case it’s built into and you can’t always be sure which version of a manufacturer’s drive is inside said case.

QVO is Samsung’s space/cost efficient version that can work as an internal or external drive. I mentioned it because it was already discussed in this thread.

I would imagine most every streamer will be using USB 2.0 protocol as that’s standard for audio. Higher version chipsets should be backwards-convertible, but you may need to change the USB cable accordingly as there can apparently be difference in protocol there (depending on the device receiving the data).
USB 3.2 is overkill for audio if used with high speed drives and in such use can produce an unnecessary amount of heat; consequently, I have no experience using USB 3.2 drives for audio purposes - they aren’t designed for such “light lifting.”
USB 3.0 external cases + 2.5” SATA drives have usually worked fine for me (into various USB 2.0-spec’ed audio devices), but that doesn’t mean all converter chipsets will be compatible (I did have an issue with a Unitek open-style SATA-to-USB 3.0 converter into a USB 2.0 device once; it was a powered adapter so that may have been an issue) - YMMV.

Whether external drives or external cases for internal drives, best to use something that is bus-powered by the streamer.

I would not recommend a USB 2.0 external drive as these will all be HDD’s and sacrifice the benefits of an SSD.

If you use a SSD for backup, it is probably a good idea to power it up periodically, given the concern over data integrity if stored at length in unpowered drives of this format.