Which external SSD for music streaming?
My new music streamer has a USB socket to connect an external Solid State Drive. I am thinking of getting one with 2 or 4 TB storage capacity to store my whole CD collection on it. What I don't know is how fast such an SSD needs to be. I was thinking of a Crucial X6 (up to 800 MB/s), or X9 (up to 1050MB/s). Or is any SSD fast enough to stream music smoothly? Thanks
The external Samsung drives should be fine, but are more costly than Samsung SATA drives in a third party external USB case. A QVO 2.5” 4 TB drive in a competent USB 3.0/3.1 case might bring a better cost-per-GB ratio and shouldn’t sacrifice anything for audio data purposes. I only mention this because comparative price point seems a consideration of OP. |
@russbutton If only using TV, yes. But who does that in 2024? What I already learned from this conversation is that 1) I should go for a reliable brand ssd, 2) Mb/s will always be sufficient for only streaming music 3) I can choose between an external disc or internal 2.5 one within a dedicated case 4) I best try out whether the ssd usb will be compatible with the streamer usb. Thanks |
@benanders Just to be sure, a Sata drive in a USB 3.1 case will work with the USB 2.0 input socket of the streamer? |
@stievus correct - any 2.5” SATA III SSD drive in an external USB 3.0/3.1 2.5” drive case should be compatible with a USB 2.0-in audio device. Any issue would likely be on part of either the external case’s SATA-USB chipset or the streamer’s USB-in. Sufficient bus-power for the drive itself should be no issue for pretty much every relevant 2.5” SATA III SSD on the market, even on drive power-up (tends to require more juice). |
