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.

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.

@stievus I do not recommend that Crucial X6 because it is spec’ed USB 3.2. Any USB type C device like this may require a bit more power (for its greater read/write speeds) than your USB 2.0 audio device can provide. It would surely require a different USB cable because audio devices spec’ed for 2.0 will not have USB type C-in’s (usually type A or B-in’s).

I use bus-powered external cases for SATA III (internal) drives spec’ed for USB 3.0/3.1. No issues on USB 2.0 audio devices. It is the Transcend 25S3 2.5” enclosure - Audiogon will not allow me to post the company link; it’s useful for understanding some of these differences in USB spec’s. With a basic computer I/O understanding this becomes a bit easier, I promise 😉

To sum up:

Most audio devices - USB 2.0

Most external HDD’s - USB 2.0 (a few are 3.0/3.1; still “slow”)

Some external SSD’s - USB 3.0/3.1 (probably fine)

Increasing # of external SSD’s - USB 3.2 / type C (maybe problematic)

Internal SSD’s - SATA III or M.2; require USB-adapter/converter like what’s built-in for external drives’ cases

SATA III 2.5” internal SSD in USB 3.0/3.1 external case tends to work with 2.0 audio device inputs (type A or B)

No guarantee that USB 3.2 / type C devices (drives) will be backwards-compatible with audio USB 2.0 due to differences in power spec’s

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.

@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). 

stievus OP

50 posts

03-26-2024 at 07:40pm 

One afterthought, will the difference in access speed be noticeable? Or is this just a measurement thing?

@stievus anecdotally, maybe. Your question is akin to asking if an OS (e.g. Windows) on a given desktop/laptop runs better if the boot drive is SSD vs. HDD. That answer would almost invariably be, yes.

I could go on a diatribe about how certain ARM-based system OS’s (via both DIY and proprietary manufactured kit), for me, ran without the software glitches and/or hardware freezes I experienced when using an external 2.5” HDD, after I switched to SSD’s. IOW (anecdotally and unverified), SSD format seemed to fix a problem that might have been rooted in external HDD storage. 

Insofar as what’s been properly tested among boards/processors and OS’s/memory use for audio streamers/transports, there’s no readily available info for influence of drive format.

It was only recently that SSD’s were demonstrated to exceed HDD’s in power consumption, but due to certain uncontrolled variables in that study, the results should be pretty suspect.