Best external alternative?

[Starre]

I can´t decide, should I get a fast 128 gB flash/pen drive which plugs in directly to USB 3.0 port, or external SSD with a cable between it and usb 3.0 port? I really like the simplicity of a flash/pen drive but which will sound best?

Impossible to answer maybe .

[StephenJK]

I can´t decide, should I get a fast 128 gB flash/pen drive which plugs in directly to USB 3.0 port, or external SSD with a cable between it and usb 3.0 port? I really like the simplicity of a flash/pen drive but which will sound best?

Impossible to answer maybe .

 

A cheaper alternative would be to go with an HDD instead of the SSD. I don't know that SSD provides any advantage. I use a 2TB eSATA drive with my home system in a single drive docking bay. It has both USB 3.0 and eSATA outputs.

 

On the road, I use a 2TB USB drive that also has a USB 3.0 connection, but I've used USB 2.0 without any issues.

 

I like the idea of basic, standard Western Digital red drives because they're cheap, reliable and when I upgrade to a bigger size I can set them aside without any concern.

 

You may want to visit the Disk Storage/Music Library Storage forum here as well, lots of great advice over there.

[Starre]

Yes I should have posted in that forum, ty.

[joelha]

The best option I've heard (and currently use) is an SSD directly connected to a motherboard sata port with a good sata cable.

 

Joel

[Starre]

Ok interesting, I use a laptop so usb 3 is the one for me.

[sandyk]

I can´t decide, should I get a fast 128 gB flash/pen drive which plugs in directly to USB 3.0 port, or external SSD with a cable between it and usb 3.0 port? I really like the simplicity of a flash/pen drive but which will sound best?

Impossible to answer maybe .

 

Actually, even the humble USB 3.0 rated memory pen, will give better results for SQ when using a device such as an Uptone USB Regen with a modified USB cable (no +5V) , just like an external USB SSD will, even over being directly plugged into a USB port, especially a front panel USB port which uses a relatively long internal USB cable to connect it to the Motherboard.

 

Alex

 

P.S.

Don't forget that you can also plug that USB memory stick with music videos etc , on it too, directly into a media player such as the Oppo 103, or perhaps even directly into the USB port of some large TVs.

[Snowmonkey]

I've found a NAS to be the best external solution. For a long time, I used a dedicated PC, connected by ethernet for my main system and a laptop, via WiFi, for a secondary system. Of late, I am streaming from the NAS directly to a Chromecast Audio for both systems and neither system has ever sounded so good. The PC and laptop are out of the playback chain completely and only used for library maintenance. One caveat: the Chromecasts can't handle >96kHz files, if that's your thing.

Another caveat: You need a DAC that accepts TOSLINK in to get high quality results from a Chromecast Audio.

[master]

For music it doesn't really matter, speed is not a factor.

 

If you are transferring files then yes a USB 3.0 flash drive would be a better choice.

 

I'd not use the SSD for anything like transferring files, or for playing music off of it. It makes sense for an OS, way too expensive for backups or a NAS.

 

I'd also recommend a NAS and regular HDDs. Maybe RAID if you are paranoid about backups, or simply get external HDDs for backups.

 

A NAS plus a front end SOC like a Pi or a PC running Daphile or MPD is the way to go. With a PC you can dispense with the NAS and go with internal storage.