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Good (or best) external SSDs for music in dedicated stereo system


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Anyone experimented with sound differences between external SSDs to a good quality dedicated stereo system? In my living room system, I've been using a 480 GB SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD with a TotalDac USB cable/filter to a modified Oppo 203 to play music files, mostly flac (followed by a Lampi dac, Supratek preamp, ATC actives). But even with frequent pruning, the SanDisk is getting close to full, so I'm looking to double the size. I tried a 1TB Seagate Backup Plus with a USB 3.0 A-to-micro-B adapter into the TD cable, but the music sounded like crap. Which leads me to assume that music from all drives doesn't sound the same. The 960GB SanDisk is $499 (mine 480 cost $175 four years ago). I've got a WD Blue in my computer that seems to sounds good, but haven't really used my PC for serious audio for some time. Anyone found something that plays really well? (this is not about storage). Thanks,

 

(No bits are bits comments or similar please)

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32 minutes ago, wdw said:

Think you’ll find three or for long threads on this subject....please check below.

 

Before posting, I went back 6 pages, three years, and didn't find anything on this specific topic. They are either about computer audio, i.e., internal drives, or general comparisons between various types in various setups. Little to nothing characterizing or comparing specific SSD's (or even HDDs).  

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What kind of power supply are you using with your external SSDs ?

 Both external HDD and SSD are sensitive to the quality of their external PSU, just as most USB devices,  including even USB Regens are.

 

How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file.

PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020

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 It’s in a USB 3.0 Inateck case that has a power switch and is plugged directly via the TD cable into the Oppo, so that’s where it’s getting its power, the same way a USB flash drive does (or from my PC when I plug it in there to do file management). The Oppo itself is powered via a PS Audio P15 Regenerator.

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  • 1 year later...

Not rude at all.p, and obviously important to comparisons. Having not followed developments in HDD tech closely, I’ve assumed the thin Seagate is an SSD. Interestingly, Seagate doesn’t say one way or the other in its marketing materials, which lends to HDD, i.e., deception. The only thing I found from a quick search on their site is https://www.seagate.com/support/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/backup-plus-fast-ssd/

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You'd be surprised! I had an external HDD that was about the dimensions of a check book, although it didn't last long. I forgot I had it and thought it was SSD because of the size, but sure enough when I plugged it in I heard the familiar but faint sound of a spinning drive. Depending on the generation you bought, there are differences in SSDs. The Seagate boasts speeds that are about half of the most recent gen of the SanDisk, although both seem to be very fast.

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  • 11 months later...

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