[Doody]

So I can't imagine I'm the only person with this question, but absent some old, semi-related posts (that didn't get to answers) I can't figure this one out.

MUSIC STORAGE
I have an external SSD with my music on it. Most of the music is lossless and ranges from redbook up to Quad DSD (11.2 MHz; 256 fs) and DXD PCM (24 bits / 352.8 kHz). The SSD in question is 1 TB and my collection is about 1.1 TB - and growing - so 2 TB is in the headlights.

HEADPHONE DAC/AMP
I have a headphone DAC/AMP that can handle these bitrates and needs to be fed via USB to move that sort of data around. It's a Chord Hugo 2, but could be any one of N latest-gen portable DAC/AMPs.

PLAYER/CONTROL
This is where the proverbial spanner gets tossed into the proverbial works. I can't find a solution that marries the SSD for storage with a USB-fed DAC/AMP.

Current DAPs
The various DAPs with dual sd cards are VERY nice, but as of last week with SanDisk announcing 400GB cards, I'm still "one card short" (and growing) of hauling my collection around without culling. Furthermore, I doubt any of the DAPs on the market support the 400GB cards yet (assuming you can find two 400GB cards to buy). I have a FiiO X5 with dual sd card slots which is great - but it can't/won't feed the highest resolution stuff over to the DAC/AMP. The latest and greatest X5 III and X7 II won't either (they're constrained, as I understand it).

Android Device*
UApp (bypassing Android's internal audio conversions) on some Android phones can play the highest resolution stuff off of the SSD via USB OTG. And UApp on some Android phones can play quite nicely with the Chord Hugo 2 DAC/AMP via USB OTG. But I have tried no fewer than FOUR different powered and unpowered OTG hub devices and in no case can I get UApp to pull data off the SSD _and also_ shove it at the DAC/AMP. It's not a math issue: the bitrates here are feasible for USB 2.0 speeds - even with only modest Bytes/Microframe numbers (I have no idea what the various protocols are using in Android). Has anybody been able to get this setup to work????

*My understanding is that the latest iOS simply has no mechanism in it to bypass the internal monkey-wrenching Apple does with digital audio. Although Android also monkey-wrenches - tools like UApp (and others) have mechanisms to bypass said monkeying and wrenching.

IDEAL DAP
I don't need (nor really want) to use an Android phone as a player - but I'm at a loss as to any other possible option at this juncture. My ideal DAP is a DAT (transport - no DAC capability). It has a way to database and interact with a (big) library of music and it has multiple (4-6) SSD card slots plus a USB port or two for external storage.

I love the concept of the swappable amp modules (or no amp module!) on the HiFiMan and FiiO X7 series, but neither can deal with 1 to 2 TBs of music.

Finally, I'll admit that I understand and appreciate that I'm talking about a 'transportable' setup not entirely a 'portable' setup. The SSD is tiny, but it effectively dictates an external power source lest the DAP/DAT/Phone's battery get abused fast. And the Hugo 2 is just a tad large for my jeans pocket. So between SSD, a battery pack for it, Hugo 2, and some device to control the whole game, this setup is suitable for carrying in my briefcase or whatever's slung over my shoulder at the time - not so much for my jacket pocket..

So - anybody have any ideas? Have I blindly missed some AMAZING product that solves all my problems? Is there a way to get a phone (of ANY type) to be the glue here?

Any advice appreciated!

Xoxo,
Doody

 

[jmzeitouni]

I’m also interested by this. I have a 2tb ssd portable drive full of music, and I’d love to use it.... (I also have the Hugo 2, it would be lovely to feed it with the ssd drive using an app on a smartphone)

Right now it’s plugged into my laptop and roon sees it as a storage drive.

Aside from this I have 2 filled daps (ak240 & WM1Z) that are each sporting a 400gb micro sd (on top of their 256gb internal) and i have still a bit of music (about 650gb) that I is only on the ssd drive because my daps are full.

So I’m very interested to see if you found a solution.

 

[Doody]

no love, jmzeitouni.

the biggest single problem is that most of the phone manufacturers won't pay for or don't implement the large filesystem drivers (FAT32, NTFS, etc.). even some manufacturers (e.g. Samsung) who do for some phones don't for others - it's maddening and apparently random.

the second problem appears to be that that nobody engineered USB OTG to handle complicated situations. it's for simple stuff - add some storage - connect a DAC - but not two or three things.

i think i ended up buying 4-6 USB hubs and a pile of OTG connectors/hubs and tested 3-4 phones. could never get stuff to work.

i gave up.

there's a market for DATs out there - i guess it isn't big enough for anybody to build for it though - even the crazy-priced AK guys.

and DAP prices keep dropping relative to functionality. so storage space aside, we'll be able to get digital audio out of a DAP at DXD or better soon enough.

for the moment i just swap around my 400GB SD cards and then carry my SSD with me for computer use - just like you.

but NO elegant solutions out there IME.

doody

 

[jmzeitouni]

Thanks

 

[jmzeitouni]

hi again,

there may be some hope on the horizon...
on the forums about the A&K SP1000 and SE100 people have been able to connect samsung ssd (somebody reported plugging a t3, i own a 2TB t5 but i guess it should work).

The ultima sp1000 is quite expensive but the SE100 is describe as a very good option and since it has the "new" UI, it's supposed to support external storage.

There is even a post by a AK employee that says it does, but it's not something that is supported by the AK customer support. to each its own risk.
people have reported that power consumption is of course greater with the SSD plugged into the dap (via OTG usbC). one user is getting about 6.5 hours of playback instead of the close to 11hours with internal storage.

thought i'd let you know.

JMZ

 

[Doody]

Fascinating!

D