SD card specifications

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sawdust123

sawdust123

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I am looking to pick up a 512 GB micro SD card and the choices are staggering. The most relevant specification may be speed class. Here is a link to all the classifications https://www.sdcard.org/consumers/choices/speed_class/index.html. Most of these reference video playback/record issues which I care nothing about. I am more interested in search and access speeds. Does anyone have any practical experience with such cards ever being insufficient for DJ purposes?

I also see some manufactures (e.g. Samsung) have many different lines of cards but as far as I can tell it is mostly just to differentiate for the distribution method. For instance, Amazon sells the EVO Select series. Does anyone have experience with one line over another?
 
sawdust123 said:
I am looking to pick up a 512 GB micro SD card and the choices are staggering. The most relevant specification may be speed class. Here is a link to all the classifications https://www.sdcard.org/consumers/choices/speed_class/index.html. Most of these reference video playback/record issues which I care nothing about. I am more interested in search and access speeds. Does anyone have any practical experience with such cards ever being insufficient for DJ purposes?

I also see some manufactures (e.g. Samsung) have many different lines of cards but as far as I can tell it is mostly just to differentiate for the distribution method. For instance, Amazon sells the EVO Select series. Does anyone have experience with one line over another?
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They're all suitable for DJ purposes. Generally the only issue is in compatibility differences between vintages .. SD/SDHC/SDXC/SDUC .. since there are 3 different file system formats (FAT16, FAT32, exFAT). SDXC is the one you'll see most these days as it covers storage sizes of 32Gb-2Tb. (assuming the device handles the card size). As for speed ratings, it's mainly write speeds that push these. Higher and higher resolution photos and video that need to be written from a buffer quickly. The faster cards will help you in downloading songs quicker, but the playback/search is slow enough not to matter.

I use SanDisk and Lexar for my Canon Cameras, but the Samsung EVO is good as well.
 
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You really need to consult the documentation for the specific device(s) you intend to use the cards with. More often than not - the memory capacity of the card is not open to your preference. The device itself may have a specific limit. If the cad has to move content from one device to another then you need to know which device sets the limits and choose a card with the highest common standard.

A good short-cut is to check out forums and online reviews from people who are already doing what you want to do with the same devices. They will likely have sorted out the memory card issues for you and save you from trial and error.

While it's true that video camera's tend to be the most discerning about card types and qualities - audio and data are also not immune from these issues. I have many audio mixers or recorders that also have both speed, capacity, and format requirements that have to be met. Otherwise, the cards are not recognized, or come up as "invalid media."

In addition, not all brands are equal. Even when the specs are right some cards may simply not work in your device. To further complicate matters there are numerous sellers who are peddling used and salvage media as "new" product, and plenty of counterfeit products from China. Buy from a reputable seller.

It's really only in a PC where you see the kind of adaptability and flexibility with card types you are seeking. Other devices tend to be very specific about the media used.
 
You mentioned Spotify in another other post. If you're looking to cache Spotify on this card I can tell you it's a crap shoot. I have 128GB Samsung card in my Note 9 and opening Spotify with a large cache (20+GB) on external storage takes a long time. I guess it tries to enumerate each track on every app start. I gave up and started using local storage it still hiccups a bit when opening but it's a lot better.

My Pixel 4 XL is terrible. 64 GB onboard storage without external storage capability. I didn't read the reviews before ordering and assumed a flagship would have an SD slot. I had to forgo caching anything and upgrade to unlimited data.
 
Dan The Man said:
I had to forgo caching anything and upgrade to unlimited data.
Click to expand...

Commercial planning is entirely focused on the cloud. The real money is in subscription fees. So, the trend in devices is to force you into additional and continuous revenue streams. The desire to cache or store anything locally runs counter to current retail planning.

Why is there no headphone jack on new iPhones - because, it compels you to buy over-priced blue-tooth accessories and adapters, all of which are easily worn out, lost, or made obsolete in the next upgrade.
 
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Proformance said:
Commercial planning is entirely focused on the cloud. The real money is in subscription fees. So, the trend in devices is to force you into additional and continuous revenue streams. The desire to cache or store anything locally runs counter to current retail planning.

Why is there no headphone jack on new iPhones - because, it compels you to buy over-priced blue-tooth accessories and adapters, all of which are easily worn out, lost, or made obsolete in the next upgrade.
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Or you plug in the Lightning adapter they give you and use your 3.5mm set .. :)
 
Proformance said:
You mean the adapter that people always forget, can't find, don't want to carry around, is lost, broken or stolen on a regular basis ?
YMMV
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Well, Samsung has done similar .. now that they own the Harman brands. The market will ultimately dictate what they can get away with.
 
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Some interesting feedback. I am not using this to cache Spotify. I will use it with Virtual DJ. My PC has micro SD 4.0 reader. This supports V90 speeds. I just don't know if I get any practical advantage for music with that extra speed. It sounds like the answer is no.
 
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sawdust123 said:
Some interesting feedback. I am not using this to cache Spotify. I will use it with Virtual DJ. My PC has micro SD 4.0 reader. This supports V90 speeds. I just don't know if I get any practical advantage for music with that extra speed. It sounds like the answer is no.
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Some benefits on loading the card (write speeds) .. no real benefit on reads while playing. As always, I would go with the most recent technology that is supported by the unit for longevity. A faster card, assuming a close price, might have some benefit down the road if switched to video use.
 
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sawdust123 said:
Some interesting feedback. I am not using this to cache Spotify. I will use it with Virtual DJ. My PC has micro SD 4.0 reader. This supports V90 speeds. I just don't know if I get any practical advantage for music with that extra speed. It sounds like the answer is no.
Click to expand...

I assume this is for your personal use with specific playlists ?

I favor separating content from the machine in a hard media but, I don't think I would rely on an SD card to hold the working copy of a music library for paid work. It's a transfer media for the most part, and there's always a risk involved with that.
 
Yes, Spotify is for personal use. I used to spend A LOT of time on airplanes. I developed playlists for just about any mood. I have also used these lists a lot for our social gatherings over the years. There is always and exception though. Last year, our good friends asked me to MC their wedding. They had live music for the ceremony and reception. Someone (the band?) was supposed to provide pre-recorded cocktail music. The groom runs his own audio production company and had a very nice system in place at the venue. For some reason, I was dubious about the guy that was supposed to supply cocktail music so I made a nice playlist of my own and put it on the phone. Sure enough, that's what we used. We also used my smooth jazz playlist before the ceremony.

I think the biggest risk with transfer media occurs with the actual handling that occurs with transfer (static, broken contacts, etc). If left in a system, my guess is they are pretty reliable. My main PC these days is my work PC from last year. The model was brand new a year ago and I didn't want to wait for the larger SSD to become available. When the company was shut down, I kept the PC because I liked it so much but now I'm stuck with just a 256GB SSD. It is too much bother to upgrade the SSD when I can just shove in a micro SD card. I have all but hung up the phones except for personal stuff with friends so that isn't much of a concern.
 
If it works, it works. That's an SD card in a nutshell.
For DJ work I like 17" laptops with dual hard drives. Backup can be any second PC and an external drive.
 
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