We like fixing issues for DJs. A whole lot of the time, they’re our personal issues. DJTT’s retailer supervisor Josh wished a nicer-looking USB drive, and I wished one which wouldn’t take endlessly to sync my Rekordbox library. We’ve watched Reddit threads and the Pioneer DJ boards and seen DJs pissed off with not realizing what USB drive to purchase and experiencing extraordinarily gradual switch speeds. So we took the problem head-on and got down to construct a USB drive for DJs, tailor-made to the wants of our neighborhood.
The Problem: Making a DJ-Optimized USB Drive
Our journey started with a easy query: Why do common USB drives battle with DJ libraries? In contrast to a single massive file, a DJ library accommodates many smaller recordsdata—metadata, cue factors, evaluation information, and tracks—which demand constant, high-speed read-and-write efficiency. Even “quick” USB drives battle with this (I’ve purchased many Samsung and Sandisk drives all through the years), turning a easy sync into an hours-long ordeal.
The Chroma USB Drive, a USB 3.2 drive with fastidiously chosen reminiscence, was our answer. We balanced real-world velocity, reliability, and sturdiness, utilizing reminiscence that’s excellent for high-speed DJ library transfers. We chosen reminiscence that’s optimized for quick, environment friendly transfers with DJ libraries.
The Chroma Drive makes use of a high quality, off-the-shelf steel enclosure with a canopy that “clicks” actually properly while you rotate it round, however what units it aside is what’s inside. If we had gone with a customized steel case, the associated fee might simply be two or thrice greater. Through the use of a dependable, high-quality case already in the marketplace, we’ve stored the Chroma USB Drive sturdy and inexpensive, giving DJs a pro-grade drive at an affordable worth.
Comprised of a sturdy steel alloy, we’re making the Chroma USB Drive obtainable in 4 colours—Area Grey, Silver, Black, and Rose Gold—with an choice for laser-etched customization on one aspect. A bit of further aptitude makes it attainable to convey each sturdiness and persona to your gear. It does take us slightly bit to get these completed, so if you happen to want a USB drive straight away, we propose not getting it custom-made
Future-Proof Connectivity and Compatibility
Most DJ gear at this time has USB-A ports, however many trendy laptops include solely USB-C. The Chroma USB Drive has each connectors, making it adaptable to each present and future setups. A rotatable cowl protects the unused connector, and the heavy-duty construct feels strong, making certain it holds up even in robust situations.
Pre-formatted as FAT32, the Chroma USB Drive works seamlessly with a wide range of DJ setups, from older Pioneer CDJs to the newest Denon controllers. This common compatibility ensures that you simply’re able to plug and play irrespective of the gear.
Sure, we all know that FAT32 is an previous format: however it is suggested time and time once more as the perfect and solely common format for Pioneer DJ / AlphaTheta gear utilization. There’s a large inconsistency throughout their product line round which models assist exFAT (trace: there’s a licensing price that {hardware} producers should pay Microsoft for exFAT implementation) and different extra trendy drive codecs. In brief: the one means to make certain a DJ’s drive works in each unit they encounter is with a FAT32 formatting.
Constructed for Pace and Reliability
In case you’ve ever waited hours for a library sync, you recognize the ache. I’m constantly amazed at how terribly inefficient most USB drives are for DJ functions. The Chroma USB Drive transfers DJ libraries at lightning velocity—syncing 100GB of music can take half the time of a typical USB drive and generally as much as twenty occasions sooner than slower fashions.
Many commenters on our launch movies have (pretty) requested for particular switch speeds. Right here’s the velocity of our drive versus others when exporting out of Rekordbox. Price noting that marketed speeds of USB drives are theoretical and these are real-world numbers. Rekordbox transfers will not be the identical as copying a 10GB film file – it’s shifting and checking lots of of little recordsdata.
- Chroma USB Drive = 113.33 MB/s
- Sandisk Excessive Professional USB 3.2 = 85 MB/s
- Samsung BAR plus = 51 MB/s
To make sure it performs reliably, we examined it rigorously, working it by hundreds of hours of real-world DJ use, together with steady 350+ hour units on linked gamers (I left a number of setups working for a couple of weeks round my home) and stress checks in excessive situations just like the Black Rock Desert. We additionally ran intense Stress Disk checks to ensure that the drive wouldn’t fail with heavy switch utilization – and the Chroma Drive simply held as much as a number of days of fixed learn/write.
I additionally in contrast it to a bunch of different USB drives in the marketplace which can be generally steered for DJing. Right here’s a chart that exhibits precise measured Rekordbox switch speeds:
The Chroma USB Drive is Out there Now
We’re excited to share the Chroma USB Drive with the DJ neighborhood. This isn’t simply one other USB drive; it’s a software constructed by actual DJs, examined for DJ makes use of, and good sufficient to reside on each DJ’s keychain. Get one at in our retailer and take a look at the distinction for your self!