SD Card Corruption Issue During Session on Denon Prime Go+

Engine DJ Software Engine DJ (Mac & PC)
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Hello everyone,

Yesterday, during a live session with my Denon Prime Go+, I encountered a concerning issue. Midway through the performance, the device displayed a message stating that the SD card was corrupt, leaving me without access to my music library. Thankfully, I was able to continue the session using TIDAL, but this situation raised significant concerns.

Details of the incident:

  • Device: Denon Prime Go+
  • SD Card: SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC 128 GB, 200 MB/s, V30.
  • Error Message: “SD Card Corrupt”.

Steps taken before use:

  • The card was formatted in exFAT as recommended.
  • I loaded music using Engine DJ, and everything seemed to work perfectly before the session.

My questions are:

  1. Is it common for SD cards to experience corruption issues on the Prime Go+?
  2. Is this specific card (SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC 128 GB, V30) fully compatible with the device?
  3. Are there any best practices to prevent such problems, such as regular formatting or an official list of compatible SD cards?

This issue caused a lot of stress during a live performance, and I want to ensure it doesn’t happen again in the future. Any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your help!

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SD cards aren’t considered that reliable and can just die for no reason. The card you are using is decent spec so will work normally with the Prime Go+. It may work ok again when you plug it in to your PC and start Engine.

Personally I use a SanDisk Extreme card for prepping and playing around, but before a gig I copy my Engine library to a Samsung T7 SSD as they are far more reliable for a live performance.

I keep the SD in the front and the T7 plugged in to the rear USB so if one source goes wrong at least you have an instant backup in place.

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Thank you for your response and advice. I understand your point about SD cards not being the most reliable storage option, and I appreciate your suggestion of using a Samsung T7 SSD for live performances. However, I have also experienced similar corruption issues with regular USB drives. Out of nowhere, the device will say the drive is corrupted, and this is happening more often than I believe is normal.

It’s quite concerning that such issues occur frequently, especially considering the Prime Go+ is not an inexpensive piece of equipment. While having a backup source is always good practice, it feels unreasonable to constantly live with this level of risk. A DJ setup should offer reliability as a baseline, particularly for live performances.

I wonder if others in the community are experiencing similar issues with their storage devices. Is there something that could be causing this to happen more frequently, or perhaps a way to ensure this doesn’t happen as often? It’s a bit frustrating to rely on multiple backups for peace of mind when the device itself should provide more stability.

Thank you again for your input. Any further guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated!

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This is a topic of great interest to me, I got my Denon Prime Go 6 months ago, initially I had issues with my SD cards being corrupted when syncing in Engine, unfortunately this issue corrupted the Engine library each time and I had to rebuild my library, restoring the library from the backup in Engine didn’t seem to work.

I was very ambitious and tried to use a 256GB SD card, but after several failures I went down to 32GB, then up to 64GB both worked fine with no issues. Next I tried 128G slowing syncing small batches at a time and got to 110GB of data (about 20,000 tracks) no problem, as soon as I went over 120GB (22,500 tracks) it corrupted both the SD card and the Library again.

Finally I managed end up with a ”Master” SD card of 118G, but as soon as I started using it I realised it was organised totally wrong and ended up completely reorganising the library on the Master SD card using the Prime Go; creating new playlists, moving and renaming playlists, very easy once you get the hang of it!

I then made a copy of Master SD card to another SD card but it would not sync back to my library probably because of the extent of my changes, I then reorganised my library in Engine to match the Master SD card but I have not tried re-syncing since.

As I had the Master SD card setup exactly as I wanted I did not want to risk loosing the content, so I backed it on a Samsung T7 drive, I was able to duplicate the contents to another SD card (Duplicate) and the Prime Go recognised it as the Master SD card and it worked perfectly.

I am not willing to add extra content to the Master as it may corrupt everything again, I am constantly editing tracks on the Master SD card to add cue points, so every month I backup the Master SD card to my T7 drive, then update the Duplicate SD card. I Take the Duplicate SD card as backup with me.

As for new content I have a 64GB SD card I update and sync with Engine, absolutely no syncing problems at all.

I use an SD adapter in the Prime Go rear usb socket.

Conclusion

32GB & 64GB work fine, 128GB there seems to have a “virtual” limit at 120GB or 22,000 tracks otherwise it corrupts the SD card and the Engine library. Maybe the 32GB & 64GB cards also have a “virtual limit” of space that cause corruption?

Equipment Used

MacBook Pro (latest OS and Engine software)

SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC V30 SD cards (I have been using SD cards for over 15 years and these have proven to be the best type for performance and reliability)

UGreen USB3 dual slot SD card reader in the Prime Go, I tested others and found they did not work or worked too slowly!

I have about 70,000 tracks in Engine (Ok I know, do I really need that many tracks, how did I ever manage with just a box of CDs! I also use the Prime Go to play my music at home not just for DJing).

Other Sources

iPad Mini blue-toothed to the Prime Go running the DJay App.

DropBox

I have comments about these 2 items I will post another time.

Questions

I am intrigued when I see posts about using 512G or 1TB SD cards, are these being used in a Prime Go? If so, am I doing something wrong?

I thought the original spec for the Prime Go was 32G?

I am also interested in Homeland101 comments about using a T7 drive in the rear USB is this in a Prime Go,

How many tracks/GB are synced to the T7 drive from Engine?

Also what size SD Card is he using?

In all my years of DJing I have never had an SD get corrupted during in a performance.

I look forward to your comments

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Thank you for sharing your experience so thoroughly—it’s really insightful and highlights some important considerations for those of us using the Prime Go. I can absolutely relate to many of the frustrations and challenges you’ve described, and I’d like to add my perspective based on my own experiences with SD card corruption.

I’ve been using my Denon Prime Go for a while now, and unfortunately, I’ve had recurring issues with SD cards and USB drives becoming corrupted, even during live performances. It’s incredibly disheartening when this happens, as it leaves you scrambling to recover the session. As DJs, we rely on our equipment to be robust, especially for gigs, and while I always carry backups like TIDAL, having my main library become inaccessible mid-set is a nightmare scenario.

Regarding the size of music libraries, I completely agree with your point that DJs often accumulate a massive collection of tracks. It’s not about “needing” all 70,000 tracks in every gig, but about being prepared for any vibe, venue, or audience. One of the reasons we invest in gear like the Prime Go is for the flexibility and power it provides, and having a large library is part of that equation. If I were only managing a small collection of tracks, I could stick to a simpler and cheaper setup.

I’ve been using a SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC 128GB, formatted in exFAT, and have had similar issues as you describe when pushing the storage limits. I tried syncing a little over 120GB (around 23,000 tracks), and just like in your case, everything worked fine until I went over that threshold. Then the card became corrupted, and the Engine library along with it. I reformatted, tried again, and had the same problem. I also had issues when trying to sync back changes I made directly on the Prime Go—it seems the library and syncing system isn’t designed for significant on-device edits, which is frustrating given how portable and “independent” this unit is supposed to be.

I also completely agree with you that DJs shouldn’t have to live with the constant fear of data corruption or the hassle of maintaining multiple backups just to ensure the device is reliable. A controller like the Prime Go isn’t exactly cheap—it’s marketed as a professional piece of equipment, and we expect professional-level reliability. The idea of limiting myself to 32GB or 64GB SD cards just to avoid corruption feels like a step backward, especially when the Prime Go is clearly designed to handle larger libraries and modern workflows.

Like you, I’ve started using a Samsung T7 SSD in the rear USB port as my “master” drive, which has been far more reliable than SD cards so far. But the fact that I even have to resort to this workaround highlights a major flaw. I should be able to trust SD cards, which are one of the main storage options advertised for this device. I appreciate your detailed comments about smaller SD cards working more reliably, but honestly, this feels like a limitation we shouldn’t have to accept at this price point.

Your question about DJs using 512GB or 1TB SD cards resonates with me too—I’d love to know if anyone has successfully used them in the Prime Go without these corruption issues. If it’s possible, what’s the secret? Is there a specific brand, card speed, or syncing process that makes it work reliably?

In all my years of DJing, I’ve also never experienced storage corruption as frequently as I have with the Prime Go. It’s made me rethink my storage strategy entirely, which is not something I expected to have to do with such a high-end device. And like you, I sometimes play music at home on my Prime Go, so having access to a large library isn’t just a convenience—it’s a necessity.

Thank you again for sharing your story—it helps to know that I’m not alone in facing these challenges. I’m looking forward to seeing if others in the community can shed light on these issues or provide some solutions. Hopefully, Denon is also paying attention to feedback like this, because while the Prime Go is an incredible device in many ways, reliability needs to be a top priority.

Looking forward to hearing more from others on this topic!

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It definitely sounds like a strange one.

I have a Prime Go, Prime 4 and two SC5000Ms and use 128GB and even a 512GB with no issues in any of the devices.

Now these cards weren’t full and I’d not hit 22k tracks on them.

There is one thing to check. When a storage device is in use and either the SD card or USB stick is just pulled out without ejecting it will corrupt. As you’ve not physically removed these it would be safe to overlook the fact there could be a hardware fault that is causing them to be disconnected internally and corrupting the drives.

Now this could be a faulty SD card slot and/or USB port or a cable that’s come loose (I’m not sure if they are on an internal hub or not).

One way to see if they’ve been disconnected is to see if you have any disconnection warnings randomly. It’s just one possible angle.

You could try repairing the latest 4.2 version and then performing a factory reset. If you still Have problems this could be treated as a bug and could be investigated.

Your report was very descriptive and had good steps for a potential reproduction. I spotted that they advertise the offer of beta testing so maybe apply?

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Thank you for your response and insights, MrWilks.

I can confirm that in many cases when inserting the SD card, the playlists wouldn’t appear, and when I connected it to Engine DJ software, it flagged the card as corrupted. However, one of the most significant issues I faced happened during a live session.

While navigating through a subfolder that was 3 levels deep, without performing any special actions or removing the card, the device suddenly displayed a message stating that the SD card was corrupted. This happened in the middle of my set, and I had no choice but to quickly switch to TIDAL to continue the session. Thanks to having a TIDAL account, I was able to improvise and play an online track, but it was a stressful situation I wouldn’t want to repeat.

I’ve now installed the latest 4.2 version of the firmware, but I haven’t had the chance to test it in a live environment yet. For added peace of mind, I’m currently carrying multiple SD cards and USB drives with the same configuration, just in case the issue happens again. While this is a temporary workaround, I’d still like to find a more permanent solution.

Thank you again for your thoughtful input. I’ll monitor the situation closely and will explore applying for the beta testing program. It sounds like a great opportunity to contribute to improving the platform while reporting potential issues like this one.

Best regards!

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You definitely seem to have a workaround for now but ideally it needs getting to the bottom of. Seeing a corrupt message and a card going down isn’t good.

I’d try installing the latest version of Engine DJ and Engine OS (4.2) and rebuilding an SD card from scratch after formatting it. See how it goes and hopefully it’s something you may not see again.

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Update

I may have given you the impression I as a T7 drive in the rear of my Prime Go a source, but I was only using the T7 drive at the time to back up my SD cards.

I was curious if the T7 drive would also work in my Prime Go so I purchased a 1TB T7 shield drive to give it a try.

As the T7 shield is already formatted to ExFat I just deleted the Samsung files and connected the drive to engine without any reformatting.

I was able to sync my whole library of over 40,000 tracks, about 250 GB to the T7 shield in about 10 minutes, doing this in small batches.

My library source is also stored on a T7 drive and both drives were connected directly to my MacBook.

I plugged the T7 shield into my Prime Go before powering up and the drive was instantly recognised and I was able to see my complete collection of playlists, and play tracks with no issues at all.

I will be continuing to test the T7 shield before I use it in a performance, but it does look very promising.

I hope it will continue to perform like this.

This could be a game changer for me.

Just a note Regarding my music library, 95% of my files are MP3 and taken from CDs.

I’m quite meticulous in ensuring the audio quality, artwork and meta data of each file is clean and is as accurate as possible by using several excellent apps on my MacBook. I also clean up any purchased files.

From experience I consider this to be essential to avoid any issues with transferring and playing files.

(It’s the old saying Garbage in, Garbage out!)

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The T7 works fine. I use a SanDisk SD card for messing about then sync to the T7 for gigs.

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I had this problem on a lexar 128gb mini thumb drive.

I am now using a lower rate SanDisk ultra 400gb A1 etc card in a Samsung adapter that I put together in my lexicon dj app, never showing my drives to the Denon dj app. Also have a few 128gb thumb drive that get changed or on the back depending what gig I’m doing.

I admittedly was never good or understood the Denon app, so I’ve stuck with lexicon, I do like that I was able to transfer other library’s in though.

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respect to you DJs who trust microSD cards. I only use them when absolutely necessary, like in Raspberry Pis and what not.

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Aside from the following differences

Prime Go, not + SAndisk Extreme Pro 1TB

I use the same process as you and haven’t had any issues in 20 plus gigs with the Prime Go.

It’s mainly used lightly for smaller events/corporate events or cermonies, but never had an issue.

I do however have a smaller collection of my music analysed on a USB - just in case, might be an idea for you rather than relying on tidal.