DataTraveler SE9 G3, the field manual
Booth briefing. The metal Kingston with a number on it. The Kingston DataTraveler SE9 G3 is a capless all-metal USB-A stick with a keyring loop, 5 grams, in 64 to 512 GB, with a five-year warranty and, unlike the Exodia G2, a published speed: up to 220 MB/s read and 100 MB/s write over USB 3.2 Gen 1. That write figure is the one to read before an export, because it is the slower half and it is the half an export uses. For a keyring, this is the Kingston: nothing to snap off and nothing to fill with lint.
Fast Lane
The five things that decide your gig
The five things about the SE9 G3 that change what happens next, if you are reading this in the booth. All five are explained in full further down this page.
100 MB/s write is the number that decides how long an export takes.
Read speed is what a player uses and 220 MB/s is far more than it needs. Write speed is what an export uses, and at 100 MB/s a large library takes a while. Export the day before.
Capless metal is the keyring stick.
No cap to lose, a loop for the ring, 5 grams. The Exodia G2 is the drawer stick; this is the one on your keys.
It is tiny, and a tiny stick is a lost stick.
39 mm long. Put it on something before it goes in a pocket, and keep the second copy somewhere else.
The file system decides the gig, not the stick.
What a new SE9 G3 is formatted as is a choice for computers. Format it to what your players read, from the USB matrix, before the first export.
No player maker names it.
Kingston name computer operating systems. The player side is decided by file system and library format, per player, on the USB matrix.
If something goes wrong
The player does not read the stick
Short answer. Three things decide this before the SE9 G3 itself does: the file system it is formatted in (the matrix says what each player reads), the library format you exported (OneLibrary or Device Library), and on an Engine OS unit the partition style (MBR). A stick that slides in and shows an empty browse screen is almost never a broken stick.
When it is the stick. A stick that worked last week and shows nothing this week, on a player that reads your other stick, has usually started to fail. Play from the other one. Connecting a stick to a player never deletes what is on it, so nothing is lost by trying.
Avoid it next time. Export to two sticks, test both on a player, and retire a gig stick on a schedule rather than after a failure.
Compatibility
What the maker names, and what the player makers do not
Short answer. Kingston state the SE9 G3 works with Windows 11, macOS 13.7.6 and later, Linux 4.4 and later, and Chrome OS. No player maker names the SE9 G3 as tested with a CDJ, XDJ or Engine OS unit, and this page does not claim one does.
What decides it instead. The file system and the library format, both of which are per player and both of which are on the USB compatibility matrix. A drive the maker says is compatible with macOS is a drive macOS can format; it is not a statement about any player.
The connector question. USB Type-A in a one-piece metal body with a loop, no cap. The connector every CDJ and most XDJs have.
Features explained
Capacity, speed and connectors
- Interface
- USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
- Capacities
- 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
- Sequential read
- up to 220 MB/s
- Sequential write
- up to 100 MB/s
- Connector
- USB Type-A, capless metal body
- Size
- 39 x 12.2 x 4.6 mm
- Weight
- 5 g
- Warranty
- five-year warranty with free technical support
Professional tips
Decisions to make before the stick goes on the keyring
Buy two, and make them the same. Two SE9 G3 sticks with the same export beat one bigger stick. How big a gig stick needs to be is smaller than most DJs think, and the second one costs nothing on the day you need it.
Format it yourself before the first gig. What it ships formatted as is a choice for computers. Format it to what your players read, export, and test it on a player at home.
One job. A gig stick that also carries documents, photos and the last set's recording is a gig stick that gets pulled out of a laptop without ejecting. Keep it for music and eject it every time.
Retire it on a date, not on a failure. Flash memory wears. A stick that has done a year of weekly exports has earned its replacement before it earns a blank screen.
Firmware, drivers and manuals
Where the maker keeps the rest
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers
- How fast is it?
- Kingston rate it at up to 220 MB/s read and 100 MB/s write over USB 3.2 Gen 1. A player reads at the player’s own USB speed; the write figure is what your export time depends on.
- Does it have a cap?
- No. It is a capless one-piece metal body with a loop for a keyring.
- What capacities does it come in?
- 64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB, per Kingston’s product page.
- SE9 G3 or Exodia G2?
- The SE9 G3 is metal, capless and has a published speed; the Exodia G2 is plastic, capped, and Kingston publish no speed for it. For the keyring, the SE9 G3.
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Sources: Kingston’s DataTraveler SE9 G3 product page and data sheet, read 19 September 2026. Specifications theirs, priorities ours.