ASBs and those horrible wall warts

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:27 am

Just read the SOS review of the B4000 ASB and whilst overall fairly good (some software issues need addressing quickly CW if you're reading), the thing that sticks out to a potential UK buyer is the shitty Euro wall wart.

Now it's bad enough having a wall wart at all on an instrument designed for gigging as well as home use, but not even supplying a proper UK wall wart is inexcusable on a product of this cost. Come one, how much can a decent UK wall wart be? i for one will not consider buying one (and i'm looking at the Prodyssey ASB keenly at the moment) until it comes with a proper UK-style plug - no black europlug adaptors trying to look like a British plug.

C'mon CW, do the right thing. Are you going to sell these in the USA without USA wall warts? Of course not, so i think it only common courtesy to give us UK wall warts of decent quality - these are not cheap instruments after all and for the sake of a £30 adaptor you've got a bad SOS review.

[ This Message was edited by: Mr Arkadin on 2006-07-20 11:29 ]

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:14 pm

Hi, you & I have had a discussion about this before Mr.A

Basically, I agree & truely believe as a hardware owner that 'kettle leads' (as we call them) with built-in PSUs are much better. They are more robust which makes them more gig friendly.

Unfortunately, I imagine the reason for having an external PSU is... . heat. The DSPs may not enjoy having an internal PSUs' heat in close proximity.

As for the UK versions of the wall warts, well most decent pro audio companies would provide UK PSUs to UK buying customers.

darkrezin · Post by **darkrezin** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:25 pm

While heat may be a factor in some cases, the main reason for external PSU's is that you can OEM a wall-wart very cheaply - just to obtain legal certification for electrical safety for a PSU costs in the region of £100,000 +

Post by **garyb** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 7:34 pm

that and psus require shielding to keep them from introducing noise into the audio path.

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 1:28 am

Wow, I didn't know the legal certification cost as much as that Darkrezin. So if it costs so much, then companies who make extensive ranges of studio gear all with internal psus (say focusrite or something) are probably using exactly the same psu for each model in their range.

darkrezin · Post by **darkrezin** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:20 am

Well, I don't know the full legal ins and outs of this, but I think each implementation of the PSU inside a device requires individual certification. In other words - each unit with an internal PSU. So you couldn't just certify a PSU design and then implement it in lots of products without certifying each one. I could be wrong on this though.

When you're dealing with a DC output, the voltage is so low that it doesn't really present any danger when it comes out of the wall-wart.

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:32 am

There must be some kind of loophole or a company like Behringer couldn't possibly afford to sell their budget outboard rack gear crap (which all have internal psus) so cheaply (units selling for 100-150 dolla).

Anna Lüse · Post by **Anna Lüse** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:47 am

assembeled in china

darkrezin · Post by **darkrezin** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:49 am

Well, Behringer sells unimaginable amounts of units, and manufactures extremely cheaply in China. When you have huge cheap production runs, then it's possible to pay to get things certified.

Anyway hopefully someone who's had direct experience with this kind of thing can enlighten us. John Cooper or John Bowen are probably well qualified to do this.

Anna Lüse · Post by **Anna Lüse** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:55 am

My Behringer UB-1002 mixer has an external power-supply. Size, heat ...?

darkrezin · Post by **darkrezin** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 5:56 am

Most desks have external PSU's.. very real risk of noise/interference there.

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:12 pm

To be frank, I wouldn't dream of letting a 'wall wart' put me off buying a piece of gear if it's desirable. Half of the gear in our studio uses wall warts, including all our waldorf gear, machinedrum, Soundart Chameleon, SuperBassStation, Control Freak, 101, 202, 303 etc etc.

Wall warts are no big deal, but I don't particularly like using euro>UK adapters, so I get round that dislike by having a homemade 2-pin euro 6-gang with a UK 3-pin plug on the other end, so no need for adapters

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Fri Jul 21, 2006 1:08 pm

No it's not so much a wall wart (although i would prefer internal power), it's the fact of not packaging it with a UK wall wart which is frankly cheap in the grand scheme of things, but goes a long way to making something feel professional. A dangly adaptor with a europlug on one end is not going to inspire confidence in a live situation and doesn't make CW look very professional.

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 11:29 am

erm, you're right there of course

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 11:31 am

You could always do what we do here, which is just buy a german 6-gang & stick a UK plug on the end (no electrician required)

Shroomz~> · Post by **Shroomz~>** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 11:34 am

German 6-gangs are to be had on ebay for buttons btw. Including postage, you're looking at 15 quid or something to have 6 available sockets for EU 2-pin plugs.

Post by **hubird** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 2:04 pm

To confuse things

I bought my Korg Microcontroll from a UK shop, ordered via internet.
It had a UK wall wart...and they were not willing or even able exchange it for a 'normal' one.
Sh*t happens

[ This Message was edited by: hubird on 2006-07-22 15:05 ]

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 3:34 pm

Well i haven't actually got an ASB yet, but i think if you're shelling out 600 or so notes then you shouldn't have to look for any workarounds at all.

The reason i like internal power supplies is that i have an IEC 12-way adapter, which i can run everything with an IEC to IEC connector off of one mains block. Mouse-type warts are OK as you can cut off the plug and wire an IEC. Obviously you can't do this with a wall-type wart as the pins are moulded into the transformer housing.

[ This Message was edited by: Mr Arkadin on 2006-07-22 16:35 ]

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 3:37 pm

See my point above buying your own solutions. Plus CW seem to have spent more time on printing silly comments on the back panel (Like "Do not feed") rather than printing the polarity on the mains connector.

Also most companies say your warranty is void if you don't use their adapter, so it's up to CW to provide a decent one to start you off i would have thought.

[ This Message was edited by: Mr Arkadin on 2006-07-22 16:40 ]

Anna Lüse · Post by **Anna Lüse** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 8:53 pm

On 2006-07-22 16:37, Mr Arkadin wrote:

Also most companies say your warranty is void if you don't use their adapter, so it's up to CW to provide a decent one to start you off i would have thought.

"most"

ftp://ftp.creamware.de/Manuals/MINIMAX_ ... imax_E.pdf
Go to page 8: "Upon loss of the power supply, a standard AC or DC 12 V / 1.V Ampere power supply can be used as a replacement."

over