Power problems affecting audio interface and speakers...

J

jszy

New member
Hi all, I recently started a studio and the power supply seems to be a problem.

When using my audio interface, I hear pops every few minutes or so (of course the pops are also recorded), and the interface sometimes even disconnects or turns itself off due to the power spikes.... had to unplug the USB and reconnect to make it work again... (the interface is not usb bus powered...)


I tried a cheap voltage stabilizer, it detected the spikes but does NOT solve the problem... interface still disconnects on its own

then I tried power strips with surge protection (and filter?), pops still appear in the recorded material but are much quieter, but my USB interface still disconnects itself every now and then....

FYI, my interface is scarlett 18i8 first generation and I am in Hong Kong, so the power supply is 220V.

What would you suggest I do to solve the problem??
Thanks in advance!!!
 
Pops and glitches are most likely due to a low buffer settings. Go in the control panel of the 18i8 and raise the buffer settings.

The disconnect could be due to the USB port going to sleep. If you're on windows, go to the USB port Properties in Device Manager and disallow Sleep Mode.
 
See if you can borrow/hire a UPS. I say borrow/hire because the most common and cheapest type are of the switchover form and might not be suitable for your particular problem. What you really need is a UPS of the "continuous conversion" type. These convert incoming mains to DC to charge an internal battery which powers an inverter to deliver mains AC. Since the battery is in use all the time such supplies tend to be bigger and more expensive than the switching type. They do however give you virtually total isolation from rubbish mains supplies.

You would only need a power rating to keep the affected equipments running, the PC and AI? 500va (sort of 500watts) should be plenty.

Dave.
 
Chili: Thanks, I have tested what you told me, those were not the problems...

ecc83 Dave: Thanks, ok, so that's how a UPS works.... i was thinking of getting a rechargeable battery, but a UPS seems way more appropriate
the idea of continuous UPS isolating the power supply also seems better than a furman power conditioner which i was about to get...
 
jszy said:
Chili: Thanks, I have tested what you told me, those were not the problems...

ecc83 Dave: Thanks, ok, so that's how a UPS works.... i was thinking of getting a rechargeable battery, but a UPS seems way more appropriate
the idea of continuous UPS isolating the power supply also seems better than a furman power conditioner which i was about to get...
Click to expand...

I have no experience of the Furman units but they cannot "fill in" power interruptions. Even a basic UPS will have good filtering and spike protection.

The UPS of course has the other advantage that in the event of a protracted power loss you have ten minutes or more to back up your work and if that is likely/important make sure the UPS can handle a monitor as well as the PC.

Dave.
 
Do you know for sure these are power related issues? Do the lights flicker? Or if you have a radio on can you hear the spikes / static at the same time? As has been said these are often related to setup.
 
well, i know when i was still using a voltage regulator, it makes sort of a flicking noise every now and then, at random intervals (and sometimes when i turn on the lights), so that made me think that the power supply is problematic..........
also the power supply here has blown two fuses in electrical appliances...

but yeah, i'll try to do more tests to see if it's related to setup or if the interface is problematic
 
one more thing..... not only did the power supply blow the fuse in my guitar tube amp...
there was once when i was using two (low powered) tube amps at the same time, both of them just stopped making sound for half a minute or so... that has to be a power problem, right?
 
jszy said:
one more thing..... not only did the power supply blow the fuse in my guitar tube amp...
there was once when i was using two (low powered) tube amps at the same time, both of them just stopped making sound for half a minute or so... that has to be a power problem, right?
Click to expand...

Maybe.

Hire an electrician to find out if the delivered wire is adequate.

An amp should not have issue with good power. I would not assume that that was the cause of your blown fuses, but while you are looking into the AC delivery as an issue....


The 'power supply' did not 'blow the fuse in your amp'. There is another issue that you need to figure out.

Shitty that none of us can fix it...

If it is indeed a electrical issue and not a DAW issue, then you need to get that shit figured out. :(
 
jimmys69 said:
Maybe.

Hire an electrician to find out if the delivered wire is adequate.

An amp should not have issue with good power. I would not assume that that was the cause of your blown fuses, but while you are looking into the AC delivery as an issue....


The 'power supply' did not 'blow the fuse in your amp'. There is another issue that you need to figure out.

Shitty that none of us can fix it...

If it is indeed a electrical issue and not a DAW issue, then you need to get that shit figured out. :(
Click to expand...

i tried to describe the problem to an electrician, she said she won't be able to figure out where the problem comes from if it happens so randomly....

i also talked to the electricity company about this, they said if no one else in the building complained about this, they won't investigate into the issue....

so, i'm back to buying random things to try to solve the problem again...

I totally agree that "An amp should not have issue with good power."...... none of these problems happened at home before
 
A valve amplifier certainly can blow fuses due to a spiky supply. There are several mechanisms that can cause this.

The mains (and therefore HT) spike can coincide with a signal peak, even an overdrive and an output valve arc over. This will blow an HT and possibly a mains input fuse.

The mains transformer can be saturated momentarily by overvoltage. In order to make them efficient, mains traffs sail quite close to the saturation wind (especially toroids BTW). They should cope with +10%nominal mains but past that, magnetizing current rises rapidly and Booof! Traff looks like a short circuit.

An increase in mains V will increase anode (plate) voltage and especially with a cathode biased amp they can redplate and eventually go into thermal runaway. Fixed biased amps SHOULD track mains V but don't bet on it!

If OP has any old incandescent lamps in his house he should, I agree see them changing in brightness. I am not sure how modern energy saving lamps behave?

Dave.
 
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