Mixer power supplies

  • Thread starter Thread starter noisedude
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noisedude

noisedude

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Ok, so I want to know - is it 'better' for any reason for your mixer's power supply to be internal or external? When I bought my Behringer UB1204 I was told that it having an internal power supply was a great selling point.

Then in the shop the other day I'm looking at Tapco/Mackies and Yamahas and the guy's saying to me, "of course the big benefit over the Behringers is the external power supply". "Why?", I ask. "Er, cos it's better," comes the helpful response.

Ignoring the fact that the benefits of Yamahas/Mackies over Behringers extend way beyond the location of their power supplies, what's the truth behind this statement? Another guy in the shop suggested an internal supply could reduce noise because of 'internal switching' (whatever the hell that is), whilst a third guy reckoned an external one would cut hum because the transformer's further away.

:confused:
 
External is quieter - Internal is more convenient. Bigger consoles almost always have the power supply in the rack. And they get pretty damned expensive. I think the PSU for s Ghost console is around $1200 (and that's a cheap one).

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com
 
External PSUs also tend to be less compact, so it is possible to use the components which work best instead of those which fit in a limited space. This means they tend to supply a more consistent voltage. Of course, this is also an issue of external PSUs being used on higher end products, so the design tends to be better on them.

You will not find a professional large frame console which uses an internal PSU. There is a reason for that.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Keeping the heat out of the console is another advantage.
 
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