Suggestion to Tyll Re: Wal-Warts

[ascherjim]

Tyll: For over a year now I have been utilizing with great satisfaction your old-model Micro DAC (the one that can also run on two 9-volt batteries). Recently I have been in correspondence with Jeremy re purchase of a compatible Micro Amp.

One of my concerns however, in my intended utilization of this set-up for occasional changes of location, is that -- as you know -- the wal warts for these units are as large as (and possibly heavier than) the units themselves. (Yes, they're "bricks.")

Can one of your excellent technicians create a Y-cable that would enable both units to run off of a single wal-wart (assuming there's enough power in one to drive both units)? I would much prefer not having to lug two wal warts along with me wherever I choose to utilize these units. Perhaps I'm not alone among your generally very satisfied customers in desiring something along these lines. Thanks and regards (to the very accommodating Jeremy as well). Jim

[kboe]

I thought about this also but feared headroom would not be interested in producing one, espicially with the economy continuing to worsen. Good idea though!
Kevin

[aimlink]

Or even better, a Y connector for the Astrodyne.

They package an Astrodyne with the Ultra Desktop Amp. The UltraDesktop Amp is like the Ultra Micro Stack. So it stands to reason that the Micro Stack should be able to run nicely using a single Astrodyne with Y connector.

[limin]

or another suggestion, i would probably pay 250 for a "micro power supply", basically a DPS but with just 2 outputs cause it would look so fresh and so clean

[aimlink]

Originally Posted by limin

or another suggestion, i would probably pay 250 for a "micro power supply", basically a DPS but with just 2 outputs cause it would look so fresh and so clean

Yeah. I look at my DPS and do wonder which customer out there uses all 6 of the outlets on it. Seems a tad over the top!

[ascherjim]

Originally Posted by kboe

I thought about this also but feared headroom would not be interested in producing one, espicially with the economy continuing to worsen. Good idea though!
Kevin

As a further refinement to my suggestion (query) to Tyll (which he hasn't yet commented on): Would a Y-cable be something I can make myself? (I can solder electrical connections.) In other words, does one of the Headroom wall warts for their Micro line have sufficient power in itself to safely operate both the Micro DAC and Amp?

[kboe]

(Note- I have no knowledge about anything electrical) Thinking about this more I would think that the micro amp and the micro DAC may not need the same amount of power even when processing the same signal. The reason the DPS exist is specifically to drive more than one component and is built to do so. It monitors, then responds to the demand from the six sources independently of each other. Perhaps the wallwart and astrodyne are only designed to respond from one power demand? Like I said, I have absolutly nothing to base this on except listening room time absorbing music, so I'm not exactly sure if all 3 brain cells were firing on time. Who knows?

Kevin

[ascherjim]

Originally Posted by kboe

(Note- I have no knowledge about anything electrical) Thinking about this more I would think that the micro amp and the micro DAC may not need the same amount of power even when processing the same signal. The reason the DPS exist is specifically to drive more than one component and is built to do so. It monitors, then responds to the demand from the six sources independently of each other. Perhaps the wallwart and astrodyne are only designed to respond from one power demand? Like I said, I have absolutly nothing to base this on except listening room time absorbing music, so I'm not exactly sure if all 3 brain cells were firing on time. Who knows?

Kevin

Kevin:
Headroom sells the Micro amp wall wart separately. I bought an additional one last year to place in my vacation cabin to power my Micro DAC, rather than have to carry one with me when going between the two locations with my listening setup. I do not yet own a Micro amp, which is a decision I'm holding back on until I get this whole matter resolved. I presume therefore that since the extra wall wart I purchased works just fine with my Micro DAC, then it must be identical to the one powering the Micro amp. I don't know much about electronic theory either, but if both units can employ equal wall warts, I would suppose their power demands would be about the same. Maybe I/we will eventually hear from Tyll (or Jorge) on this subject.

Thaks again for your interest, Jim

[Tyll Hertsens]

Sorry, I'm a bit leary of posting without actually trying it, and I really don't have the time to give it a go.


I kinda feel like making a splitter on the either the brick or Astrodyne should probably work for the regular micros, but probably not the Ultras.

The brick is an unregulated supply though and as such is likely to have a moderate amount of signal on it related to the audio, so it's likely to give you a bit of a hit on the sound quality.

The Astrodyne should work fine. My only comment is that if you draw too much current when a switching supply is starti8ng they will oftenb fail to fire up. But the Astrodyne will drive a Balanced Desktop, so it should be able to drive a Microd Amp and DAC together without fuss.