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MXR Iso-Brick

#81
Rocksolid said:
This is my main reason for interest in the ISO Brick - to power my G50 and MS-60B fully isolated with no noise. Currently I need to run a separate 1 spot for the 60B. My other reason is to power a TH DI if I am using that.

I strongly recommend saving your $$ for a G50 over the G30. Huge step up in quality IMO.
Click to expand...

Yup.

I'm getting noise from the 60B and I suspect it is daisy-chained generated, so I'm hoping the 450mA outlet will kill that noise (I had a 60B a couple of years ago, powered by either a DC Brick or a GBUS8 and never had any noise). I'm ultimately going to cram a wireless unit on the board and would like the powersource to juice that as well.

As for the 50 vs the 30, I know this ain't really the place, but I dare ask ... that big a difference in quality ? Over in the Live Sound Forum, the consensus seems to be that they are both of equal quality and that the only real difference is the distance respectively covered by both (100 vs 200 feet) ?
 
#82
twistd said:
The ISO-bricks are fully isolated. I do not think the PP2+s are (but could certainly be wrong)
Click to expand...
In the interest of accuracy, from the Voodoo Labs website:
Isolation is more than fixing ground loops.
Ground loops cause hum, and the solution is to break the unwanted ground path. Isolation is the best way to do it. Unlike other power supplies, Pedal Power 2 Plus isolates EVERY output.
Click to expand...

It was their claim to fame for years, so I believe they do a good job. Does the MXR do as well or better? I guess we'll find out.

For me, a wall wart is another possible point of failure - it can come unplugged, the cables tend to be easily broken, etc.
It's not quite a deal-breaker, but it's a big negative (again, for me).

The PP2+ has proven itself many times over as far as reliability and sturdiness. I just bought one used before I heard of the MXR, but anyway it has everything I need for now, so I'll wait and see what happens over the next couple of years before I jump onto something new. I'm guessing Voodoo Labs will come out with something to compete with the Iso Brick, or lower their prices or something like that.
 
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#84
Bassmike62 said:
Yup.

I'm getting noise from the 60B and I suspect it is daisy-chained generated, so I'm hoping the 450mA outlet will kill that noise (I had a 60B a couple of years ago, powered by either a DC Brick or a GBUS8 and never had any noise). I'm ultimately going to cram a wireless unit on the board and would like the powersource to juice that as well.

As for the 50 vs the 30, I know this ain't really the place, but I dare ask ... that big a difference in quality ? Over in the Live Sound Forum, the consensus seems to be that they are both of equal quality and that the only real difference is the distance respectively covered by both (100 vs 200 feet) ?
Click to expand...
I'll PM you so as not to hijack the thread.
 
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#85
twistd said:
The ISO-bricks are fully isolated. I do not think the PP2+s are (but could certainly be wrong)



Wall wart fits into a mounted power strip on the bottom of a PT-2, so wall wart is not a big deal for me. The build quality on the actual bricks seems really sturdy. It is thick machined aluminum that I can comfortably stand a couple of hundred pounds on without fear of bending or breaking. Everything also seems to function as it is supposed too. Way to early to judge on reliability though.
Click to expand...

It could just be bad luck for me. The last pedal I had from them was the bass distortion and it was a great pedal in all aspects. Ive had issues with input jacks in the past with them but its been a while. But I will most likely give the ISO Brick a shot. Ive already talked some smack about the wall wart but if it can fit on my board, guess I should shut my mouth ;)
 
#86
smeet said:
In the interest of accuracy, from the Voodoo Labs website:


It was their claim to fame for years, so I believe they do a good job. Does the MXR do as well or better? I guess we'll find out.

For me, a wall wart is another possible point of failure - it can come unplugged, the cables tend to be easily broken, etc.
It's not quite a deal-breaker, but it's a big negative (again, for me).

The PP2+ has proven itself many times over as far as reliability and sturdiness. I just bought one used before I heard of the MXR, but anyway it has everything I need for now, so I'll wait and see what happens over the next couple of years before I jump onto something new. I'm guessing Voodoo Labs will come out with something to compete with the Iso Brick, or lower their prices or something like that.
Click to expand...

Someone has already tested in another forum. The MXR is fully isolated :)

The wal wart is something Im not crazy about either. But I think the ISO Brick offers more power options than most other PSUs on the market right now. Plus the price point is killer for what youre getting IMO. Also, every wal wart I have plugged into the power strip underneath my board is also electrical taped to the supply so it doesnt come out. That caused issues very early for me so I learned my lesson pretty quickly haha
 
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#87
I think there's another potential issue not yet mentioned. The Voodoo Lab / T-Rex / Cioks / etc. type supplies are linear. They isolate then rectify the 50/60Hz mains with minimal circuitry & opportunities for noise & failure. The wall wart for this puppy is switch mode = complex circuitry, higher chance of failure & introducing noise. Then inside the main box will be more switching circuitry to isolate & regulate each outlet. That's 2 switching circuits in series for each outlet. As an EE i'm not liking this concept & predict noise / incompatibility with fussy pedals & shorter lifespan of the supply.

Hopefully i'm proved wrong! ;)
 
#88
They delayed shipping the pedal again which stinks. I am going to reduce the pedals on my board and go for a Voodoo Lab Iso 5. I would rather go with a product that has been tested for years and doesn't have a wall wart.
 
#89
Ba55Man1ac said:
I think there's another potential issue not yet mentioned. The Voodoo Lab / T-Rex / Cioks / etc. type supplies are linear. They isolate then rectify the 50/60Hz mains with minimal circuitry & opportunities for noise & failure. The wall wart for this puppy is switch mode = complex circuitry, higher chance of failure & introducing noise. Then inside the main box will be more switching circuitry to isolate & regulate each outlet. That's 2 switching circuits in series for each outlet. As an EE i'm not liking this concept & predict noise / incompatibility with fussy pedals & shorter lifespan of the supply.

Hopefully i'm proved wrong! ;)
Click to expand...


True, but there are some beneficial considerations with the MXR ISO power supply.;)

I power my pedal board with an 18V SMPS laptop power supply that is linear regulated (at the board) to 9V. All of my pedals are then daisy-chained off of that 9V regulator. This keeps any mains ripple out of circuit for a really clean power source. This also keeps any sensitive pedals that are prone to pick up EMF from mains transformers, like some dirt boxes, far away from the mains supply.

The MXR ISO has two transformers inside with multiple secondary coils. The primary coil on these transformers can be oscillated at frequencies outside of the audio spectrum for audible noise immunity. Higher frequencies on the transformer primaries allow the output filtering to be much smaller in size. There is also the benefit of increased efficiency with this type of power supply… less heat = less component stress.

I do think it is still way too early to predict any issues with this power supply. But I can clearly see the benefit of having the mains AC to DC supply far away from the pedal board.

The VooDoo Labs PP2 has a total output power limit of 9.9W.
The MXR ISO has a total output power limit of 31.8W (9V @ 15.3W, 18V @ 9W and 7.5W @ 6-15V adjustable).

If the MXR ISO proves to be a solid contender among clean/quiet, isolated power supplies, then they may become the best bang for the buck available.

-Frank
 
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#90
boomertech said:
True, but there are some beneficial considerations with the MXR ISO power supply.;)

I power my pedal board with an 18V SMPS laptop power supply that is linear regulated (at the board) to 9V. All of my pedals are then daisy-chained off of that 9V regulator. This keeps any mains ripple out of circuit for a really clean power source. This also keeps any sensitive pedals that are prone to pick up EMF from mains transformers, like some dirt boxes, far away from the mains supply.

The MXR ISO has two transformers inside with multiple secondary coils. The primary coil on these transformers can be oscillated at frequencies outside of the audio spectrum for audible noise immunity. Higher frequencies on the transformer primaries allow the output filtering to be much smaller in size. There is also the benefit of increased efficiency with this type of power supply… less heat = less component stress.

I do think it is still way too early to predict any issues with this power supply. But I can clearly see the benefit of having the mains AC to DC supply far away from the pedal board.

The VooDoo Labs PP2 has a total output power limit of 9.9W.
The MXR ISO has a total output power limit of 31.8W (9V @ 15.3W, 18V @ 9W and 7.5W @ 6-15V adjustable).

If the MXR ISO proves to be a solid contender among clean/quiet, isolated power supplies, then they may become the best bang for the buck available.

-Frank
Click to expand...


Especially if we get @Azure Skies to build us those MXR ISO companion boxes ... ;)
 
#93
nshuman said:
Well, I was thinking a small box that would have transformers in them.

Input would be selectable 110/220v. Output would be 4 18v dc ports with enough juice to run 4 ISO Bricks. And 2x 12vAC outputs to run Mutrons and such boxes. That way I could fit 4 Iso Bricks under my PT-Pro :)
Click to expand...

That sounds very interesting.:)

-Frank
 
#96
upload_2015-8-29_20-18-47.png
 
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#98
I know it's fun to predict potential issues, but I would hope (and expect) a company like Dunlop/MXR has done significant life cycle testing and FMEA (failure more effect analysis) I would be very surprised if the perfect storm hasn't been dreamt up in testing, well before we've got our grubby hands on them.
 

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