MGR/Brian Johnston « Powerful, quiet, isolated and digital »
Published on 03/11/21 at 04:10
Best value:
Excellent
Audience:
Anyone
Carl Martin has released a new power supply, the DC factory, but there are a few differences from the company’s current line-up. Most importantly, this 2500mA supply does not use the typical toroidal transformer technology; rather, it is a fully digital switch mode supply. In effect, there are five groups of two outputs (10 total), each of which is fully isolated and offers 500mA of power. Four of those groups are 9v and the other group is 12v. There’s also a cable/voltage doubler if you have an 18v pedal. Now, each group has two outputs of 500mA of power, which can be divided in any manner. For example, if you have a power-hungry digital pedal at 400mA, but an older analog pedal that may required only 20mA, then you can hook up those two pedals to one of the groupings. Keep in mind that the two pedals could be any mA amount (e.g., 250mA each), so long as they do not exceed 500mA total (and if you have a pedal that requires the full 500mA, then you use only one of the outputs).
The above is a basic understanding how this power supply works, but as important is how clean and quiet the unit is. You can have several wah pedals hooked up to DC factory and you will not hear any hum or buzz. The unit also comes with ten 18-inch (50 cm) cables, as well as the voltage doubler mentioned. It’s grey adonized chassis makes it attractive enough to place atop a pedalboard, although it can be mounted underneath with typical Pedaltrain brackets (screws supplied, but brackets not included). The DC factory may not be as exciting as a pedal, but its form factor and function does make this a nifty piece of hardware for consideration. I’ve been using it for the past week with zero complaints… powerful, noise free and looks good; everything you could want in a power supply. List price is $169 USD. For an overview of features and its function, refer to the demo video below.
The above is a basic understanding how this power supply works, but as important is how clean and quiet the unit is. You can have several wah pedals hooked up to DC factory and you will not hear any hum or buzz. The unit also comes with ten 18-inch (50 cm) cables, as well as the voltage doubler mentioned. It’s grey adonized chassis makes it attractive enough to place atop a pedalboard, although it can be mounted underneath with typical Pedaltrain brackets (screws supplied, but brackets not included). The DC factory may not be as exciting as a pedal, but its form factor and function does make this a nifty piece of hardware for consideration. I’ve been using it for the past week with zero complaints… powerful, noise free and looks good; everything you could want in a power supply. List price is $169 USD. For an overview of features and its function, refer to the demo video below.