bgs1372
I have been using my American Audio VSM4.1 for a little over a year now at many events. My question is I have never used the supplied power adapter with this unit. I always just plug into my Macbook Pro and use the USB power to power the unit. I have played many events with the USB powering the unit. Do any of you use both the power adapter and the USB power to run the VSM4.1
I haven't seen any issues so far. The unit has run smoothly using the USB power and not the adapter. Is it ok for me to continue just using the USB power. I know its a bit late to ask this since I have used the unit for a while in this way. I just want to see if any of you have had problems with just using the USB power. Does anyone else just use the USB to power the unit.
I forgot the unit even came with a power pack until I bought a second unit as a backup.
Thanks
Derek
I haven't seen any issues so far. The unit has run smoothly using the USB power and not the adapter. Is it ok for me to continue just using the USB power. I know its a bit late to ask this since I have used the unit for a while in this way. I just want to see if any of you have had problems with just using the USB power. Does anyone else just use the USB to power the unit.
I forgot the unit even came with a power pack until I bought a second unit as a backup.
Thanks
Derek
Inviato Fri 14 Feb 14 @ 3:53 pm
djmike001
In theory you don't have to have the power supply for this unit. In theory but you should use it!
You are robbing the Controller of power that it was intended to have. Other wise ADJ would not have supplied you with a power cord. It would have been optional and sold separately. (remember companies typically like to make as much money as they can so they wouldn't include this if it didn't really have a purpose) Each additional component costs money, even putting the "power supply" input to the board costs money. even if it only cost them a penny to add it. pennies add up quick.
I feel with out the power supply you compromise a few things.
The big one is sound quality. I feel like the sound quality is slightly better when you use the power supply with this unit. assuming you have clean power.
The LED indicators on the board will be less bright with out the power adapter plugged in.
Also, the USB Cable is sucking as much power as your laptop or computer can give it which is a Max. of 5 volts plus or minus .25 volts something like that is the industry standard. the 4.1 was designed to run of 6 volts of DC current. You have at least 1 volt deficiency if running on USB power. Possibly more if your usb port is only cranking out 4 volts. Again the 5v of the usb is under ideal conditions. Assuming that there isn't a feature on your laptop of computer that retards the about of voltage actually being sent out to conserve its own power source and to be more "eco friendly"
I am also not quite sure on this last one. I think the controller is slightly less responsive with out the power supply plugged in.
Also, lets use a quick analogy of speakers. You can typically do more damage to a speaker if you under power it verses over powering a speaker. under powering you are going to do damage to its prime operating potential regardless, if you know what you are doing, it is extremely hard to damage a speaker if you over power them. Granted this will vary from company to company but in general IE the speakers rms is 500 watts, which means it needs 500 watts of power all the time. so you should at the least have a power amp that can deliver 1000watts all the time. To get the best life out of your speaker. However at the same time the speaker may have a peak of say 1000 watts, if you know what you are doing you can send much more than 1000watts to the speaker. Granted this isn't the time and place to explain how to properly do this and protect your gear at the same time.
But if you only had a power amp that was only able to produce 500 watts some of that power will be lost in your speaker cables, and there is a formula based off your cable thickness, and length of the cables how much of the watts are lost. Which means no matter what you do even with the thickest cables and shortest possible cables from the amp to the speaker you will never truly deliver 500 watts what the speaker needs, and will be taxing your amp very hard to leading to thermal issues, and less life of not only your speakers and your amp. In this particular case. So with that being said. Computer electronics are sensitive pieces of equipment, you don't want in your case to give your controller 12v, you want to give it exactly what it needs which is 6v. Other wise you are limiting its true potential and reducing its life span.
**** So its a good thing that you purchased a back up unit. You more than likely will need it in the future based off of your current practices.
Just my thoughts.
You are robbing the Controller of power that it was intended to have. Other wise ADJ would not have supplied you with a power cord. It would have been optional and sold separately. (remember companies typically like to make as much money as they can so they wouldn't include this if it didn't really have a purpose) Each additional component costs money, even putting the "power supply" input to the board costs money. even if it only cost them a penny to add it. pennies add up quick.
I feel with out the power supply you compromise a few things.
The big one is sound quality. I feel like the sound quality is slightly better when you use the power supply with this unit. assuming you have clean power.
The LED indicators on the board will be less bright with out the power adapter plugged in.
Also, the USB Cable is sucking as much power as your laptop or computer can give it which is a Max. of 5 volts plus or minus .25 volts something like that is the industry standard. the 4.1 was designed to run of 6 volts of DC current. You have at least 1 volt deficiency if running on USB power. Possibly more if your usb port is only cranking out 4 volts. Again the 5v of the usb is under ideal conditions. Assuming that there isn't a feature on your laptop of computer that retards the about of voltage actually being sent out to conserve its own power source and to be more "eco friendly"
I am also not quite sure on this last one. I think the controller is slightly less responsive with out the power supply plugged in.
Also, lets use a quick analogy of speakers. You can typically do more damage to a speaker if you under power it verses over powering a speaker. under powering you are going to do damage to its prime operating potential regardless, if you know what you are doing, it is extremely hard to damage a speaker if you over power them. Granted this will vary from company to company but in general IE the speakers rms is 500 watts, which means it needs 500 watts of power all the time. so you should at the least have a power amp that can deliver 1000watts all the time. To get the best life out of your speaker. However at the same time the speaker may have a peak of say 1000 watts, if you know what you are doing you can send much more than 1000watts to the speaker. Granted this isn't the time and place to explain how to properly do this and protect your gear at the same time.
But if you only had a power amp that was only able to produce 500 watts some of that power will be lost in your speaker cables, and there is a formula based off your cable thickness, and length of the cables how much of the watts are lost. Which means no matter what you do even with the thickest cables and shortest possible cables from the amp to the speaker you will never truly deliver 500 watts what the speaker needs, and will be taxing your amp very hard to leading to thermal issues, and less life of not only your speakers and your amp. In this particular case. So with that being said. Computer electronics are sensitive pieces of equipment, you don't want in your case to give your controller 12v, you want to give it exactly what it needs which is 6v. Other wise you are limiting its true potential and reducing its life span.
**** So its a good thing that you purchased a back up unit. You more than likely will need it in the future based off of your current practices.
Just my thoughts.
Inviato Fri 14 Feb 14 @ 4:19 pm
bgs1372
Thanks for the quick reply. You raise a lot of valid points. I wasn't sure if the unit was and either or setup. Meaning you could power with either USB or Adapter. My thinking was the adapter may be incase you wanted to use the unit with out a laptop to hook a CD player or Mic to and would be able to power the unit with an adapter. Your points make much more sense.
I will start using the power adapter.
Thanks again
Derek
I will start using the power adapter.
Thanks again
Derek
Inviato Fri 14 Feb 14 @ 4:30 pm
bgs1372
I used the powered adapter to power the unit and it all works fine. However when I try to use Just the USB cable to power the unit it will not power from the USB cable anymore.
Has anyone had this problem. I used the unit for over a year just powering from the USB cable. I checked the manual and it says can can just use the USB to power the unit, The only issues with doing this are low LED lights and Headphones will be under powered.
All i did was plug the adapter into the VMS4.1 and it worked fine. Then I shut the unit and my computer down. I wanted to try with just the USB cable which is the way I had been using the VMS4.1 for the past year and I get no power from the USB to the unit.
Thanks
Derek
Has anyone had this problem. I used the unit for over a year just powering from the USB cable. I checked the manual and it says can can just use the USB to power the unit, The only issues with doing this are low LED lights and Headphones will be under powered.
All i did was plug the adapter into the VMS4.1 and it worked fine. Then I shut the unit and my computer down. I wanted to try with just the USB cable which is the way I had been using the VMS4.1 for the past year and I get no power from the USB to the unit.
Thanks
Derek
Inviato Fri 14 Feb 14 @ 5:29 pm
djmike001
bgs1372 wrote :
I used the powered adapter to power the unit and it all works fine. However when I try to use Just the USB cable to power the unit it will not power from the USB cable anymore.
Has anyone had this problem. I used the unit for over a year just powering from the USB cable. I checked the manual and it says can can just use the USB to power the unit, The only issues with doing this are low LED lights and Headphones will be under powered.
All i did was plug the adapter into the VMS4.1 and it worked fine. Then I shut the unit and my computer down. I wanted to try with just the USB cable which is the way I had been using the VMS4.1 for the past year and I get no power from the USB to the unit.
Thanks
Derek
Has anyone had this problem. I used the unit for over a year just powering from the USB cable. I checked the manual and it says can can just use the USB to power the unit, The only issues with doing this are low LED lights and Headphones will be under powered.
All i did was plug the adapter into the VMS4.1 and it worked fine. Then I shut the unit and my computer down. I wanted to try with just the USB cable which is the way I had been using the VMS4.1 for the past year and I get no power from the USB to the unit.
Thanks
Derek
I think the key words in the manual is CAN BE used. Those flaws are what they are admitting to.
Try a different USB connection point, or completely shut down your laptop and take out the battery and start over.
You should make sure the device is off before adding and subtracting the power cord to the unit.
Hope those suggestions help.
Inviato Fri 14 Feb 14 @ 7:07 pm
bgs1372
I have tried other laptops and different USB cables. But I still can't get the USB cable to power the unit.
It does work fine with the power adapter plugged in. I am a little worried about the USB cable not working. I will be using this unit at a gig tomorrow night with the adapter powering the unit. Hopefully it works with out any problems but I will have a backup unit onsite just incase.
Since it powers with the power adapter the fact that it won't work with the usb cable baffles me. I emailed American Audio to see if they can come up with a solution.
Thanks for the input
It does work fine with the power adapter plugged in. I am a little worried about the USB cable not working. I will be using this unit at a gig tomorrow night with the adapter powering the unit. Hopefully it works with out any problems but I will have a backup unit onsite just incase.
Since it powers with the power adapter the fact that it won't work with the usb cable baffles me. I emailed American Audio to see if they can come up with a solution.
Thanks for the input
Inviato Fri 14 Feb 14 @ 8:26 pm
djmike001
bgs1372 wrote :
I have tried other laptops and different USB cables. But I still can't get the USB cable to power the unit.
It does work fine with the power adapter plugged in. I am a little worried about the USB cable not working. I will be using this unit at a gig tomorrow night with the adapter powering the unit. Hopefully it works with out any problems but I will have a backup unit onsite just incase.
Since it powers with the power adapter the fact that it won't work with the usb cable baffles me. I emailed American Audio to see if they can come up with a solution.
Thanks for the input
It does work fine with the power adapter plugged in. I am a little worried about the USB cable not working. I will be using this unit at a gig tomorrow night with the adapter powering the unit. Hopefully it works with out any problems but I will have a backup unit onsite just incase.
Since it powers with the power adapter the fact that it won't work with the usb cable baffles me. I emailed American Audio to see if they can come up with a solution.
Thanks for the input
Very bizarre to say the least.
Did you try a different USB cable. Having at least one spare of any type of cables you might need is always a wise idea. Ie for external hard drive, usb cables, mic cables, speaker cables and even laptop power cables, etc. they are usually inexpensive to have a spares and can be gig savers in the event of an unfortunate failure.
Inviato Fri 14 Feb 14 @ 8:51 pm
bgs1372
Yeah, I have 2 backup USB cables and have tried both.
I am going to use the adapter from now on. I think it should work fine with the adapter. I always bring a backup with me incase so all is good. I will wait to hear back from American Audio and see what the say.
Thanks for the input I really appreciate it
Derek
I am going to use the adapter from now on. I think it should work fine with the adapter. I always bring a backup with me incase so all is good. I will wait to hear back from American Audio and see what the say.
Thanks for the input I really appreciate it
Derek
Inviato Fri 14 Feb 14 @ 9:09 pm
djmike001
Glad to be of some assistance.
Maybe this experience only solidifies my thoughts on the power cables importance :)
Network with Kevin over at American Audio, he seems to be the most helpful and knowledgeable guy over there.
Maybe this experience only solidifies my thoughts on the power cables importance :)
Network with Kevin over at American Audio, he seems to be the most helpful and knowledgeable guy over there.
Inviato Fri 14 Feb 14 @ 9:42 pm