Can power supply affect output volume?

[pendingrequests]

I have been using the Diao Micro Power Supply for sometime, but after looking into an alternative as it has hit some bad wear and tear, I am curious as to whether a 'just enough' power supply would affect output?


I tested a new Mark Bass Little Tube 800 and comparing the sound from not through my board to straight in the amp, I lost a decent amount of volume.

I still need to define if what pedals may cause the deficiency, but would the power supply have any role?

[ProfFrink]

Many pedals can cause loss of volume, regardless of PS, if they are malfunctioning or not set to "unity-gain". Some pedals are designed to reduce gain (e.g. a passive volume pedal not set to max) and many "dirt" pedals are almost impossible to set to _not_increase_ volume (due to their natural gain-stage structure).

Some pedals may cause loss of volume if not fed with the right PS voltage, and some pedals are designed to get variable voltage within some reasonable range (e.g. 9-18v, 9-12v) and some of these may have their volumes affected by voltage changes.

So to answer your question more directly, unless your PS is faulty, it's probably not what's causing the volume drop. Common complaints about low-quality PSs revolve around noise - but usually not about putting out the wrong voltage.

Edited January 27, 2016 by ProfFrink

[dannybuoy]

Very unlikely, it's more likely to be a pedal or a cable at fault.

[rmorris]

If your power supply is the problem then the audio would be distorted due to it also.

[dannybuoy]

I get low output and distortion due to some dodgy patch cables from time to time. So ordered some new cables and one of these last night!

https://www.music-group.com/Categories/Behringer/Accessories/Cable-Testers/CT100/p/P0133

[pendingrequests]

Going to investigate this evening and see what could be causing it!

[JapanAxe]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1453964711' post='2964655']
I get low output and distortion due to some dodgy patch cables from time to time. So ordered some new cables and one of these last night!

[url="https://www.music-group.com/Categories/Behringer/Accessories/Cable-Testers/CT100/p/P0133"]https://www.music-gr...s/CT100/p/P0133[/url]
[/quote]

I have one of those, incredibly useful.

[pendingrequests]

Update!

So through my complete doing, I did not realise the Tonehammer required an 18V, not 9V! Which is what I've been running it on for the past 8 months.

So hopefully that will solve the issue!