Power supply variations-


A question: Can one use a different p/s (wall wart) that the manufactors recommend...IE: use only 800 milvolts vs. using one that does 1300 millvolts..I think I am asking the right question, but any help would be great appreicated. thanks in advance.
tunes4me

Showing 2 responses by sean

Sugar and Herman bring up very valid concerns. You can use a different wall wart so long as the voltage is the same and current capability are equal to or higher than originally specified. While voltage will remain consistent ( or relatively so ), the device will only pull as much current as it needs. Using a device with higher current capacity i.e. factory specified for 800 milli-amps and using a 1200 MA transformer is not a big deal. If you tried to use a smaller transformer that what you were supposed to, the device may work but could be glitchy and / or run much hotter than normal. You could also burn out the wall wart.

Before swapping wall warts though, i would verify if the wall wart is putting out AC or DC voltage. It should say right on the transformer itself and / or on the device itself. We typically take for granted that these little black boxes put out DC, but some "warts" and components are AC. As a case in point, all of the Musical Fidelity "X" series cans come stock with AC wall warts.

Once you're sure that you have the right type of power ( AC or DC ), the next step is to verify proper polarity. As Herman points out, one can have identical plugs but the connections are reversed internally. You can expect big smoke if you do something like that. Typically, the cost of the repair job is commensurate with the amount of smoke you saw come out. The more smoke, the higher the bill. Sometimes you get lucky though, but don't press your luck. : ) Sean
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