Soundcraft Ghost LE power supply DEBATE

[detroitdiesel]

OK. I have the chance to buy a ghost LE 32 ch. Poeple have said that power supply plays a major role. Im coming out of a Mackie 32*8. I have yet to know what power supply comes with the board.

Having said that... will the difference in power supply REALLY matter after stripping myself of the "Ford Taurus" of consoles?

Thoughts?

DD

[Nick Sevilla]

I did not understand your question.
If you do buy the newer console, it is a step up from the Mackie.
And it does have a separate power supply.
You might want a local music equipment tech to refurbish the power supply, so it lasts you another 10 years.

Cheers

[detroitdiesel]

Sorry Nick, I should have been more clear.

People "poo poo" the PSM 290 (which i found out IS the PS that comes with it) and the PSM 300.

preferred PS is CPS 275 and CPS 250

I may go ahead with the board anyway as my tech friend/guru says he can wave his magic wand over it to increase the rail voltage.

I was just looking to see if any owners of this board had thoughts on power supply

Thanks, DD

[permanent hearing damage]

i have had a ghost for about 12 years now with the 275 power supply. i actually never realized there was another one until mine blew up and i borrowed a friend's while it was serviced. when it turned up in the mail in a tiny, light box, i was worried it wouldn't work with the console.

i had been working probably 4-5 days a week on my ghost and switching the power supply did not yield an audible difference to me, honestly. admittedly my monitoring situation at the time was not so hot, so that certainly could have influenced my experience

[The Scum]

It's been a while, but I remember some of this.

The issues were largely pragmatic, not particularly technical.

I think the whole issue was mainly that the PSM supplies are switch-mode supplies that run hot, and thus have a fan. The fan makes a bit of acoustic noise...and probably eventually wears out, just like the fans in any PC.

The older CPS supplies are linear. They don't run quite so hot, thus no fan.

There's also been some bias against switch-mode supplies over the years. There was a time that they weren't suitable for audio work...but they're now commonplace, even in super-high-end gear, so a lot of those issues have been solved.

Another part of that bias is that switchers aren't the tried and true linear supply topology that any tech has likely worked on in one form or another countless times. The circuits are unfamiliar, and harder to tame than linear supplies. They're also probably loaded with surface mount components, again unfamiliar territory to a lot of audio techs.

I think that some of the bias is based on superstition, rather than any actual facts. "This new-fangled supply doesn't weigh enough. It can't be any good."

[farview]

The big black CPS is the better supply. I've used both on the ghost. The difference, in practice is subtle. The CPS makes the board a little quieter, which makes it seem more focused and have more depth.

For all practical purposes, the power supply will not keep you from creating great recordings and mixes. I used the lighter one (which came with the board) for a few years and did dozens of great sounding CD's on it.

It's only necessary to change supplies once the rest of your chain is up to the level that it becomes the weak link.

[GlowSounds]

It's only necessary to change supplies once the rest of your chain is up to the level that it becomes the weak link.

Well said. That's a statement that goes a long way.