How Do I know if Need a power conditionner?

[mhschmieder]

Yep, I have two MP3500's, and sold my MP2500 after downsizing my studio some more. The MP3500 is well worth the extra bucks over the MP2500 for the extra protection it gives. My colleague's equipment was friend beyond repair after one of our city's many power events, and he had the MP2500. I had the MP3500 and everything was fine after a night full of back-to-back on-and-off events. This is because the MP2500 doesn't shut down whereas the MP3500 does.

[hswin]

Hey Guys,

If I am recording in an unfamiliar location, I always take an APC 650 UPS with me and use it as the first power device. I tried it at home under full 32 tracks and it went 8 1/2 minutes before it gave me problems! I am working on a light that indicates loss of power. That's enough time to plug back in the power cable someone "accidentally" unplugged! That works well for me. It also has a built-in power conditioner! Neat unit.

Having fun with 32 tracks in OKC
hp laptop ZD7000 2.8 Gb 1 Gb RAM
Win XPPro SP-2
Cakewalk SONAR 6.0 Producer
3 MOTU 896HD
1 MOTU Ultralite
External 7200 rpm hard drives
Several studio microphones

[mhschmieder]

It's funny, but I was just talking to our IT guys about UPS's yesterday, as they are giving me a discarded Windows box to take home so I can telecommute now and then. They STRONGLY recommended against using a UPS with any computer that has an audio interface attached to it, which I had heard quite a few times over the years from random people anyway.

These guys get sent out into the field to help set up for shows with the likes of Rod Stewart, Christine Aguilar, etc. I think they probably know what they're talking about . And yet, various people on this forum have put in strong recommendations for using a UPS with a music computer.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

They STRONGLY recommended against using a UPS with any computer that has an audio interface attached to it, which I had heard quite a few times over the years from random people anyway.

I'm open to that idea if they give you a good, solid, accurate reason WHY. That's the part that doesn't make sense to me. BTW, just because you've worked with big names doesn't really mean dick. I know Oscar winners who have destroyed films with all their knowledge and Emmy nominees who have $hit for brains.

Just a thought...

[mhschmieder]

Well, I don't directly name my employer in my postings, but I can guarantee you that the people running these large shows know what they're doing. They're extremely well known after decades of reliability.

UPS's may have come along in the past year or two to where the interference with audio is less significant. There were cross-talk issues before, as well as certain UPS features that maybe can be shut off but which can cause momentary glitches. The new UPS I just got in the work office has caused at least one false reset already. But we also just moved offices on Monday, so there may be multiple factors at the moment.

[bootsncats]

lots of things happening in this post.

1. power conditioner = must

2. USB issue, the power within a computer is super messy regardless of the power conditioning going in. I would try getting a USB hub and powering the device from it's separate power supply. I tried this once and it worked although not an ideal solution. Ideal solution would be to replace the usb components in the computer or get a quality usb card to interface. such a frustrating problem though. I had a noisy usb and I swear I replaced everything before I realized it was the actual usb components in the computer

UPC - for large shows, you shouldn't need a upc, the power should come from a regulated distro with backups anyway. For large shows, if the power goes out, odds are lights and mains are down as well. shows over. then again in my studio I run off centralized power backups into $500 conditioners.

in my little experience, I have made many mistakes, and thats where one learns.