The Yamaha AN1x Synthesizer mailing list

Jimmy,

>I don't mind the plastic as much as I mind the wall wart. What were
>they thinking? Most pros won't gig with a wall wart instrument.

What they were thinking was that they could save cost, development time, 
and a lot of certification hassles (UL, FCC, TUV, etc.) by separating the 
AC power from the audio and low-voltage stuff.  It allows Yamaha (and 
others) to farm out the power supply part on a per-country basis, and focus 
on the music part.  I'm not fond of the trend, but it is DEFINITELY a 
trend.  In the past ten years, I have owned (or still own) the Fatar Studio 
88; Alesis S4, Quadraverb+, Quadraverb GT, and Quadraverb 2; MIDIman 8x8 
USB; Ensoniq KMX-8; Digitech S100; and the AN1x.  All of these pieces are 
considered "pro" equipment, and all have external power supplies.  Most of 
them have wall-wart style boxes.

One thing that you can do is to replace the "wall wart" supply with a small 
switching supply like many laptop computers have.  The supply is still 
external, but it's usually lighter, better made, often works with 
international voltages (100-240V), and has a removable power cord.  It also 
doesn't clog up a power strip like wall warts do.  I use one that is about 
the size of a pack of king-size cigarettes, not much heavier than the same, 
and takes a power cord like the ones that boom boxes use.  (I also sell 
them in the music side of my business.  If anyone is interested, contact me 
off-line for more details.)


Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions™
www.ashbysolutions.com
CloneWheel Support Group moderator
978.386.7389  voice
978.964.0547 fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com