Author Topic: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE  (Read 136293 times)

xmax

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #105 on: April 05, 2014, 05:12:19 PM »
We will have them on at least 3 continents by the end of the month, I just installed
another one yesterday. We might be getting a European representative at some
point. One step at a time...   

neumann25

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #106 on: April 05, 2014, 11:34:40 PM »

Hello all. Shippen here.

Hey Reid

I owned SSL consoles for 25 years and my power supplies NEVER blew even with power outages and quick power interuptions.. Are you grounded properely? I mean your building main ground? Have you ever measured your ground with a AEMC ground tester to true mother earth? Are you tied to your water pipe? Does your water main see PVC under the street connection? There is no reason a SSL power supply should be that problematic, unless your machine roon is not cold enough, or your main power is not grounded right, etc.     

MicAngelo The Music palace
« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 11:24:45 PM by neumann25 »

xmax

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #107 on: April 06, 2014, 12:33:02 AM »
I can quote many many people praising a replacement psu, I have seen
several different ssl psu's fail in less than a year in a room that had a 1"
thick ground wire right to the spikes! We all know they fail! read the
whole thread.

makeitwork

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #108 on: April 06, 2014, 12:34:03 AM »
Artur- thanks for the heads up. we're definitely looking into an EU reseller- we've been concentrating on getting this thing off the ground and killer first. Bear with me, I'm new at this, I mix records for a living.

Stef- I hear ya. trust me, I'd love it if this thing were cheaper. good stuff is expensive. I'm also working on some deals with major markets to have a spare around in case something happens to a supply. we're looking at Nashville, NY & LA to start, and would love to park one in Sydney. Who should I talk to? maybe 301?

Mic- we've looked at grounding,  thanks for that. Your supplies must have extra karma. :-)


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Artur D'Assumpção

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #109 on: April 06, 2014, 12:59:00 AM »
Hi Reid,

I wish to see you soon in Europe fully supported! That means the Atomic is a success, which in turn means "ALL GLORY TO SSL LEGACY": :) ;)

Cheers,

Artur
« Last Edit: April 06, 2014, 08:56:21 PM by Artur D'Assumpção »

radardoug

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #110 on: April 18, 2014, 09:59:39 PM »
Hi All,
         Some time ago I posted on this forum regarding this supply, and was criticised roundly, and it was suggested that if I didn't want to wait for Norman's supply I should build my own. So I did! Well, actually, some very helpfull guys in the power supply business did the building for me to my spec.
The supply is in and working fine, noise on the console is at -77 dB below 0 dB. Photos attached.
The main firm was an Australian firm Amtex who did the building and supplied through their New Zealand subsidiary Innovative Energy.
Amtex's website is http://www.amtex.com.au
The price was similar to Normans. Anyone in the Australian region might want to investigate this as it might be a cheaper option to Norman's.

Norman contacted me, coincidentally as I was taking delivery of this supply, and we exchanged cordial emails. I certainly still wish him well in his enterprise, and hope he makes some money out of it.

For me it was about making sure my client had a working supply, which he does, and the old one as a spare.

I am very committed to keeping a variety of old gear going, I also service two very old Neves and that has its problems!
So there gentlemen, it is possible to build your own, and in a short time scale. Switchmode supplies have progressed hugely, and are worth looking at.

xmax

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #111 on: April 18, 2014, 10:16:22 PM »
This does seem like a option for the more adventurous type. Keep us updated!
One of our first clients just bought 2 more S1's! Now we are building a unit for
literally the biggest name in the business.  So yes the word has got out!
« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 10:18:09 PM by xmax »

makeitwork

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #112 on: April 20, 2014, 04:59:57 PM »
Certainly worth a shot. We regret that our location in the USA makes the supplies more expensive in places such as Australia- we did the best we could, alas. However- we've discovered that the best way to ship the Atomic overseas is with the USPS (the other shippers are charging ridiculous prices) and they have a $2500 value/insurance limit on the package. We've arranged to cover the remainder of the cost- if the shipping damages the supply, we'll replace it- but it also means that the import price would reflect $2500 instead of $4799, I believe.

The only caveat to the above post that I would add is that we have found that there's a difference between a functional supply and a great supply, at least, that was our discovery after many rounds of practical testing and listening. I walk into my mix room every day fully confident that I know exactly what I'm getting sonically, as well as from a power protection standpoint. That is not to say, however, that there's not more than one way to skin a cat- it's just that, as far as Atomic goes, we've skinned this one very, very carefully.

In other news, we're onto round two of the atomic supplies, as well as a few orders from some very well-known mixers and artists that we'll be excited to share as soon as we can.

Again, any questions, please get at me at info@atomicinstrument.com.

thanks, Reid

nycsudio1

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #113 on: April 20, 2014, 09:45:03 PM »
Although I think it's a good idea to have replacement parts available for SSL consoles, I can't justify spending $4,800 for a power supply given that the price of these consoles are not going to increase in value, if anything they will decrease.

I was really looking forward to getting one of your psu's but the price is too high for me.

Clients are more and more mixing in the box and in reality the original power supply is serviceable. If we were talking about the automation computer/total recall, it would make sense to invest since they are built based on an old technology and very difficult to repair. I am not a big fan of switching-mode power supplies either and would prefer linear, but it's just me.

Nevertheless I wish you guys all the luck and if at some point the price comes down I will definitely entertain the idea of "switching" the psu on my SSL.

Best of luck!!

marcmozart

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #114 on: April 20, 2014, 11:33:00 PM »
As a sidenote, I think we've seen the lowest prices for the E/G-Series already. Prices hold steady, especially for well maintained complete consoles. Keep in mind that some places buy them to rack the channels, and a whole lot of consoles have already disappeared that way.

Although I think it's a good idea to have replacement parts available for SSL consoles, I can't justify spending $4,800 for a power supply given that the price of these consoles are not going to increase in value, if anything they will decrease.
1992 SSL 4048 G-Series
Mix Engineer Blog
http://www.mixedbymarcmozart.com

makeitwork

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #115 on: April 22, 2014, 07:02:00 PM »
nycsudio1... man, I hear ya.

Here's all I can say, as an SSL owner- I don't sweat my power supplies anymore. I don't get nervous when Nashville gets thunderstorms at night. I have turned my whole desk off & on over 100 times now and had zero issues- I'm turning it off overnight now. Takes about 10 minutes to warm up.

And it sounds better. 'Nuff said on that. I'm sure there's lots of stuff on the internet about switching supplies, pro & con... I'm willfully ignorant when it comes to the arguments- but I believe my ears. 54 Sound liked their first Atomic so much they ordered them for all of their SSL's a month later, and they haven't had time to realize any power savings- the sound makes a difference.

Finally- we made a conscious decision to make everything in America, local to Detroit. Yup, we're all used to cheap stuff from China, but we couldn't get the quality that we needed. We're always keeping in mind that when the SSL's were new, they were extremely expensive stuff. True, the used value has fallen (although, like Marc said, it's on the upswing again) but there's still a lot of guys who swear by it, guys named etc etc blah blah blah. Let's not re-start that thread.

Thanks for the good vibes though. If we get any sorts of price breaks we'll definitely pass them on- we're both music makers first and business guys second, we just wanted the Atomic to kick as much ass as possible.

-Reid

jimlfixit

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SSL original prices
« Reply #116 on: April 23, 2014, 05:16:11 PM »
Hi all
It's interesting to read that SSL prices are holding steady after falling a lot over the last decade or so. Around 1981, I remember that a new SSL power supply (661) was about GB£5,000 from SSL. A console side profile and cast and machined leg were £500 each. There were not many big CNC machines back then but JD Krouse, who made all the console frames and other metalwork had one and they were based locally to SSL. I think they don't exist anymore.

Also, a 611E mono channel, which SSL made most of their income from, was about £1,200 and a stereo version, nearly £2k. I think a 681 keyboard was about £800.

A little bit more history for you! How prices have changed over the last 30 years!

Regards from Jim Lassen (www.profcon.co.uk). Also on FACEBOOK

xmax

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #117 on: April 23, 2014, 06:39:43 PM »
I have seen the prices go up on 4K's! It seems people tried different things but
just went back to the 4K's, And we are not forcing people to buy the Atomic Instrument
supply. To me the desk is the most important part of a studio, I have seen
a single Neve channel sell for $4800! In other words a studio can run without
a Neve channel, It really can't run without the desk, downtime is expensive!
Plus with energy saved the unit should pay itself off relatively quickly. Thanks
for the support so far! N 

nycsudio1

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #118 on: April 23, 2014, 09:11:12 PM »
Prices are not going up on SSL consoles. Just because someone asks a higher price or even if one buyer pays a higher price for a console it doesn't mean that prices are going up.

I run a commercial studio and get zero love or request for the use of the SSL. I get requests for melodyne and autotune on a daily basis but not for the SSL or even the Neve I have in the B room.

I turn off my consoles every day as I have been doing for many years and never had an issue either with the console or psu.

Electric bill is the least of my concerns as I see little to no variation when I use the console here in my building.

There's a company in California called GRS Pro Audio that builds power supply for SSL or any other console for $1,500
At one point they were selling their units on Ebay for $995.00

Nevertheless I give you credit for developing a replacement PSU for these consoles, but a psu is not the reason why these boards will go up in value if it ever happens.

An automation and total recall computer replacement on the other hand would be a whole different game.

When you guys started to advertise here and offering them for $2,500 or I believe $2,200 at one point I was actually seriously considering buying one and keeping the original as a back up but once the price went up to $4,800 it just became impossible for me to even consider.

Now I am only sharing my thoughts so you can have some sort of feedback as I am sure that there are many that share the same sentiments that I do but won't say anything.

I wish you guys all the best with your business and your psu's.


flog

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Re: 4K,6K,8K Switch Mode PSU UPGRADE
« Reply #119 on: May 06, 2014, 11:29:41 PM »
Would love to hear some feedback from owners/users of the S1 other than the owners of the company.

A lot of hype here and on the website.