Cheap linear 230v - 9v VS Step down transformer

P

Paulo83

New member
Hey all,

I have recently snapped up a used Bottlehead DAC and wanted to sound you all out on the best way to go in terms of power supply when it turns up (shipping from US to UK).

I believe it will turn up with the original 110v psu but wondered what the trade off would be between picking up a cheapish 230 - 110 step down transformer vs a cheap 230v - 9v DC linear supply like this https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/desktop-power-supply/4006945/

While I have read a bit about the battery PSUs that were released I haven't been able to track any down for sale.

I'm not afraid of a little DIY if there are significant gains to be had elsewhere but ideally I don't want to spend much more money to get the DAC up and running.
 
The power supply you linked to is not rated for sufficient current to power the DAC.

The cheap-ish 230-110 transformer is a good idea.  10VA would be plenty, but you'll probably end up not finding much under 50VA.

-PB
 
Thanks for getting back to me. So would something like this be more suitable? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stepdown-voltage-converter-version-240V/dp/B000H9HU5C/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534545272&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=230v+to+110v+transformer&dpPl=1&dpID=41ULDTS0rPL&ref=plSrch

Seems concerningly cheap! I assume it being rated to 45w isn't an issue, will the DAC just draw what it needs?
 
The 45W rating is more than adequate for the DAC, but your suspicions about quality are well founded, I'd look for the 100W model!
 
Go big, i tried the 50w converters and they used to overheat and trip the thermal protection after a few hours.  Go for a 75w or 100w.
 
I went for this in the end.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07BG98F4K/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1_1_1?smid=A11IPLSR49VH0N&psc=1

Hopefully will do the job!
 
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