245 V (AC) a Problem?.. And about Power Conditioners...

ozanerkal

Inspired
Hey all..

Been using the Axe-Fx II XL for more than 2 years now.
Recently I bought a Samson PowerBrite Pro 10 Power Distribution device to protect my axefx both at home and at live situations where "bad" electricity could be harmful.

During daytime the voltmeter on the device shows around 230V which is normal but after midnight I see that it goes above 240, and tonight I saw this: 245V!

So now:

1. Is it OK? The rear power input of the axefx reads "100-240V" so I really don't think it's OK, but until now (for 2 years) I wasn't aware and it just worked fine.

2. If it's not OK, can my Samson protect the axefx from this? I mean It's not a "real" power conditioner (like the Furmans maybe) but its features include "AC Line Noise Reduction" and "Surge Suppression", so does this mean keeping the power under 240V? I mean, this thing weighs 3 kg.s so it should be doing something... right?

3. From the moment that I bought the Samson, I have to admit that I wasn't really sure why I bought it... Well "to protect the axefx from power related problems" yes, but I really don't know what those problems may be... There's also affordable Furman's out there, like the M10xE, but I got the impression that those (Merit) series of Furman were no different than this Samson and I chose this one because it has this Voltmeter and lights and stuff...
(For more than twice the price as the Samson and the Furman M10xE, there is Furman PL-8 CE, which I also considered but it's 6kg.s which is too heavy for me)

4. Is it harmful to keep the axefx power switch at ON position at all times and to use the Samson's switch to turn it on/off? Or can I keep the Samson's switch at ON position at all times and use the axefx's switch to turn it on/off?

So, any answers or opinions?
Thanks

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I do not know about the voltage, if it will hurt your axe fx or not. I am pretty sure your surge protector is not gonna help you here either, you would have to have a regulator to maintain a steady voltage . As for the powering off, I have been powering my axe fx xl down by turning off the power conditioner for over 2 years, almost 3 with no problem yet.
 
1. It's most likely just fine. Stuff is usually designed with about 10% margin of error in mind anyway, so 245V is within that margin. (edit - Cliff beat me to it. Thanks for the official spec! ;))
2. No. Surge protectors only limit voltage spikes above some clamping voltage point. Check the specs of your unit to see the clamping voltage. They are not designed to withstand extended periods of high voltage, only short bursts like from a power surge. You would need a voltage regulator to maintain a set voltage independent of input voltage changes.
3. Not sure what the question is here.
4. No it won't hurt it at all. The front panel power switch simply breaks the connection between the rear panel power connector and the internal power supply of the Axe. It's no different than unplugging the unit or turning off the source plug's power.
 
Standards vary between different grids/companies, but usually +/-5% is perfectly normal, so that's up to 241.5V. Equipment should work within +/-10%, I think, so that's 253V.

It doesn't even make sense to buy a regulator for your case because they work with +/-5% tolerance.
 
You would need a voltage regulator to maintain a set voltage independent of input voltage changes.

Furman regulators regulate within 174-264 volts. They stop regulating beyond that range, and shut down at 275 volts. If Axe FX operates up to 264 volts, a voltage regulator is meaningless.
 
In the case of the Axe II and many other digital devices, it has a switch-mode power supply that self regulates the voltage output over a wide range of voltage input, so an external voltage regulator is not really needed in many cases. However, with things like tube amps that use very simple transformer, rectifier, and capacitor filtered power supplies, voltage is not regulated at all and changes in mains input voltage are directly reflected in the audio output. This can also be the case for analog pedals that use cheap unregulated wall-wart power supplies as well. For those types of power supplies, consistent voltage = consistent tone.
 
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