Truetone - True 10 ($89 power supply)

[Anxiety Serum]

https://www.truetone.com/True-10/

Anyone used one of these? Any issue or does it work?

I needed a larger pedal power supply. I have a CS 12 and a CS 6, but need to replace the 6 with more spots. This is $89 on Amazon (exclusive) and $180 cheaper than the CS11 from Truetone ($269) or the old CS12 ($229).

They say its still great, but not clear where they cut 2/3s of the price.

"A lot of budget supplies cut corners where it counts — lower-grade components, and no heatsinks to help those components run cool and last. Truetone power supplies are built differently. Even our entry-level True 10 uses carefully sourced components chosen for reliability and low noise."

 

[cobrahead1030]

At that price, it’s not actually isolated.

I’ve got a similar unit made by Donner. It works ok on my spare board I use at home, just for occasionally using random pedals that don’t have a permanent home.

Sometimes it does introduce some extra noise, or I’ll get some weirdness with some pedal combinations etc.

 

[CoreyW]

https://www.truetone.com/True-10/

Anyone used one of these? Any issue or does it work?

I needed a larger pedal power supply. I have a CS 12 and a CS 6, but need to replace the 6 with more spots. This is $89 on Amazon (exclusive) and $180 cheaper than the CS11 from Truetone ($269) or the old CS12 ($229).

They say its still great, but not clear where they cut 2/3s of the price.

"A lot of budget supplies cut corners where it counts — lower-grade components, and no heatsinks to help those components run cool and last. Truetone power supplies are built differently. Even our entry-level True 10 uses carefully sourced components chosen for reliability and low noise."

I’ve used the bigger CS ones like you mentioned for a few years and have yet to have a problem with any of them.

$89 is not a huge gamble especially if you can get some place like guitar center to price match the Amazon sale.. I don’t know how easy it is to deal with Amazon returns is why I mention GC, but I would pick one up and try it, return it if there is an issue.

I have moved to the Gigrig stuff and while it is expensive, it’s pretty easy to configure and expand if the need arises.

 

[BeZo]

It doesn't use a true IEC input to convert power like the others. It uses a wall wart to change the voltage and then just distributes it. It's more like a power strip and less like a power conditioner (for pedals).

 

[Anxiety Serum]

It doesn't use a true IEC input to convert power like the others. It uses a wall wart to change the voltage and then just distributes it. It's more like a power strip and less like a power conditioner (for pedals).

What sort of issue/s would that cause if any?

 

[BeZo]

What sort of issue/s would that cause if any?

It might be legit. Moving the main power conversion away from the pedals to the wall wart could reduce noise. Then again, it a cheap Chinese version designed by Truetone. The outlets are likely isolated, and if they put their name on it, you would hope they stand behind it. At that price point, it seems like a valid option.

The 12v input got me thinking too, if you were to connect this to anything else, it would not assimilate. The 24v tap on Cioks and Strymon mean you can mix and match for power requirements and scalability. This one is really a one and done solution, and wouldn't chain to anything else. I prefer the Cioks stuff for the features and the performance, but it's three times the price.

 

[ZEEGLER]

This looks to be basically the same as all the Joyo/Caline/Donner/etc.. power supplies on Amazon. External wall wart instead of an internal transformer with a proper IEC power cord. As far as I know, they are not truly isolated. I use the Trutone CS12 on two of my pedal boards and they're great. If I was going to go with a more budget friendly unit with a wall wart, I'd probably get one of the cheaper ones off Amazon. They're like $30.

 

[BeZo]

This looks to be basically the same as all the Joyo/Caline/Donner/etc.. power supplies on Amazon. External wall wart instead of an internal transformer with a proper IEC power cord. As far as I know, they are not truly isolated. I use the Trutone CS12 on two of my pedal boards and they're great. If I was going to go with a more budget friendly unit with a wall wart, I'd probably get one of the cheaper ones off Amazon. They're like $30.

This was made in conjunction with Amazon to compete with all of those power supplies. I don't doubt Truetone got it right, so it's probably legit. Even if it is the best of the bunch though, it still doesn't make sense. Truetone already makes better power supplies. Why step into this market? People don't get the cheap Amazon crap because it's good, they get it because it's cheap. If it's not the cheapest, will it succeed? Furthermore, what good is brand recognition if it's cheap Chinese crap? It's made and sold alongside all the other CCC on Amazon, so why pay more for the Truetone?

On the other hand, it is more feature rich than a lot of the others down there in the bottom of the barrel. I would rather have this than a Donner or a Caline, but I would rather use Cioks, Strymon, or even Walrus before this. So who is this really for?

 

[Anxiety Serum]

I got one, set up my pedalboard last night and it works great...so far. Don't notice any noise. I called Truetone and asked what is it missing that their others have. Like, talk me into why I need to spend $279 for the CS 11. And he really couldn't. Said its just as good, maybe a less durable housing so if you are throwing it around in the van, or you need more than 10 plugs...otherwise its should be just as good.

Like BeZo, why do this? Unless you plan to dominate and sell 3x the number on amazon as you do that 3x more expensive units.

Keep in mind I am only a day in, but works great and love the small form factor.

 

[mnemonic]

I bought a cheap Chinese supply like 10 years ago that has three isolated outputs, two of which are switchable voltage (truly isolated, you can even run them in series for higher voltage if needed), I’ve never had noise or reliability issues so I never upgraded to anything ‘nicer’.

It was about half the price of this so I’d bet this one is probably just what is claimed.

That being said I have a Truetone One Spot I bought years ago to replace a very cheap ‘Stagg’ brand 9v power supply that died, and it’s the noisiest supply I’ve ever used. Fine with most stuff but for some reason, buzzing with some pedals or some daisy chained pedal combinations. I bought another Stagg supply for like £12, and it was dead silent with everything, including the setups that were noisy with the one spot.

 

[The~Kid]

It's funny how dudes have hundreds if not thousands of dollars in gear and in their rig on average......


And then buy some cheap chinese PSU from Amazon to compliment it.... Im not saying you can't get by with budget stuff like say some decent cables or tubes...... But yeah you don't want to cheap out on the PSU and I would personally never buy an Amazon PSU or whatever this is.


The regular True Tones ain't bad but this is a hard pass. There are just better options for not a whole lot more and given how much one puts into gear money wise on average it just makes more sense to look at other options.

 

[Anxiety Serum]

It's funny how dudes have hundreds if not thousands of dollars in gear and in their rig on average......


And then buy some cheap chinese PSU from Amazon to compliment it.... Im not saying you can't get by with budget stuff like say some decent cables or tubes...... But yeah you don't want to cheap out on the PSU and I would personally never buy an Amazon PSU or whatever this is.


The regular True Tones ain't bad but this is a hard pass. There are just better options for not a whole lot more and given how much one puts into gear money wise on average it just makes more sense to look at other options.

Normally I am with you. But the True Tone guys stood behind this. They couldn't really tell me what the better options are on their own more expensive units. For a 1/3 the price, I can replace it 3 times if it breaks. And if I noticed a quality differnece I'd send it back and spend the money on other things.

But I also know sometimes things are just expensive becuase they are (marketing, packaging, middle men, country of orgin, ect.). There may be something that works just as well for a fraction of the price. For something I'll never look at (under the board) and rarely touch. If it works it works. Time will tell.

https://www.truetone.com/True-10/

 

[The~Kid]

Normally I am with you. But the True Tone guys stood behind this. They couldn't really tell me what the better options are on their own more expensive units. For a 1/3 the price, I can replace it 3 times if it breaks. And if I noticed a quality differnece I'd send it back and spend the money on other things.

But I also know sometimes things are just expensive becuase they are (marketing, packaging, middle men, country of orgin, ect.). There may be something that works just as well for a fraction of the price. For something I'll never look at (under the board) and rarely touch. If it works it works. Time will tell.

https://www.truetone.com/True-10/

If its so good..... Why do they have this other stuff then.

May as well just sell this cheap junk from Amazon no and only offer then and variants of this "PSU"....


For me I rather spend the money on a good PSU and good PSU don't cost a whole lot. For example if you run mainly low current analog pedals with something like a CIOKS 4 you can power up to 12-13+ pedals by daisy chaining with no added noise floor thanks to the filtering. And these things don't cost a whole lot and arguably much better quality and not some cheap whatever from Amazon.


Voodoo Labs make some great stuff too and new switching PSU too for not a whole lot. It just makes sense to get a quality PSU IMO and IME and it makes a difference.

 

[Simon Dorn]

I have two Truetone 1-Spot. They are very good.

 

[baron55]

Normally I am with you. But the True Tone guys stood behind this. They couldn't really tell me what the better options are on their own more expensive units. For a 1/3 the price, I can replace it 3 times if it breaks. And if I noticed a quality differnece I'd send it back and spend the money on other things.

But I also know sometimes things are just expensive becuase they are (marketing, packaging, middle men, country of orgin, ect.). There may be something that works just as well for a fraction of the price. For something I'll never look at (under the board) and rarely touch. If it works it works. Time will tell.

https://www.truetone.com/True-10/

True Tone PS are all made in China just like most of the other expensive brands listed here.

The Amazon version simply may be minimal packaging as well as you have to use the separate wall wart P/S to power it vs the US versions that have the built in IEC direct plug in.

Isolated PS means the ground path are isolated, and true tone PS are switch mode power supplies, just like the millions of laptop power supplies and others. So not at all expensive to make.

This Amazon version is most likely aimed at markets outside the US and for people on a budget.

The wall wart power supply is the biggest reason of the cost difference as well as a large purchase agreement with Amazon and the fact it's not powder coated, just raw metal.

Would not hesitate to buy one.

 

[Anxiety Serum]

True Tone PS are all made in China just like most of the other expensive brands listed here.

The Amazon version simply may be minimal packaging as well as you have to use the separate wall wart P/S to power it vs the US versions that have the built in IEC direct plug in.

Isolated PS means the ground path are isolated, and true tone PS are switch mode power supplies, just like the millions of laptop power supplies and others. So not at all expensive to make.

This Amazon version is most likely aimed at markets outside the US and for people on a budget.

The wall wart power supply is the biggest reason of the cost difference as well as a large purchase agreement with Amazon and the fact it's not powder coated, just raw metal.

Would not hesitate to buy one.

Thanks. I still don't understand the benefit of a built in IEC plug vs the wall wart. And when would a user want to step up to the higher priced Power Supply units? Assuming they don't care about the looks of powder coated.

Again, if this works as it has so far, is there any reason (reliablity, durabilty, anything) to spend $300 on my next power supply?

 

[baron55]

Thanks. I still don't understand the benefit of a built in IEC plug vs the wall wart. And when would a user want to step up to the higher priced Power Supply units? Assuming they don't care about the looks of powder coated.

Again, if this works as it has so far, is there any reason (reliablity, durabilty, anything) to spend $300 on my next power supply?

Built in IEC plug means you don't need to find a place to plug in a wall wart. On pro rigs, they run only one AC line to the pedal board most of the time direct into the power supply, and for more complicated rigs they will have a "Y" connector to split the IEC cables.

Another reason this is cheaper, is Amazon is handing all the distribution and packaging is also most likely to be more minimal.

Some people may think that using a single wall wart is not isolated. But Isolated power supplies don't isolate the DC power, they isolate the ground return, as that's where the noise comes from.

 

[BSRIAudio]

I still don't understand the benefit of a built in IEC plug vs the wall wart.

Using an external transformer removes a substantial amount of certification and testing cost from a product. This can be into 5 figures just for lab testing. All lower cost switching power supplies use a laptop style supply nowadays to cut down on weight, size, development cost, and red tape.

 

[BeZo]

I have a fucking pile of IEC cables. They are all compatible. If I forget one ar a gig, I can borrow one with ease. The go to every amp I own. They are ubiquitous. I've even seen them supplied by venues.

I do not have a replacement wall wart, and would not have one at a gig. Nobody else would have the specific wall wart I need if I forgot it. It needs a specific voltage and output. On top of that, the flimsy cable coming off a wall wart is FAR more likely to break than an IEC cable, amplifying all my previous points. That's not even getting into the space requirements to plug a wall wart in. Sure, you could bring extension chords and power strips, but now you are spending more money to make the cheap option viable.

For a 1/3 the price, I can replace it 3 times if it breaks.

Instead of buying something cheap and planning on replacing it when it fails, just buy the quality product from the start. Why spend twice the price on an inferior product that is unreliable? Only a rich man buys cheap tools.

 

[cobrahead1030]

Thanks. I still don't understand the benefit of a built in IEC plug vs the wall wart. And when would a user want to step up to the higher priced Power Supply units? Assuming they don't care about the looks of powder coated.

Again, if this works as it has so far, is there any reason (reliablity, durabilty, anything) to spend $300 on my next power supply?

In my experience, it depends on what pedals you’re running, how and where.

When you start mixing analog & digital pedals, or finicky germanium based dirt boxes with anything, those cheaper power supplies can start having weird issues especially if you’re lugging them out to random venues.

This usually comes in the form of excess noise, but not the lower pitch hiss you can commonly get from drive pedals, it’s more of a high pitched whine. Sometimes it’s just enough to be slightly annoying, sometimes it’s almost as loud as the guitar signal.

I only use the cheaper one at home, and if it doesn’t get along with a certain chain of pedals, I just run something else instead. I’ve not taken it out & been hard enough on it to comment on how durable it is. It typically works well enough for running 3-4 simple analog pedals together.

The pricey Cioks power supplies I have are built like absolute tanks. I can Velcro them to the bottom of a board & be pretty confident they’ll survive anything. With them, I can also run anything in any order with zero noise issues.

If you’re out playing gigs, the IEC cables are a lot more solid & easy to run across stages than wall warts. That’s not an issue for everyone though.