"Isolated" outputs on power supples; you can't have it both ways, can you?

[Winston Psmith]

I have a lot of pedals, and so powering everything is a serious issue for me. I've been using Voodoo Lab power bricks for a long time, with very good results: no complaints there, but in looking for other power supplies, I keep running into this one issue that bugs me.

 

I keep seeing what reads like contradictory info regarding the True Tone Power Bricks, like the CS12. On one hand, they continually describe the outputs on their Power Bricks as fully isolated, but then go on to say that a user can exceed the output rating of any given Output jack - by plugging a 300mA pedal into a 200mA Out jack, for example - so long as you don't exceed the total output of the CS12 itself, which seems to be 3000mA.

 

In the info page, True Tone claims that the difference is using a switching power supply, as opposed to the transformer-based power supply found in Voodoo Lab Power Brick. I have to admit, I don't fully understand that explanation? If the different power outputs can draw power away from one another, how are they isolated? I'd really appreciate an informed explanation from anyone who can help.

 

There've been more than a few supposed Power Bricks that were really just daisy-chains in a box configuration, rather than a string, and I've made a point to avoid them. The CS12 gets great reviews, and it seems like it would be a great addition to my rig . . . just not sure about it.

[Caevan O’Shite]

On 2/15/2022 at 1:49 PM, Winston Psmith said:

There've been more than a few supposed Power Bricks that were really just daisy-chains in a box configuration, rather than a string, and I've made a point to avoid them.

Mhm~Hmn.