Is there better than Cioks?

[arpegadream]

What super premium power blocks are there and are any better than the Cioks DC7 with an 8 Extender?

Also, why not a cioks, are there any downsides? Yeah, I know, special cables is one, another is mounting it. Is DC To DC Conversion the best way?

 

[Reyybarra]

Strymon really Just makes it easier and better imo.

 

[TDLP]

Cioks, Strymon, Gigrig I'd say for the premium end of the power supply market. I've done Gigrig and Cioks and haven't noticed any noise difference. I'd go for the Cioks personally for the voltage switching over the other two.

Honestly they're all so good that there shouldn't really be an appreciable difference in quality. I'd go for whatever has the feature-set your after.

Simplicitiy: Strymon
Versatility/Expandability: Gigrig
Middle Ground: Cioks

 

[YourBestFriend]

Strymon really Just makes it easier and better imo.

That’s quite debatable. Strymon couldn’t power either my Meris LVX or H90 properly. Cioks DC7 can.

 

[jcoriha]

Cioks will most likely be the only power supply I will buy going forward. Excellent products and (outstanding) great service

 

[MBT74]

I’ve used Cioks, Gigrig and Strymon and my preference is for Strymon.

The Gig Rig stuff was great because of their small size but the plastic design starts to feel flimsy if you’re like me and like to pull your boards apart a lot.

The Cioks is rock solid but I didn’t like their cables. The Strymon units are solid like the Cioks and I really like the ability to run extension units off the main power block. The Strymon cables are more universal compared to Cioks so I can just grab Voodoo Labs or similar cables if I need replacements or ones for a specific purpose.

 

[mambosun92]

Truetone CS12 is a good alternative too.

 

[Sheeny]

Nothing beats Cioks.

 

[ctreitzell]

There is certainly competition for "best power supply"; depends how much power you need, how much space you have and weight you wanna lug...and if you want linear or switching because Cioks only makes switching afaiaa

Yankee customer service is appalling, and you'll find plenty of complaints about them, yet I don't you'll find a more capable brick...the big Yankees are expensive, big and heavy and you'll need a multimeter to set the variable supplies

 

[Blue-moon]

Strymon really Just makes it easier and better imo.

I have had both a strymon and a Cioks. The Strymon had all kinds of QC problems. Cioks ate built like tanks. Strymon’s like Pintos.

 

[AlmostWorldClass]

Cioks and Voodoo Lab are my favorites. Cioks work so well with smaller pedalboards due to their sleek form factor and I never have to worry about having enough power for each isolated line.

 

[slide13]

Cioks seems super nice and I had only ever heard good things but I tried their Super Power Bundle (DC7 & 8) and it was noisy with my rig. I had a low hum with the Cioks hooked up.

Switched back to my TrueTone CS6 with a VooDoo Lab X4 running off it for more outs and hum went away and everything was dead silent again.

Thought maybe it was something in how I set it up the first time so I tried two more times running everything off the Cioks and every time the hum showed up.

Really wanted the Cioks to work, slick system and I can’t imagine there is anything it can’t power properly. Ended up returning it though.

Maybe I just got a defective one in some way. Might try again someday, would still like the added flexibility of that system

 

[maxbrothman]

Zip-tied mess under my pedalboard with Cioks.

I went back to Voodoo Labs because I don't use pedalboards anymore. Carpet and minimal pedals for me. I bought Cioks mostly because they snap under some models of pedalboards, but the special cables are a pain because you can't shorten them and have to zip-tie them up under the pedalboard. You would probably have to buy other cables for it.

So great for sitting in somewhere tight, but power cable management is rubbish if you use all the connections.

 

[Bajan]

Zip-tied mess under my pedalboard with Cioks.

I went back to Voodoo Labs because I don't use pedalboards anymore. Carpet and minimal pedals for me. I bought Ciosks mostly because they snap under some models of pedalboards, but the special cables are a pain because you can't shorten them and have to zip-tie them up under the pedalboard. You would probably have to buy other cables for it.

So great for sitting in somewhere tight, but power cable management is rubbish if you use all the connections.

I respectfully disagree. You can absolutely re-terminate the power cables. Cioks even sells open ended cables that you can cut to length and terminate with standard 2.1mm barrel jacks.

 

[lefort_1]

I appreciate Cioks' attempt to improve the delivery of clean power via an connector that is more reliable than the 2.1mm barrel.
Too bad there isn't a similar alternative on all the pedal-end of those cables.
(and if there were a non-2.1mm conn on pedals, you can be your bottom dollar that many manufacturers would create right-angle/low-height plugs to 'short circuit the complaints of the tidy-cable community)

For any given PSU design, there will be circumstances where it is not optimal:
- the low radiated noise of an 8-tap toroidal transformer will not fit under every board.
- some PSUs may not be snappy enough at startup to supply ultra-clean power to a picky DSP chip that wants power-stability in under 100 msec (eh, EHX?)
- conducted noise from DC-convertors in a PSU may chatter with DC-convertors in pedals. (e.g. the heterodyning issue with MAXX1044 convertors)
- big H-frame transformers will mess with wah pedals. Science/Fact. The answer here is to get the wah manufacturers to properly shield their big-ass inductors.

This list can go on and on, and it really isn't up to the PSU manufacturers to test their device against every single obscure pedal out there.

 

[Ozzie31220]

Truetone CS12 is a good alternative too.

I have a Zuma and Ojai setup now, which I really like. But if it wasn't for my use case to expand my pedal board I'd still be rocking the CS12. It's a fantastic product and never gave me issues at all. Noise-free, powerful, and a great value.

Only cons are it's on the bigger side (if that matters is very dependent) and doesn't expand. Else, it's a fine choice.

 

[Echoplexi]

I’ve owned voodoo lab, Strymon, and Cioks. Cioks is my favorite, and what I use on my current board.

 

[YourBestFriend]

I respectfully disagree. You can absolutely re-terminate the power cables. Cioks even sells open ended cables that you can cut to length and terminate with standard 2.1mm barrel jacks.

View attachment 966841

What kind of board is that?

 

[msquared]

I have had both a strymon and a Cioks. The Strymon had all kinds of QC problems. Cioks ate built like tanks. Strymon’s like Pintos.

That's funny, I've been gigging a Zuma and an Ojai for years. I've all but played baseball with them and they're still working with zero issues.

Also, to suggest they're built like Pintos would indicate that they are prone to explosion under normal use cases, which afaik has never happened.

 

[ilyslue2]

I have not found anything better. What scares me away from strymon is the digital switching design. Some pedals don’t like this at all