“Reliably power your effects and floorboards”: Meet the mega-powerful NUX ZEUS – an isolated power supply that will solve all your pedal powering problems
With 10 high-current DC power outlets – with switchable and variable voltage options – the ZEUS promises to supply noise-free power to just about any analog and digital effects pedal, with all the cables provided
(Image credit: Future)
You could have the best collection of effects pedals in the world, but if you don’t have a power supply that can keep up with the demands of your voltage-hungry stompboxes and DSP units, then you’re already capping the sonic potential of your pedalboard.
Enter the brand new NUX ZEUS – an almighty isolated power supply that will reliably power your stompbox effects and floorboards.
With a more compact design and lighter weight (and the best pedalboard power supply packaging around), the NUX ZEUS offers two stages of isolation topology that eliminates ground loop and AC line noise issues.
Specifically, ZEUS provides 10 high-current isolated DC power outlets, which are divided into six 9V outlets with 500mA, three switchable 9V/12V/18V outlets, and one fully variable 6-12V outlet.
It’s an assortment of outlets that will not only comfortably accommodate your standard analog and digital effects pedals, but also a host of power-hungry digital post effects pedals, such as the ones from Eventide and Strymon.
And, thanks to the variable voltage option, players can also get the best out of more volatile pedals, such as a germanium fuzz, phaser or bucket brigade chorus units. In practice, that means those sought-after ‘dying battery’ fuzz tones a la vintage Fuzz Faces can also be obtained.
One of the most notable ways the ZEUS distinguishes itself from its competitors, though, is the presence of an ultra-low impedance self-regulated output design, which is used to offer completely clean power while retaining all your guitar’s dynamics.
This contrasts with the more widely used practice of employing multi-stage filtering to eliminate noise, which in turn often stifles harmonics, dynamics and – ultimately – tone. Further aiding the ZEUS in its ability to provide noise-free operation is a dual-isolated construction.
(Image credit: NUX)
The ZEUS arrives with all the cables required to get started with a pedalboard build – including reverse polarity adaptors, in case they are required – and a 3.5mm mini-plug cable. And, for good measure, an HX double adaptor is also in the box, meaning a Line 6 HX Stomp can also be powered straight from the ZEUS.
There’s also over-heating and over-current protection, with 100-240V universal AC power in, and a USB 5V / 1.5A port for charging mobile devices.
“Many players know the best way to cleanly power effects and stompboxes is through an individually isolated power supply, because you get greater efficiency,” says Guitar World’s Paul Riario. “And right here, the NUX ZEUS is that solution.”
Indeed, ‘ZEUS’ is an apt name for NUX’s newest power supply, and is perhaps the only piece of gear on the market that shares a similarity to a literal Greek God: while Zeus is famed for hurling bolts of lightning – the most powerful weapon on Earth and in the heavens, no less – the NUX ZEUS harnesses similar power for a more humble purpose: to power your pedals.
It’s just as effective, though, and as Riario puts it: “The NUX ZEUS is not only bound to please those who sit atop Mount Olympus, but for many of us mere mortals who need to power our pedals.” A pedalboard super-charged with the power of the Gods? That’s a hard one to beat.
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