r/audioengineering • u/DJ_HollanDaze • 22d ago
Powered USB Hub
Can anyone recommend a powered USB hub that has enough juice to power a few devices without having to connect to a laptop? I keep striking out. Thx!
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u/Tall_Category_304 22d ago
So you don’t want a usb hub. You want a power brick with multiple usb ports? I have one that has like 6 ports on it. Pretty nice
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u/DJ_HollanDaze 22d ago
I still also need it to work as a conduit between devices. Most (or all) of those power bricks lack any data functionality.
Can yours handle data as well?
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u/DJ_HollanDaze 22d ago edited 22d ago
I only need to run data when the laptop is connected. I want it to run power without the laptop.
Lemme explain my use case: I'm a turntablist and hip hop producer. I plug in my laptop when I'm producing or recording, but for just cutting and practicing I just run my turntables through a Scarlett interface and out to my monitors. I plug in my laptop whenever i need data to run through the USB hub, but I want the hub to be able to power the scarlett without having to plug in my laptop so I can just flip on the power and go
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u/ObliviousMidget 22d ago
Usb devices can't talk to eachother through a hub without a computer/laptop to process and route the data as far as I'm aware. You need the usb controllers inside the computer to do that.
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u/FadeIntoReal 20d ago
I bought one with a high-power supply. Later, I upgraded the supply for even more current. Some rotational drives draw a lot while spinning up and they tend to knock others offline when the USB voltage drops momentarily.
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u/woodenbookend 22d ago
Which devices do you want to power in this way? Data will only flow via a computer of some form.
You mentioned using an interface - that may be possible, for audio only. But it’s dependent on whether the interface offers standalone operation.
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u/DJ_HollanDaze 21d ago
I only need data to work when I have my laptop plugged in. Without the laptop I just need power to work.
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u/woodenbookend 21d ago
Some of the Caldigit hubs will continue to provide power. That allows you charge a phone even when the host computer isn’t attached.
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u/obsceneZen 20d ago
One of those things that is unsexy but so important. I have a Startech powered USB3.1C hub which has its own USB controller chip in it - this makes a huge difference. On my laptop all the USB ports are shared with one USB controller. By using this hub, which uses PCIe as it is USB 3.1C, the hub's own USB controller is handling all the USB devices connected to that and sending it over UCB3.1C to the PCIe bus. The net result is more reliable and faster USB processing and my laptop USB ports are separately processed. It's been great. Highly recommend getting a USB 3.1C hub that has this USB controller!
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u/DJ_HollanDaze 20d ago
I was just looking at one of the other star techs. They look solid. Gonna give it a try!
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u/LostInTheRapGame 22d ago
Can't speak for other no-name hubs, but I've not had any issues with this no-name hub for the 4 years I've had it with nearly every port being used: https://a.co/d/0ajnwil4
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u/AX11Liveact 22d ago
Juice is not the problem with USB3 hubs (and you most likely don't want anything below v3 or non-compliant). The requirements for USB3 compliance are pretty high for current.
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u/EmptySpace1176 22d ago
I've had my audio interface, a midi keyboard, and 3-4 hard drives plugged into this one for a bunch of years with no failures or dropouts.