I am getting ready to install my empeg in a portable venue where I will listen through headphones, powering the empeg by means of a small 12V motorcycle battery. No amplifier or speakers will be connected.

What is the average power consumption of the empeg? I have plenty of "headroom" for starting the hard drives without voltage drop, but under typical use, how many watts does the empeg consume? If I turn visuals "OFF" does that significantly reduce power consumption, or do the VFD heat filaments continue to draw their one-watt (or more?) load even when the display is blank?

The empeg will be subject to low-amplitude vibrations primarily around 5--50Hz, never even approaching the 150g maximum the hard drives are rated to resist while spun up. Probably an order of magnitude less. Visualize the maximum shock as being about like tossing the empeg onto a soft bed. These maximum impacts might come several times an hour. The 5--50Hz vibrations will be more or less constant.

So now the question: what effect will these low amplitude vibrations (probably equivalent to placing the empeg on the above mentioned soft bed and then drumming your fingernails on it) have on the hard drive?

tanstaafl.


"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"