Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO-1 Pro

I put the Harley Benton PowerPlant ISO-1 Pro on a small practice board to replace a daisy-chain wall-wart and see if an inexpensive isolated supply could stop the background hum I kept getting. I came from a mix of analogue stompboxes and a couple of modern digital pedals, so my goal was clean, reliable 9V power without breaking the bank.

First Impressions

Out of the box the ISO-1 Pro felt compact and reassuringly light - it slips easily under a small pedalboard or sits on top without hogging space. The unit ships with a small 12V/2A adapter and a full set of cables - eight 60 cm 5.5x2.1 mm cables plus a short Y-cable - so I was able to power a handful of pedals right away. The blue LED indicators for each output are bright and unmistakable, which is handy for troubleshooting but something to consider if you mount it visibly on stage. The construction looks simple but solid for the price, and the isolated outputs gave me immediate confidence that noise would be addressed.

Design & Features

The ISO-1 Pro provides eight individually isolated, filtered and short-circuit-protected 9V outputs rated at up to 500 mA each - that spec is real and central to how this unit performs. The whole unit is powered by the included 12V 2A adapter and the total available output power is limited by that supply - the manual and product sheet spell out the practical limit so you know not to overload it. Each output has a bright LED that shows when it is active and it will shut down an output briefly if an overload is detected, then restore it after a short pause - a useful little protection feature. Physically the case is compact and lightweight, with jacks and LEDs laid out sensibly for small- to medium-sized boards.

Build Quality & Protection

The aluminium-look housing feels tidy and adequately rugged for gigging or rehearsal room use, though it is not an overbuilt tour-case - it’s designed to be functional and unobtrusive. Internally the unit uses proper isolation on each output, and in my time with it I noticed a clean noise floor with no hum being introduced into amps or pedals. The overload/short-circuit protection behaved sensibly during a staged overload test - the LED on the affected output went out and then came back when I reduced the draw. The only physical niggle is the thinness of the included adapter cable - handle it with care or swap it for a sturdier regional lead if you need long runs.

Comfort & Portability

One of the ISO-1 Pro’s strengths is size - it’s small and light enough to tuck under a Pedaltrain Nano or similar board without adding weight. The included 60 cm patch leads are convenient for close-packed pedals and make layout quick, though if you prefer right-angle connectors you’ll either need to mount pedals to accommodate the straight plugs or swap cables. For transport it adds almost no bulk, which is exactly what I look for on a practice/gig board that needs to stay simple.

Cables & Setup

The package with eight matching cables and a Y-cable got me running immediately and removed the usual fiddling with mismatched leads. The Y-cable is useful for chaining outputs if you need to use two outputs in a voltage-doubling configuration for a specific pedal; the manual stresses correct polarity and maximum total power limits, so I planned my hookups around that. I did find that fit under some pedalboards can be tight because the outputs sit on the unit’s sides - measure your available clearance if you plan to mount it under a shallow board.

Real-World Experience

In rehearsals and home use I put a mix of fuzzes, delays and modulation pedals on the ISO-1 Pro and immediately noticed the disappearance of 60 Hz hum that had plagued my daisy-chain arrangement - the isolation is not marketing fluff, it makes a real difference. I did push the limits trying to give a larger multi-function digital unit more current than one output provides and learned the value of checking each pedal’s current draw - the ISO-1 Pro’s per-output 500 mA cap and the unit’s total available power mean you must plan high-draw pedals carefully. For typical stompbox rigs and several smaller digital pedals it kept everything quiet and stable across long practice sessions and a couple of informal gigs.

The Trade-Offs

This is not a luxury power supply - it’s a compact, budget-minded isolated unit, and that brings a few trade-offs. If you rely on a lot of high-current pedals or several multi-FX units that need more than 500 mA each, you’ll either have to dedicate multiple outputs or opt for a larger supply; the included adapter cable is serviceable but a little fragile; and the bright LEDs can be distracting onstage if you don’t hide the unit under the board. For players who need more voltages than 9V or a multitude of higher-current outputs, a different model in the series or a higher-end supply will be necessary.

Final Verdict

The PowerPlant ISO-1 Pro is one of those rare utility purchases where the price-to-performance ratio really pays off - it solved my hum problems, is compact enough for a small board, and includes everything required to get running. I recommend it to gigging and home players who run mostly 9V pedals and want true isolation without spending on boutique supplies, but players with multiple high-current multi-FX units or who need many non-9V rails should look at larger solutions.