Harley Benton Spaceship PowerBar 80

I spent a few weeks running the Harley Benton Spaceship PowerBar 80 under a full-sized pedalboard so I could see how it behaved in rehearsal, at home and during quick run-throughs at a gig-like level of volume and patch complexity. My goal was simple - replace a pile of wall-warts and a separate supply with a neat, integrated solution that would power a mix of low-current analog pedals and higher-current modern digital units without fuss.

First Impressions

The PowerBar 80 arrives as a slim, low-profile aluminium bar that tucks away neatly under the board - it feels like it was designed to be invisible once mounted. Out of the box I was immediately happy with the cable set and mounting accessories, which made installation straightforward and fast; the LEDs for each output are subtle but helpful for quick checks.

Design & Features

This unit packs a lot of variety: 15 individually isolated outputs grouped in different current ratings, plus 4 non-isolated / high-current style outputs including a 9 V / 3 A feed, a 24 V / 2 A output and both USB-A and USB-C ports for charging. A handful of outputs are switchable between 9/12/18 V to accommodate pedals that need alternate voltages. Physically it is very compact - slim enough to mount under most 80 cm boards without eating into pedal space. The LED indicators on each jack make it simple to confirm which outputs are live at a glance.

Setup & Integration

Mounting the bar was straightforward with the supplied aluminium edges, screws and straps, and the included assortment of DC cables saved me from hunting down adapters. I appreciated that the AC adapter supports 100-240 V so the same unit will work in different countries without a separate PSU. Routing was tidy and the LEDs helped when rearranging pedals mid-session.

Real-World Experience

In day-to-day use the PowerBar 80 became the backbone of my board. Most pedals - dirt boxes, modulation, reverb and a couple of multi-FX units - ran clean and quiet on the isolated outputs, and the available current on the higher-rated isolated jacks was more than enough for modern digital effects. The 3 A non-isolated output is clearly designed for high-draw devices and multi-FX units, and it powered my large-modeler fine in terms of current headroom.

That said, I did notice some sensitivity when I placed extremely noise-sensitive pedals directly on the non-isolated 3 A output - in a few patches I could coax a faint hiss or high-frequency artifact that vanished when I moved those pedals to isolated outputs or used a different cable. For typical staging and most pedal combinations this won’t be an issue, but if you rely on particularly finicky vintage fuzzes or boutique pedals I recommend testing them on the isolated jacks first and avoiding the non-isolated outlet for those boxes.

The Trade-Offs

The PowerBar 80 balances price and versatility but it is not completely without compromise - the non-isolated high-current output can be noisy with sensitive pedals, and the switchable 9/12/18 V outputs require attention to avoid accidentally sending the wrong voltage to a box. Also, the total power budget is finite, so very power-hungry rigs with several high-draw pedals may push the limits if everything is used at once. For most hybrid boards mixing analog and modern digital pedals the trade-offs are reasonable and manageable.

Final Verdict

The Spaceship PowerBar 80 is an excellent value proposition if you want a tidy, integrated power solution with a wide variety of isolated outputs and high-current options. I would recommend it for players who run medium-to-large pedalboards with a mix of analog and digital pedals, and who are comfortable placing particularly noise-sensitive units on isolated outputs rather than the non-isolated high-current feed. For professionals who need absolute, uncompromising noise-floor performance across everything I would advise testing sensitive pedals carefully - but for most gigging and rehearsal situations this unit simplifies setup and cuts down clutter while delivering reliable power.