Anyone else regenerating A/C?

The P3 would appear to offer some advantages over the EP in terms of including balanced AC and (so they claim) inter-component isolation without having to add a second unit like with the EP. (And then there's MultiWave.) This makes it cheaper, but does it sound as good, or better? It'd be interesting to hear from anybody who's heard the two companies' latest solutions go at it head to head.

"Any other subscribers?" Yes, my EP15A powers my whole system, with my preamp and sources being additionally plugged into an API Power Wedge Ultra 116 that follows the EP. This is a balanced isolation transformer unit, not dissimilar from what EP offers only with more individual transformers (six). The PW also allows the user to switch between balanced and unbalanced AC for each outlet individually, and I can vouch for the added benefits of balanced power, to which I have yet to encounter a downside. Power amps sound best plugged straight into the EP (the PW doesn't provide balanced AC to power amps, its transformers are too small for that).

Aside from the sound quality improvement, another way to see the EP at work is when biasing tubes with a digital meter -- the readings are much more stable, both over time as well as second to second, than with the uncorrected power coming from the wall. I've used this combo for close to three years now since I bought the EP, and haven't had a peep of trouble. Whether the Power Plant Premier can match its performance I can't say, I haven't heard one.

P.S. -- Yes, power cords are still just as critical as without power correction, though as you might expect the cord leading from the wall to the EP isn't as big a factor as the ones plugged into components following the EP.

Everyone's take on that last point won't always be the same, probably because no two systems are the same. For instance, I've found that if I only have one superior power cord to use with my digital separates, it makes the most difference if I use it on the transport. But it makes sense that if someone has only one good power cord period, they should try it first on the central power distributor (if there is one) or preamp or power amp, since in a multi-source system those are the only positions that stand to benefit the entire system regardless of which source is chosen. But in my system, I can't hear the same degree of difference inserting any particular cord between the wall and the EP as I can inserting the same cord between the EP and, say, the power amp. This makes sense to me if the EP is doing the job it's supposed to, but it also makes sense to me that the first position could be more critical in systems whose power distributor/conditioner isn't of the active-correction type.

Clio09: Yes it does. This can be problematic with power amps, which can sound constricted, if clean, plugged into the API. (The power amp outlets of course get only filtration, not isolation transformers. A lower-powered amp I once used didn't suffer this effect with the API, but the higher-power ones I've used since have.) Apparently the filtration doesn't harm sources however, which do sound better additionally plugged into the API than just running them straight out of the EP (and that's true whether or not the balanced AC is selected). I notice that on their website, EP never says that the redundant filtering will cause stuff to sound worse, only that it isn't necessary, so I assume the versions without the filters must be priced lower, enough to make the option attractive.

SP units use balanced power transformers and are passive devices, intended mainly to follow the active EP. Companies including the aptly named BPT, API Power Wedge, Equi=Tech and others also offer component units based around balanced power transformers. But to get balanced AC to a power amp, you'd need to go with one of the larger BPT or E=T type units (or use a suitable transformer that's not packaged as a rack component), EP and API don't offer ones that large.

Ubglub: Neither the P3 nor the EP15A use iso-trannies for outlet/component isolation. The P3 has more (and, it would appear, more extensively) isolated outlets than does the 15A when used by itself, but both units use filters for that purpose, not iso-trannies. The Shunyatas, in common with most PLCs, are passive units that aren't transformer-based, so they can't regulate voltage or provide balanced AC (of course Shunyata would argue for the superiority of their approach based on other reasons).

The API Power Wedge Ultra 116 I use after my EP15A has six individual iso-trannies for source components and preamp, each individually selectable for balanced, floating, or regular operation. In my system balanced is almost always best sonically (but never worse) for each attached device as compared with the other settings, so I believe I can vouch for the general efficacy of balanced AC (which the P3 provides by itself). But there's no meaningful way I can make a comparison of whether the individualized level of inter-component isolation I'm getting is more beneficial than a lesser degree of isolation would be, without also introducing uncontrolled variables which would invalidate the test, though one assumes it couldn't hurt as such -- the possible exception being if the iso-trannies were in and of themselves inferior-sounding to another, filter-based approach (something I can't answer, other than to say that using the PWU results in better sound than just plugging my sources straight into the EP along with my power amp, *even if* balanced AC isn't selected on the PWU).

Audioblazer: Most systems probably never draw more than about half of 15 amps from the wall. Some folks do think 20-amp IEC connectors sound better than 15-amp ones, but that's supposedly due to the physical construction of the contacts rather than the amperage rating per se. Either type of connector has a survivability rating higher than its nominal rating (double I think?), but also keep in mind that 20-amp terminated cords and 15-amp terminated cords are in almost all cases actually the same *cords* -- normally only the connectors differ. Anyhow, there's no way one could judge conditioner A to be "better" than conditioner B just because conditioner A uses a 20-amp IEC plug. The EP15A (active) and the Hydra (passive) are very different kinds of devices -- which inlet connectors they use is probably the least of those differences.

Stereo_phile: I'm wondering how you know your P3 was "straining"? Not disputing that you say the fan came on (not that I knew this unit even had a fan) -- or that you find the BPT to sound better in any case -- but if the fan running was the only 'symptom' as it were, isn't it possible that your P3 was working exactly as intended? (Was it located inside an enclosed cabinet?) After all, this is a unit that's rated to supply power amps plus sources. I find it pretty incredible that it should have had any difficulty whatsoever powering the items you plugged into it, provided your unit wasn't somehow broken.